These photographs of Frankford Arsenal Reloading Kits have been sent to me by John Gross. John has supplied a caption for each one. If you have questions about the kits, please contact him at John Gross.

If you have photographs of other kits or very special parts for a kit, please contact me at afrasca@erinet.com

.50-70 Reloading Set

The 50-70 set was introduced in 1882, with only 80 sets being fabricated by Frankford Arsenal. These were issued to the state militia units who were mostly armed with surplus 50-70 caliber rifles, the regular army having adopted the .45-70 in 1873. The pine box measures 16" long, 7" wide, and 4" tall, with the total outfit weighing about 8 pounds. Everything necessary to de/recap, clean, resize the cartridge case, measure and pour the powder, seat the bullet, etc. is included. Most every part in the set is marked in some way, such as "Frankford Arsenal" (or simply "FA"), "US", various inspector initials, or what the function of a specific tool is, such as "Loading & Crimping Die". NOTE: The shell scraper (used to scrape black powder fouling from inside the case), which is the second tool from the top on the right side below the brush, is not original to the set but is of the same style as the original.

The tools in this set consist of the following; reloading die and punch, resizing die and punch, oil cup, primer extractor, primer setter, safety socket, powder funnel, adjustable powder measure, drift, wiping rod, brush, shell scraper, and wooden mallet. Photograph from John Gross.

.45-70 Reloading Set

This is the later .45-70 set, introduced in 1882/1883. The earlier .45-70 set was similar to the .50-70 one above. Unlike the earlier field reloading sets this one could reload all the .45 caliber rounds in use by the military at that time. This included the .45-55, .45-70, .45-80, and the .45 revolver. Some of the tools are marked as such, e.g. "C" for carbine, "REV" for revolver. The wood pine box is 15 1/4" long, 7 1/2" wide, and 5" tall. Total weight is a little over 10 pounds. The exact number made of this model is unknown (an estimate would be a few hundred) but it is the most often one encountered on the collectors market, though by no means can it be considered easy to find. As with the .50-70 set most all pieces are marked in some way.

The tools included in this set are; combination anvil, brush, adjustable powder measure, reloading and crimpimg die for rifle and carbine, reloading and crimping die for revolver, resizing die for rifle and carbine, resizing die for revolver, drift, powder funnel, oiler, priming tool with spindle and six pins, reloading punch for rifle, carbine, and revolver, resizing punch, shell scraper, wiping rod, and mallet. Photograph from John Gross.

.30 Caliber Reloading Set

This set was introduced in 1905 and could reload the .30-40 Krag and the .30-03. When the .30-06 was introduced most of the sets were updated to the new cartridge. The box measures 15 1/2" long, 7 1/2" wide, and 3 1/2" tall. Weight is about 8 pounds. Like the .50-70 and .45-70 sets the tools in this set are also marked as well as several of them being dated. Those which are dated are dated 1905.

These tools are; loading block, loading die, loading punch, resizing die, resizing punch, powder dipper, funnel, primer ejector and seating tool, primer ejecting spindle, primer seating spindle, 6 primer ejecting pins, wiping rod, wiping brush, and mallet. Photograph from John Gross.

Decapping & Cleaning Tool

This is not a complete reloading outfit, but is used only to decap the fired cartridge case and clean it to prevent deterioration. It was primarily for the .30-06 but it could also be used for the .30-40 Krag, .38 revolver, .45 revolver, and the Model 1911 .45 pistol. The box measures 9 1/4" long, 7 3/4" wide, 2 3/4" tall, and weighs about 3 pounds. The instruction manual is dated 1917, with earlier dates of 1907, 1909, and 1912. Interestingly none of the tools in this particular set carry any marking whatsoever.

These tools are as follows; primer ejecting tool, primer ejecting spindle and two caps, 6 primer ejecting pins, wiping rod, wipng brush, and funnel. Photograph from John Gross.

Directions
for
Using The Morse Cartridge
.45 Caliber

Information and drawings supplied by Bill Mook from the 1888 Manual he has had reproduced. There is additional infoprmation in the manuals that is not shown here.

Instructions
for
Loading and Crimping Cartridges
for
SPRINGFIELD SHOTGUN

Information and drawings supplied by Bill Mook are from the 1882 Chief of Ordnance Report Addendum that he has had reproduced. There is additional information in the report that is not shown here.

List
of
Hand Reloading Tools
for
Gallery-Practice Ammunition
Caliber.45
for
Issue to Colleges

Information and drawings supplied by Bill Mook from the 1905 Manual that he has had reproduced. There is more information in the manual than what is given here.

Bench Reloading Tools

Information and drawings supplied by Bill Mook from the June 29, 1901 publication that he has had reproduced. There is far more information in the publication than what is given here.

Return to Home Page