dromia
05-17-2015, 08:55 AM
My Brooks Pritchett mould arrived a week or so past so I have cast up some Pritchett Minies and have been loading them into cartridges ready for the range this week.
The Brooks mould drops a fine bullet exactly to my specification of 0.564". This diameter will give me a good fitting bullet at the muzzle with two wraps of my 100% rag draughting vellum which is 0.003" thick giving me a final paper patched bullet diameter of 0.576". All my Parker Hale Enfields have spot on 0.577" bores.
This is not my first Brooks mould but it is my first one with a base plug, I ordered an extra base plug so that I had a shallow and deep one, the base plugs are adjustable so that I can have bullets any length between 0.950" and 1.170" handy for playing around with rifles with different twist rates, the Enfields had 1 in 78 or 1 in 48.
The Brooks moulds are exceptionally well made and always come to specification however there are the odd niggles, the handle screws are larger than normal so you need to use their handles or be prepared to drill out a set of Lees, KALs, NOEs, RCBS or whatever handles you have. The pins have a nut head so a spanner is needed for these, there is a locking nut on the threaded base plug pin and this is a different size to the handle pins, finally the threaded base plug adjuster has two flats on the end to rotate the plug up or down so an adjustable spanner is need for this. To set up the mould you need two different spanners and an adjustable one. I know I could use the adjustable spanner for all but I prefer to get good fitting spanners when I can as an adjustable will always have play and eventually wear the nut edges.
Here is the mould:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/adamsutherland/Pritchett%20Cartridges%2012%20April%202015/IMG_7088.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/adamsutherland/Pritchett%20Cartridges%2012%20April%202015/IMG_7089.jpg
Ready to cast.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/adamsutherland/Pritchett%20Cartridges%2012%20April%202015/IMG_7085.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/adamsutherland/Pritchett%20Cartridges%2012%20April%202015/IMG_7086.jpg
I am using lead piping at 750 degrees and a very hot mould, it turned out very good bullets from the first drop. Of the 57 I cast there was only 1/2 a grain weight difference, that is + or - 1/4 of grain on a 515 grain bullet. I was extremely pleased with this.
Here are some of the bullets:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/adamsutherland/Pritchett%20Cartridges%2012%20April%202015/IMG_7087.jpg
The Brooks mould drops a fine bullet exactly to my specification of 0.564". This diameter will give me a good fitting bullet at the muzzle with two wraps of my 100% rag draughting vellum which is 0.003" thick giving me a final paper patched bullet diameter of 0.576". All my Parker Hale Enfields have spot on 0.577" bores.
This is not my first Brooks mould but it is my first one with a base plug, I ordered an extra base plug so that I had a shallow and deep one, the base plugs are adjustable so that I can have bullets any length between 0.950" and 1.170" handy for playing around with rifles with different twist rates, the Enfields had 1 in 78 or 1 in 48.
The Brooks moulds are exceptionally well made and always come to specification however there are the odd niggles, the handle screws are larger than normal so you need to use their handles or be prepared to drill out a set of Lees, KALs, NOEs, RCBS or whatever handles you have. The pins have a nut head so a spanner is needed for these, there is a locking nut on the threaded base plug pin and this is a different size to the handle pins, finally the threaded base plug adjuster has two flats on the end to rotate the plug up or down so an adjustable spanner is need for this. To set up the mould you need two different spanners and an adjustable one. I know I could use the adjustable spanner for all but I prefer to get good fitting spanners when I can as an adjustable will always have play and eventually wear the nut edges.
Here is the mould:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/adamsutherland/Pritchett%20Cartridges%2012%20April%202015/IMG_7088.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/adamsutherland/Pritchett%20Cartridges%2012%20April%202015/IMG_7089.jpg
Ready to cast.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/adamsutherland/Pritchett%20Cartridges%2012%20April%202015/IMG_7085.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/adamsutherland/Pritchett%20Cartridges%2012%20April%202015/IMG_7086.jpg
I am using lead piping at 750 degrees and a very hot mould, it turned out very good bullets from the first drop. Of the 57 I cast there was only 1/2 a grain weight difference, that is + or - 1/4 of grain on a 515 grain bullet. I was extremely pleased with this.
Here are some of the bullets:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/adamsutherland/Pritchett%20Cartridges%2012%20April%202015/IMG_7087.jpg