404 Jeffrey help please

[The Double D]

NEI Mould for 370 gr. .422 diameter bullet
Linotype alloy
Lee liquid Alox Lube and Lyman bullet lube
Velocity 1900 fps over chronograph.
Four rounds shoot well, very well. The fifth round starts leading the bore.

Any suggestion on what to do ?

[Bad Ass Wallace]

I used to load mine with soft cast 410gn x .410 bullets for the 416 Rigby. Two wraps of 60gms paper finished .425 and they could be driven to 2000fps.

Sounds like you lube is wanting and 0.422 is a little small?

[Bass Ackward]

NEI Mould for 370 gr. .422 diameter bullet
Linotype alloy
Lee liquid Alox Lube and Lyman bullet lube
Velocity 1900 fps over chronograph.
Four rounds shoot well, very well. The fifth round starts leading the bore.

Any suggestion on what to do ?


DD,

That's a lot of lino per shot. :grin: Are you sure that you need to be that hard?

Details are too sketchy at this point. Right off, I'd say you have a lube issue. Where is the leading? What kind of Lyman lube and are you using both lubes together? What happens if you back off the charge?

[BruceB]

Double D, sir;

There are apparently two groove diameters which have been used for the .404. The most common (and most-referenced) is .423", while the less-common one is around .418". Do you know which diameter your rifle has? My own Cogswell & Harrison is right around the .418" mark.

NEI molds seem to run very close to their specified diameter, and I'm wondering if your .422 bullet diameter is too small for your barrel. I'm using the NEI 421-390 for my .404, and it casts bullets at exactly that .421" diameter in wheelweight alloy. An easy way to check whether or not diameter is too small is simply to "beagle" your mould to a larger diameter for a few trial bullets. This would allow you to see if the leading stops with a larger-diameter bullet. ('Beagling' is a method of using aluminum tape to space the block halves a tiny bit further apart when closed, yielding larger bullets. It costs almost nothing, and might save the price of a new mould. There should be a "sticky" on this website somewhere, describing how to do it.)

I also have some suspicions about your lube, but that can probably wait until the diameter issue has been addressed. At 1900 fps, you may well be out of the ballpark where any old stopgap lube will work. My .404 shoots without leading using Javelina or Lar45's 50/50 lubricant, with unsized .421" bullets. I have pushed these 400-grainers to over 2100 fps, also without leading (duplicating Kynoch factory-load ballistics).

The bullet diameter is the big suspect here, I believe. Do a search for "beagle" and "beagling" to see how to proceed in casting larger-diameter bullets from your existing mould. Just a few dozen should be enough to see if the leading disappears or not.

Keep us posted on your results, please. Good luck with this.

[BruceB]

Double D;

On having a look at the NEI website, the only "422-370" design I saw was an oddball boat-tail design, without provision for a gascheck. It's identified as #234....is this your bullet?

If so, then I think your biggest problem is one of design, because the illustration shows a bullet I wouldn't even consider for service in a rifle like the .404. The design appears to me to be doomed to failure in a cartridge of relatively high intensity. It also seems like a prime candidate for creating leading due its basic design. A boat-tail on a cast bullet is like waterwings on a camel, in my opinion....not only useless, but actually a handicap.

Anyone wanting a look at this ill-conceived design can find it on page 9 of the NEI catalog, at

www.neihandtools.com

I reckon it could have been dreamed up for some specific and very limited purpose, but I'll be jiggered if I can see any rational application for the beast.

I REALLY hope that this is NOT the bullet you're shooting.

[The Double D]

Confession time it's not my rifle and it's not my mould. In fact I have never seen the bullets outside a loaded round...well I have now.

I was visiting a friend this morning to cast some bullets for the Martini and he mentioned the problem. My first guess was lube. I wouldn't have said that if I had seen the bullets first.

I suggested a good place to go for help was this website. And made the opening post to show him how you guys would jump in and help. And, you have. I am sure he is reading this and may step in and make his own reply.

He is South African and has a bit of an accent but if you listen close you will understand him...The antipodeans on here might not appreciate his babble about the Springboks. But he is pretty knowledgable about other stuff beside Rugby so he will be a welcome addition to this board.

[NVcurmudgeon]

He is South African and has a bit of an accent but if you listen close you will understand him...The antipodeans on here might not appreciate his babble about the Springboks. But he is pretty knowledgable about other stuff beside Rugby so he will be a welcome addition to this board.

DD, If needed, I can have a friend of mine translate. He is a former Rhodesian Army officer who lived for years in South Africa after Mugabe took over his country. Thankfully he and his wife are now among our newest American citizens. He calls himself a true "African American."