Age Stabilizing Air Cooled WWs in Cold Weather

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  • Last Post 28 November 2025
pat i posted this 27 November 2025

Here's something I've wondered about but never saw addressed. I read an article by Veral Smith years ago that said by putting either mold quenched or oven HTed WW bullets in the freezer would stop hardness loss over time. So my question is would leaving air cooled WWs to age harden in a freezing cold garage slow down or stop the age hardening process? Im just making conversation because I bring my freshly cast bullets in the house from an unheated garage in the winter but an inquiring mind would like to hear opinions

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RicinYakima posted this 27 November 2025

The formation of bi- and tri-metallic crystals are temperature dependent. The warmer it is the faster the molecules will cross link. But I don't know that it would make any difference in a bullet? Smith had a curious mind and did all kinds of test and experiments with bullets. 

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pat i posted this 28 November 2025

The cast bullet community lost a jewel when Veral died. He used to catch a lot of crap from a group on a certain cast bullet forum but he forgot more than all of those know it all pack of hyenas knew put together.

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RicinYakima posted this 28 November 2025

He was very much like Walt at NEI, not afraid to actually try things out. His writing on revolver barrel chocking was the inspiration of a whole group of pistol smiths in the 1970's. 

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pat i posted this 28 November 2025

And his sprue plate was an ingenious design. I never used a better one.

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4060may posted this 28 November 2025

back in the early 1990 I had access to Lab. Furnace in the MetLab at work, I heat treated the alloy I was using at the tie, as cast 16-18bhn/Verl's tester, after heat treating 48 hrs later, 22bhn, IIRC, put them in the freezer, shot them at Ridgway, 4 years later, hardness never changed

FWIW they were not more accurate than the quenched from mold, load was 34 grains of VARGET, 314299 sized to .311, Hornady GC, LBT Blue, guess on the velocity was 2150fps when I hit rams they went down, 30-40 Krag No.3 Ruger

Recoil in a 6pound rifle was brisk

 

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pat i posted this 28 November 2025

I'd bet that would hurt on both ends. Unrelated to the topic but years ago I fit a 17 twist barrel chambered in 30x47 to my heavy rifle. I was shooting a 160 grain HTed LBT spitzer at 2550 fps. In a 14 pound rifle the recoil wasn't insurmountable but the noise sure got the attention of the guys on the benches next to me.

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John Alexander posted this 28 November 2025

Veral was uniquely valuable to CB shooting partly because he would spend time and money experimenting.

I have several free LBT molds, of experimental design, because I was doing the shooting part of one of his experiments. Nice two cavity molds and most of the bullets shoot well.

John

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