Drop tube compression die or both?

[Chill Wills]

Once the batch is charged I insert the first wad in all of the batch, and compress the charge to required depth for overall length with the bullet Im loading. Finding the right compression makes a big diffrence in fouling and accuracy.

This is a key point for loading match ammo in my mind. I only shoot Swiss powder at this time in match ammo. I shoot other powders for other applications. Accuracy and lack of fouling with Swiss is the reason. I have found that basically no compression and a mild primer can produce a good accurate load with the most manageable fouling. As an example, yesterday was out local BPCR silhouette day. Weather was a mild fall day and we shot under the sky with our barrels in the sun. It got into the low 70's F with light winds blowing harder by match end.

Silhouette target distance in meters - for yards add about 10%
Chickens 200 m (219-y)
Pigs 300 m
Turkeys 385 m
Rams 500 m
I shot the whole 40 shot match starting with pigs without wiping. With sighters, this match was a total of 58 shots, all using a few breaths on the blow tube between each shot. Accuracy never varies. After 14 or 15 shots at one stage the rifle sits for maybe an hour and then up to the line again. With a few breaths to start off, you are good to shoot the next stage with accuracy.
Due to my own error I missed one target each on Pigs, then Turkeys and Rams for a score (9-9-9) 27 going into the offhand stage Chickens. Accuracy is so good you and your spotter can move the group around on the target.

At the end of the match I checked the barrel for hard fouling by putting 5-6 long easy breaths into the barrel with the blow tube and then wiping with a dry cotton patch. The barrel sounds squeaky when do this.

For me, this level of performance does not happen with a compressed load and for sure not with Graf, KIK, Schuetzen nor the current ( last 15-20 years) GOEX and though I am hopeful, has not come together with Olde Eynsford. However, with my remaining FFg OE, I hope to give it a better look.

Compression, or lack of it, powder choice and primer choice are the three big deals as far as I am concerned.

So, rather than compress the powder with the wad, I place the wad about 1/8" into the mouth of the case and seat the bullet pushing the wad down to the top of the powder charge.
Load density; If that case is 98% full under the bullet, 100%, or 102%, it maters not. Just find the accuracy spot.

I very much agree; "Finding the right compression makes a big diffrence in fouling and accuracy." and I would add powder choice too.

[kokomokid]

You likely have a pretty good lube as well as alloy mix also?

[Chill Wills]

You likely have a pretty good lube as well as alloy mix also?

Nothing too unusual. Eagle BP lube, it is as good as any out there but it is NOT a magic lube, none are! And, because I shoot more than one design bullet in this rifle for matches I actually use two different alloys. One alloy for chicken and Pig bullets and the other for turkey and ram bullets. What ever happened to keep it simple?

I only do this silly stuff with my 45-70 at this time. I have a chicken bullet, a turkey and ram bullet and as of three years ago started using a slowed down (Velocity) pig bullet.

I have limited supply of COWWs in which to make my long nosed turkey and ram bullets out of so I don't use it for the blunt bullets. It is about, educated guessing here, 97-1.25-1.75 Pb-Sn-Sb. The alloy casts and ages to a little harder then 16-1 Lead-Tin. By trial and error I have found this alloy works well to support long nose bullets from slumping and playing H... with an otherwise accurate load.

My chicken and pig alloy is nothing more than BPCR berm range scrap. It Was BP bullets once and so it becomes BPCR bullets again. It casts close to 20-1 on my hardness tester. I have a lot of that alloy because when I repair the berms I salvage the lead. I batch 200+ pounds of that alloy at a time so the hardness is fairly consistent.

I cast the Hoch 440gr bullet for chicken shooting and as I said I went to a different bullet for pigs about three years ago. I improved my average pig score a pig a match by slowing down the load using a bullet that takes up 10 more grains space in my 45-70 case. For the pig targets only, I stopped using the Paul Jones Money Bullet and went to the Paul Jones Creedmoor bullet - the blunter version - he has two. ...or did when he was in business. It casts 560 grains. With 63.5 grs of powder recoil is just a big slow push.
My ram load is 73.5 grains of Swiss 2F and my new pig load is 63.5 grains of the same. I stopped having high/lows with this slower load and the funny thing is the fast 73.5grn Money Bullet load shows nothing of the problems on T and R that I fought on pigs - same load. ????who knows????

-Michael

[kokomokid]

Michael, What is the sprue plate number on the 560 gr Jones mould ?

[Chill Wills]

Paul Jones
45-70

I think I have other 45 molds from him with the same marking.
Other PJ molds I have show different markings too so I am not sure the top plate is always the last word.
Honestly - you may know more about this than I.