Cast Bullet Association Blog Rss Feedhttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/Rss2_.aspxRss 2.0 for the user blogs.en-usFri, 25 Sep 2026 12:09:58 GMTCast Bullet Associationchefreiss@gmail.com(Cast Bullet Association)info@morganids.com (Richard Morgan)36022 Caliber Cast Bullets for Squirrelshttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/70/22-caliber-cast-bullets-for-squirrels This article written by John Alexander, was published in the Sept/Oct 2003, #165 issue of the Fouling Shot. The day after writing the first draft of this article I found the January/February issue o....
This article written by John Alexander, was published in the Sept/Oct 2003, #165 issue of the Fouling Shot.

The day after writing the first draft of this article I found the January/February issue of the Fouling Shot in my mailbox containing Major R.B. Gilpin's interesting arti­cle about hunting squirrels with cast bullets in 03-A3 and 03 Springf1elds. Although there is some similarity in our experiences I decided to send this in anyway and risk a reader overdose of squirrel loads.

Like a lot of other people I started shooting cast bul­lets in a thirty-caliber rifle. When I decided to try cast bul­let shooting in rifles the only centerfire rifles I owned were a restocked '03-A3 Springfield I had gotten through the DCM and a .348 Model 71 Winchester I had bought to hunt brown bears while working in Alaska. The Springfield shot Jacketed bullets well and had acquitted itself admirably at several turkey shoots. The .348 would shoot well enough to hit a bear. To be fair, the accuracy of the .348 may have had something to do with the abuse it administered to my cheekbone every time I fired 1t. The Springfield was an easy choice. Since I was interested in light loads for targets and small game, I chose a Lyman U311316 mould that casts blunt 106-gram bullets proba­bly intended for the 32-20.

I first tried plain-based bullets without having a clue about what might make them work. My notes from that time are filled with such com­ments as: "wouldn't stay on paper at 25 yards" and "four shots into 6.8 MOA and one flier off paper". I eventually found that a load using linotype bullets, beeswax lube, and 8 to 1 O grains of H240 (No longer listed but similar to, and slightly faster burning than, Alliant 2400) would shoot five shot groups averaging about 3.5 MOA. In hindsight I think I was very lucky to have done even that well. When I tried gas checks, getting reasonable results got easier. I soon found 8 to 16 grains of H240 behind an unsized 0.31 O" diameter linotype bullet lubricated with beeswax would average a little under 2.5 MOA for five shot groups and with 22 grains of Ball C the average was less than 2.0 MOA. Although not ideal, these loads were accurate enough for hitting squirrels at the usual dis­tances although the Ball C load is definitely not a squir­rel load if squirrel meat is the objective.


Several years later I decided to try to develop a squirrel load for a .22 caliber centerfire. I reasoned that a smaller caliber would make less noise and maybe have a flatter trajectory. A side benefit would be less powder and lead required, advantages always of interest to a fru­gal cast bullet shooter. It would also eliminate the awk­wardness of having to occasionally admit I was hunting squirrels with a 30-06.

My first experience shooting lead bullets in a .22 centerfire rifle had actually come several years earlier when I had found myself trapped for several months in inner Washington D.C. near DuPont Circle (long before 11 was fashionable to live there). Not having a suitable air rifle, I had been forced to develop a powderless load using .22 air rifle pellets in my .222 to defend


Squirrel cartridges. From left to right: .30-06 with #311316 for those giant, thick skinned, Wabash Valley fox squirrels, .222 with #225415, #225462 and #225107, the hyper-velocity .220 Maine Black Fly with #225107 (to be featured in a future article) and the .22 long rifle.


myself from starlings. The back window of our seventh floor apart­ment overlooked a lower. starling infested, roof and I felt a moral obligation to help with the local game manage­ment. I don't know what the legal authorities would have had to say about this assistance since I never had occa­sion to ask. Now I would probably be considered an enemy combatant and never be seen or heard from again. Although this primer-powered load seemed to work fine on starlings, it was no squirrel load. My lightweight .222 L-46 Sako seemed like a logical candidate for a cast bullet squirrel rifle. The Sako will average less than 0.7 MOA for five shot groups with the right jacketed bullet load so its fundamental accuracy wasn't in question. All I had to do was find a suitable cast bullet load. This rifle did have a 12 groove barrel similar to Marlin's microgroove, which some people say won't shoot cast bullets well, but I was blissfully ignorant of this possible problem.

My first attempts at a suitable squirrel load for the Sako had involved 40 and 45 grain Sierra ''Hornet" bullets. Either of these bullets over five or six grains of Unique gave near minute of angle accuracy and killed humanly but they had an annoyingly sharp report, which, although quieter than the Springfield wasn't ideal. When I tried to reduce the load behind the Hornet bullets much further they would occasionally stick in the bore and I was afraid I would eventually ring the bore. I assumed that the softer lead bullets would be more like­ly to make it to the muzzle with light loads.

Since I had been able to get reasonable accuracy out of the Springfield with short blunt cast bullets, I decid­ed to try short blunt cast bullets in the Sako. Lyman's #225107 fit that description, a blunt bullet of about 36 grains. This turned out to be a mistake. Try as I might, I never managed to get that little gem to shoot well enough to seriously endanger a squirrel more than forty feet away. My best load would put four out of five shots into a squirrel head sized group at 30 yards but the flier was always the first shot which sometimes missed the paper. This is a serious disadvantage since squirrels get impa­tient while you fire fouling shots.

After wasting quite a bit of time with #225107, I went on to try Lyman #225438, #225415, and #225462 which cast bullets of 45, 50 and 52 grains respectively. I imme­diately began to have better luck. Powders tried includ­ed Hercules Bullseye, Unique and 2400 as well as Ball­e and 680. I also tried IMR powders 4227, 3031 and 4759. For lube I started out with pure beeswax, using a pan and "cookie cutter'' but eventually switched to Alox and beeswax, which didn't seem to improve accuracy but worked in a lubrisizer. Although I came to like using the lubrisizer I used an oversized die for all my successful loads since any sizing seemed to degrade accuracy. Like many others, I experimented with Dacron fillers, seating depths, wads, indexing bullets and cases. every primer brand I could get my hands on, and various other things. All these variables kept me amused but none, with the exception of seating depth. seemed to affect accuracy much.

I stumbled on various combinations using either #225415 or #225462 and light charges of either 2400 or 4759 that would average less than 2.5 MOA. Eventually I found that six grains of 2400 behind the #225415 bullet cast of 15 parts old lead pipe and one part tin would aver­age 1.5 MOA for five shot groups. A load of seven grains of 4759 behind a linotype #225462 bullet would duplicate this level of accuracy. These loads involved unsized bul­lets of .225" and .226" diameters respectively, Hornady gas checks and NRA formula Alox and beeswax lube.

Six grains of 2400 gave a muzzle velocity of 1,360 f.p.s. and seven grains of 4759 pushed the #225462 bul­let at 1,500 f.p.s. These velocities were only a little more that the 1,230 f.p.s. of a high-speed .22 long rifle out of my Ruger 77/22 but they seemed to make it a bit easier to connect when the shot was longer than usual.

Not only will these two loads shoot more accurately in the Sako than I can hold from the field positions com­mon in squirrel hunting, they seem to almost always place the first shot from a cold barrel into the group, an admirable trait for a hunting rifle. They also will maintain that 1.5-minute level of accuracy for hundreds of rounds without any kind of bore cleaning. I particularly like this last characteristic since I have never experienced the feelings of virtue and fulfillment some folks apparently associate with clean bores, carefully sorted bullets, fresh crankcase oil, waxed cars, or well-trimmed lawns.

Both of these loads served admirably for squirrel hunting I suppose, as a purely practical matter, neither was much better than the usual .22 rimfire except for the occasional long shot . However, not many people go squirrel hunting for practical purposes anymore and there is an additional sense of satisfaction in using home made ammunition in a nice rifle to cleanly take a squirrel out of the top branches with the first shot. @)


]]>Sun, 30 Apr 2017 05:33:45 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/70/22-caliber-cast-bullets-for-squirrelsSemi Autos, Cast Bullets and Wolff Springshttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/69/semi-autos,-cast-bullets-and-wolff-springs This article was submitted by CBA member, Steve Hurst.Shooting Cast Bullets in Semi-Auto Pistols Starting loads in manuals for semi-auto cartridges are often set at levels which will provide functio....
This article was submitted by CBA member, Steve Hurst.

Shooting Cast Bullets in Semi-Auto Pistols Starting loads in manuals for semi-auto cartridges are often set at levels which will provide function in a pistol with a standard spring. The most accurate cast bullet load is often below the recommended starting load, especially in high pressure cartridges. Accurate cast bullet loads may not function the pistol with a standard spring. In this case a lighter spring is required to get reliable function.The recoil spring is a vital part of the functioning of any semi-automatic pistol. Factory springs are a compromise, weighted heavily toward reliability. The factory weight spring is intended to provide reliable function with standard factory loads under all reasonable conditions. With a pistol which is always clean and well lubricated, it may be possible to use a heavier spring with standard loads. Extra power loads, high velocity or heavy cast bullet loads generate higher slide velocity. Use of a standard spring with heavy loads puts increased stress on the pistol. This can crack the frame or slide and will cause general excessive wear. It also makes the pistol more uncomfortable to shoot. For heavy loads an appropriate spring weight is required. The following are weights of some Wolff springs for Colt 1911 type semi-automatic pistols. These weights are not meant to indicate the normal weights of these springs, the weights of identical poundage springs may differ slightly. However, because spring alloys have very similar density and poundage is related to the amount of metal in compression, these weights can be an approximate indicator of poundage of unknown springs for 1911 pistols. Recording the weights of recoil springs is a good method of keeping track of the identity and poundage of springs. Springs will not change weight significantly in use unless there is abnormal abrasion. In this case the source of the abrasion should be eliminated.

Wolff Variable:
10 Pound, 97.8 Grains
11 Pound, 106.1 Grains
12 Pound, 107.7 Grains
14 Pound, 113.4 Grains
16.5 Pound, 125.7 Grains Factory Standard 45 ACP
17.5 Pound 129.8 Grains
18.5 Pound, 134.4 Grains
20 Pound, 136.7 Grains
22 Pound, 141.3 Grains

Wolff Conventional:
11 Pound, 106.8 Grains
12 Pound, 107.8 Grains
13 Pound, 111.3 Grains
14 Pound, 112.1 Grains
15 Pound, 123.7 Grains


Variable power springs have less force when the slide is forward and more force when the slide is fully rearward. This is achieved by varying the coil spacing. The difference is small and I use variable power springs for all purposes. It has been widely recommended to cut “XX” coils off a standard spring to make a target load spring. This is poor practice, it causes abnormal spring load in the firing cycle. Recoil springs are cheap, it is now possible to purchase new top quality springs of any desired poundage.

Spring Selection:

The following deals with 1911 type pistols, but the procedure is the same for any semi-automatic pistol. Wolfe makes recoil springs for most models. Finding the correct recoil spring is easy.Be sure the pistol is clean and lubricated as it would be in normal service. Have a hundred rounds of the test ammunition available. If you are using hand loads, they must have consistent power level. To check this, chronograph them, the standard deviation of the velocities should be equivalent to factory loads. Hand loads should be all one head stamp and type. Case type affects extractor fit and ejection. Be sure the extractor and ejector are functioning properly. In 1911 pistols, the ejector should be tight and the extractor tension should be correct. The extractor should hold a fired case on the breach face against slight finger pressure. If you are using a buffer, which you should for high power loads, and is advisable for extensive shooting, be sure it is serviceable.If using normal or heavy loads, start with the heaviest spring; if using target loads, start with a normal spring.Fire a round.If the case ejects, fire 20 to check for consistent function. If any case does not eject, go to the next lighter spring. When 20 rounds function, carefully watch the ejection of the fired cases. If any case fails to eject or ejects slowly, go to the next lighter spring.When you get consistent ejection; fire 50 rounds from fully loaded magazines.Feeding from a fully loaded magazine takes the most force.For pistols that eject the cases horizontally, the cases should land 3 to 6 feet from the gun when fired from a standing position. If cases are ejected forward, this usually means weak ejection and the case is being carried forward by the returning slide. When you get consistent function, you have found the correct spring for that load in that pistol.The above will select the correct spring for a gun which is clean and lubricated. This weight spring will minimize gun wear and is what you want for target or sport pistols that will be fired extensively. For a service or carry pistol you want additional safety margin so the pistol will function under adverse conditions. You should select a lighter spring for carry purposes, perhaps the next poundage lighter. If you use a pistol for both target and service loads, both springs should be kept in the box with the pistol and a means of identifying the springs is essential. Clean one spring and spray very lightly with paint, not a coating, just enough so flecks of paint are visible. You do not want paint flaking off in the pistol. Re-oil the spring when the paint is dry Springs lose their tension with use. The greater the stress, the faster the loss, a higher poundage spring loses tension faster. A high quality, normal power ~16 pound spring for a 1911 is good for many thousands of rounds. An extra power spring, for example a 22 pound spring, may only last 500 rounds before needing replacement. When a spring loses tension, your pistol will be absorbing the excess slide energy of each shot. When you first receive a new spring, install the spring in the firearm and cycle the action several times. Some springs will lose length on the first few compressions, this is normal; especially for the higher power springs. After compressing the spring, measure the length of the spring and weigh the spring. Record this length and weight and the number of the pistol the spring is installed in. Keep this record with the pistol. Every time you disassemble the gun for cleaning, examine and measure the spring. A spring which is more than 10 percent shorter than the reference length should be replaced.

Blowback Pistols:

The above procedure can be used to determine the correct spring for any locked-breach pistol. Blowback operated pistols are very different, the cartridge case acts as a piston to impart velocity to the slide. Slide velocity is dependent on chamber pressure and time, with a slight inverse relationship with case/chamber wall friction. This force is quite large, even low pressure rounds like 380 auto exert pressures of several thousand pounds on the slide. No spring of useable power is capable of slowing initial slide opening. Slide inertia alone provides the primary resistance to premature opening.In blowback pistols there is a fine balance between slide mass (inertia) and ammunition power. The window for correct and safe operation is much narrower than a locked breach design. Factory ammunition is loaded with small charges of fast powders. Attempts to increase power with larger charges of modern dense powders causes a longer pressure curve and early opening. Pressure may be normal, but early opening while pressure is high can result in a case rupture. A heavier spring cannot prevent this.

Buffers:

Buffers are plastic wafers which are installed in the pistol and absorb the slide impact with the frame. They save wear on the pistol, but may cause functioning problems. Because they limit slide travel by the thickness of the buffer, ejection and slide lock functions can be affected. Function must be checked in the individual pistol, problems may be eliminated by choosing a different (thinner) brand of buffer. Buffers are available for many popular pistols and some pistols come with from the factory with a buffer. Buffers wear in use and replacement is part of maintenance.


]]>Thu, 27 Apr 2017 06:30:55 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/69/semi-autos,-cast-bullets-and-wolff-springs452423 I Love You - A Texas Love Storyhttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/67/452423-i-love-you---a-texas-love-story This article written by Charles Graff of Harlingen, TX appeared in the May/June 1999 / #139 issue of the Fouling Shot. During the college Christmas break of 1962, I did some gun trading. The trade ....
This article written by Charles Graff of Harlingen, TX appeared in the May/June 1999 / #139 issue of the Fouling Shot.

During the college Christmas break of 1962, I did some gun trading. The trade produced a first rate Remington-Rand 1911AI and two boxes of GI ammo. My first “.45 automatic.” I had heard much bad and little good about “Old Slabsides.” Expectations were not high when I arrived at my plinking spot on the Rio Grande River in deep south Texas. In those days we used the Republic of Mexico as a backstop and nobody seemed to mind.
Today, firing across the international border would be an act of utter foolishness, maybe even war.

After I fired the first magazine, I was hooked for life! Fire belched from the muzzle, dirt clods, sticks and cans jumped. The aroma of burned gun powder hung in the air. It just doesn’t get any better than this! The bubble burst when ammo ran out. I drove to our local purveyor of all things gunny. He had loading dies, but no bullet mould. Ordering one would take weeks. Too long for a fellow who had a .45 bug bite. He did have a used mould that was designed for the .45 Auto Rim cartridge. “They won’t feed in an automatic”, he said. But, I could shoot single shot until something better came along. What’s a fellow to do? Single shot is better than no shot. A used, but excellent, Lyman #452423 single cavity mould was mine. It was an Elmer Keith design semi-wadcutter, with his usual three driving bands of equal width and a generous square bottomed lube groove. The Idaho guru knew his bullets!

The plumber’s furnace was fired, a hundred bullets were cast and loaded on top of Bullseye powder in the GI cases. The square front driving band of the Keith bullet was seated almost flush with the case mouth. I did have enough sense to cut the power charge back as the deep seated bullet reduced the case capacity and would cause higher than normal pressure.

A damp morning mist still hovered over the Rio Grande River when I arrived with pistol and handloads in hand. I loaded a round single shot and tickled the trigger. The round shot to the sights and everything worked as the day before. I noticed that the Keith bullet loads would load into the magazine. I stuffed a couple in the magazine, racked the slide, and cut loose. They fed from the magazine with perfection. The bullet that was not supposed to feed through the .45 Automatic, did! Joy of joys!

I had read in print a number of times that #452423 would not feed in the auto-pistol. Obviously written by folks who never tried it. It was not just my Remington-Rand either, over the years, I shot #452423 thorough dozens of military, commercial and match 1911 pistols. There was never a failure to feed because of the bullet.

Linotype metal was cheap and plentiful. The resulting cast bullet weighted 230 grains on the nose. When wheel weight metal was used, #452423 gained about 10 to 12 grains.

The Keith bullet proved excellent on game. In my Colt Gold Cup, it accounted for two Whitetail does and quite a bit of smaller game. Nothing was taken more than 25 yards from the muzzle.

The .45 bug still had it’s stinger in me, and I acquired several Colt New Service revolvers in .45 Colt. My favorite was a late commercial model with a 4 1/2 inch barrel. In a Myers Threeperson holster, it rode many miles on my hip. It was a jack rabbit and rattlesnake terror. The old Colt slept under the mattress at night, and I slept peacefully on top.

In the .45 Colt case, I loaded #452423 over 9 grains of Unique. I went as high as 10 grains but quickly backed off when the primers smeared and the cases stuck.

The 1960’s were the .45 years. Thousands of bullets fell from the mould and were shot through three 1911 autos and three Colt New Service revolvers. Pounding them out, I wished for a gang mould. Lyman made such, but I had better use for my money.

The 70’s were gunless years. I went back to school and the great old guns were sold off. For a decade I did not fire a shot through a handgun.

The 80’s featured my return to handgun shooting. The old .45 bug wound festered and it wasn’t long before I degreased old #452423 and was back running lead. You just can’t separate a Texan from his .45.After a few years, I decided to buy a #452423 four cavity mould, but Lyman no longer made them. A couple of years later, I decided to settle for a two cavity mould. By that time Lyman had discontinued #452423. My old mould took on the status of a shrine. How could Lyman discontinue the greatest .45 cal. bullet ever designed? Apparently Lyman’s sales did not reflect my regard for the great Keith design. The cult of #452423 must have very few devotees.

After recovering from the shock, I realized that all was not lost. Hoch bullet moulds of Frutia, Colorado could produce any bullet design. I sent several bullets from the old mould, specified the alloy and the “as cast” diameter. In due time, I received a three cavity lathe bored mould that was as near to the original as I could expect. There were a few small differences, but nothing that changed the performance. The bullets fell from the mould at 242 grains weight and the exact specified diameter. That Hoch mould is a work of art.

Gone are the Remington-Rand, the Colt Gold Cup, and the Colt New Service. Their places are filled with a Colt Series 80 Government Model, a Ruger Bisley and an assortment of Smith and Wessons in both .45 ACP and .45 Colt calibers.

Honesty forces me to tell you that very few #452423s go down the barrel of the auto-pistol anymore. A few for nostalgia’s sake. Lyman #452460 is now my bullet of choice for “Old Slabside”. When it comes to revolvers, it is still #452423.

In the .45 Colts, the bullet goes on top of 20 grains of H-4227. The Ruger Bisley and Smith and Wesson Mod. 25-7 have cylinder throats in the .452” - .453” range. Accordingly the great bullet is sized .452”. With this load either pistol will produce 1 1/2” groups at twenty five yards. I have had some sub 1” groups but they do not come on demand. The chronograph gives a velocity of 983 f.p.s. in the 5” Smith and 1,016 from the 7 1/2” Ruger. This is all the accuracy and power that I require. I have quit searching! Although a full snort load, it is not a +P load and should be safe in any good condition .45 Colt revolver.

The .45 ACP loading situation is more complex. In my various revolvers, one load most definitely does not fit all. I vary the sizing diameter, powder and charge weight. The old 1917 revolvers receive mild loads while the newer model 25-2’s and 625-3 receive hardier fodder.

My five inch 625-3 is a wonder. The first six shots from a rest at twenty five yards produced one ragged hole of 3/4 inch. The load was Federal Match hardball. A major factor in this level of accuracy is the tight cylinder throats. They measure between .4525” and .4530”. Bullets sized .452” are just the medicine. For accuracy, the Model 625-3 is a double throw down, snatch the tie off your neck, triple terror wonder.

The two older Model 1917s and two Model 25-2 Smith and Wessons are trickier. The 25-2 models have cylinder throats of .455” to .456”. The cylinder throats of the 1917s are a uniform .456” in one and an equally uniform .4545” in the other. In all these revolvers, I size #452423 to .454” and get good results. .455” might be better, but would require a custom sizing die. I am quite happy with the level of accuracy I get with .454” bullets. The standard sizing diameters of .451” and .452” give poor accuracy in these large throated Smiths. My Smith & Wesson Model 25-2’s were made in the late 60’s and early 70’s. My Smith & Wesson 1917s were produced for the Brazilian military. One was made in 1937 and the other assembled by Smith & Wesson in 1946 from mostly WWI parts.

Loads which the Model 25-2s handle with aplomb would choke the 1917s. Always use light to standard pressure loads in Pre-War Colt and Smith and Wesson revolvers. Never exceed published loads in recent loading manuals in the fine old revolvers. Given mild loads, they are accurate and safe. Push the pressure envelope and at best you will damage a fine old gun. At worse, you will damage yourself! Don’t even think about it! Shooting is supposed to be fun, not dangerous.

In the 1917 Smith and Wessons, I size #452423 to .454” and load them in a ACP case on top of 5 grains of Winchester 231. A firm crimp is given in the bullet crimp grove. This is a mild load and very accurate. Both of my 1917 Smiths produce 2 1/2 inch 25 yard groups, sometimes better, but who cares! They are great plinking guns. Anytime I pick up a .45 ACP round with #452423 on top, I know it is a 242gr./5 gr./Winchester 231 load and safe for any good condition revolver appropriately chambered.

In the Model 25-2 Smith & Wessons, I use Elmer Keith’s old load. He recommended #452423 on top of 7.5 grains of Unique. Again, the bullet is sized .454” and crimped in the crimp groove. This load produces higher than standard pressure but is fine in my Model 25-2’s. The primers are not the least bit flattened and the fired cases fall from the cylinder into my hand. As with any load that exceeds recent loading manuals, I do not recommend that you do what I do. I do it, have no bad consequences and sleep well. You are on your own! I put this load up only in the Auto Rim case. The Auto Rim case is not stronger than the ACP case, I just want to know at a glance what the load is. Anytime I pick up a .45 Auto Rim round with #452423 on top, I know it is a 242 gr./7.5gr./Unique load and only goes in a Model 25-2.

Elmer’s load produces sterling accuracy. My favorite packing pistol is a 4” barrel Smith Model 25-2. In this pistol I get 1 1/2” 25 yard groups and 964 (chronographed) f.p.s. velocity. If that sounds like .45 Colt performance in a .45 ACP revolver, it is!

I don’t load #452423 for the auto-loading pistol much any more. When I do, I size it .452”, set it on top of 4.5 grains of Bullseye and seat the bullet with 1/16 inch of lead left showing above the case mouth. I apply a taper crimp and that is that. If you choose to load #452423 for the auto-pistol you have a couple of extra considerations. First you will seat the heavy bullet deeper which reduces case capacity. Higher than normal pressures will result unless you reduce the powder charge. This can be dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing and there is very little reliable data on using heavier than standard weight bullets in the .45 ACP. Secondly, with the heavier than standard bullets you increase recoil and slide momentum with the subsequent wear and tear on the pistol. Heavier than standard bullets, unless the load is quite mild, can batter a good pistol in short order.

For both of these reasons, there are better bullets for use in the auto-pistol. I used #452423 for years in commercial and military .45 auto-pistols, because it was all I had.

When your hair turns silver and your belt size increases, you remember with fondness what worked for you when you could jump a three rail fence. If it still works for you now, it is truly wonderful. Elmer Keith’s old #452423 is wonderful! There will be no other bullet in this Texan’s .45 revolver. 􀀃


]]>Tue, 25 Apr 2017 02:14:04 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/67/452423-i-love-you---a-texas-love-storyA Magnum Size Bottom Pour Pothttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/66/a-magnum-size-bottom-pour-pot This article written by K.L. Toby, was published in the Nov/Dec 1994 #112 issue of the Fouling Shot. CBA member Jamie Waller casts more bullets than anyone I've met. To facilitate handling of th....
This article written by K.L. Toby, was published in the Nov/Dec 1994 #112 issue of the Fouling Shot.

CBA member Jamie Waller casts more bullets than anyone I've met. To facilitate handling of the various alloys he uses, Jamie constructed a mas­sive bottom pour pot to melt the metal into con­venient size ingots. The pot is constructed from scrap cut-offs of 12" steel pipe used for natural gas pipe lines and other items, such as I" angle iron and galvanized pipe fittings, which can be purchased at a scrap yard or hardware store. It holds over 125 pounds of alloy and uses bottle gas for fuel It has several unique features that conserve fuel and make emptying the pot a simple matter.

The pot pictured is made from two cut-offs welded together for a to­tal length of 14". The bottom is a 12" disk of 3/8" boiler plate. The legs and cross pieces are l" angle iron fastened together, and to the pot, by welding. The bottom of the pot is recessed and welded in place at a slant, about l" from the bottom rim on one side and 1-1/2" on the other. The re­cessed bottom helps retain heat under the pot; the slant allows the pot to be emptied easily. The burner is constructed from a 2" pipe cap, a 2" x 4" nipple, a 1/8" x 2" brass disc, a 3/8" elbow and nipples. An 1/8" orifice hole is drilled in the center of the brass disk. Six 5/16" holes are drilled equidistant apart into the sides of the cap near its top. The cap is drilled and threaded to accept a short 3/8" nipple attached to the 3/8" elbow. The brass disc is sized to fit no deeper than the termina­tion of the threads in the cap. It is inserted into the cap and locked in place by the 2" x 4" nipple.

The burner is held in position under the center of the pot by a length of 3/8" pipe fastened through one of the legs and welded in place. Standard bottle gas fit­ting are installed on the end of the pipe for connect­ing the bottled gas tank.

The release valve is a length of 3/8" ID pipe with a 3/8" rod insert polished for a smooth easy fit. Two 3/ I 6" holes are drilled about one inch from the end of the pipe. The pipe is slipped through a hole at the low end of the bottom of the pot. The holes in the pipe are positioned so that they are barely above the bot­tom interior of the pot and the pipe is welded in place. The rod insert is raised and lowered by a hinged arm made of I/ 4" x 1-1/8" cold rolled bars. The valve lifting arm consists of two pieces of steel bar which bracket the rod insert, and a piece of bar welded to the top of the pot. The arm is fastened to the bracket with a 1/4" stove bolt, using flat washers as spacers. The rod is inserted through a washer welded to the bottom of the arm, and locked loosely in place by a lock-nut. This allows it to be raised and lowered without binding in the pipe.

The bottom of the release valve extends only slightly below the bottom of the pot. A piece of angle iron is welded to the bottom of the pot di­rectly under the valve to form a pouring spout. The angle iron is welded to the rim of the pot on the valve side and to the bottom of the pot on the high side. Mounting the spout across the bottom of the pot and above the burner keeps the spout suffi­ciently hot to keep the alloy flowing freely.

The description above is general, but it should be sufficient to enable anyone with access to the necessary materials to construct a similar pot. @




]]>Sat, 22 Apr 2017 07:44:07 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/66/a-magnum-size-bottom-pour-potWorking with Mosinshttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/65/working-with-mosins This article written by Joe Weist, was published in Fouling Shot #173, Jan/Feb 2005.In the last year the prices on the Mosin-Nagants have been attractive. I recently acquired a C&R (Curio &....
This article written by Joe Weist, was published in Fouling Shot #173, Jan/Feb 2005.

In the last year the prices on the Mosin-Nagants have been attractive. I recently acquired a C&R (Curio & Relic) license and they are on the list. As much as I didn’t like the looks of them (like the T/C Contenders for years) they were starting to grow on me.

The first one came from Southern Ohio Gun. The stock was very nice and the bluing was like new. The bore was .315”, groove .305”, leade .315” and the muz-zle coned out to .317” in the grooves. I lapped my 314299 mold to .316” but the bore ride was too far under-size.

I also needed a bigger mold for my British #4 and Jim at CBE in Australia (JIMCBE@BIGPond.com.au) makes molds for some different sizes that would match up better. I got a 314190 in which I lapped the body to .316” and the bore ride nose to .304”. That bullet loaded looks like a bullet stacked on top of another and is 1.083” long.

The next mold is the 316238. (The last three numbers on these CBE moulds are the weight.) It is 1.265” long, looks like the 311284 extra long. I lapped this mold to .317”. The bullets pushed back into the case too much so I made a bump down die for my lubricator to size down the front band tapered from .309” to .313” and bored it first to fit the bore ride as a guide. With five different powders and a good number of other bullets it ended up shooting three inch groups. The best load was 28 grains of 3031 and the CBE 314190. It would shoot 2-1/8” groups. With the muzzle like a funnel I gave up on it.

Next I saw an ad from Interordnance (www.interor-danance.com), which gave me five reasons why I needed a M-N 91-30. Best of all it was only a phone call away. I added an extra $10.00 for a hand picked bore, which turned out to be the best ten bucks I spent! They even cleaned the bore to check it.

The rifle was in excellent condition. It was of course packed full of grease. The groove is .312”, leade .313” and bore .302”. I opened up the rear sight which helped my fuzzy eyes. Brownell’s Farrsight Disk works very well too. With one side cut off some it really makes the sight nice and clear. The Lyman Hawkeye shooters optic aid works well too but for my eyes it’s a little cloudy. It sure is nice for indoor pistol shooting though.


Off the bench with this rifle I started out with two inch groups, but then got two groups of seven inches. If you can start with two inch groups why aren’t all of them that good? When I pulled the trigger I could see the cocking piece pulling down with the trigger. That was getting me. I took the trigger out of my 39B and it worked great in the 91-30. The back of the sear on the trigger on the 39 was polished and has about a two degree angle on it. The 39 also works on two pins through the trigger instead of a cam arrangement for tripping. An exchange like that may help the 91s. I polished the back of the sear, but be very careful doing this! It works completely different now.



Left to right (loaded) CBE 316238, CBE 314190. Bullets as cast, CBE 316238, Lyman 311284, CBE 314190 and 311291.

Turning my attention to the stock, the metal to wood fit didn’t look too good. The wood was very much oil soaked like pine. The front lug screw had bottomed out. The magazine was pulled into the wood and the bolt hole enlarged. The rear bolt lug you could tighten up to whatever you wanted in the oil soaked wood. The front of the barrel is mostly floated but touched heavy to the left side. It was relieved all it could be but still hit somewhat.

What I was going do next I had done to a Swiss and it ruined it, but I was going to try it again. I pillar bedded it and took out all the oily wood I could. I used floor wax for release and used JB Weld to bed everything in. I also bedded under the chamber for two inches. I slugged the muzzle and found the first 1/4 inch was .002” oversize to the rest of the bore. I couldn’t get the barrel through the headstock of my lathe, so a friend milled the muzzle square in his milling machine. It helps to know a shooter that builds airplanes. I also cut the front sight down 1/16” as it shot low.

For loading the 316299 and 316238 I ran the bullets into the bump down die to fit the leade. Back to the range I was pleased to find I had stopped the seven-inch flyers. The groups were more vertical now but under two inches. Remembering my barrel was still contacting somewhat on the left side I pulled off the forearm wood and wrapped two wraps of my loading data around the end of the barrel. The next load shot good every time. It was CBE-316190 with 20 grains WC680 and it brought the groups down to .898” and 1.000”.

The next load that had been a wild shooter was CBE-316238 with 26 grains of 3031. Now it grouped into 1-1/4”. All of the groups now are nice and round. Other loads that work good are the 311291 mold opened up to .314”. With WC 680 it will hold under one inch. The 316299 lapped to .317” with 25 grains of Ball-C, 30 grains 4895 with 311284 opened up to .314”, 20 grains 4227 CBE 314190, 22 grains 5744 and the 311291, 50 grains WC872 with 316299, 22 grains Rel.#7 and the CBE238. Load all at your own risk! The CBE 316190 sized to .314” gave a group of one inch.

When you drop a bullet in the muzzle end it shows that the top land and the bottom land touch before the other two do. I don’t get too much of a star of lube on the muzzle end, but these barrels probably weren’t made to tight specs like the Finns are. I put in many hours and a lot of trips to the range to get this far. The gun was shot hot all the time and liked to be cleaned every 20 shots. If I had to get another 91-30 I would order it from this place.􀀁

]]>Thu, 20 Apr 2017 06:03:57 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/65/working-with-mosinsThirty Five Years with the Lyman 358477http://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/64/thirty-five-years-with-the-lyman-358477 This article written by Jim Lewis of Gillette, WY appeared in Fouling Shot #210 Mar/Apr 2011.Sometime back in the early 1970’s, I don’t rememberthe exact year, I bought a Lyman four cavity mold for ....
This article written by Jim Lewis of Gillette, WY appeared in Fouling Shot #210 Mar/Apr 2011.

Sometime back in the early 1970’s, I don’t rememberthe exact year, I bought a Lyman four cavity mold for their 358477 bullet, a 38/357 semi-wadcutter bullet that weighs a nominal one hundred and fifty grains. At the time, buying a four cavity mold was a great investment and I wanted to be sure that I got a mold that would cast bullets that I would be pleased with. I had already bought several single and two cavity molds for 38/357 semi-wad-cutters and for various reasons I wasn’t pleased with the bullets that came from these molds.

Way back then I wasn’t a sophisticated caster and used a lot of scrap lead of unknown alloy composition (still do). Often I would come up with bullets that were extremely brittle. Not necessarily very hard, just brittle. At the time I had a 38/357 mold that made bullets with a very narrow front driving band. When I used brittle alloy in this mold I got terrible accuracy. I started recovering some of these bullets and inspecting them and I found that large portions of the narrow front driving band would break away. I believe this greatly unbalanced the bullet and caused the poor accuracy. A study of the catalogs of the time showed that the Lyman 358429 and the Lyman 358477 both had nice thick front driving bands.

I looked long and hard at the Lyman 358429 bullet, a 38/357 semi-wadcutter bullet that weighs a nominal one hundred and seventy grains, and almost every article that I read about this bullet rated it as the number one 38/357 bullet. But, I came across an article that statedthat the nose of the 358429 bullet was so longthat it wouldn’t work in some revolvers thathave short cylinders. My favorite 357 Magnum revolvers have always been the Smith and Wesson N-frame, either the model 28 or themodel 27. Both of these guns have cylinderlengths left over from the time before the cre-ation of the 357 Magnum and have cylinderssized for the 38 Special cartridge. A lot of shoot-ers don’t realize it, but the smaller K-framemodel 19 has a much longer cylinder than the N-frame 357’s.

Most shooters have read where Elmer Keith, and others, worked with heavy loads in the 38 Special cartridge in the large N-frame Smith and Wesson revolvers to develop what became the 357 Magnum cartridge. But a lot of shooters don’t realize that this was the time period when Elmer came up with the bullet design that we now know as the 358429 from Lyman, and, this bullet was designed to work with 38 Special cases. I’ve read where if the Lyman 358429 bullet is seated to the crimp groove in a 357 case, and then this cartridge is inserted into an N-frame Smith and Wesson cylinder, that the bullet will protrude past the end of the cylinder. I don’t know this first hand because I’ve never had any 358429 bullets to try this with.

I’ve also read that the solution for using the 358429 in N-frame 357’s is to seat the bullet deeper in the case and crimp in front of the front driving band, or, use the bullet with 38 Special cases. I didn’t want to try to make 357 Magnum loads using 38 Special cases and I didn’t want to run the risk of excessively high chamber pres-sures caused by deep seating the long 358429 bullet in 357 Magnum cases. So, based on what I read, I discard-ed the 358429 from my search for a 38/357 semi-wad-cutter. After getting a mold for the 358477 bullet I’ve never had the urge to try the 358429 bullet.

Another consideration in favor of the ‘477 bullet over the ‘429 bullet was its twenty grains less weight. If I did the math correctly, it appeared that I would be able to get another five hundred and forty nine of the ‘477 bullets from a hundred pounds of lead. That might not seem like much, but at the time lead was more precious to me than gold.

All of the mold manufactures had a 38/357 semi-wadcutter available and I had a tough time trying to pick a mold. I found myself comparing all the various semi-wadcutter designs to the Lyman ‘477 bullet, so, I thought


(Top) S&W Model 27, “N” frame; (Bottom) S&W Model 14, “K” Frame

if I liked what I saw in the design of the ‘477 bullet that I should just go with it. It was a decision that I’ve never regretted and would make the same decision if I had to make the same choice today.

After getting a four cavity mold for the 358477 bullet I found that my theory about the front driving band to be correct. I found that the ‘477 bullet is extremely tolerant of alloy. I found that if I had an alloy that was capable of producing well filled bullets that the bullets would have acceptable accuracy. None of the bullets that I recovered showed any signs of fractures in the front driving band.

After a while I man-aged to use up the all of the brittle alloy that I had and I now believe that alloy was some sort of bearing babbit.

Even after the brittle alloy was gone I found that the thick front driving band of the ‘477 bullet was a plus. I’ve recovered a lot of cast bullets that show that the bullet slipped when it hit the start of the rifling. The recovered bullets had larger rifling land marks at the front of the bullet than at the rear of the bullet. This meant that the bullet resisted the spinning effect of the rifling. This will often be more pronounced with soft alloys and thin front driving bands. The thick front band of the ‘477 bul-let is a big help in getting the bullet spinning.

When I first started shooting 357 Magnum revolvers everything I had read had convinced me that the most accurate load, for paper punching, was a full wadcutter bullet loaded in 38 Special cases, with 2.7 grains of Hercules Bullseye powder. I had a Lyman bullet mold for their 358495 wadcutter bullet and I was convinced that for serious paper punching that this was the best bullet I could cast. I thought I would be using the 358477 semi-wadcutter bullet for practice, plinking and rabbit hunting but when serious target shooting came around that I would use the ’495 wadcutter bullet.

I experimented with several powders using the ‘477 semi-wadcutter bullet and finally settled on Winchester 231. For years my 38 Special load using the ‘477 bullet has been 4.3 grains of W231. If my memory is correct this load came straight from the Winchester load book and was listed as a duplicate of the factory 38 Special loads using 158 grain lead bullets. Funny thing about my 38 Special ammo using the ‘477 semi-wadcutter and 4.3 grains of W231, that load was just as accurate as my 38’s using the ‘495 wadcutter and 2.7 grains of Bullseye; often even more accurate. On any given day, if I could shoot a four inch fifty yard group using my wadcutter target ammo, then I could turn right around and shoot a four inch fifty yard group with my factory duplicate loads with the ‘477 bullet. If I happened to shoot an expert PPC score with the ‘495 wadcutter ammo, then I could turn right around and shoot an expert, or even a master, score with the ‘477 semi-wadcutter factory duplicate load. The very few master scores that I ever shot were done using the ‘477 semi-wadcutter bullets. My plinking loads were as accurate, and maybe more accurate, than my very best target ammo. Go figure.

Anyway, after a while I quit making the 358495 wad-cutter bullet and I’ve never missed it. Anything I might have done with full wadcutter bullets I started doing with the ‘477 semi-wadcutter bullet. In fact I settled on just one 38 Special load and it was the already mentioned ‘477 semi-wadcutter bullet and 4.3 grains of W231. By now I had an early Dillon press and it was nice to be able to gather up all my empty 38 cases and run them through the Dillon using just one load.

Like I said at the start of the article, I was shooting all these 38 Special loads in revolvers chambered for the 357 Magnum cartridge and this was done in an effort to obtain the best possible accuracy out of my 357’s. I was very well pleased with the accuracy that I was getting with the ‘477 semi-wadcutter in my 357’s, but, I got to wondering if there was room for improvement.

One of my first ideas was to use my 38 Special ammo in a gun chambered for the 38 Special cartridge, not the 357 Magnum cartridge. So, first off, I bought a Smith and Wesson model 14, a K-frame 38 special with a six inch barrel and adjustable sights. Wow!! If you ever have a chance to buy one of these guns, buy it. You won’t regret it. I’ve read several articles in which the author is going on about the Smith and Wesson K-32; about how accurate the 32 Smith and Wesson is and how much fun it is to shoot and etc, etc. I don’t disagree with anything I’ve read about the K-32, but, a shooter can have the same great shooting experiences with a Model 14, in 38 Special, for a fraction of the cost.

My model 14 and my 358477 semi-wadcutter bullets went together like peanut butter and grape jelly. I liked the gun so well that I bought the matching model 17 in 22 rimfire. This has proved to be an excellent combina-tion of handguns. I could write several articles about these two guns but let’s get back to the Lyman 358477 bullet.

Mixed in during this time were several experiments using the ‘477 bullet for full power 357 Magnum loads. I mostly used Hercules/Alliant 2400 and Hodgdon 110 for my full power 357 loads, with limited successes. I found that trying to make full power magnum cast bullet loads with plain base bullets (and this will be true for any cal-iber) that bullet alloy becomes critical. Too soft an alloy and the bullet tries to slip in the rifling and too hard an alloy and the bullet base will not upset and form a good gas seal. The result of both conditions is severe barrel leading and terrible accuracy. I found that I could make excellent full power 357 Magnum loads using the ‘477 bullet if I used Lyman #2 alloy (there is a reason why this alloy has been so popular for so long) but using a known alloy was a rare treat. During this time I made a crude hardness tester but it wasn’t much help. I ended up using gas check bullet designs for my full power, cast lead bullet 357 Magnum loads.

After shooting thousands of the ‘477 bullet, I decid-ed that when I was using unknown alloys that I would limit the ‘477 bullet to 950 feet per second muzzle veloc-ity. Also, I would use the softer alloys that I had on hand and I would use fast burning rate powders. The soft alloy and fast powders were used so the bullet base would expand as quickly as possible and form a good gas seal.

I shot a lot of the afore mentioned load using the ‘477 semi-wadcutter and 4.3 grains of W231, but loaded in 357 Magnum cases, not 38 Special cases. This was another idea to try to improve the accuracy of 38 Special loads when used in 357 revolvers. When using the 38 Special load in 357 Magnum cases, some 357’s would show a noticeable improvement in accuracy and with other guns it didn’t seem to matter. I eventually came up with what amounted to a 38 Special +P load but assem-bled using 357 Magnum cases. This load consisted of the ’477 bullet, made from a soft alloy, and 5 grains of 231. This load will do about 850 fps to maybe 900 fps from most six inch barred 357’s. Pushing this load to 5.5 grains of 231 will get the velocity up to about 950 fps. Both of these loads are just plain fun to shoot.

My hunting with the 358477 bullet has been limited to rabbits. First off, I don’t consider a 357 Magnum enough gun for big game hunting. Sure a 357 will kill a deer, but so will a 22. I just believe that a deer hunter would be better off with a 44 Magnum. However, if you just have to use a 357 for deer, then the semi-wadcutter design of the 358477 bullet should be fairly effective.

But, when it comes to rabbits, the ‘477 bullet is great. The semi-wadcutter design of the ‘477 bullet allows it to carry fairly well over longish ranges and also, the semi-wadcutter design will put a rabbit down right now and without a lot of meat damage. I’ve spent a lot of time try-ing to sneak up on rabbits in the sage brush just so I could get a shot at them with a revolver. Somehow, fried cottontail tastes better when the rabbits were taken with homemade bullets.

In the last thirty five years I’ve put a lot of lead down the barrels of various 38 Special and 357 Magnum revolvers and during all that shooting the Lyman 358477 bullet has been my workhorse bullet. I’ve found that if a 38 Special or a 357 Magnum revolver couldn’t be made to shoot the ‘477 semi-wadcutter with good accuracy then the problem was with the gun, not the bullet. After making and shooting thousands and thousands of the Lyman 358477 bullet I can’t think of any way to improve on the design of the ‘477 bullet. Enough said. 􀀁


]]>Sun, 16 Apr 2017 03:04:34 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/64/thirty-five-years-with-the-lyman-358477Cramer Style HP Mouldshttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/63/cramer-style-hp-moulds This article by Glen E. Fryxell, was published in Fouling Shot #209, Jan/Feb 2011. Ed Harris recently reported on some of his experiments with cup-point bulle....
This article by Glen E. Fryxell, was published in Fouling Shot #209, Jan/Feb 2011.

Ed Harris recently reported on some of his experiments with cup-point bullets, made using moulds modified by Erik Ohlen at Hollow Point Bullet Mold Service. My fondness for cast HP's is no secret and I have also been working with Erik to get several hollow-point (HP) moulds for designs that I was interested in. This article is focused on a specific subset of that group.

My initial contact with Erik last winter was focused on getting a handful of moulds converted to make traditional style HP mould (i.e. those with a removable pin). During our email “conversation” setting up these conversions, I asked him if he had considered doing conversions to the Cramer-style of HP moulds.

For those that might not be familiar with the Cramer style of HP moulds, the HP pin is held captive by two transverse pins that go through one of the mould blocks so the caster does not need to remove the pin manually, just invert the mould and let the pin and bullet slide out from the blocks and then the bullet falls free. Then you just close the blocks back up and cast again. It makes for a very fast casting cadence. What's more, the Cramer-style HP pins are compatible with multi-cavity HP moulds, so one can cast up a pile of HP’s pretty darned quickly!



Anyway, when I asked Erik about the Cramer-style conversions, he said that he was very interested in the concept, but that he hadn't worked with a Cramer mould yet to get a good close look at the fine details of how; Cramer had executed the concept.

Well, awhile back John Taffin gave me an old Cramer #25A mould (a 165 grain .357 SWC) that had one HP cavity and one standard cavity (it had been made this way at the factory) but as some point over the years the HP pin had been lost. John knew my fondness for HP moulds and figured that I would find a way to make this mould whole again. I described the situation with Erik, and he agreed to make a replacement pin for the Cramer mould, and thereby gain some experience with the design to see if this conversion was something that he might be interested in offering.



I sent him the mould and he made a HP pin to fit, with the cavity dimensions made to my specifications (.165” at the cavity mouth, a cavity depth of .275", a 7 degree taper so it would release the bullets easily, and a rounded HP pin). In the original Cramer system, two transverse alignment pins were made from a simple rollpin. If there was an over-flow spill over the side of the mould, then molten alloy would solidify on the pins, sticking steadfastly to the asymmetric roll-pin, forcing the caster to pry it off with a pair of pliers before the casting could resume. Erik upgraded the original Cramer design by replacing these roll-pins with precision-ground hardened steel pins. With their smooth surface any spills just slide right off, meaning that casting proceeds unimpeded. The fit of the new HP pin to the mould blocks is just beautiful, and the pin slides in and out of the mould block effortlessly. Casting with this mould quickly produced a mixed pile of solid SWC's and HP's, so I had SWC's to practice/plink with, and HP's to hunt with, very efficient! When cast up with range scrap (BHN ~9-10), the SWC's weighed 165 grains and the HP's weighed 156 grains. The HP cavities were perfectly centered. Both bullets dropped from the blocks at about .361" diameter, and sized down to .358" very nicely (lubed with my homemade moly-lube, 50/50 beeswax/moly grease).





The first .38 Special load I tested was 6.5 grains of HS-6 over a Winchester Small Pistol primer. This load consistently produced 1” groups at 50 feet with a 6” K-38 Target Masterpiece (915 f.p.s.). Expansion testing revealed that expansion was positive, and weight retention was excellent (~80%), even when stopped with



dry newsprint (which is very hard on cast bullets). This load shot well in other .38 Special revolvers too, most notably my pet 3” heavy-barreled S&W Model 10 (M&P).The solid SWC’s shot nicely out of a 5” Model 1899 (First Model M&P) over 3.5 grains of Bullseye. Well, after working with this mould Erik figured that this was a

conversion that he was willing to offer to his customers, which pleased me no end since I very much like the Cramer-style of HP moulds and I was interested getting some other moulds converted. As soon as he told me that he was willing to offer this service, I packaged up an RCBS .44-300-GC 2-cavity SWC mould that I had

for conversion to a 2-cavity Cramer-style HP mould. For this mould I specified that I wanted the cavities to be .150” diameter at the mouth, have a 7-degree taper (so they would release from the pin easily),and have the cavity extend down .250” into the bullet (i.e.about a 1/4 of the length of the bullet), and HP pins with rounded tips. This cavity is a little shallower than you typically see on a cast HP bullet. The reasoning behind that design feature is that this bullet will be used in .44 Magnum hunting loads (i.e. 1350 f.p.s. from a revolver,1650 f.p.s. from a levergun), and while I wanted expansion from the HP, I also wanted to limit weight loss, so the front 1/4 of the bullet was for expansion, and the back 3/4 of the bullet would be a deep penetrating wadcutter in the event that the nose was lost.

The RCBS mould was returned promptly, modified exactly as requested. Once I got everything warmed up and happy, the RCBS .44-300-HP mould was dropping "keepers" every time and I got about 200 bullets cast in less than half an hour. There is no way that I could have done THAT with a traditional HP mould! These bullets were cast to a BHN of about 12 using a mix of range scrap and linotype, and they weighed 297 grains. The parent RCBS SWC had weighed 303 grains when cast with WW alloy (similar hardness), so about 6 grains of bullet metal had been “removed” to make the HP cavity. Once again, the HP cavities were perfectly centered.

Loaded up over 21.0 grains of Winchester 296, and sparked with a CCI 350 primer, this bullet consistently turned in 5-shot groups at 1 1/4”, and velocities in the 1325-1350 f.p.s. range from hunting revolvers. Once again, expansion testing revealed that expansion was positive and that the back 3/4 of the bullet punched on through like a wadcutter. In early March, I used this bullet and an 8 3/8” S&W Model 29-5 to shoot a nice little 175 lb. meat hog, and the bullet performed beautifully —it entered just behind the left shoulder, expanded nicely, shredding the front half of both lungs, and punched outright through the middle of the right shoulder. The hog was slapped off his feet at the bullet’s impact; he kicked a few times, but never regained his feet, and was dead moments later. I was very pleased with the performance of the RCBS .44-300-HP from the Cramer-style 2-cavity HP mould.

Over the course of the winter, Erik and I had been bouncing around various ideas for a HP tailored explicitly for the .45 ACP. I came up with an old Ideal 2-cavity 452374 that I sent off to Erik with instructions to convert it a Cramer-style 2-cavity HP mould, with a .250" meplat, HP cavities that were .180” at the mouth, 7 degree taper, with a cavity that extended .300” down from the meplat, and HP pins with rounded tips. In this case I wanted a HP cavity that went halfway through the bullet since the.45 ACP operates at much lower velocities than the .44 Magnum, so I chose to place more emphasis on getting the bullet to expand, and had less concern about potential mass loss.


Once again, the mould was returned promptly, and modified exactly as requested. In my first casting session with the 2-cavity 452374 HP mould, I emptied a 10 lb. pot of lead in just under an hour - that's about 350 bullets, or almost 6 HPs a minute! The Cramer-style 2-cavity HP moulds are really fun to cast with, and really fast. Once again, the HP cavities were perfectly centered in the bullets.

When cast with 25-1, (lead to tin) alloy, these bullets dropped from the blocks at 210 grains. When loaded to OAL of 1.240" the bullets cycled smoothly in the pair of 1911's (one Kimber and one Colt) that I test-fired them in, A variety of test loads were assembled and a very useful combination of velocity and accuracy was obtained with 7.2 grains of Unique, for 965 fps. Expansion testing in wet newsprint revealed outstanding expansion - expansion to .80-.85", with 100% weight retention - it just doesn't get much better than that folks!

In summary, I have been very pleased, both with the quality of work that Erik has done for me on these moulds, and with the performance of the cast HP's that have come from these moulds. Erik's repair on the old Cramer mould has brought an old mould back into service that should provide a steady supply of quality HP's for my summertime varmint hunting. The conversion of the RCBS .44-300-GC mould to a 2-cavity Cramer-style HP resulted in an excellent hunting bullet that is both accurate and hard-hitting. The conversion of the old Ideal 452374 to a 2-cavity HP mould resulted in a cast HP that feeds reliably and expands beautifully.

The Cramer-style HP moulds allow the caster to establish a fast cadence and make a pile of HP's in a hurry. If you've got some ideas for cast HP bullets that you've always wanted to explore, you might consider a Cramer-style 2-cavity conversion.

]]>Fri, 14 Apr 2017 08:34:37 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/63/cramer-style-hp-mouldsTumble Lube Reporthttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/62/tumble-lube-report This article written by Steve Hurst of Tucker, GA, was published in #155 Sept/Oct 2001 issue of the Fouling Shot.I have a love/hate relationship with Lee Liquid Alox (LLA). When I first tried LLA, I....
This article written by Steve Hurst of Tucker, GA, was published in #155 Sept/Oct 2001 issue of the Fouling Shot.

I have a love/hate relationship with Lee Liquid Alox (LLA). When I first tried LLA, I dearly loved the convenience of pouring the brown liquid over a batch of bullets, letting them dry and loading them. This convenience and the great saving in work it represents, lead to the purchase of bullet molds for this specific purpose. LLA has also saved the day several times when cheap gun show cast bullets proved to have poor lubricant. Overcoating with LLA prevented leading and permitted accurate shooting. I purchase LLA in bulk, and use it wherever possible.

The hate comes from a long series of gripes starting with the smell, which I detest. The strong odor and sol-vent base were not user friendly when I was living in an apartment. Second, LLA quickly gunks up the seating die, and the build-up can seat the bullets deeper. Every hundred rounds or so the die must be removed, disassembled and cleaned. Third, the nose of loaded rounds is covered with a sticky film that picks up dirt, or rubs off on other rounds. Unless removed, (at the cost of extra work), LLA gets into cartridge boxes and everywhere you don’t want it. Fourth, firing LLA lubed loads produces copious quantities of foul smelling smoke, in an indoor range this can make you most unpopular. Finally, in revolvers, LLA coats the gun with ugly black residue that must be scrubbed off. In automatics the breach and action become mired in black muck.

Finding a replacement for LLA has turned into a long crusade. You see, despite all the drawbacks, the stuff works amazingly well. It prevents leading and delivers decent accuracy over a range of loads in pistols, revolvers and rifles. It is not good for high accuracy requirements like benchrest, and it is sometimes not the best for high-pressure loads. But for plinking and casual shooting where 99% of ammunition is consumed, it delivers the goods. A replacement is going to have to deliver equivalent accuracy in the same loads to be acceptable. Accuracy must be constant, as I have no desire to clean a plinking pistol or rifle every 20 rounds; 200 rounds is more reasonable. I want to shoot all day and clean at home.

I decided to start with pistol loads, where most of my LLA has gone up in smoke. The pistol used in these tests is a S&W 686 “Custom Hunter” .357 magnum with a 6 1/2-inch barrel. Reworked by S&W to get everything in tune, it averages 2-inch 50-yard groups with match grade cast bullet ammunition or good jacketed loads. Control loads were fired at each range session to follow gun performance as well as to check Ransom Rest set-up.
The standard load I chose for these tests is the one I use the most in .38/.357 pistols. It is an H&G #50 148 grain BBWC over 3.5 grains of Bullseye in .38 cases. It averages 3.55-inch groups at 50 yards with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.63” when lubed with LLA. The bullets, of 6% antimony, 2% tin alloy, come from the mold 0.358”, are closely checked visually and not sized. For these tests, I used single lots of Remington and Federal cases and CCI 500 primers. The alloy is hard for the pressure and firing in a .357 chamber causes an extreme amount of gas blow-by. This demands excellent leading control; lubricants that work well with this load in guns chambered for .38 Special can lead severely when fired in the .357 chamber.

Testing starts with a clean barrel, an initial 12-shot warm up, followed by two 12-shot groups. This short test served to eliminate poor lubes before more serious testing. The real test is 132 rounds, 12 fouling shots followed by 10, 12-shot groups, fired as fast as possible. The gun gets very warm to duplicate shooting in an extended plinking session or pistol match.

Readers familiar with my article on lube theory (TCB 122-12) will not be surprised the first choice was castor wax (CW). By heating the bullets to just over the melting point of CW, I was able to apply a nice even coat to the .38 wadcutters. This provided a quick lesson in mechanics. The CW is hard so it bulged the cases and often prevented chambering. I tried softening the CW by mixing with oils. However the CW separated out on cooling, which gave flaky non-homogenous mixtures which did not adhere to the bullets. It was apparent the mechanical properties of the lubes were just as important as the shooting qualities, and would have to be considered first.

Out of dozens of possible components in CBA member Ralph Schneider’s compendium of cast bullet lubricants, the following ingredients were singled out for a close look: beeswax, castor wax, carnauba wax, lanolin, modulan, jojoba oil (a replacement for sperm oil), Dextron III automatic transmission fluid (ATF, also formulated to replace sperm oil), and soaps. Criteria were performance, stability, availability, and cost.I decided to first test soap based lubes as they have shown promise as lubricants. LLA is Alox 606-55 which is a calcium soap of oxidized hydrocarbons. It has greater heat stability than Alox 2138F used in the NRA formula lube.

I decided to work with sodium soaps, as calcium soaps are not water soluble. Sodium soaps have figured prominently in other lubricant formulas, so I was hopeful. Ivory bar soap is primarily sodium stearate, but contains considerable water to make it soft. I milled it into small pieces and dried it before use to get an accurate weight. All percentages in this article are by weight. The components were varied to yield a soft film on the bullets. Enough soap was used to make a permanent emulsion of the oil components. Water was added to each formula to achieve a cream-like consistency for bullet coating. The bullets were coated with about 0.6 grain of dried lube per bullet, about the same as a thin coat of LLA

Initial accuracy was impressive, 90% soap, 10% mod-ulan, shot 1.75” groups and 80% soap 20% Jojoba oil put them into 2.5”. The 10% modulan, 10% Jojoba 80%soap, and 11% ATF 89% soap were not far behind. The short tests were very promising, so 132 round tests were loaded. However, in the long tests, leading build-up was continuous with all the formulas. Accuracy degraded with groups enlarging to over 5” with severe leading.

What happened? Sodium grease was once a popular pistol lube. Sodium grease is a gel of oil and sodium soap. Perhaps the problem was that the percentage of soap was so much higher in these lubes than in the greases. I have not given up on soap based lubes, as many advantages were apparent. They can be water soluble, which makes application very pleasant and clean-up of the bullet noses consisted of a quick wipe with a wet rag. Initial groups were tantalizingly tiny, the smoke was neutral smelling, and most formulas adhered well to the bullets, but were not sticky. Potassium and lithium soaps would also be water soluble, and I intend to test them. Synthetic detergents are also under consideration.

I decided to test lubes using hot coating, which is almost as easy to use as a water based lube. I started with Lyman’s Orange Magic. The bullets were warmed to just above the melting point of the lube, placed in a plastic bag and the lube added (120 grains of lube to 200 bullets). Turning the bag over and over in gloved hands dis-tributed the lube and the bullets were turned out onto a wire screen to cool. Orange Magic hot coated bullets produced very consistent groups: Avg. 3.60” SD 0.22”. This lube is hard enough that the bullets are not overly sticky. If you don’t mind paying 3 dollars a stick, this would not be a bad choice. Any commercial lube that can be melt-ed without decomposition can be hot coated.

I wanted to see if it was possible to do better, so for-mulations of the ingredients were adjusted to give the correct physical properties of hardness and tack. Bullets were hot coated as above, the formulas performing best in the initial series were loaded for the following 132 round tests:

Beeswax 50% Lanolin 50%-Avg. 5.08” SD 1.09
Beeswax 50% Modulan 50%-Avg. 4.08” SD 1.57
Beeswax 80% Jojoba oil 20%-Avg. 3.10” SD 0.91
Beeswax 80% ATF 20%-Avg. 2.58” SD 0.57

The modulan lube threw regular fliers. Is it possible that this is an example of lube purging that Tom Gray has documented in rifles?

All these formulas gave slight leading in the barrel throat, which did not build up. The fouling shots from a clean bore had the same point of impact and group size, but were not included in the averages. With the number of groups fired, it is not possible to predict statistically which of the last two formulas is superior. However, considering the price difference between ATF and jojoba oil, the choice is obvious. These lubes have the correct consistency for use in lube-sizers.

This revolver, and several others I have tested, delivers their best grouping when a slight wash of leading is visible in the throat. Increasing the amount of lube can eliminate the leading, but this always gives slightly larger groups. The effect of group enlargement with heavy lube coatings can be demonstrated with LLA and many other lubes.

Please note I am not claiming that these lubes are any good for magnum pistol loads, I plan to test this next. Likewise, no claim is made for use in rifles. I have tested 90% beeswax/10% jojoba in rifles with good results, but this was without shooting side by side with control loads. I have not tested these lubes yet in any other guns, so I can not make any claims as general mid-range velocity pistol lubes. The % composition is not “magic” and may be adjusted to meet temperature and use requirements. The beeswax/ATF lube has a slight odor, while the beeswax/jojoba lube is almost odorless. The smoke from the beeswax/ATF lube has the familiar “hot transmission” odor, the smoke from beeswax/jojoba lube has a slight but neutral odor. Both are sticky, but not as sticky as LLA.

I did not get what I wanted, which was a water solu-ble replacement for LLA. It is sometimes hard to see where a series of experiments will lead, but I decided it was time to write this up and test some other ideas.

I want to thank Mustafa Curtis, Bill McGraw, Tom Gray, Peter Brown and all the other CBA members that contributed their thoughts by call and letter. Special thanks go to Ralph Schneider for his work compiling the bullet lubricant tests from eight journals and magazines.

(Editor’s Note: Ralph Schneider’s 28-page cast bullet lubricant list can be obtained by sending $4 to him at S 15200 County Road FF, Eleva, WI 54738.)

Addendum: Cleaning Beeswax

When making bullet lubes that contain beeswax, one is brought face to face with the fact that beeswax is a natural product. Harvested in the field, sometimes melted out of the combs in an old pot, crude beeswax frequently contains an assortment of bee parts, dust, pollen and just plain dirt. I have always cleaned up beeswax by melting it in a pot in a warm oven, turning the oven off and letting it cool slowly overnight. This allowed the dirt to settle to the bottom. By cooling the pot in the refrigerator, the wax shrank, and easily dropped out. By trimming off the bottom 1/16 inch, the heavy grit and trash was removed with little loss. However, it has always been apparent that this did not remove everything, some things were to slow to settle out.

Last week I set out to filter some beeswax in an attempt to get a cleaner product. A heated filter is a must, you can’t get the beeswax hot enough to make it work with a cold filter.

Invest in a large metal or glass funnel at the hardware store. Setting up in a 200° F oven worked well, and did not degrade the beeswax. After trying to melt the wax in the funnel, which was very slow, I melted the wax separately in a double boiler. Be sure not to get any water on the filter, it will prevent it from working.

Laboratory filter paper was painfully slow, so I tried coffee filters, which were much faster. Two coffee filters used together worked excellently, giving a pristine product. I could filter about a pint of melted wax before the fil-ters started to slow down to half of their original speed.

I was surprised when I filtered some of my previ-ously cleaned beeswax at the amount of trash on the filter. This was obviously a much better cleaning method. Even some “clean” beeswax sold for candle making con-tained dirt that I would not want to put down an expensive barrel.

Mama’s muffin tins made good moulds. After the wax cooled overnight a few minutes in the refrigerator made them release easily. Store your wax ingots in a plastic bag, as the sticky wax easily picks up dirt from anything it touches. 􀀁


]]>Sat, 08 Apr 2017 10:58:48 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/62/tumble-lube-report2 Schmidt-Rubens for 1http://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/61/2-schmidt-rubens-for-1 This time you get two articles in one. Loads for 7.5x55mm Schmidt-Rubin by Lloyd de Vore of Wilbur, OR and Neck Sizing the 7.5x55mm Schmidt-Rubin by Larry Murray of Shelton, WA appeared in Fouling S....
This time you get two articles in one. Loads for 7.5x55mm Schmidt-Rubin by Lloyd de Vore of Wilbur, OR and Neck Sizing the 7.5x55mm Schmidt-Rubin by Larry Murray of Shelton, WA appeared in Fouling Shot #154 / Nov-Dec 2001.

Loads for 7.5x55mm Schmidt-Rubin

A question was recently asked on the cb-list, as to “What is a Good Load for the 7.5 Swiss (7.5x55 Schmidt-Rubin)?”, specifically, the K-31.To check that out for myself, I have cast up a number of different .30 bullets for trial in my K-31. My particular gun is in almost new condition, metal-wise, but only in about NRA-VG condition as far as the wood. It is, however a relatively good shooter with jacketed bullets, considering the issue iron sights and my aging eyes.

Here is the result of the first cast bullet and powder charge tried in my rifle, shot today, at the Roseburg Rod & Gun Club range:

Bullet - Ideal 308329, lino, 174.9 grains, sized 0.310” in Saeco lubrisizer.

Powder – Varget, 32.5 grains. I chose this charge by using Virg Edwards record-setting load of 30.6 grs. of Varget in his .308 with a slightly heavier bullet, and increasing it to allow for the .30-06 powder capacity of the 7.5x55. Note: I am not recommending this or any other load. I am just reporting what happened with it in my rifle.

Primer - F-210. What I had lots of on hand.

Case - Winchester .284 case opened to take .30 bullets, simply by running the cases into an RCBS 7.5 Swiss sizing die with a tapered expander ball.

Anyone can, with a bit of effort & patience, taper an expander ball with a file, a grinder, course emery cloth, or an India stone.

Be sure to check your brass for overall length. I just run mine into an RCBS file-trim die, and use the file if necessary.

Lube(s) - I tried two, 40 rounds with Thompson’s Blue Angel and 20 rounds with Lyman’s Super-Moly.

Seating - This bullet chambered very nicely, with the bullet seated so that 0.010” of the 0.083” high Hornady gas check, lot 394, protrudes below the case neck. This leaves 0.073” of the gas check up in the case neck, so “Noooooo...Problem” with the bullet being exposed to raw, hot powder gas upon ignition.

Seated at this depth, the cartridge also feeds nicely through my magazine, and can be ejected without firing, and without damaging the bullet or pulling it from the case. (It doesn’t “stick” in the bore if you eject it unfired.)

Results

It took me approximately 10 rounds at 100 yards to get the sights set appropriately for shooting at a nice big 100-yard M.L.R.A. Rifle Target. The sights are the issue K-31 open “U” tangent rear sight, and adjustable (by drifting) blade front. This cast load shoots approximately 4” high at 100 yards with the sights set on the 100-yard notch. Nothing lower is available on this sight, but, by using a six-o’clock hold on the black, the groups are exactly 1” above dead center in the bull.

In my rifle, this load also shoots approximately 8” right from my jacketed load of 150-gr. bullets and 46 grains of IMR 4320. The front sight is drift-adjustable on a diagonal, however, and with it drifted until the front of the blade is just even with the front of the sight base, it is dead-on for windage.

As for groups, with two people alternating shooting the rifle in no particular sequence, the Thompson’s Blue Angel rounds were putting 5 shots into groups which averaged well under two inches. The best group was 1-3/16”.

Unlike what I expected, the Lyman Super-Moly did slightly better, with a smallest 5-shot group of 1-1/8” and an average of about 1-5/16”.

As I said, I have old eyes. Much of the time I could really not see the rear sight. I did use a rear sandbag and one of the cheapo Midway plastic front rests. The trigger on my rifle is a very nice, original military two-stage, with the second stage estimated at 2.5-3.0 lbs.

Many thanks to the Lister who brought up this subject. This load shoots so well I am not sure I want to test any of the other bullets I cast for the purpose. I am also going to reserve this rifle exclusively for “lead-only” from now on.

And, now, I plan to buy a B-Square mount so I can put a “scout-style” scope where the rear sight now sits. That way I can always put the original military rear sight back on if I want/need to. With a decent scope, and this load, this gun should be fully competitive in Production Class if it continues to shoot this way. I figure the ability to see what I’m aiming at should take at least another 1/2” or more off the groups.

By the way, this is one of the most pointy, long-nosed cast bullets I have ever seen. Without the boat-tail, it is slightly longer-nose, and slightly more pointy that the military ball 174 gr. M-1. 􀀃


Neck Sizing the 7.5x55mm Schmidt-Rubin

Today was the second day I loaded ammunition during the day and shot it the same day in my new K-31 from Simpson. I hate to load ammo during the day when it is sunny out because usually those days are rare in winter and spring in western Washington.

I have had trouble with my reloads for my first K-31 and read references to problems others have had with their Lee 7.5x55 Schmidt-Rubin FL sizing die. So today I was determined to try neck sizing some brass. I’d read of others who had used Lee Collet dies with washers around the base of some round to extend the ‘reach’ of the collet. I have some Lee .308 Winchester Collet dies (7.62x51) so figured that if I could add at least 4mm to the distance above the base of the shell holder, I could use that die to neck size the Swiss stuff.

Before I cleaned off my lathe to turn an extender, I thought I’d see if I had any real washers that might work. Because I am the type of guy that buys boxes of 100 washers for most sizes between #4 and 1/2”, I found some 7/16” nominal ID washers that fit closely to the body of the case at the shell holder. Each washer was about 0.117” inch thick with a 0.497” diameter hole and an OD of 1.275”. So two washers stacked up to about 4.7mm, thus extending the neck sizing distance to work with a cartridge length of 55mm rather than the 51mm it was made for.

This was good except the washers were too large on one side to allow the case to fit in the shell holder with-out touching the inside of the reloading press. So I had to hacksaw about 3/8” off one side. That got them to fit.

Next I found the strain of getting the collet die to neck size was too tough for my screwed down reloading presses (a Lyman AccuPress and also a Lyman Spar-T) so I put the dies in the Lee Hand Press. That worked!

It looked like the neck sizing reduced the OD of the neck only about 0.007” but that was enough to make a sliding fit .30-30 bullet not slide in all the way. I then used a .30 cal. Lyman M-die to bell-mouth the cases for use with cast bullets.

Now to deprime the cases: The Lee 7.62x51 Collet die decapper wasn’t long enough and the cases wouldn’t fit into a 6.5x55 die so eventually I found my Lee .30-06 collet die and used it to deprime the brass. I next used the Lee Autoprime to prime the brass and was ready to reload.

All loads here were with 16.0 grains of 2400. I used some commercially cast 150 grain RNFP gas checked 0.308” .30-30 bullets which shot well but didn’t reliably feed good as well as some of the Lasercast 170 grain 0.310” w/o gas checks which shot very poorly. Of home cast bullets I used some Lyman 311359 with gas checks which were sized to 0.308” and weighed 120.1 grains. These fed well and 3 of 5 shots went into less than 1” grouping. I also used some Lyman 311465 sized to 0.309 weighing 128.9 grains.

I realize that to many of you those groups would be considered pretty poor but to me, they are some of the better ones, showing that the Swiss rifles are among the most accurate of military rifles. I had two fun days out of all this. 􀀃


]]>Thu, 06 Apr 2017 02:58:29 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/61/2-schmidt-rubens-for-1Making Flat Base Bulletshttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/60/making-flat-base-bullets Making Flat Base Bullets by Art Coover of Modesto, CA was originally published in Fouling Shot #162 - Mar/Apr 2003.In the quest for a more accurate bullet, one of the most dramatic methods of improv....
Making Flat Base Bullets by Art Coover of Modesto, CA was originally published in Fouling Shot #162 - Mar/Apr 2003.

In the quest for a more accurate bullet, one of the most dramatic methods of improving accuracy is to make flat, uniform bases. The best and most cost effective route is the spin jig cutter design. The spin jig can be made with easy to find parts and a few hours by someone with a moderate amount of mechanical ability.

Using the spin jig cutter, one can get perpendicular bases, consistent bullet lengths and weights and gas check seatings that are perfectly flat. In fact, in .30 caliber applications, bullet weights tested were within tenths of a grain of each other.

Currently, there are several common methods of getting flat-based bullets. One can nose pour them. This method does make flat-based bullets. Nose pour molds are expensive and sometimes take six months to get. One can bump or swage bullets in a die. This is a good method except that one can never take material off a bullet to make it lighter. One can hand tighten bullets into a drill chuck and run bullet bases against a file on the drill table. One can even turn the bullet bases flat on a lathe. These methods are good, but time consuming and somewhat expensive. There are commercially available tools, but they are prohibitively expensive. One commercial device consists of a yoke that pivots over a sanding surface. The bullet is placed in the yoke. The bullet base is surfaced using a sawing motion. This method is good but the precision of the spin jig is more reliable.

The spin jig works by placing a lead bullet into a collet that has a stop that contacts the nose. The bullet is spun one direction while a case-trimming cutter is pressed against the bullet base. The cutter is spun in the opposite direction. The trimming is done until the cutter can no longer trim lead from the base. The method is simple and one can trim bullets at assembly line speed.

If the trimming process were limited to just shaving lead as above, it would improve accuracy. Now picture the cutter blade and the base of the bullet slightly offset on the horizontal plane. Now the cutter makes arc shaped cuts until less and less lead is removed. After cutting bases, assembly can be readjusted to make spire pointed bullets into flat nosed bullets.

A person can easily make the spin jig cutter system with moderate mechanical ability, using common hand tools and a modestly equipped shop. The following can be purchased at most tool shops:

Spin Jig: A spin jig is an indexing tool used on the mill table.

5C collet: The spin jig should be fitted with a 5C col-let that fits the bullet one intends to trim. For example, a 5\16 universal collet is .3125” in diameter. This is perfect for .308 caliber. The 5C collet fits inside the spin jig to hold the bullet. Be sure to select a 5C collet that fits your spin jig.

5C universal collet stop: A universal collet stop has a threaded rod that adjusts how deep a bullet can be put in the collet.

Forster-Applet case trimmer: The reader should own two of these: One for its intended purpose: case trimming. For this, the Forster Applet trimmer is one of the best. Get the second trimmer for bullet trimming. For bullet trimming, the Forster Applet case trimmer is cut in half. Two anchoring holes are drilled in the base of the half with the crank. These holes are for screwing it into the wooden base.

Steel strapping: This can be some scrap strapping 1/2 to 1 inch wide that is straight. The strapping is a guide strip.

C clamps: The spin jig trimmer requires two of them. Do not attempt to permanently affix the spin jig to the block. That is what the C clamps are for. They allow the spin jig to be pulled away from the assembly to change the collet.4x4x8’’.

Block of wood: The block of wood has a simple job: Prevent the knuckles from banging on the worktable.

Shims: These are for making the axis height of the trimmer and cutter even.

Mounting block: This can be a scrap piece of plywood or Particleboard one can mount the case trimmer on. It should be a 1/2’’ or 1’’ thick plywood approximately 4.25”x 10’’. Both the case trimmer and the spin jig are mounted on it.


Base-flattening spin jig components before assembly.

Assembly and operation of the base-flattening
(or nose flattening) spin jig.

First, cut the Forester Applet case trimmer in half. Drill two holes in the base near your cut to screw the trimmer into the plywood base.

Mount the crank end on the plywood base so that the crank hangs over the edge and the trimmer is centered in the width of the mounting board.

The shims are for raising the height of the trimmer, if necessary, to the axis height of the cutter. The spin jig collet will eventually face the Forester Applet cutter. The steel strapping is mounted perpendicular to the axis of the trimmer. Check and recheck to insure the strapping is straight and perpendicular. The front edge of the spin jig indexes on the strapping and the spin jig is clamped to the plywood. Do not be tempted to permanently mount the spin jig, the C clamp allows the collet to quickly change calibers and gives easier access to adjusting the 5C Universal collet stop.

Align the spin jig and the trimmer blade so they line up perfectly when viewed from the side. Viewed from the top, they should be offset no more than the radius of the bullet base. For a .308 bullet, they should offset about .140”. It would be beneficial to construct an alignment plug the diameter of the collet and the length of a bullet to check the concentricity of the tool. It is simply a matter of loosening the C clamps and moving the spin jig along the steel strapping index for adjustment.

Using the spin jig trimmer system begins with com-mon cast bullet practices. Start with sized bullets. The 5C collet stop fits inside the spin jig collet. It gives a consistent index to the bullet length. Adjust the 5C uni-versal collet stop to your desired bullet length. It may require adjusting, trimming and measuring (and possibly remelting) a bullet. Put the bullet to be trimmed in nose first. With one hand on the trimmer crank and the other on the spin jig crank, turn the cranks in opposite directions. The trimmer will shave arcs of lead from the bullet base. Eventually the set bullet length is reached. Trim the next bullet.

Everyone’s bullet trimming needs will be different. One can adjust the amount of lead shaved off the bullet base to an almost indiscernible amount Eventually the user establishes a cadence of trimming and changing bullets.

We encourage you to experiment with different ways to improve bullet performance. Try using this system to truncate an ogive on a round nose or making more accu-rate handgun wadcutters. Besides an occasional drop of oil, the spin jig requires very little maintenance. Cutting material as soft as lead with the hardened cutter will give it an indefinite life. Although it is not the only factor, having a flat-based bullet is a significant part of the accuracy equation. 􀀁


]]>Mon, 03 Apr 2017 02:53:05 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/4/60/making-flat-base-bullets