Before this gets too deep let me first say that I used to re-load a lot of shotgun shells (shooting ATA trap and Registered Skeet) before I found a whole new world in blackpowder muzzle loaders.

But I have always wanted a Sharps in 40-65, and I found one I felt I could afford a while back.  I've been shooting the reloads (smokeless powder) that the previous owner supplied for me.



Now I'm about to jump into the adventure of reloading with blackpowder not the smokeless.  But my main question has to do with re-sizing the brass.  I do know from reloading shotgun shells that if you use a linear forming die, forcing the brass into a "re-sizing tube" that the side walls at the base tend to get larger.  Larger to the point that a nice fit is difficult.  So I switched to the collet forming die set.  This will resize the entire brass base without causing any problems with headspace in the chamber.



When re-sizing 45-70 brass to 40-65 it appears the same thing could happen.  I know that the brass will need to be trimmed to length at the mouth of the case, but what happens to the head spacing?  Does the rim/ridge area get larger and cause problems after numerous re-loads or do you do something at the base of the brass to accommodate this problem?

Sincerely,
Smokepole

It's not an issue Smokepole.  I've used a .40-65 for quite some time and never had any problem with chambering.

My first act is to anneal the case properly.

I then take a .45-70 case, lube it sparingly, and make a pass through the .40-65 die.  It doesn't come out perfectly the first time but the first shot (fireform) irons it out.

I say 'lube it sparingly' as you are reducing the forward diameter and the lube will not compress... therefore you run the risk of forming longitudinal wrinkles if you use too much lube.

Headspace for rimmed cartridges is determined by rim thickness.  Die forming and fireforming will not alter that.  However, if you distort the rim by using too little lube and a lot of extraction pressure you could affect headspace.  The answer then is to feel your way slowly through the process until you feel confident that you can speed up the operation somewhat.  Cases stuck in dies can be removed easily and cases that are over lubed will show up at once.

You seem to have a common sense approach to all your projects so I do not think you will experience much more than having to throw away a case or two... which all of us do as we learn.

Here is a before and after of one of my cases.

Thanks Jay,
 
I spent some time looking through the Midway catalogue last night. I already have the 3 die reloading set (Redding), it came with the Sharps. Now I need the reloading base, case trimmer and primer tools.
 
I made a powder drop tube from an old aluminum arrow shaft and a brass funnel.
 
The fun begins!!:D :D
 
Smokepole

QuoteI made a powder drop tube from an old aluminum arrow shaft

Now why didn't I think of that? :) Especially since I'm using 2117s for cleaning rods. :)
 
Paul