Weight cast bullets

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  • Last Post 10 December 2019
makpeter posted this 08 December 2019

Hello,

New here and starting casting bullets. Just resived my mould NOE 255-70-RN when i cast bullets i get  between 67.85gn and 68.15gn

My Lee mould 356-125-RN i get between 119.95gn to 120.25gn

Is this normal or do i something wrong?

Greetings

Peter

Always learning every day

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Hornet posted this 08 December 2019

   Nothing unusual for somebody just learning. It can improve when you develop a more consistent cycle for a more uniform fill. Good temperature control, uniform alloy, uniform mold temperature, etc. all contribute. You'll get a feel for it. It's not unusual to have to adjust the conditions and times for different molds.

Hint: Once you figure out what works best on a mold, write it down so you don't have to figure it out again for that mold. it can give you a good starting point for a similar mold.

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beagle6 posted this 08 December 2019

I'd say that was pretty darn good. Don't let the small things get you discouraged.

beagle6

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John Alexander posted this 08 December 2019

beagle6's advice is excellent.

The variation you quote is match grade.  You may learn to shrink it but you won't be able to shoot better with them. With the kind of uniformity you are getting weigh sorting is a total waste of time. 

There are much more important things to worry about that really will affect your groups. This isn't one.

John

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Shopdog posted this 08 December 2019

That's pretty good makpeter,keep at it. You're looking for sharp bullet edges,bases and well timed sprue cuts. Agree with above on jotting down notes. And can say the same for the other aspects of your loading. Makes it SO much easier picking it back up,if/when you move into other guns or chamberings.

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Dukem posted this 09 December 2019

I think you are doing fine, but, if it bothers you, the simplest thing I found to minimize weight variation is cast bullet was to make sure the mould is closed uniformly every time. To do this I give a tap with my casting mallet on the jaw of the handle where it enters the mould blocks and I keep my alignment pins lubed. For lube I save my bottles from synthetic two stroke oil I use in my two stroke power equipment. Enough clings in a single bottle after used to pre-mix gas that can provide lube for a years worth of casting.

Duke

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Coydog posted this 09 December 2019

You doing good . Like others stated .also keep the record of the alloy mix you use. that way you will have the same mix all the time .

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Dale53 posted this 09 December 2019

makpeter; 

As others have stated, that's not "OK", that is EXCELLENT! You are doing EXTREMELY well. The smaller the bullet and better the alloy, the smaller variations you'll get. Large bullets, say 500 grs. for calibers like the 45/70 have considerably more variation. 

Good job!

Dale53

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John Alexander posted this 09 December 2019

Dale,

I have limited experience with 500 grain bullets.  Is the PERCENT variation also greater than for smaller bullets?

John

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delmarskid posted this 09 December 2019

If you are concerned about the bullets that you cast weights not matching what is advertised by the mold maker don't be. They usually won't because we almost never use the same lead mixes. Your results are excellent weight ranges.

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beltfed posted this 09 December 2019

John A.

It appears that with good casting techniques, the larger bullets

can be cast at similar percent variation in wt. as the smaller ones.

Here are some runs data on my nom 370 gr  40 cal   DDEPP(DualDiameterEllipticalPaper patch) bullet for

my 40-65:

1/23/17 (ambient temp-35 degrees--- 368.45-369.30gr   Delta =0.85gr  sampling: 20 out of 138 cast

2/3/17(ambient temp-43 degrees----   370.1-371.2gr  Delta=  = 1.1gr  sampling: 41 out of 176 cast

Good enough for shooting out to 1K

My smaller bullets are proportional in weight and similar to macpeter's results :

260-117gr MOS/NOE  115.9-116.3gr  Delta of 0.4 gr

311334Lino                 174.9-175.3gr  Delta of 0.4  ( Lino is Great!)

 

So, I have been visually inspecting only since then. Other than to check weight ranges when I start with

a new 60# run of my 9+1 COWW/Lino alloy.

I think I may be able to do better now with my PID controller. Checking, now, weight ranges seem to be

only a bit better. But it is a joy not to have to constantly adjust the rheostat on the lead pot once

the PID /pot temp settles down

beltfed/arnie

 

 

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Dale53 posted this 09 December 2019

"I have limited experience with 500 grain bullets.  Is the PERCENT variation also greater than for smaller bullets?

John"

I competed in Black Powder Cartridge Rifle Silhouette matches for fifteen years. I was competitive. The rams were shot at 500 meters or 500 yards (depending on the particular range limits). The bullets need to be good to shoot long range, as you well know.

I have been told many times over the years, that you could only cast good big bullets by dipper casting. Not so, as I cast mine exclusively bottom pour. I was able to maintain match bullet variances within the same percentage limits as smaller bullets.

My black powder bullets were cast of 1/25 tin/lead. I tried various alloys, but that mix worked well and did not use up too much tinembarassed.

Most of my BPCR silhouette work was done with a Browning High Wall in caliber 40/65 (made by Miroku). 

 

FWIW

Dale53

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beltfed posted this 09 December 2019

Good Job , Dale53, with that bottom pouring

I, too shoot a 40-65, a rebuilt Hi wall , at gongs out to 600 yards,

plus shoot midrange paper and Long Range with it.

I do happen to cast with the dipper

beltfed/arnie

 

 

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RicinYakima posted this 10 December 2019

When I was competing in Military Rifle Big Bore, I mostly used linotype because it was the alloy that would make bullets big enough to fill the throat (.463"). Don't think I could afford that now as 11.2 pounds of alloy went out the bore every match. But the bullets were easy to keep within a half percent of weight. And shot really well in the Trapdoor.

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