KAL .50 TGBS .492" PP mould ...

So I just bought a very lightly used Rick Kalnyuik (KAL) PP .50 TGBS .492" adjustable mould. I am absolutely new to the paper patching game and wondered if anyone here has used this particular mould and the boolit that it casts to load in .50-70 Govt? I gather it is designed to shoot as a bore diameter patched boolit rather than groove diameter. I have an original New York Militia Rolling Block, and will soon take possession of an original Sharps conversion 3 band military rifle, and a C. Sharps Arms Hartford Sporter both in .50-70 Govt. Have wanted to try PP'ing for years, but this will finally push me "over the edge". A friend of mine has a Shiloh Sharps sporter in .50-90 so we'll likely try some of these in his rifle as well. Any thoughts and suggestions would be gratefully received.

https://i.imgur.com/BMslxp6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/q7oJmv4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YnKVBss.jpg

I’ve got one of these molds and it casts a great bullet! You’ll probably find that your original rifle and the C.Sharps will shoot a lighter bullet okay. Original sharps PP bullet for the 50 were 473 grains.

The Shiloh probably has a faster rifling twist and will probably shoot a heavier bullet better.

I use a bullet that’s 493 grains in my c. Sharps 50-90 and it shoots fine for me. I don’t shoot further than 300 yards and only at 12” steel plates. I use my barrel sights as well.

Make a bunch and get to patching!

A hint passed on to me from Rick himself. There is a set screw for the stem that determines bullet length. Snug until touching and stop. If you bear down on it the stem will skew somewhat and make the skirt thicker on one side.

Just recieved mine almost identical to that except .505 dia.
rick has replaced the setscrew with a jamb nut. you could do the same

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reverend Al

So I just bought a very lightly used Rick Kalnyuik (KAL) PP .50 TGBS .492" adjustable mould. I am absolutely new to the paper patching game and wondered if anyone here has used this particular mould and the boolit that it casts to load in .50-70 Govt? I gather it is designed to shoot as a bore diameter patched boolit rather than groove diameter. I have an original New York Militia Rolling Block, and will soon take possession of an original Sharps conversion 3 band military rifle, and a C. Sharps Arms Hartford Sporter both in .50-70 Govt. Have wanted to try PP'ing for years, but this will finally push me "over the edge". A friend of mine has a Shiloh Sharps sporter in .50-90 so we'll likely try some of these in his rifle as well. Any thoughts and suggestions would be gratefully received.

https://i.imgur.com/BMslxp6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/q7oJmv4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YnKVBss.jpg

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Rev Al Do you have any follow up information on your KAL mold?
I'll probably get one too.
Regards

Unfortunately no ... I've been sicker than a dog for over a month and to cap it off now I'm hobbling around the house on crutches (with a bad case of Sciatica that just doesn't seem to want to ease up) so I can't even get down the front stairs of the house to get to my reloading shop. I've got a TON of projects on hold (including casting some of these PP bullets to test) that will just have to wait until I'm feeling better.

:(

Sorry to hear that Sir. I have had the pleasure of back problems in the past. No fun at all. I got some PP bullets from the chap I bought my 50-90 from. They came from a KAL mold at 1.6 inches long and 777 grain. Should be a religious experience touching them off. Get better soon.

Thanks ... missing my range days and can't wait until I feel better and the current craziness is over!

Finally ran a few “slicks” out of the KAL PP .50 mould today. Might have been stored with some oil in it since they were still coming out a little bit wrinkled even after 20 or more casts. I was dipper casting out of an open top pot today and it might cast a bit better with my bottom pour RCBS pot when it has the full weight of the lead coming out of the bottom spigot. So the way it is adjusted right now it throws great big brutes of a bullet at 577.5 to 578 grains in pretty much pure lead at about .493” diameter. I guess I’ll try a few of these “as is” but I will likely adjust it down to about 450 / 475 grains for my C. Sharps Arms .50-70 1874 Sporter, my original 3 band military Sharps rifle, and my New York Militia Remington Rolling Block. I’ll have to dig out some high rag content paper that I have squirreled away down in my shop and cut a few test patches with the template that Rick from KAL just sent me and wrap a few of these up for testing. (I asked Rick about getting a template by email and he just went ahead and mailed me one of his steel templates for free!)

If I can get a few of these patched up and loaded I might be able to test a few some of them this coming Tuesday when we're heading out to the range for a bit of a rifle shooting session.

https://i.imgur.com/RRYRTsX.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FG95qCu.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vZk9M3c.jpg

Al

PS: Contacted Rick to ask about a patch template and he was kind enough to send me one in the mail for free even though I bought this mould used!

https://i.imgur.com/8bv56hp.jpg

SI don't think that's okay, the barrel of the 50-70 should be .515 and if you patch up that bullet with two rounds of onionskin you would come to .500.
I also have the same mold but in .442 to make the PP of the Gibbs. This mold likes to be in a high temperature. [smilie=s: