Remington Springfield conversion

[singleshotnut]

I have a U.S. Springfield musket conversion using the rolling block action, its a bit rough looking but it does shoot well considering its age, I have used Bertram's 577/500 3 1/8" brass trimmed to 1.83" and a .585213 Minie bullet to put holes in paper, my question is, just which of the .58 caliber musket conversion cartridges is this old rifle chambered for? The chamber is much longer and larger in diameter than the fairly common .58 Berdan cartridges still encountered from time to time, I was told that the loose chamber was due to sloppy chambering tolerances, I have a hard time believing that a 19th century machinist would be that sloppy! The cartridge I use is a snug fit and is nearly as large as a .577 Snider and it kicks about the same too. Any thoughts on this matter?

[tjack]

I suspect you can chalk it up to tolerances. In my .58 Rolling Block rifle I use Bertram's .577-500 case. In my R/B carbine these proved to be a loose fit. In the carbine I use Jamison's .577 Snider cases. Snug fitting ctgs may be advantageous in a sporting rifle but not a military rifle. The British were fairly "notorious" for having sloppy chambers on their .303 caliber rifles. A lot of military experience may cause that. The reloading of fired cases was not a priority.

[singleshotnut]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who shoots these old .58's, Bertram makes two .577/500 cases, the .577/500 No 2 has a case head diameter of 0.640" and the .577/500 3 1/8" has a case head diameter of 0.650" lastly the .577 Snider and its offspring have a 0.660" case head diameter to add to the confusion. I selected the .577/500 3 1/8" as it was closest to the chamber dimensions I measured off a chamber cast I made. When I first got the rifle I tried a specimen .58 Berdan cartridge in it and it was just too loose for my tastes, the Bertram casing was in my stock of Bertram's brass that I had from when I did gun shows, nobody ever bought any of that casing so I had plenty on hand. I did once trim up a box of .577/500 No 2 casings for a gent with a .58 musket conversion as that casing is nearly identical with the .58 Berdan except for length, and when I dreamt up my own .58 caliber cartridge I selected the .577/500 N0 2 trimmed to 2 3/4" to make what I called the .58-140; this bruiser went into a M1902 7mm action that I had in my stash, I used a .577 caliber barrel from Badger and Ron Snover put the two together, I have fired it and can attest that it has a healthy kick to it which makes me glad it weighs about 15 pounds with its 34" 1 1/4" across the flats octagonal barrel. I still need a proper butt stock and fore end and of course sights! I had considered a vernier tang rear and globe front but after sampling its recoil I changed my mind, a vernier tang sight staff lodged in my eye socket doesn't sound like much fun.