Morning All,
Got to studying about the question of how much each .45-75 WCF round would cost when reloading. Now there are many variables here, what you can get components for, can you get components such as the brass or bullets in lieu of having them made, etc. Taking some liberties with the availability and cost per component and pulling open prices from some online sites quickly, here is what I came up with:
Jamison Brass 45-75WCF 100 pieces @ $1.55 each (from Buffalo Arms)
Meister 350 grain .458 hard cast $60.52 per 250 comes out to about $.25 each
Primers Winchester Large Rifle $32.49 per 1000 (Midway USA) comes out to $.03 each
Accurate Arms 5744 $27 per lb. (Midway USA) and let us guess at doing 250 rounds per pound gives $.11 per round (NOTE: didn’t factor in HAZMAT shipping fee here, assuming you can get it locally. You may or may not get 250 out of a lb., don’t know how many a lb. does as am still working on first lb.)
With this loose guess estimate, the total looks like this:
Brass: $1.55
Bullet: $.25
Primer: $.03
Powder: $.11
Total $1.94 each or $194 per 100 rounds
Now again there are many variables here, the use of filler and what kind would determine added costs. I use Pufflon and it is somewhere in the $27 to $30 per small can price for example. How many rounds will this small can load I can’t say as it is the first I have tried and still going on the first one, but is an added expense. I didn’t add in the cost of buying dies, shell holder, etc. These are onetime expenses but they ain’t cheap!! If you cast your own bullets, that sways the cost per bullet, but then the onetime expense of melting pot, bullet dies, and etc. that goes with this comes into play. What I did above assumes you already have the reloading equipment and you are not casting your own, plus a bunch of other ‘assumptions’. Want another variable? Factor in Black Powder instead of smokeless. The list goes on. Hope this helps, I just used the basics of what I use in loading to give this guess, what you come up with may/will vary.
As a thought, this may look expensive and it sure ain’t cheap, but Ten X lists as $85.99 per 20 rounds from Midway that is around $4.30 a round – IF you can find it in stock. When you compare the .45-75 reloading components to other cartridges it isn’t that bad. I have a .375H&H. When you compare loading for it next to the .45-75, not as bad as the above looks.
As to the question on the chambers in the rifles, I have had my Uberti .45-75 WCF for just a little over a year. I had always thought mine had the standard chamber, but some have observed the fired cases look like the Uberti chamber, so I am not so sure. What I can report is the RCBS legacy dies for this cartridge work great and I have had no issues reloading. Now, all this is just my $.02 worth (as we are talking price of components!) and just what I have observed/experienced. What you find is gonna be different to some degree. Best of luck with the project and keep ya powder dry!!
PB