Loading for my 8-bore

[matt85]

Stage 1: Cast a batch of 85 caliber round balls.

My basic casting equipment:

The fruit of my labor:

 

[matt85]

Stage 2: Prepare the brass for loading.

Here I have punched out the old primers in my cases and seated new ones in their place. The small steel threaded punch screws into the large brass tool in the center of the image for this. The short solid brass cylinder on the far left with a small hole in it is for depriming. The I remove the threaded steel punch and use the brass tool, a hammer (really a lead ingot), and the square steel plate to drive in the new primers. Set a new primer on the steel plate, set the case on top of it, insert the brass tool into the case and hammer on the brass tool to drive the case down onto the primer.

Note: the brass "tube" to the right of the depriming tool is a guide for pressing wads into the cases in the next step.

 

[matt85]

Stage 3 (current final stage): Measure out a charge of powder, press in four 0.5", and then seat a freshly made ball on top.

All the supplies laid out before making the cartridge.

Here is everything put together. The brass guide is placed on top of the case, and the brass tool pushes the wads down on the powder.

 

[Piet Brood]

Interesting. Please post a pic of the final product along with something for scale.

 

[matt85]

As is, these cartridges shoot great!

But "Stage 4" is a work is progress... I haven't found a way to seal up the cartridge that satisfies me. I've tried overshot wads and wax but neither of them are great. With the 1200gr conicals, I put a small amount of glue around a driving band to hold the bullet in place.

Here is a 375 H&H next to the 8-bore cartridge for reference:

I found this picture I took a little while back. (45-70, 270 win, 416RM, 500 NE, 505 Gibbs, and the 8-bore with a conical.)

 

[Piet Brood]

Very cool!

 

[Leadwood]

Please send some pictures of your stunning double @ Matt85.
I remember an article in Man Magnum many years ago by Brian Marsh featuring Bill Feldstein's 8-Bore H&H Double.
He said it was the most effective calibre on buffalo that he ever used.
And he went on more safaris than most.
Ps: have you used your 8-Bore in Africa?
Regards

 

[matt85]

Please send some pictures of your stunning double @ Matt85.
I remember an article in Man Magnum many years ago by Brian Marsh featuring Bill Feldstein's 8-Bore H&H Double.
He said it was the most effective calibre on buffalo that he ever used.
And he went on more safaris than most.
Ps: have you used your 8-Bore in Africa?
Regards

I haven't hunted anything with this double yet.

Here is an old post where I put some good pictures up: https://www.africahunting.com/threads/finally-got-my-w-j-jeffery-8-bore-shooting.79529/

 

[50Gunner]

Hey Matt,

PM Buckstix and see if he has any star crimp dies left for your 8-Bore, if not, he may be able to make you one.

They give a very nice multi sided star crimp that closes the case mouths holding the round balls very firmly in place.

 

[matt85]

Hey Matt,

PM Buckstix and see if he has any star crimp dies left for your 8-Bore, if not, he may be able to make you one.

They give a very nice multi sided star crimp that closes the case mouths holding the round balls very firmly in place.

He made one for me a while back. Unfortunately, my brass is too thick to be easily crimped. The one case we crimped took considerable effort and eventually cracked along the crimp indentations (despite annealing). It does work... but it basically turns the brass into "single use". At nearly $30 per case with a roughly 1 year turn around, I decided not to do that anymore.

 

[analog_peninsula]

@matt85 Did you find learning to cast troublesome? I've got a couple of rifles that I "should" cast for, but I've been afraid to go down that rabbit hole. Can you really produce decent results with minimal equipment?