kevindpm61 said

Bill, I tried various sizings during load development. .460 was what my rifle liked best. In general, you should size your lead bullets .001 - .002 over the bore size. Have you slugged your barrel?
  

With Mike's over-the-phone help, I upset a Speer .490 lead ball to get a flat, lubricated the bore with R.I.G., used a Brownell rawhide mallet to drive the ball flush with the crown, then tapped it through the bore with a 3/8" oak dowel.

Across the grooves, I got .457 to .458 with a General Tool dial indicator.  I can't read the dial any closer than that and it's a 7 groove rifling. I had earlier spoken with Winchester Guns customer service and they advise their specification for groove diameter is .458. Interestingly they recommend .458 cast lead  projectile diameters and .456 for jacketed. 

I miked Mike's 330 grain hollow points he cast for me and the one I checked came out .458 and a blonde hair. He ran them through a .459 sizer die but doesn't think the mold throws them that wide. 

The rifle is a current production 45-90 Winchester Sporting Rifle, 24" heavy octagon barrel with 1-in-20 twist. About 9.5 pounds unloaded. Rifle buttplate. 

I'm going to load a ladder of these in new Starline brass with RL-7, starting with 38 grains and increasing a half-grain at a time, up to 44 or 45 grains. Once I get an accurate load of 1300-1400 fs, it will be Miller time. 

My goal is something that will convince a large and ugly boar hog to "join his ancestors with commendable rapidity" as the late, great Jack O'Connor once wrote.

TXGunNut said
Zeb-
I used Powder Valley IIRC last time I purchased Holy Black. They generally sold in case quantities for shipping safety so a few orders has kept me well supplied for several years. BP doesn't last long when loading 45-90 and the like. 
 
 
Mike
  

OOPS! Powder Valley is out of BP!

Mike

I used Powder Valley IIRC last time I purchased Holy Black. They generally sold in case quantities for shipping safety so a few orders has kept me well supplied for several years. BP doesn't last long when loading 45-90 and the like. 

Mike

Bert H. said

Zebulon said
Steve,  I'm struggling with this editor for some reason. Thanks very much for your advice. I just got in Lyman's cast bullet handbook and am going to order the black powder book you suggest.
I do have one question - where do you get black powder right now? Nobody local seems to have any? 
I just inherited a boatload of various canisters of smokeless and bought 3 pounds of RL-7, so I'm probably going to use up some of all that before trying the black stuff. But, in time, I've got to experience it.  
  

I have been purchasing my powder from this company, as they seem to have the best selection in stock - Shop – All Powder Shop
I just ordered another 4-lb jug of IMR 4198 from them.
Bert
  

Wow, some good prices on All Powder!  If they weren't personally recommended by a trusted source, I might have worried they were not legit!

As soon as I find something and use it without parting my hair with the Winchester's hammer, I'll post it. 

40-82-260

45-90-300

50-110-300

Using lead--what would be a safe starting load?  Bill

Zebulon said
Steve,  I'm struggling with this editor for some reason. Thanks very much for your advice. I just got in Lyman's cast bullet handbook and am going to order the black powder book you suggest.
I do have one question - where do you get black powder right now? Nobody local seems to have any? 
I just inherited a boatload of various canisters of smokeless and bought 3 pounds of RL-7, so I'm probably going to use up some of all that before trying the black stuff. But, in time, I've got to experience it.  
  

I have been purchasing my powder from this company, as they seem to have the best selection in stock - Shop – All Powder Shop

I just ordered another 4-lb jug of IMR 4198 from them.

Bert

I do have one question - where do you get black powder right now? Nobody local seems to have any? 

I just inherited a boatload of various canisters of smokeless and bought 3 pounds of RL-7, so I'm probably going to use up some of all that before trying the black stuff. But, in time, I've got to experience it.  

I've been a handloader since about 1966, thanks to Lee Loaders, graduating to a Rockchucker and then some other stuff.

But I've never taken up bullet casting. A  good friend now suffering from Alzheimer's disease has recently gifted me his Star progressive loader with all sorts of accessories and enhancements.-- Jim was a talented mechanical engineer --and some bullet casting gear I'm going to explore. There is a small electric pot, some dies and handles, and a lubricator/sizer in pieces - a brand I'm not familiar with.  He was a Bullseye competitor, so his gear is oriented toward producing pistol ammo in quantity. 

A long way of saying I'm going to give casting a try as time permits.

However, my office/hobby room/library is overflowing with unorganized equipment, books and supplies -- and I need to finish fabricating and installing a Craftsman-style wainscot and some cabinets for storage there.  The five glass-fronted bookcases I ordered are still in boxes, unassembled. The teepee is full. 

At the moment, I'm working daily to finally re-organize my garage shop to the point I can see the top of my workbench and stop using my old Delta tablesaw for a work surface. 

Why all the disarray?  A couple of years ago I broke a kneecap and couldn't climb stairs for sixteen months. Followed by a serious illness in the family (not me) that stopped everything for 18 months. 

Life and age can get in the way of a serious handloader. But, as they say down in the swamps near my birthplace, "We's still grabblin' " 

if you want to reload old military type rounds then you gotta get the Wolf book ( these would be for Trapdoor Springfields of course ).

I shoot a sharps replica. I have to look up my load data, but I drop tube ~63 grains 2F goex or 1 1/2 Swiss. And use a .30 fiber wad. SPG lube or homemade equivalent. I cast a 520 gr round nose, slight crimp. The important part is to never leave a gap between your powder charge and your bullet. You can’t load too much black powder as long as there’s no air gap you’re good.

I shot the BPTR mid-range NRA matches. 

My gunsmithing tools are upstairs but I use Brownell Magnatips in the little red boxes that won't stay open. Someday.......

I'm slugging the 1886 45/90 barrel first. The 86 45-70 is going downstream so no need to bother. I'll do the Shiloh 45/70 after polishing my technique.