ASSRA Forum - 40-70 SS - is there a difference in dies ?

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40-70 SS - is there a difference in dies ? (Read 4291 times)

Joe Do... Oldtimer ASSRA Board Member ASSRA Journal Editor Offline Posts: 663 Location: 'burbs of Chicago Joined: May 19^th, 2012	40-70 SS - is there a difference in dies ? Oct 21^st, 2016 at 8:07am	Print Post
	I ordered a .40 Cal Douglas premium barrel for a rolling block. I would like to chamber this rifle in .40-70 Sharps Straight. The Douglas barrel has a bore diameter of 0.408 I plan on using new brass made by CapTech (Jamison). The specifications on their website are: Rim Thickness 0.070" , Rim Diameter 0.537" , Case Length 2.500". I read a lot of the older posts this morning describing the original and slightly modified 40-70 SS depending on the base brass (i.e. 405 Basic or 30-40 Krag). With this new brass, do I have to worry about which set of reloading dies and shell holder I buy? Thanks in advance for anyone's help. ... Joe


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Old-Win Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 1829 Location: Minnesota Joined: Nov 24^th, 2005	Re: 40-70 SS - is there a difference in dies ? Reply #1 - Oct 21^st, 2016 at 8:16am	Print Post
	Joe, I think that RCBS makes two different sets but they are for different chambers. One for the .403" (some antique barrels) and the other for the .408" or modern barrel. I use the Lyman and they work fine.


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marlinguy Frequent Elocutionist Offline Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater! Posts: 18078 Location: Oregon Joined: Feb 2^nd, 2009	Re: 40-70 SS - is there a difference in dies ? Reply #2 - Oct 21^st, 2016 at 9:39am	Print Post
	From my experience using .405 brass will require the rims to be reworked, or the chamber cut for the thicker rim. The dies don't change regardless, but a different shell holder is needed for the .405 rim. The .30-40 Krag brass uses the same shell holder, but will be too short unless you buy them stretched to the correct length. I could never get them long enough when I tried annealing and expanding them.

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Hiwall55 Senior Forum Member Offline Posts: 468 Location: west central Illinois Joined: Jun 30^th, 2012	Re: 40-70 SS - is there a difference in dies ? Reply #3 - Oct 21^st, 2016 at 1:22pm	Print Post
	I have 3 40/70 SS and the chambers are cut for 3 different brass. #1 is 30/40 stretched, Lyman dies. #2 is 405 cut by CPA , I bought RCBS dies, they work but not right sizer. #3 is cut for captech, had to modify the OD for the base and depth to be right, I use a mixed set of dies, hope this helps. Bill


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emmett22405 Full Member Offline Posts: 164 Location: Virginia Joined: Sep 21^st, 2009	Re: 40-70 SS - is there a difference in dies ? Reply #4 - Oct 21^st, 2016 at 4:00pm	Print Post
	observation--my axtell-made 1877 sharps chamber loves the 30-40 krag stretched and straightened brass and the lyman dies--after buying hundreds of the Captech 40-70 SS brass and having the rims thinned by a bud on his lathe--discovered they wont fully insert into chamber--they stick about 3/8-1/2 inch above the rim.


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marlinguy Frequent Elocutionist Offline Ballards may be weaker, but they sure are neater! Posts: 18078 Location: Oregon Joined: Feb 2^nd, 2009	Re: 40-70 SS - is there a difference in dies ? Reply #5 - Oct 21^st, 2016 at 4:17pm	Print Post
	I also use Lyman die set, with a .405 shell holder. No problem chambering once sized.

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George Babits Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 1151 Joined: Sep 27^th, 2012	Re: 40-70 SS - is there a difference in dies ? Reply #6 - Oct 21^st, 2016 at 6:24pm	Print Post
	In my rebored #1 remington rolling block, I use stretched 30-40 cases sized in RCBS dies. They work fine. I tried some Bertram brass early on and didn't care for it; the Bertram brass also needed a different shell holder. George Salmon, Idaho


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Hiwall55 Senior Forum Member Offline Posts: 468 Location: west central Illinois Joined: Jun 30^th, 2012	Re: 40-70 SS - is there a difference in dies ? Reply #7 - Oct 21^st, 2016 at 8:51pm	Print Post
	Used a reamer for a 30/40 stretched brass to cut a new chamber and had to fix the same problem that Emmett Did but recut the offending part off the chamber and rim and now I can shoot captech for greasers and 405 Hornaday trimmed to 2.5 for paper patch. The 405's are.003 thicker each sides I if you full length size them the brass is .401 inside-Perfect.


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FITZ Oldtimer Offline REGARDS Posts: 917 Location: MASSACHUSETTS Joined: Apr 16^th, 2004	Re: 40-70 SS - is there a difference in dies ? Reply #8 - Oct 24^th, 2016 at 8:32pm	Print Post
	Joe, I have two sets of RCBS 40-70 SS dies and one is marked .403 on top of the Sizing Die. The other is marked .408 in the same manner. I bought one set for my Sharps Mid Range in the early 70s. The other came with a Meacham 40-70 Hiwall from the original buyer. Have no ides what barrel is on the Meacham but the Rifle Serial # is 53. Have not shot it much but will some day. HTH Regards, FITZ.

	FITZ
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