Cast Lead Thread ?

[T.FOYE]

Lee sizer dies can be bought at that 'track of the wolf' site.

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/list/Item.aspx/1216/1

[T.FOYE]

Only problem... raining outside so I can't fire up the melter

[JD300]

Attachment 205445
Only problem... raining outside so I can't fire up the melter

That is one hell of a pretty mold nice one man looks like it will cast a mean as projectile.

[T.FOYE]

Awesome mould. Bit of faff setting up the hole makers as they came completely disassembled but they just screw together. Bullets came out well.

It's got one of those spring washers so the tension needed a bit of tightening up. Gotta add more grease I guess

[T.FOYE]

Two coats of white blue mix and a resize to .459". Good accuracy and doing 1800fts.

[Micky Duck]

they look good...not sure why but the HPs seem to have a uneven bit,top left one in uncoated photo..... hope they open up well for you.

[T.FOYE]

Most likely me letting the mould get too hot. It gets a bit sticky and then the hp cone sticks.
These ended up with a potential G1 BC of .242 (taking labradar results and putting them into the JBL online app.)
I'd seen posts advising that you interpolate the rear readings carefully. If you take the highest recorded speed near 110m it will skew that same BC to .285 (giving you false hopes of staying out of the dirt)

[Micky Duck]

a super quick champher with case debur tool or large drill bit and you would never notice...hopefully they will group rather than pattern for you.

[akaroa1]

My cast lead today

38-55 250 grain cast flat base
100m group
First three into 20mm
Bullets weren't weight sorted so might explain shot no.4
Or I got excited and pulled it
Or fouling build up

Anyway a good result in a recent restoration

[akaroa1]

Today I did it again with weight sorted bullets

First three bullets went into 15mm at 100m and then the fourth went 100mm low
That has me a bit confused until I went back to the loading bench ( 5m from my shooting bench ) and realised one bullet was missing from a completely different pile of 38 bullets
So that was my flyer

But now I have stripped the block and am making a new firing pin because the one in it was made by Bubba

[Moa Hunter]

Today I did it again with weight sorted bullets

First three bullets went into 15mm at 100m and then the fourth went 100mm low
That has me a bit confused until I went back to the loading bench ( 5m from my shooting bench ) and realised one bullet was missing from a completely different pile of 38 bullets
So that was my flyer

But now I have stripped the block and am making a new firing pin because the one in it was made by Bubba

Attachment 206034

Great group those first three. How many shots would it take on average before fouling / leading makes accuracy drop off ?

[akaroa1]

Great group those first three. How many shots would it take on average before fouling / leading makes accuracy drop off ?

With Alox only 3 to 5 rounds

But I might start powder coating the bullets it likes most

[Moa Hunter]

With Alox only 3 to 5 rounds

But I might start powder coating the bullets it likes most

Why can we shoot 22's for years without years and not have accuracy problems, both subs and supers ?
Can soft 20 - 1 or 30 - 1 bullets be powdercoated ?
Quite grunty that 38/55

[Marty Henry]

With Alox only 3 to 5 rounds

But I might start powder coating the bullets it likes most

I'm surprised, I don't use alox rather beeswax lard mix but have fired 25 straight without aparrent loss of accuracy. Got the same result with some if Robs 250 grain flat base bullets with his trademark red lube. Speed is a shade over 1450 fps. Maybe a greased card wad to protect the base may help

[akaroa1]

I'm surprised, I don't use alox rather beeswax lard mix but have fired 25 straight without aparrent loss of accuracy. Got the same result with some if Robs 250 grain flat base bullets with his trademark red lube. Speed is a shade over 1450 fps. Maybe a greased card wad to protect the base may help

Yes it's a work in progress situation with that rifle

It's now in pieces pending me making a new properly fitted firing pin
But when its all back together I will keep experimenting to find a load and bullet lube that is more sustainable
At least I know it is sub moa for at least the first hand full of shots

Powder coating is an obvious next thing to try
I use Black Widow 405 grain powder coated bullets in my 1885 45-70 and there are no issues with fouling
But to be fair it's a peep tang sighted hunting rifle and hard to realistically tell whats happening after the shoulder is softened up
Whereas the Stevens 44 1/2 38-55 was a proper target rifle in its day and deserves to be sorted to see what its capable of

I have a Saeco #311 bullet mold due to arrive any time now
It's a 308 cal 165 grain bore rider gas check bullet
These will be my test bullets for powder coating
I'm hoping that if i cast them medium hard, powder coat and size / crimp on the gas check that these should be a great cheap effective bullet in my 30-30 single shots
And maybe with the powder coating I can leave them reasonably soft and they will be ideal for the 30-30 out to 200m which is about the limit of what that caliber should realistically be used at