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Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies) JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ... (Read 25731 times)
Reverend Al
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #30 - Aug 11th, 2017 at 4:36pm
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Well ...  I'm a bit of a "shootin' fool" and in the end rather than 500 rounds instead I bought 1200 rounds of once fired Norma 9.3x74R brass out of Germany and had it shipped over.  Sold about half of it to recover costs and now I have fire-formed several hundred rounds for use in this Ballard!

Roll Eyes

rustyrelx wrote on Jun 29th, 2016 at 2:34pm:
I personally would not go that route but if you must there are different rim thicknesses, make sure you get the think one. $5 a round? never saw one that expensive. Get a box of Bertrams from Buffalo arms with the .477 head size.
  Don
probable not going to shoot it THAT much

« Last Edit: Aug 11th, 2017 at 4:45pm by Reverend Al »  

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calledflyer
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #31 - Aug 11th, 2017 at 4:52pm
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Well, it's good to hear from ya again. Been a while, but I can see why if you've been forming that much brass in that ol' cannon.
  
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marlinguy
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #32 - Aug 12th, 2017 at 11:21am
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sharps4590 wrote on Jul 25th, 2016 at 7:40am:
Al, just FYI, last weekend I had the privilege of helping an gentleman work up a load for his grandfathers 1885 Winchester, S/N dates to 1886.  It is in 40-90 Sharps straight also .


The .40-90 Sharps Straight, and .40-90 Ballard/.40-85 Everlasting, are not the same case. The Sharps being 3.25" long where the Ballard is 2.94" long. But the rim and base diameter are almost identical.
  

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Reverend Al
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #33 - Aug 16th, 2017 at 3:44am
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Norma 9.3x74R cases now fully fire-formed into .40-90 Ballard and then "prettified" after a trip through my ss pin tumbler!

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(And several hundred still to go!)

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Reverend Al
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #34 - Aug 26th, 2017 at 2:37pm
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My friend Holger is over from Hamburg, Germany right now for his annual holiday visit to Canada so I "forced" him to go up to our local range with me and fire-form a bunch more of the Norma 9.3x74R brass in my Ballard Pacific.

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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #35 - Aug 27th, 2017 at 1:04pm
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i have the same rifle as yours. looks like you have the everlasting chamber with no throat. so paperpatch is the way to go here once you get proper brass. most of my bertram brass all split after 3-4 firings. i had rocky mountain cartridge make make me up the correct thickwall cases, and hence all the problems are gone and appear they are going to last for quite some time. i like the fact that new new brass is marked "everlasting". pricy for sure, but nice.
best
kw
  
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Green_Frog
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #36 - Aug 27th, 2017 at 4:10pm
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I've been following this thread with great interest as about ten years or so ago I acquired a similar 40-90 Ballard #5 Pacific from the estate sale of an old gunsmith friend of mine.  Anyway, it has all matching numbers in the receiver and butt, but the barrel and fore end have a different (but self matching) serial number.  Then to cap it off, there is no caliber marking on the barrel, although everything else seems "normal."  I identified the chambering by a chamber cast and my one example of a paper patched 40-90 round which appears to be a perfect fit.

So, why don't I buy up a bunch of the metric German brass and start loading?  Because the bore is what I would call marginal... not badly pitted, but a VERRRYY long way from pristine.  I am hesitant to put forth the cash and effort to build a batch of this ammo only to find out the bore isn't good enough to support good accuracy.  As an alternative, I'm wondering about having that unmarked barrel rebored to 45-70 so it will be easy to get ammo and I'll have a fresh bore to work with.  Decisions, decisions.  Undecided

Froggie
  
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marlinguy
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #37 - Aug 27th, 2017 at 11:28pm
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I'm not a fan of Bertram brass, and have had horrible luck with it. But got some from one of our ASSRA members, and sized it down from .45-90 after annealing the top half of the cases. They fit perfect, and I have not lost any cases to splitting after 4 firings now. 
I also use the 9.3x74R Hornady brass, and it's great. But I occasionally have the smaller rim slip past the extractor, and have to bump the loaded case back out, to get the extractor below the rim. Not a problem if I'm careful, but sometimes I'm not.
  

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Reverend Al
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #38 - Aug 28th, 2017 at 3:04am
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So far my reformed Norma 9.3x74R brass is working very well, but I have the same problem as you with the small rims.  If I'm careful to ensure that the extractor is seated before I chamber a cartridge it will extract with no issues, but if I'm not careful it's easy to let the small rim slip behind the extractor and then like you I need to knock the cartridge back out with a cleaning rod.  I just have to pay attention and make sure the extractor is seated first.  (And it sure is nice to have LOTS of shooter brass for a very reasonable price!)
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Rex N
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #39 - Aug 28th, 2017 at 9:36am
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I put a 3/8 thin o-ring on the base of the case and it prevents the case from slipping by the extractor and keeps the case snungnup against the breach block.  I have about 15 but need to stop in at the automotive store and buy a couple dozen more.
  
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Reverend Al
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #40 - Aug 28th, 2017 at 12:16pm
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OK, good to know!  I'll pick up some O rings and try that ...
  

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marlinguy
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #41 - Aug 28th, 2017 at 12:30pm
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Rex N wrote on Aug 28th, 2017 at 9:36am:
I put a 3/8 thin o-ring on the base of the case and it prevents the case from slipping by the extractor and keeps the case snungnup against the breach block.  I have about 15 but need to stop in at the automotive store and buy a couple dozen more.


Rubber O rings? Or some sort of thin brass washer? Seems somewhat temporary if it's rubber.
  

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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #42 - Aug 28th, 2017 at 11:09pm
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Just a rubber o-ring, you can use them over and over again.  They are cheap if you need to replace any.
  
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Reverend Al
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #43 - Sep 2nd, 2017 at 3:54pm
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Green_Frog wrote on Aug 27th, 2017 at 4:10pm:
I am hesitant to put forth the cash and effort to build a batch of this ammo only to find out the bore isn't good enough to support good accuracy.


I'd be tempted to try and find a few rounds of 9.3x74R brass to reform and at least TRY shooting it to see if is beyond help before reboring it to .45-70.  Sometimes a paper patched bullet will shoot surprisingly well in a rough bore, so that's something to consider too.  Another thought is since the bore is rough anyway you might consider "fire lapping" it to see if it will improve a bit?  I bought the LBT fire lapping kit to try in a few of my rough bores, but haven't had a chance to try it yet.  Just a thought ...

(And I'd send you a few fire-formed cases for testing, but since I'm up here in Canada, Customs or ITAR would most likely seize them and then send a SWAT team to my door because I'd be considered a "terrorist" for sending you a few empty, obsolete rifle cartridge cases ... sigh ...)

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Green_Frog
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Re: JM Marlin / Ballard No. 5 Pacific in .40-90 ...
Reply #44 - Sep 4th, 2017 at 3:27pm
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Thanks for the thought, Rev Al.  Maybe I could come to Canada and sew a fringe of brass jingle bobs on my Hudson Bay Capote coat to bring them back across the line from one land of crazies to a different land of crazies.  As they said on an album cover about 40 years ago, "We're all bozos on this bus!"

It seems like I have some brass around here somewhere to try.  Maybe I can cobble something together, but then I'll have to load for yet another caliber.  Roll Eyes

Froggie
  
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