Need help loading 40-82

[Cap6303]

I just picked up a Winchester 1886 in 40-82 and was hoping to put together some mild loads using a 260 gr cast bullet. The bullets are from Buffalo Arms, made by Bitterroot components. Does anyone have some sound advice they can share, what powders, loads, lube or no lube, etc.

[Kyle B.]

I have gotten good results using 26 grains of 4198 with enough cow to give a compressed load. About 28 grains of 4198 is a common load but gave erratic velocity in my rifle which is a model 1885. An old Handloader magazine had a little data that gave sup rising loads such as 62 grains of H-4350 for about 2000 fps. This sounded way to ambitious to me . I reduced the load to 55grains and got my best accuracy and 1700 fps which is what I use now for hunting. For target shooting I use the 4198 load. Good luck,Kyle

[Cap6303]

Thanks Kyle, that's a good start. I did read a little about 4198 but have been unable to find any. I have some H-4350 I could try, the only think with 4350 is that I've always thought of it as a bit of a barrel burner. I wont shoot this too much so maybe a little would be ok. I've hand loaded for many years, but never cast bullets, do I need to lube these?

I also have some IMR-3031 and have read some good things about it. I think with this weight of bullet the load was somewhere around 30-33 gr. Do you or anyone else have load info for the 3031? Thanks.

[earlmck]

I don't have a 40/82 to play with, but I do have a ballistics software program that I use regularly. So according to good old "QuickLoad", Kyle's 55 grains/4350 load would generate 1770 fps at about 21K psi, a bit below the 24K psi suggested max. This velocity would be duplicated with 45 grains of 3031 at 18K psi (yeah, that doesn't quite make sense, does it? But I have long suspected that "QuickLoad" attributes magical properties to 3031 and I don't quite trust it for 3031 loads because of that.)

The 26 grains of 4198 (I used the IMR version) should give about 1300 fps at under 10K psi which would be approximately duplicated with 34 grains of 3031, also giving under 10K psi.

And Kyle, what is this "cow" you use to get a compressed load? I'm assuming a ballistic filler -- is this the same thing as the steer manure the wife gets for her garden?

[Buck Elliott]

4350 won't be the "barrel burner" you're afraid of, at .40-82 pressures.. It got that reputation from being hot-rodded in what we used to refer to as "over bore-capacity", high velocity/pressure cartridges...

[wolfdog]

"cow" Cream of wheat.

[Griff]

And please, for those of us that might be inclined to use that data, are you using the "H" or "IMR" versions?

[Kyle B.]

My post wasn't all that clear and in one matter inaccurate. I have used h-4198 in this rifle. Cow is indeed cream of wheat but I just checked my notes and found that in the 40-82 I used a 1&1/2 grain ball of cotton for a filler. I use cow in my 44-40's. 26&1/2 grains of h-4198 with the cotton filler gave me 1530 fps and very good accuracy. The 55 grains of h-4350 was used with a 270 grain jacketed Hawk bullet and gave a little over 1700 fps. It may not be a max load but it had sufficient pressure to seal the case against the chamber walls. I use Jamison brass and wlr primers. Sorry for any confusion. Kyle

[missionary5155]

Greetings
That is one caliber I hope to get into one day.
I also am a cast bullet shooter. If you are inclined to using smokeless my advice is to check closely the throat diameter. A too small bullet there will not seal the gases as the bullet base leaves the cartridge. Bullets will "tilt" and gas will blow past the base.
I shoot 50-95, 45-60, Pre 1898 Marlins in 45-70, 44WCF, 33 Win., 38 WCF and other calibers. But they all demand a fat enough bullet in the throat or accuracy is dismal.
Another issue is too hard of bullets at too small diameter. I cast all my bullets for old lever actions on the soft side. No I do not have leading problems because all my bullets are fat enough.
Now should you have too small diameter bullet for the throats the "cream of wheat" will help a bunch to seal the base but you are still going to have bullet base tilting. There is no substitution for a fat enough bullet in the throat area.
With BP you can get by with a slightly undersized soft lead bullet because BP explodes and will bump up a soft bullet base. But even with BP I load the fattest soft lead bullet I can.
Mike in Peru

[geobru]

Cap,
If you have Excel, PM me your email address and I'll send you the load information that I have accumulated over the last 5 years or so. There are 40+ loads that I've gleaned from different sources.

I started reloading my 40-82 in 2008 and have spent a lot of time developing loads for the gun. These are some of the lessons learned:
1. I found that a slight change in bullets can have a big impact on accuracy.
2. Some sort of filler will definitely help accuracy. I use coarsely ground cornmeal in the 40-82 and rolled up TP in the 45-90. Some folks use kapok as a filler and like it. Each gun has its preference and you will have to find out what works in yours.
3. If you don't have a nickel steel barrel, keep the velocity at or under 1500 fps, which is the BP velocity of the original ammo. This isn't a gun you want to hotrod, or you will ruin a great gun and could injure yourself.
4. The first thing to do is to slug your barrel. The SAAMI spec is .406, but the bores are OFTEN oversized. Mine is .409, so I load .410 cast bullets. This creates problems because the cartridge won't chamber. I bought a Lee three jaw chuck and the mandrel they make so you can put it in a drill. I load the cartridge, put it in the three jaw chuck and use a file to turn the diameter of the brass to .430 so it will fit in the chamber. Once this is done, you may have to touch it up occasionally.
5. After about 15 reloads, the brass gets brittle where the roll crimp works the brass. It is a good idea to anneal the brass after loading it 12 times or so. After annealing I have gotten 6 more reloads and am still going.
6. The powders that I have used are 5744, IMR 4198, 3031, RL-7. My gun didn't like 4198 at all, but I have found good loads with the other three. 5744 and RL-7 have been the best powders for the loads I have worked on.
7. The best source of brass I have found is Buffalo Arms. Buy 45-90 and resize it with your full length sizing die. I use Imperial sizing wax as a case lube. I resized the brass by pushing the brass into the die until the resistance was hard, pull it out, rotate the case, repeat until the brass is all the way into the die. You'll have to trim ~1/4" off the brass. I have a 40-82 trim die that I use for this purpose.

That is all I can think of off hand. These guns are hard to load for because of all the variations between guns, but when you find the right combination, they are accurate and a lot of fun to shoot.

Enjoy your 86!

If you do a search on this site by author, look up Geobru and Kansas Ed. KirkD had some good info too before he sold his 40-82. There are others that I have forgotten that have 40-82s and are shooting them on this site.

[Cap6303]

Wow, some great info from all of you guys. I definitely want to take it easy with this one, just some light to moderate loads for plinking and the occasional Buffalo, lol. I'll read through all of this a few more times and search for more info on the site as well. Again, some great starting advice from all of you guys so thanks a lot. Geobru, I'll PM you as well.