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Creating 40-60 without 40-60 dies?

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Black River Smith:
First, I do not have a 40-60Win Rifle at this time.  I am actively looking for one, but I wanted to put reloading tools together first.  Less money up front.  I have an original Winchester bullet mold $30; a Lyman expander in 40-60(bought years ago new at $12; a yet to arrive Ebay purchased RCBS 40-60 trim die bought for $14; and 40 pieces of Jamison 40-60 brass.

Now, I do have a 45-60 with all the setup to alter 45-70's to this caliber.  Cut; size to 45-60; trim to 1.89 and re-size for final.

As some may know the major die manufactures have stopped making/offering 40-60 die set.  So, wanting to make more brass and then re-sizing and crimping is the present issue. I am wondering if some of you have ideas for alternative die combinations to get the job done.???

The only thing I have seen on the internet is someone stating that a Lyman 310 #53MR for 40-65 can be used to neck size the 40-60 back down to 0.425" OD.  But these are not commonly available on EBay.  I also came across an old posting in here, where someone made a neck sizing die themself for the 40-60 casing.  Also, 40-65 casing is 2.1" long tapered casing, therefore the die would not work for proper sizing to the desired 40-60 cartridge, even if cut by 1/4".  The base diameter would be wrong.  I will experiment with the trim die to see if a shoulder will form but I know it is not a forming die.

How can I get to the formed bottle-necked / shouldered 40-60??????  Any help appreciated.

Sir Charles deMouton-Black:
Ch4d are worth a look at. They usually have an extensive list of rare or obsolete dies at VERY reasonable prices. As well they have many useful case conversion items.

DeaconKC:
Call Lyman directly, they sometimes have 1 or 2 leftovers in the back that are not listed on their website.

Advertising:

Sloan Dodgy:
Good plan about calling Lyman directly.

I ran into that same problem some time ago and ended up using either a .41 Mag or .40 S&W sizing die to neck size previously fired .40-60 WCF cases.  It may well be that the trim die you have coming will be usable for body-sizing .40-65 WCF cases to the correct taper of the .40-60 WCF.  The body taper of those two cartridges is very close!  For subsequent loading use whichever .41 or .40 pistol sizing dies work best just to neck size; that process leaves a pretty much perfect 'shoulder' on your reloaded .40-60 WCF cartridges.

It may even be that full length sizing in a .40-65 die will reduce the tapered body diameter enough to fit in a .40-60 WCF chamber, neck sized as above of course.

This worked for me anyway in both an original Whiney-Kennedy and a new Chiappa '76 .40-60 from several years ago.

Cap'n Redneck:
You MIGHT be able to use the LEE .40 S&W (pistol cartridge) Factory Crimp Die to neck-size the .40-60 brass...?

I personally use the LEE .45 Colt Factory Crimp Die to neck-size .45-70 and .45-60 brass.

The corresponding LEE Full length sizing dies will give a little tighter neck-sizing than the Factory Crimp dies.

I like the LEE dies due to the carbide sizing rings in the dies, so very little need for case lube.

To adjust the depth of the neck-sizing I use a wagon-bolt with a nut, dropped into the hole where the Auto-Index hexagonal rod normally goes on my LEE 3-hole Turret Press.

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