Softnose, Success!!!

[dk17hmr]

Well after getting different ideas here last week about making softnose cast hunting bullets, I have made a large step in the right direction and have been getting good bullets.

I took and made donor bullets out of pure lead and my 120gr 9mm mold, about 40 of them. After I got that done I started the pot with WW lead, once that was melted I put 2 120gr 9mm pure slugs into the dipper and floated it on the WW lead. Once that was melted I pour it into my 500gr Lee .459 mold and then right away I pour WW melt into the mold.

SUCCESS!!!!

I now have as bullet for hunting Whitetail deer for the 45-70 I will soon have.

I also made 20 or so softnose 405gr Hollow Base bullets. I just did it in reverse making my donor bullet out of WW and had the pot pure lead melt.

I am so ansy about getting my NEF back with the 243 and 45-70 barrels, I have been casting bullets, lubing sizing, getting brass set up.....cant wait.

[grumpy one]

An immediate issue that comes to mind is how you ensure that the two halves of the bullet are fully fused together. Seems like this would require the mould to be very hot when you add the second batch of metal, and for the second pour to follow the first one pretty quickly. I dare say this could be handled, but you might end up with bullets that split easily if it isn't.

There might also be an advantage in having a fair amount of tin in the WW, as an aid to bonding the two parts.

Geoff

[44man]

They fuse together just fine. The hard lead will melt the soft lead on contact since it is just a little cooler. The old two part boolit even fused with a cold nose inserted in the mould. I have shot hundreds of them and none ever came apart.

[dk17hmr]

Geoff,
The second pour is right after the first per bullet. The nose or base, depending on the bullet I am casting, is still melted when the second pour happens. To get my molds up to temp quick, I use a coleman white gas stove, I just set the mold on the rack in the flame.

The seemed to bond together pretty good.

[grumpy one]

If you've done destructive testing (say, clamped a bullet in a vice by the back part and hammered the front part sideways until something gives) and they are properly fused, I guess it doesn't matter how you did it, because it works. It also sounds as if you are getting some serious preheat of that mould, which seems to me to be one of the key requirements. Of course you also have to be careful that the mould is level when the first pour solidifies, or you'll get a slanted transition line.

I like the way you are using a measured quantity for the first pour, so you will get consistency regarding just where the join is located. Sounds like you have to be careful to pour every drop out of that ladle though.

Geoff

[webfoot10]

There is an another way to get a lead bullet to expand if you don't have a hollow
point bullet design. Just put a piece of wax paper in the nose of the mould, then
pour your bullet. The paper will make a split bullet nose that will flaten on impact.
I have had good success with this type bullet in my 45/70. With 15 grains of unique and tissue paper packing in a Ruger #3 it will shoot 1 in groups at 100yds
all day. I used to lose deer shot with the solid bullet, just pushed on through leaving a nice 45 cal hole. Since I started splitting the bullet the deer drop almost
in their tracks. I cast these bullets soft and lube with deer tallow, try it You'll Like
Them. Webfoot10

[waksupi]

Those of you who were on the original Shooters cast bullet room, may remember Kevin Fire, the audiologist in North Dakota. I seem to recall, he was just dropping a regular BB into the nose of his .338 bullets, and got great results

[Bass Ackward]

Those of you who were on the original Shooters cast bullet room, may remember Kevin Fire, the audiologist in North Dakota. I seem to recall, he was just dropping a regular BB into the nose of his .338 bullets, and got great results


Ric,

That is AMAZING! Never though about that.

That would be the perfect way to use on a spitzer rifle bullet. The BB would go down and center and block off the nose, then it would simply fall away or break off very easily revealing a hollow cavity nose. It would even remove unsupported nose weight if that were a problem on a spitzer design. You could even reuse the BBs and or adjust the size of the holes with different size ball bearings.

Then you would have a dual use bullet that could be both aerodynamic for target work and expansive for hunting with only minor load adjustment. The nose could be filled with hot wax and scraped level for increased expansion allowing harder mixes to work fine.

Who would need a meplat? Hot damn!

Thanks.

[Oldfeller]

Bass, you'd better lube your BBs if you want them to come loose. BBs are generally copper plated to control corrosion and the copper plating will solder to the lead fairly regularly. My BBs became one with the slug when I tried this trick way back when it originally came up. BTW, accuracy was not improved when I did it. Both hollow pointing and BBs and tin foil strips and cigarette paper strips all added variation to group size.

You might consider buying some loose single ball bearings for your nose trick. One, they are actually round and two, they are bare steel (highly polished) and will oxidze dark during the preheat process so the lead won't want to stick to them.

Good luck & have fun, I certainly did.

Oldfeller

[waksupi]

I don't believe Kevin ever removed the BB's. Shouldn't need to, I would think. I'll see if I can get a hold of him, and get the word on it.

[44man]

You have to remember that the proper large meplat does not have to expand unless the caliber is small like a .357. It is fun to fool with this stuff but if accuracy is lost, back up and try something else.