Lyman .58 Mould - .577 Diameter 418 GR - Lead questions

[Gunor]

Just bought the Lyman .58 Mould - .577 Diameter 405 GR. Nice mold.

#578675

Cast some this weekend - weigh in at 399 - 402 grns (5 samples).

Since I am shy of the 405 grains, and have enough bullets for a good sample weight: Is my lead not pure enough?

How close should I be?

Diameter - I did not measure, but did force thru a Dixie 577 sizing die. Seems fine for a bullet that should cast at .578.

Thanks

Geoff in oregon

[fouronesix]

That weight range doesn't sound out of the norm. I don't think the few grains lower in weight has as much to do with the alloy as it does with the individual mold. I would try to stay with pretty soft lead though. I cast and shoot minies quite a bit and have no problem with using pure lead with a tiny bit of tin added for casting fill-out. The alloy still ends up being very soft at BHN 6 or so. If yours are dropping at .577, that is well within normal range. They shouldn't have to be sized and are designed to shoot as cast. The most important things about minies for accuracy are: Soft lead, good skirt without wrinkles or flaws and no voids. That minie HAS to leave the muzzle as perfect as possible and headed in the right direction as they are truly flying with aerodynamic stability as they head downrange. Many times the casting voids show up in the base- so check there for fill-out. Then just don't over charge them, experiment with different lube techniques and they should shoot fine. If all that is done and still getting a shotgun pattern at 50 yards then may have to look at another cause. I've noticed that if a minie diameter is too much under bore size then they can be a little wobbly and not as accurate. Then you can single wrap some thin paper around the shank and get good accuracy.

Compared to the early 1860s- I think our accuracy standards are higher, so we tend to measure success with our targets against the best targets displayed here or wherever or against other types of modern rifles. I think if I get a 1" circular cluster group at 50 yards with any of my .58 muskets I've done about as good as I can do and likely much better than most from 150 years ago would have imagined.

[mooman76]

That's only 1% deviation or less so that is actually pretty close. Moulds are rarely right on the money and absolute pure lead is not so common. They usually have a very small amount of alloy in them.

[Hellgate]

The weight of the bullet can vary depending if the base plug is fully rotated under the pin or not. Some are loose and can be shoved into the mold another .01-.02 during casting which could change the bullet weight. As long as you are consistant you will get similar weights which it looks like you are doing. Weighing and culling really helps.

[Gunor]

I think i kinda of over reacted to the weight issue. Have to wait for the weekend (for light see by) and little to no rain (might be July at this point) to try my newly cast boolits. Next project is pan lubing with my bees wax and crisco - never tried pan lubing before. I do have some 24 ga plastic shells that I'll use for the cookie cutter...

Geoff in Oregon

[fouronesix]

I think a visual inspection may be good enough. You could weigh a few after visual inspection to see if there is any correlation between visual flaws and weight. The flaws that are of major concern are the ones around the skirt. Also, some minie molds have a habit of casting voids near the apex of the hollow- as has been mentioned in this thread or another recently. I you pan lube and the lube is soft enough and of the right consistency you may not need to use a cookie cutter. Let pan and bullets completely cool and see if you can push bullets out by pushing on the nose. If not then use a cutter. I use a pretty soft lube for minies so don't pan lube them. Found it just as easy to smear the soft lube on with fingers.

[HARRYMPOPE]

When i pour Minies i use a ladle and let near a full dipper pour in before i pull it away and top off.I get very few(none really) base inclusions this way.I dont weight sort them anymore and haven't had a flyer problem that i can tell.