HBWCs in 32 S&W

[Green Frog]

I recently bought (OK, I've had it for months but haven't used it yet) a multi-cavity HBWC mould in 32 S&W. now that the weather inspires more casting and loading than shooting, I may finally get it out. My question regards alloy... I'm thinking that the closer I am to pure lead, the better off I'll be, since I'll be loading them at cat-sneeze target load levels in an already-mild round.

SOOOO, I'm thinking of using pure lead like I'm using for my Minie Balls and for my cap-and-ball revolver, or maybe just whispering the word "tin" over the pot as I stir it (think "dry martini") to keep it as soft as possible while still filling out.

Does anybody with actual experience casting and shooting these little gnat killers have any comments before I go down this path? TIA as usual and Merry Christmas to all!

Froggie

[rintinglen]

I have looked long and hard at that one myself--I'll be following this thread with interest. I have had pretty good results with the RCBS 32-98 WC, but it is not hollow base. I think anything from pure with a tin whisper up to 20-1 should be OK based on my experiences with 38 special HBWC's. But as one of the guys around here used to say,"It's all theory til you pull the trigger."

[quail4jake]

Is that .32 S&W long or .32 S&W?

[Green Frog]

32 S&W Long. I don't shoot enough of the shorter ones to be worth loading. The S&W L though was pretty much the Euro standard for a CF target round and can be very accurate. I have several I- and J-frames to feed as well as a couple of bigger guns that get target loads occasionally.

Froggie

[runfiverun]

I wouldn't be scared to drop a pound of tin in a 40-50 lb batch of alloy for one of these.
you'll have like 3 trillion boolits before you finish all of the alloy off so you'd have to maybe make a smaller batch.

[quail4jake]

40:1 Pb:Sn works real well in the .32S&W with .313 78 gr LRN, BHN about 7. Using 1.5gr Trail Boss @ 620 fps, I don't know if you would need harder alloy for HBWC pushed faster in the .32 long...thoughts?

[Forrest r]

Nothing more than 50/50 pure lead/ww's and water dropped. I also use plain old range scrap and water drop. I use this for every hb bullet I cast (14 different molds for 5 different calibers) including the 32cal lc.
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/4749b51f-9234-473f-ac21-9b4f281bc8d4_zpswmkafled.jpg (http://s162.photobucket.com/user/forrestr-photo/media/4749b51f-9234-473f-ac21-9b4f281bc8d4_zpswmkafled.jpg.html)

[quail4jake]

What BHN do you come up with on those water dropped boolits Forest r?

[Forrest r]

What BHN do you come up with on those water dropped boolits Forest r?

Around 14bhn/15bhn

I typically run any of them in the 9,000psi to 15,000psi range depending on the caliber/load. I have gone as high as 20,000+psi with the water dropped hbwc's in the 9mm and 45acp. Soft lead hbwc's/skirts need low pressured soft loads. Hard skirts can be driven a lot harder while being just as accurate.

The main reason I water drop the hbwc's is to keep them from getting dented/de-forming. I run any (14 of them) of my hb molds hot, real hot. As you can see in the picture above, the bullets are frosted. Running the molds hot allows the bullets to easily drop from the molds and along with falling off the hb pins. The down side is you need to keep a fast cadence/pace to keep the molds/hb pins from cooling off. The end result is some of the bullets are soft and they de-form when dropped unless I use water to drop them in.

If the mold is not hot enough you will get results like what this caster posted:
"I mixed up a batch of 3.5% tin 96.5 lead. Tried casting and it was slow managed to get 75 done that are ok. Had to throw a fair number back for split skirt "
Run the mold hot and at a fast cadence/pace and water drop ='s mountains of usable hb bullets like these:
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/914e3446-7918-49c7-b205-5b9a5f8a1bf4_zpsjentn5qw.jpg (http://s162.photobucket.com/user/forrestr-photo/media/914e3446-7918-49c7-b205-5b9a5f8a1bf4_zpsjentn5qw.jpg.html)

Or these
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/dc67cb78-77f2-4104-a59d-7cc0198302a6_zpsvzzwe1xx.jpg (http://s162.photobucket.com/user/forrestr-photo/media/dc67cb78-77f2-4104-a59d-7cc0198302a6_zpsvzzwe1xx.jpg.html)
Or the countless 1000's of these I cast/shoot
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/model10hbwc_zps04bc7625.jpg (http://s162.photobucket.com/user/forrestr-photo/media/model10hbwc_zps04bc7625.jpg.html)

Don't get wrapped up in the alloy/bhn/yada-yada-yada. The mold temp and the speed of casting is where it's at with hb pins/molds.