"Collar button" boolit seating depth???

[Dave Bulla]

Hi all, just a quick question...

I've been given some 145gr collar button boolits for my 45-70 and I'm wondering where exactly it is best to seat them.

Here is a picture of the boolit.



And here is a pic of some that I loaded already.



Now, my question has to do with whether I should be crimping behind the forward band, on it or in front of it. I'm wondering about it because if I crimp behind it, there is really nothing keeping the bullet from leaning because the only other contact point inside the case is a half inch back at the rear. If I crimp on it, I risk distorting/sizing that band and effecting accuracy. If I crimp in front of it, could the bullet get pushed down into the case on rounds loaded in the tube? I saw pic's once of some loaded with both bands completely inside the case.

I've shot just a couple of these and they shot great at 50 yards loaded to the rear of the front band as pictured but I'm just wondering if that is the best setup.

[swamp]

I seat mine to just where the the curve starts. That leaves some boolit to crimp to. Can post a pic if you want.

swamp

[Dave Bulla]

Pic would be great swamp.

[swamp]

I will post in a few. Have to get camera.

Here are the pics. The boolit I cast is from an NEI mold.

[rhbrink]

There is a group buy either going on or about to start for a boolit like this I was just curious about just how well these will shoot at 50 yards, powder choices?

Dave I live just south of Kansas City, shoot at Pioneer Gun Club ever make it over that way?

Richard

[Dave Bulla]

rhbrink,

Never heard of Pioneer gun club. I'm up north between town and the airport. Usually shoot at Parma Woods range in Parkville. I've only shot a couple of these at 50 yards with 10 to 11 grains of unique and they shot very well. I want to get out and do some real testing on them soon. As I've mentioned in a previous thread, when you shoot these things you can't help but stop and giggle after each shot.

[swamp]

I started out using black powder loads. Now I use Unique and Trail Boss. So for my shooting has been short range plinking. And, yes they are alot of fun to shoot. Powder and lead go alot further with the light boolits and charges.

[Eutectic]

I started out using black powder loads. Now I use Unique and Trail Boss. So for my shooting has been short range plinking. And, yes they are alot of fun to shoot. Powder and lead go alot further with the light boolits and charges.

What fond memories!!

My father let me buy a Trapdoor Springfield when I was seven years old. It cost $14! It was right after the war (WW2) and primers were all but impossible to find. Finally my Dad found a thousand Peters #12 in a small shop.
My Dad ordered the collar button mold from Lyman (457130) and I started my long reloading career with that very same bullet!

As to seating depth....... The very first loads my father allowed me to load were black powder. He made a little scoop that held 16grs of Fg level full. We didn't size the case. The bullet was seated down all the way to the powder! It tightened up at that depth and they were quite accurate! I loved the smell of rotten eggs and how that collar button whacked a tin can compared to my Model 90 .22 Short. Dad made me wipe a patch through the bore after every shot. I soon tired of that as many tin cans seemed to be getting closer......

Finally I was taught to use the powder scale. The load became 5grs of Unique. The bullet was seated similar to the pictures shown. No crimp was used. They shot as well as the black powder load (which is a compliment) and I only had to clean when I got home. I remember a lot of unburnt yellow Unique flakes all over after a battle against the tin cans though...

Thanks for the memories.....

Eutectic