Making boolet bigger diam ?

[Gunslinger1911]

Hello all,
I'm looking to have a lighter boolet for my 45\70 than the 410g lee mold I have - with out spending money.
I have a .45 SAA mold that throws around .456 . (The Lee 45/70 throws around .459).
I sure don't want to change the mold - it rocks in the 45 Colt's and 454.

Do I remember that having the melt \ mold hotter or colder than usual will result in a slightly bigger diam bullet ?

I'm going to cast some "normally" and see how the go through the sizer, but I think they need to be a couple thou bigger.

Thanks

[bdicki]

Powder coat adds a few.

[GhostHawk]

or 2-3 small pieces of alum tape ie "beagling"

[Ihsarah]

You could always paper patch it.

[ShooterAZ]

Alloys with a tad higher tin/antimony content tend to cast a bit larger. A cooler alloy/mold as well, less shrinkage.

[ukrifleman]

148912As GhostHawk suggests, beagle the mould with self adhesive foil tape

This is my .265 RCBS 140gn mould beagled to throw .268 bullets.

ukrifleman.

[Texantothecore]

Btttt

[Ola]

This is my .265 RCBS 140gn mould beagled to throw .268 bullets.

How is that mold doing now? Does the bullet shoot ok?

I'm curious because
a) out of roundness is relatively big.
b) you have used A LOT of tape. Have you noticed any wenting problems?

[Gunslinger1911]

Thanks guys, I'll give these ideas a try. Aluminum tape looks like the quickest.

[Gunslinger1911]

Ha, Had some alum tape in basement.
One layer on one block got me maybe .0015
I think I'll run that thru the sizer and see what it looks like.
If not there, a layer on the other block should do it.

Amazing, no comments about using an SAA in 45/70 ?? Just run of the mill stuff for us experimenters !

Thanks for the info gents !!!

[Tim357]

My dad, God rest his soul, used Lyman 454190 and holy black in a Ruger #3. Used lithium chassis lube smeared on the boolits unsized of course. Loaded with a Lyman tong tool. Was a damgood plinking load.
edit: boolits dropped about .456 with Lyman #2

[ukrifleman]

How is that mold doing now? Does the bullet shoot ok?

I'm curious because
a) out of roundness is relatively big.
b) you have used A LOT of tape. Have you noticed any wenting problems?

The bullets are un-affected by being slightly out of round. Flashing on the bullets is minimal and just peels off with your thumb nail.

The bullets gas check ok and they work well in my Type 38 Arisaka.

I wouldn't consider that I have used a lot of tape and the mould casts without issue.

When needed, I peel the tape off, clean the mould with solvent to remove the adhesive left by the tape and cast at .265 for my M96 Swede.

ukrifleman.

[FredBuddy]

Gunslinger:

All good ideas above. I powder coat or paper patch 45 ACP 200 gr SWC's for 45-70. What a hoot!

149016

By the way, I'm in Knox County, Ohio if you want a demo.

[Maximumbob54]

Gunslinger:

All good ideas above. I powder coat or paper patch 45 ACP 200 gr SWC's for 45-70. What a hoot!

149016

By the way, I'm in Knox County, Ohio if you want a demo.


That is the neatest thing I've seen done in a while. If of course it works.

[big bore 99]

I too have paper patched .45 ACP boolitts to .459. Worked great.

[Gunslinger1911]

Fredbuddy, that's pretty cool.
Same idea as blackpowder paper patching I assume ?
Guess i'll have to go over to the patching section.

[Motor]

I have to "beagle" my Lee 440gr .501 in fact I had to use 600mph aircraft aluminum on both sides to get them up to where they would be sized slightly in a .501" die. They still shoot very accurately.

Now that I started powder coating I found I only need to have the aluminum tape on one side. The method definitely works.

Motor

[Gunslinger1911]

OK, I've got 2 layers on one block, one on the other - gets me about .458. Feels like it's just clearing the sizer. Very, very slight flashing. No more tape! lol
I just started powder coating yesterday - I'll give that a try on the newest batch.
I investigated paper patching, I wanna try that some time - but sounds kind of labor intensive for a bunch of plinking ammo.
Thanks for all the help guys !