What did I get?

[The Shrink]

Esteemed Board

I just bought a mold from a guy in western Canada via e-bay.  He advertised it as a 44-40WCF mold.  It's brass, well made, and obviously old.  I find no markings on it, no maker nor any indication of caliber.  

The mold throws a bullet with one stepped groove, possibly a combined lube/crimp groove, that is .466 in diameter and 245gr. when cast in wheelweights.  

I'm thinking .45 Colt or .455 British.  What do you think?  I've got a question in to the seller as to how he determined that it was 44-40, but I'm not sure he will answer me.  

I'm not complaining, either someday I'll get something that will shoot it or somebody will want it.  

Wayne the Shrink

[Kenneth L. Walters]

If it is 0.466 in diameter and REALLY old then you want to look up what obselete cartridges used such a bullet diameter.  Obviously it isn't a 44 or anything close.  Cartridges of the World might be a good place to look.

[Graycg]

Sounds like a bullet for oversized 45-70 bores. I have a trapdoor that is about .462 diameter, tumbles anything less than .463  Email me if you are looking to get rid of it.

regards,
 Graycg

[Kenneth L. Walters]

NEI has a bullet of roughly this diameter BUT they don't indicate what gun it was for.

YEARS and YEARS ago Wolfe published a book comparing critical dimensions on hundreds of cartridges.  Nothing more than a extensive computer listing sorted and printed in a variety of ways.  Wish I could remember the name of that book.  If anyone has it, however, they could look up the names of all the cartridges that had about this bullet diameter.

Donnelley's book might be used for that too.

[Leftoverdj]

I checked CothW and found nothing even close. The Brit 500/465 has the right diameter but takes a much heavier bullet.

That odd groove has me wondering if perhaps the mould was intended for one of the early breechloaders that took a tied on paper cartridge?

[Flash]

It depends on what you cast it from also. Pure lead might put it in the 45 caliber class for use in an old Sharps or Winchester. Your casting makes it an 11.3 MM bullet and old (1800's) foreign military rounds held this size bullet. Turkish, Austrian, Egyptian, Brazilian etc.

[The Shrink]

At .620 in length and 245gr it seems obviously a pistol bullet rather than rifle.  Was there an 11.3MM pistol?  

My library currently has CTW checked out, I have it on hold for when it comes in.  Gotta get one of my own!

I'm assuming that with a base diameter of >.460 it's probably overly large to swage down to a .45LC?  

Wayne

[John Traveler]

The predecessor cartridge to the .455 Webley was an oversized .46 caliber.  It was widely used by the Canadian RCMP in the late 1800's.

It was called the .476 Tranter, or some such.

John

[Flash]

Actually, the cartridges were from rifles. 11mm 1873 Navy from the French Military list a bullet diameter of .457, a rim dia. of .472, an overall length of 1.4" and 10 grains of black Powder. This is all from Cartridges of the World, 6th edition. The possibilities of your bullet's identification are quite lengthy but with it being from Canada and being old, I would research the French Military first

[The Shrink]

OK, guys, tell me what you think.  

CTOW, 8th edition, page 388 lists the 46 short rimfire.  Remington lists it as having a 227 grain bullet and Winchester loaded a 230 gr. bullet.  There's also a 46 long rimfire that was loaded with a 300 or 305 gr bullet, same makers.  "There may have been other loadings by other companies."

My mold throws a 245 gr. bullet in wheelweight metal.  Looks awfully close to me.

Wayne the Shrink

[Flash]

You have to remember that a rimfire wasn't handloadable, especially during this era.