54 cal PRB dropping a bit small

[Recruit]

Hey guys. Did my first ever casting today with a Lee 530-RB mold. The box says 224gr for weight. I casted 50 and most are 212-213gr. Intrigued I measured diameter and most are .526-.527"

I have .015" thick patches and suppose could jump to .018" if accuracy is an issue. I'm wondering however if the lead I'm using isn't 'pure', casting temp is too low or high, technique is flawed or perhaps dropping them small is typical for this mold.

Don't suspect this is big deal as I can play with patch thickness and different powder charges to achieve accuracy but curiousity has me a wonderin'.

Thoughts?

[JeffinNZ]

As lead is alloyed the girth increases. WW and linotype throw fatter bullets than pure Pb.

Shoot it and see. I'd be inclined to go .021 thou which is mid weight denim. I load a .530 ball with .021 in the .54 Lyman I am babysitting and it shoots dandy.

[Lonegun1894]

I remember reading that Lee's tolerance range for RBs is .000" to -.003, so your .530" mold casting .527" would make it within spec. For what it's worth, I bought a .530" Lee RB mold years ago (that actually cast at .532"), and then had to buy their now discontinued .527" RB mold to get something that would be accurate while not requiring a mallet to seat, while allowing me to use a patch thick enough to actually carry a bit of lube and not burn through. The RBs from the .530" mold wouldn't let me load with any cloth thicker than .010" and that was always either tearing or burning through or both, but the .527 allows me to use .015" and shoot well and load easy. I'd say try it, and adjust cloth thickness if needed, but the way I see it is you may have just gotten very lucky.

[44man]

Some makers say .530, mostly TC but most .54's are better served with .535" balls.
Denim makes one of the best patches so you need to take a mike to the store and get several thicknesses.
You should get something to shoot.

[Toymaker]

While alloys do throw bullets of larger diameter 1) You want to use pure lead and 2) its a non-issue. Your diameter will be consistent which is the important factor. If you need a larger diameter, go to a larger mold. Actually I think a .530 mold is a little small. I'd start with a .535 and be prepared to go larger as the barrel wears.
To test a thicker patch without buying more fabric, use toilet paper. Plain, old fashioned, no pattern, rough like you had in school, industrial toilet paper. Put the patching material on the muzzle, put a sheet of toilet paper on top of the patching material, put the ball on top of it all. Drive the ball just below the muzzle, cut off the toilet paper and patching material, and seat the ball. Use your micrometer on the toilet paper to find out how much you increased the thickness of the patching.
You can calculate the theoretical weight of a round ball, but only a swaged ball is going to come close. A cast ball will have a void in it. Don't believe me? Cut one in half. Your lead temperature, mold temperature, casting technique, environmental temperature, humidity and barometric pressure all combine to impact how large that void will be. Weigh a sample of rb from a casting session. Look for the grouping where the majority of rb fall. Say, for example, the majority of rb weigh 230.0 to 230.4 grains. Weigh all your rb and separate them into 4 groups; Group 1- 230.5 grains and over (save for special competitions), Group 2 - 230.0 to 230.4 grains (practice and regular competions), Group 3 - 229.5 to 229.9 grains (practice), Group 4 - under 229.5 grains (melt down).

[44man]

Good advise, cigarette paper can make a huge difference too.

[oldblinddog]

About 10-15 years ago I owned a Uberti Santa Fe Hawken that I built from their kit. It took a .520" ball. The .526" ball was very hard to load and a .530 wouldn't go even with no patch. This was the replica of the 1860 Hawken in the museum in Santa Fe and is supposed to be pretty close to an exact copy. I have heard that the current version is a .530" shooter. Mine would put as many as I wanted into the same hole with 90 gr. of Goex FFg.

[Recruit]

Thanks for the responses guys. Seems like excellent advice for sure.

I'll see what happens with the .015" patches and will either pick up some .018" or add tissue/cigarette paper to the .015" for comparison. Compound this with different powder charges and hopefully there will be at least one combination that shoots like a gem. Wouldn't rule out stepping up to a .535" mold either if need be.

Hopefully the local range is packed the day I show up with a smokepole and can set up upwind of everyone! :guntootsmiley:

[Lonegun1894]

In addition to patch thickness, don't forget that different types and amounts of lube on your patches also affect what kind of accuracy you get. Now that you add in that little piece of confusion to the puzzle, remember that lube recipes are kinda like opinions, and everybody has a slight twist. Not that there is one simple best answer though, cause each gun has it's own preference.

[44man]

The very best patch lube ever is Young Country, I have shot over 200 shots a day at BP silhouette without ever wiping the bore. if a load gets sticky, I just add more lube to the next patch. Accuracy never degrades.
Another is Ballistol mixed with water, soak patches and let dry. Problem is you need to wipe between shots. Even changing the mix will change groups.
Like revolvers, I spent years testing patch lubes and nothing has ever been better then Young Country.