Closed:502-440-WFN PB Starts Now

[happy7]

To avoid any confusion, this group buy is now currently running! As soon as I get 10 molds or in any case in about a month, this is going in to Lee. If you want in, let me know.

I have been wanting a Plain Base bullet for my 500 S&W. I settled on 440 grains because it is a nice medium weight and there is a lot of data out there for 440 grain lead in the 500 S&W. I don't want it to be too light because with being plain base a light bullet will not be able to be pushed any faster anyway and Energy will be compromised. This will also make a nice plinking bullet for low power loads. This is going to be a real money saver with the current cost of gas checks in 50 caliber.

It will be a Lee six cavity. So target diameter is 0.502", Round Flat nose with a 73% metplat, and a plain base and an estimated weight of 440 grains when cast from wheel weights.

To be honest I don't expect a lot of takers for this design based on the response on the feeler thread so I will not be putting it on the Group Buy site. Breakeven will be 10 molds, but if we don't get that I will eat the extra setup costs. This group buy will go in to Lee no matter how many of you join me.

Price will be a fixed $75 per mold including shipping. Please PM me for my address. I will take personal check, money order and paypal (total will be $79 for paypal). Shipping to Canada is the same as shipping to USA, unless you want insurance, then it will cost a lot more. Total to most of the rest of the world will be $80.

I will issue a last call before I close this, but I am not going to keep it open indefinitely.

Many thanks to Blammer for the drawings.

[happy7]

Can someone make this a sticky please?

[Mohillbilly]

happy 7 I would be in for one........

[Lloyd Smale]

im in for two but you will have to wait a couple weeks for the money

[happy7]

Mohillbilly,

Great! The buy is open now so I will pm you with payment details. Pay whenever you can.

Lloyd,

I will pm you as well.

[Willbird]

I'm interested, I have a 500 SW H&R handi rifle. Please PM me when we get an idea how this is gonna go.


Bill

[Lloyd Smale]

I have to bow out. I had my head up my but and thought this was the kieth .500 sean was trying to start.

[xr650]

I would like one mould.
PM incoming.

[happy7]

payment received today from 43445

[happy7]

payment recieved for 82901

[happy7]

This is Last Call. I will be sending thie order off to Lee on the 15th of September. If you want in on this mold, please let me know.

[DUKE NUKEM]

This is Last Call. I will be sending thie order off to Lee on the 15th of September. If you want in on this mold, please let me know.


Happy how fast can one push these in a 500 S&W?
I myself can only handle 450 grainers at 1300 before they start getiing real stingy and that's with a Tactical Kevlar/Nomex/Heavy padded glove on.
I have a 8 and a 4 inch.
Any idea on the delivery time Hap?

[happy7]

Duke,

Of course how fast depends on a number of things but they should go 1200-1400, again depending on how your alloy, lube, size, etc.

I am already talking to Lee getting ready to place the order and they say the wait is now 6-8 months :groner:

That is why I am going to go ahead and get this on in and not wait any longer on it.

[xr650]

I am expecting a 10 month wait. Just in time for the 2010 shooting season. :Fire:

[DUKE NUKEM]

So how many do you have so far Hap?

[happy7]

Two plus myself plus one in the mail. So four.

[DUKE NUKEM]

Ok I'll kick in if you need to get them final 10. Looks like areally good design and I wouldn't need GC's.
6 to 8 months Whew!

[happy7]

That is great Duke. That will sure help with setup costs. I'll pm you with payment details. Yea, the main purpose of this one for me is to get a plain base.

[DUKE NUKEM]

That is great Duke. That will sure help with setup costs. I'll pm you with payment details. Yea, the main purpose of this one for me is to get a plain base.
Yea I am looking at "what if I run out of gas checks" day. So this would be great to have at the back of the cabinet. I think Pat Marlin makes a check maker though I have never seen it I am sure it is real cool and he seems like a swell guy but....
That seems at least for me a lot of effort and energy that I could put to good use like chasing the wife around the house. (If I can get her to run ;) [smilie=1: )

[happy7]

payment recieved from 63010

Monday, the 15th is the last day, so let me know if you still want in on this one.

[happy7]

I phoned the final number into Lee today and we are now in line. The long wait begins.

Here is the final list. Please make sure your zip is on here cause these are the only checks I have received.

43445
82901
63010

plus one for me so four altogether. I have not ordered extras so this is it.

[happy7]

I called Lee today. She said another month or two. I'll believe it when I see them. But I hope she is right.

[DUKE NUKEM]

:holysheep

[happy7]

I called Lee again today. We are now number 8 on the list. I think that probably means another month or two. That is what I said about two months ago, darn it. But to be honest, I am encouraged. It can only take them so long to fill eight orders, right?

[xr650]

I am looking for these for the 2010 casting season.
I think they will be delivered just about right. :drinks:

[happy7]

I called Lee today again. They say that our four molds are being made now. Let's say I will believe it when they show up, but if it is true, that is GREAT news!

[xr650]

Thanks for the update.

[happy7]

Well this is starting to get real frustrating. I called Lee again today and the story today is that we are now number 7 in line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She also conceeded on the phone that they are skipping around a bit in line trying to work out a system to do the molds faster. Ok, I do hope that works because I really would like to see them get caught up. But I also want to get our molds.

Then she said she would tell them to do ours next. Hmmmm. I really don't know how things work there, but I hope that she does have the power to make that happen. Let's say I am skeptical.

I have been very nice and polite dealing with them, but I am going to get a whole lot more demanding if things don't happen soon. I am going to give it another two weeks and call again. If nothing has happened I am probably going to ask to speak to someone higher up and complain to Mr. Lee if necessary about being skipped.

[happy7]

I talked to Lee again. Talked to one of the mold guys and he said a month on this one still. So who knows but being as it wasn't the girl at the phone we can only hope the info was a little more reliable.

[475/480]

[QUOTE=happy7;591667]Well this is starting to get real frustrating. I called Lee again today and the story today is that we are now number 7 in line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck ,I was #6 (.360-205 FN) in line 2 months ago and still NADA.

Sean

[happy7]

In know sean. The is really getting frustrating!

[happy7]

These molds came in today. I will get some cast up in the next day or two and make sure they are to specs before I send them out. If everything is ok, I will get them in the mail on Saturday.

Matt

[happy7]

So I did some casting. The good news is that with this design and weight, the bullets cast very easily and exit the mold with just a shake or a light tap. They really look good, and I would love to shoot some, but the bad news is that they are undersize. Band measurements were all different and not usually round, although the mold halves were perfectly aligned. You almost couldn't see the part line. However sizes averaged about .500 although some bands were .499 and some were .502 but usally not round, like .502 x .499 or .501x.500 or .499x.500. I am going to talk to Lee on Monday and see if they will take them back.

[xr650]

Hap,
I missed this post.
This is a little frustrating.
Did Lee have anything good to say?

[happy7]

I sent an email and got no respones. I thought it is probably better to just send in the molds, which I did on Monday. That way they can't tell me not to send them. I will post when I hear something.

[xr650]

Thanks for your efforts.
Keeping the faith here.

[happy7]

I received the redone molds yesterday. So I think that was pretty quick! I fired up the pot this morning and cast some. The mold I pulled had been smoked, so I think they must have experimented themselves with it.

The measurements were pretty consistent from cavity to cavity this time. Smallest measurements were about .501. Bottom band was always the smallest. Top band was largest usually .502-.503. I wish it was the other way around. Then I would be very pleased. As it is, I wish the bottom band were a little bigger, but I think these will work ok. And I wouldn't want the top band any bigger. The mold halves are perfectly aligned again, but the bullets are about .001 out of round, so again not too bad on roundness.

I am going to go ahead and accept these molds. I think they are as close as we will get, and I also think they will work pretty good. .501 is what I was going to size them to anyway, and some on this board feel that .500 is a good size for this cartridge.

One complaint though, is that the holes for the handles screws are not countersunk deep enough so the screws sit proud of the bottom of the mold. Not handy for running the mold back and forth on the mold guide of the pot, when filling the cavities. I took a file to my screws and was able to file enough off the head of the screw so that is was below the level of the mold, but still does have enough of the head for a screwdriver to get a purchase on. However, filing off the corrosion resistant plating is not going to help down the road.

As far as casting, these bullets are bigger than ideal for this size mold blocks. I ran my temps between 650-700 on the melt. I cannot go any lower on my pot or the spout will freeze. I still needed to use up to a count of five on a wet washcloth to keep from frosting too bad.

Turn the mold upside down to dump the bullets. If you don't the bullet from the cavity nearest the handle hinge bolt can fall against the opposite mold half due to the length of the bullet and jam there. Upside down works very well and I had no problems dumping this way. The bullets drop very well from the mold due to the weight and design. A light tap was all that was needed.

You are going to need a lot of lead heated. This mold empties my 22 pound pot in no time flat. I have a piggyback setup I will use if I want to really go for quantity.

So I will get these packaged up and they will go out Monday.

I will try to do some shooting next week if I can find the time and we will see how these puppies shoot. I am going to start with 9 or 10 grains of trailboss and then also work on something a little hotter.

[happy7]

I got the chance to do some reloading today and sized thirty slugs to .501 and lubed with speed green. 10 I loaded with trail boss, 10 with unique, and 10 with enforcer. Hopefully I will get out this week to do the shooting and maybe post some targets and chrono speeds. The molds are packaged up and will go to the PO tomorrow. In the mean time here is some more eye candy for you.

[xr650]

Looks good. :drinks:

I haven't put the A/C in the garage yet this summer. I had better get that done, I'm going to need it.

[happy7]

I have AC in my shed. That is because my stuff would all rust and mold without it. It is actually cooler in there than in my house. Makes it extra nice to go out and spend time puttering with my reloading stuff. It is so humid here right now, I can't be out there without it.

[xr650]

I don't have a humidity problem.
My A/C window unit is too small for my garage, but if I sit directly in front of it........

[Mohillbilly]

Happy 7 I got mine today.Thank you sir, that is one BIG boolit in a six cavity. I got a few two holers , this is the first six......

[xr650]

Hap,
I received my mould yesterday.
Looks good.
Thank for running this buy.

[johnch]

I was wondering where mine was

I then looked at the stack of mail to be read on the kit counter
Sure enough
On top of the stack I brought in the other day
Was the mould box

Boy I must have been tired

looks like a winner

Worked 6 hrs today
Back at it at 6 AM

Time to take a nap

John

[happy7]

Glad you all got your molds. This must be one of the smallest buys ever, at only four molds.

If it doesn't rain, I should make it to the range this afternoon and will get a chance to shoot some of these.

[happy7]

Well I did get to go shooting today. I was very pleased with the results. I shot all three loads on one target, as the gun is sighted in high at the moment. I rotated the target for each different powder. Shooting was done 25 yards from a sandbag rest. However the light was starting to fail and mine has the open sights, so under better conditions, I could probably get better results, but I am pretty pleased with these. Circles on target are 1/2 inch apart. I will need to shoot more to verify results as I only shot one five shot group with each powder recipe. Bullets were cast of straight air cooled wheel weights and sized to .501 and lubed with speed green.

My revolver is the 10.5" version.

Loads were as follows:
Please note: Do not use this data without double checking against published data.

Trailboss 10 grains 767fps
Enforcer 28 grains 1130 fps
Unique 16 grains 1310 fps

The trailboss is a very mild recoiling load and very pleasant to shoot. I was very pleased with the accuracy. The enforcer is a mid level load and also good accuracy. The unique did not do as well in the accuracy department as you can see from the attached target, which I was dissapointed with as it is a lot cheaper (16 grains) to use than the enforcer (28 grains).

So if you get a chance to shoot please let me know what you come up with.

[happy7]

I did want to say that the RCBS #611 top punch fits this bullet quite well.