Anyone reload for a .360 #2 (320 grain .366" with 3" case 55 grains cordite)? I'm having problems with the tollerances on the Bertram brass being wowfully poor and undersized. I'm looking at fire forming at this point. Any experience?

Brett

Brett:
Between Dave, Lou, Todd, and myself don't you have enough expertise at your front door?
Enjoyed seeing your rifle today. I'm in the airport waiting for the first leg of my trip to down under.
See you upon my return, come up to develop loads at my cabin where it is a 50-foot walk from my reloading table to my standing rest, and I'll be interested to see if the gents here come up with anything we (fantastic) four can't.
Cheers, mate.
Cal

Brett
What underside tolerances are you talking about exactly ?


In the long term, buy some 450 Nitro Basic / unformed brass and make brand new 360 No 2 cases.
Make sure the brass you buy has the correct rim size.

Brett, this is a common problem. You must fire form the Bertram .360 No 2 brass. I use 7.5 gr. Bullseye (could substitute 10-12 gr. Unique), 40 gr. kitty litter, 2 squares of cheap toilet paper (I use 1 square Charmins). Shoot straight up in the air. The whole mess will come out of the muzzle. Then anneal the cases and you are good to go. Good luck!

Who made the rifle?

quote:

Originally posted by 505G:
Brett
What underside tolerances are you talking about exactly ?


In the long term, buy some 450 Nitro Basic / unformed brass and make brand new 360 No 2 cases.
Make sure the brass you buy has the correct rim size.

The neck is way to long/the shoulder is too far back which unduely stressed the brass when fired. The brass I shot was too brittle. It seems the brass must be annealed and fire formed. I'm only hoping after all that the dies will work. We shall see.

Brett

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Brett:
Between Dave, Lou, Todd, and myself don't you have enough expertise at your front door?........I'll be interested to see if the gents here come up with anything we (fantastic) four can't.
Cheers, mate.
Cal

Very true Cal. I am blessed with friends possessing a wealth of knowledge at my door step. I'm fishing for anyone who has done it themself with a .360 #2. I'll certainly be up in a few weeks when we're both in town. Have a great hunt!

Brett

quote:

Originally posted by 505G:
In the long term, buy some 450 Nitro Basic / unformed brass and make brand new 360 No 2 cases.
Make sure the brass you buy has the correct rim size.

Do they have the same base and rim dementions? I was under the impression that the .360 #2 possessed a unique case and was unlike any other.

Brett

quote:

Originally posted by DoubleDon:
Brett, this is a common problem. You must fire form the Bertram .360 No 2 brass.......Then anneal the cases and you are good to go. Good luck!

Who made the rifle?

Hi Don! I'm starting to gather I'm not the only one with this experience. I'm thinking up new Bertram slogans at the momment. My winner at present is: "Bertram.......it's better than not shooting your double at all!!!"

Seriously though you recommend fire forming and THEN annealing the brass? If so why? I was having problems with the cases cracking at the shoulder due to being brittle. I was under the impression that if I anneal the brass first it will be more malliable and less brittle. Then I can easily fire form the brass to fit the chamber. I recently picked up the rifle and it is a Manton BLNE made with a Webley screw grip action (ie. likely made by Webley). It's a VERY nice gun with beautiful lines, engraving, wood, and fit. It also seems to be totally original with original bluing and a fair amount of original case coloring on the action. I'm not sure the age of the rifle. The cartridge was created in 1905 and a friend suggests it was made no later than 1925, but probably before 1920, so there you have it. I'm headed to McNeal River and Brooks Camp for bear viewing, then some fishing in King Salmon, and finally some visiting with family in the lower 48. When I return I'll post pictures and reloading info on the rifle.

Brett

quote:

Seriously though you recommend fire forming and THEN annealing the brass? If so why?

Yes Brett, that is correct. They were my instructions from Ken Owen when I was having the same problem as you (and others). I did as I was told with 40 pcs of brass and all was good. If you are not sure, try it with one or two pieces.

BTW, my gun is a 1906 Joseph Lang. Service charge "55 Grs Cordite & 320 Grs Nickel Covered Bullet". After much experimentation, best load regulating in my gun is 66 gr. RL 15, 2 gr. dacron filler with Barnes 320 gr. bullet. I don't believe the Barnes bullets are available anymore but Woodleighs should work just fine. I have been told by other .360 No.2 owners "232 gr. bullets @ 2623 FPS or 286 gr. bullets @ 2500 FPS". Hope this helps. Good luck!

I have done the same with my Greener but I annealed the brass first from the low end of the shoulder forward prior to loading and fire-forming. I fireformed with a full power loaded case and it works perfectly.
I posted about it here:
http://forums.nitroexpress.com...=0&page=2#Post111600

Would love to see pictures of your gun too!

quote:

Originally posted by Brett Adam Barringer:

quote:

Originally posted by 505G:
In the long term, buy some 450 Nitro Basic / unformed brass and make brand new 360 No 2 cases.
Make sure the brass you buy has the correct rim size.

Do they have the same base and rim dementions? I was under the impression that the .360 #2 possessed a unique case and was unlike any other.

Brett

Brett,
.450 NE has a larger base diameter than the .360 No2 NE.
Back in the days before Bertram started making .360 No2 cases, we used .450 NE 3.25" thick rim Basic cases.
The only way to do this was to either have the guns chambers slightly enlarged, or to reduce the solid brass .450 NE case head in a special die. The cases also needed shortening to 3", and in some guns rim thickness may be an issue needing to be addressed..
I used to own a Joseph Lang double .360 No2 which had the chambers slightly modified to accept the .450 NE brass. The chambers were already opened up when I bought the gun.

edited to add......

Thesedays I would never consider opening chambers up when 360 No2 cases are available from Bertram or others.
If the Bertram cases give only a couple of firings before splitting, a better option might be to reduce the base diameter length and rim thickness of some .450NE brass.
Best of luck, the 360 No2 is a very good cartridge.