Here's all the load data I have on the 11mm Mauser. So far i only have tried to duplicate the original blackpowder and equivalent smokeless loads.(*) Stole all this either form the 'net, or from a supplier of 43 Mauser loaded ammo , I forget which one though.
Good Luck!
C-
This load was developed for shooting at 300 meters and above:
470 gn GG bullet with 3% tin in pure lead (NO wheelweights).
Sized to 0.446" (slug your bore and size accordingly).
Bullet inserted in case so that case mouth is on front grease groove.
In my M71, this is about 1 mm off the lands. Going closer makes problems in military competitions where you are not allowed to clean between shots!
This is the first step, as you need to establish the seating depth BEFORE deciding on the powder charge.
In case: powder, shake down powder by tapping the case on the bench, two wads from milk carton, 0.5 cc of lube from a medical syringe, wad, bullet.
The amount of lube will vary according to mix and whether you want to shoot military competitions without cleaning between shots. Powder: Swiss No. 4 to fill space under bullet/wad/lube/wads stack. Empirically: 67 gns. No compression, as that would be yet another variable, and reports say that Swiss powder doesn't like it!
_________________________________________ loads that use a wax paper cover wad between the cushion wad and bullet base.
Black Powder, goex FFg
Case Length: 2.320
Powder: 72 gr
Wads 1 .060 or 2 .030 fiber
Bullet Lyman 436 gr seated .500 (measured from case top to bullet top. .120 compresson)
RCBS 396 gr seated .550
Lube: 50/50 melted mix of Thompson pruple stuff and Thompson patch lube.
Pyrodex loads, use pyrodex RS
Case lentgth: 2.320
Powder: 50 grains
Wads: 1 .060 or 2 .030 fiber
Primer: CCI LR
Bullet seat: LYMAN 346 GR seated .500 (measured case top to bullet top.)
RCBS 396 GR seated .550
Lube: 50/50 melted mix of Thompson purple stuff and Thompson patch lube.
muzzle velocity is right around 1400 feet per second
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Also trail boss: 12gr w/ 385gr Bullet and 15gr w/ 340gr lead bullet (no other info)
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(*) 30gr IMR 4198:
Smokeless can be safely used in most blackpowder cartridge arms providing you know what your maximum pressures are. For instance, 35 grains of IMR4895 with a 350 grain lead bullet would generate very similar pressures (maybe a tad higher) to the same load using 80 grains of blackpowder. What must be remembered is that these oldies use soft lead bullets, even the hardest lead bullets are only 1 fourth the hardnest of a jacketed bullet. So a lead bullet requires much less force to push down the barrel, hence lower pressures. If you wanted to use smokeless powder in a very large case such as the 577/450, depending on the type of powder and charge you will probably need a filler. The filler is designed to keep the powder charge at the bottom of the case, providing uniform ignition and pressures. Without the filler the powder will settle lengthwise inside the case, and when the primer is struck the flame will shoot over the top of the powder, not directly into it, causing erratic ignition and pressure spikes. When using smokeless in a BPCR (blackpowder cartridge rifle) there are some things to be remembered. You need to use a bullet that is groove diameter or a couple thousanths over. With blackpowder, undersized bullets can be used because when black ignites it SLAMS HARD into the base of the bullet, causing it to "bump up" to proper groove diameter. Smokeless powder on the other hand is progressive burning, and will not slam into the bullet base with as hard of force, and if an undersized bullet it used the hot gases from the burning powder may sneak past the bullet, which usually melts the lead. This is called gas cutting. Also, with smokeless you need to use a bullet
lube designed for smokeless loads, these lubes are often much harder than blackpowder
lube. Lee Liquid alox is great stuff to use on lead bullets loaded with smokeless. As for choosing a type of smokeless to use in your rifle, you'll find that powder such as 4350, 3031, 4895 and 4198 work well in these large capacity cases. These powders are also high in volume, being that each granule is quite large, taking up more space inside the case, lessening the need for a filler.
For blackpowder (BP). Some say loading with BP is safer, others say it is just as dangerous or even more dangerous than loading with smokeless. There's a few extra steps involved when using BP. The neat thing about BP is that it is nearly impossible to fit enough inside a case to make it a dangerous load. Take the
43 Mauser for example. The military load called for a 77 grain charge of a FFg type BP. 77 grains nearly fills it to the top, and even when using a drop tube to charge the case, you'll find you can only put about a total of 85 or so grains of powder before you can't put anymore in. Even 85 grains is not a dangerous load, and to many 45-110 and 45-120 Sharps shooters this would be considered a mild load.
There are different grades of BP. Fg, is used for large bore muskets and cannons, FFg is used more for blackpowder cartridge arms, FFFg is mainly used in BP pistols, and I believe FFFFg is used strictly as flash pan powder in flintlocks. The more F's, the smaller the grain size and the faster the burn rate and the higher the pressures. You'll also find that the finer grades shoot dirtier (though alot of that depends on techniques in loading).
One thing that is a must when charging black into a case is what's called a drop tube. This is a simple tube, usually made of aluminum or even copper, that is usually around 25 or even 30 inches in length with a funnel at the top. A drop tube is designed to slowly charge the case with your BP, allowing each grain to "settle" before another grain settles ontop of it, the result is a powder charge that is more dense and much more uniform, this also removes more airspace between the granules. As for measuring blackpowder, because of how black likes to settle if vibrated, the volume method is what's been the main way of measuring it for many years. Personally I just weigh my powder. However the numbers will be different from using the volume method. My powder measure set to 77 grains of FFg powder will actually drop a charge into a pan that weighs in at 88 grains on the scale. I know for a fact the load is not 88 grains because 88 grains won't fit into the case i'm loading for, but the number you get on your scale can still be used as a refference to insure that each charge weighs the same. After weighing my charge I put the case under the end of the drop tube, put my funnel at the top, and slowly pour in the powder. After that I take each charged case and while holding it firmly, give it a few taps with a steel punch just to help settle the powder into the case that much more, if you watch the powder while tapping it will move down into the case further, as it's settling itself. After I've charged and tapped my loaded shells I like to
wad them. Wads are essentially designed to protect the base of the bullet. As said earlier BP slams into the base of bullets, sometimes even deforming them causing inconsistant accuracy. So a
wad is placed between the two, it sort of acts like a copper gas check, in that is helps protect the base of the bullet from the impact as well as the extreme heat of the burning powder. Most people use commercially bought "vegetable fiber" wads, they come in varrying thicknesses, though most will agree that wads with a minimum thickness of .080 is what's needed to give adequate protection. I make my own wads from thin but very tough cardpaper, 4 of them compressed together very tightly will mike to about .080 or a little thicker in the caliper. On the other hand you'll find some rifles shoot better without them. It's really trial and error with loading BP, or just reloading in general. To cut my wads I use the sharp mouth of a .45ACP and a light tap of the hammer cuts them out. A 45 cal
wad fits perfectly into the neck of a .
43 Mauser case.
After the
wad you can choose to seat your bullet or add whats called a "grease
cookie". The grease
cookie is either a veggie
wad soaked in a soft beeswax or crisco type
lube or just a pea sized pinch of the
lube itself put into the case mouth before seating the bullet. Which brings me to bullet lubes for BP. You HAVE to use a bullet
lube when shooting BP. Modern smokeless powder lubes (hard lubes) will not work very well. The
lube not only keeps the bullet from leading up the bore, it's main purpose is to keep the hard and crusty blackpowder fouling soft, allowing the next fired bullet to "scrape out" the fouling from the previous shot. As you know, BP shoots very dirty. After just a dozen shots or usually less, the bore will become so encrusted with BP fouling that it becomes very hard for the bullet to pass down the dirty bore. So that's the purpose of the
lube. Alot of competition shoots do what's called "swabbing" between shots. In that they take a tight fitting patch on the proper diameter jag and push the patch down the bore after each shot to remove the fouling. One trick to know if your using enough
lube is to see how easily the patch goes down the bore. If it feels crusty or rough in spots at all, your not using enough
lube. Another trick is to check the muzzle, if enough
lube is still on the bullet by the time it's reached the end of the barrel, you will see what's called a "
lube star" on the mouth of the barrel. So you can swab between shots, or use a blow tube. Say you want to use a blow tube for your Martini. You'd buy a .577/450 blow tube which is simply the .577 shell that's had the primer pocket drilled out and a short clear plastic tube attatched to it. You stick the shell into the rifle, and blow on the tube. The moisture from your breath will be soaked up immediently by the BP fouling, which quickly becomes soft and mushy, making a patch easy to push down the bore. So some shooters do a combination of both, blow, then swab the bore. Now what iv'e said above about fouling is what most competition shoots will tell you do to, or is what they do.
Casual shooters like you or me just go the range, load up our rifles, and shoot them until the bore needs a good swabbing. How much
lube your using, the type of powder, and powder compression all have a deciding factor on how dirty BP shoots. You'll find Goex shoots actually quite clean when properly compressed. Compression simply squeezes the granules even tighter together, making one very solid and uniform powder column, which burns much more thoroughly, making it burn cleaner. So if charged correctly, compressed adequetly, and enough
lube is used, there's no reason why your BP loads should shoot dirty. In fact if your lucky I've seen some fellows who have shot BP loads all day through their rifles with no fouling issues to speak of. You just have to experiement. There's really no limit to how much compression you can do, because eventually enough will bulge the case. I compress my powder down about a quarter inch, aka .250 on the caliper, this is about the most common amount of compression used. One last thing, before seating your bullets you will want to flare the case mouth or during seating the sharp case mouth will more than likely shave lead off the base off the bullet, which is a killer for accuracy. Lee sells a universal case expanding die for like $11, and it works up to 45 caliber.
Well it took me over an hour to type this. But always glad to help out a fellow shooter. All the information I posted is correct to the best of my knowledge, everything I learned about BP shooting and loading came from doing about 2 months worth of reading over at the cast boolits forum. Great bunch of guys over there, most of them have been doing this kind of thing for 30 years or more.
http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com They also have a neat section on paper patching, which I am still mastering, but it's actually quite easy once you get it down. And it sure is a fun and useful technique to know
