Oversize bullets

[jeff100]

Howdy y'all...I'm new to this forum. I've been lurking in the background for awhile reading, but this is my first post.

I've been a reloader for near thirty years, but never cast any boolits. Today I finally pulled the trigger on my first piece of casting equipment, a RCBS Pro furnace 220 volt. Midway had a few on closeout for $269.00. That seemed like a great deal to me. I want to cast up some target & hunting boolits for my two Marlin lever guns, a 444 Marlin and a .45-70 Gov., and many boolits for my .44 mag revolvers. It's my understanding that these Marlin Microgroove barrels shoot cast boolits best with over size cast boolits. Ranch Dog has oversize Lee moulds and Lee sizers and I'm planning to buy some of this equipment. Does anyone have any other recommendations for oversize boolit dies made by anyone else? I'm not crazy about the lube grooves on the Ranch Dog moulds, I'd prefer a more traditional lube groove. But most of the forum posts on the RD moulds are very positive.

Any other recommendations...I'm here to learn.

Thanks....Jeff

[RobS]

Welcome to the forum Jeff!!! A bit more expensive but there are custom mold makers such as accurate molds, BRP here on the forum, LBT, MiHec, NOE Mountain Molds etc that will have designs which cast larger bullets. RCBS does make molds that will cast at the larger diameters of .460+ I had designed two 45-70 boolits over at accurate molds and they work very well out of my Dad's 45-70's. I also have two 45 cal molds over there as well.

BRP has some good 45-70 designs. Lee molds would be ok if they would cast out large enough, but they just simply do not..........well unless you get lucky and find a fat mold.

http://www.accuratemolds.com/
http://www.brp.castpics.net/
www.mountainmolds.com
http://www.lbtmoulds.com/
http://www.mp-molds.com/

You can look into the group buy section or vender section her as well. Hope this helps you out just a bit.

[thx997303]

I shoot the 350 gr ranch dog boolit out of my 45-70.

1" groups at 100 yards with LLA/JPW tumble lube and a charge of unique is not uncommon with this gun and load, assuming I'm shooting from a rest. :p

Aside from which, you can lube those ranch dogs in a traditional lube sizer without too much trouble.

Hope you have some fun.

[onondaga]

I wonder if it is an aesthetic opinion that causes you to be not crazy about the tumble lube grooves. They look different because they are a functional design to work with a specific bullet lube technology. I actually think they are pretty because of that appearance and tumble lube is an easy, no tool excellent lube technology. Many people don't care for the long time that Lee Liquid Alox (LLA) takes to dry. I don't care for that either and it is a sticky lint magnet when I carry a few rounds in my pocket while hunting. I was introduced to a vast improvement on LLA here on this forum. The 45-45-10 mix is a wonderful lube modification, it dries in 5 minutes instead of the overnight dry needed for LLA. And the 45-45-10 really does dry to a non-sticky lube and it does not have the ugly poop brown blotchy color of LLA. You will still be able to see the pretty shine of your nicely cast boolits with 45-45-10.

AN easy way to mix 45-45-10:

Put 4 oz LLA in a glass measuring cup.
Add Johnson's paste wax to bring level to 8 oz in the cup.
Spoon the Johnson's into a sauce pan and melt it gently with low heat.
Pour the remaining LLA into the pan.
pour 1.125 oz mineral spirits into the measuring cup.
swirl it around do dissolve the remnant LLA in the cup.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour the spirits into the pan.
Stir thoroughly.
When cool put your new 45-45-10 lube in a squirt bottle container.

Use the same application instructions as LLA except the dry time is about 5 minutes.. If you are sizing/gas checking, lube the bullets, place gas check on and size immediately with Lee Size Die Kit and lube again. You are done.

The tumble lubing itself only takes seconds. I usually do about 200 at a time in half gallon plastic milk carton with the top cut off. Put in the bullets, squirt in a little 45-45-10, swirl and tumble a minute and then dump the lubed bullets on wax paper to dry for a few minutes.
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c338/rhymeswithwhat/lubed454510.jpg
These little monsters get shot out of my NEF Handi-Rifle, .500 S&W Mag. They are Lee R.E.A.L. 250 grain wheel weight/Lino, 10:1 alloy boolits that have been tumble lubed with 45-45-10, sized to .501, then lubed again. I think they are pretty, and I get zero leading at 1885 fps in my rifle and the load groups less than 1 inch at 50 yards consistently for my grandson or myself!

Gary

[jeff100]

Many thanks to all. Gary - Yes, it's an aesthetics issue, I have no experience to know how these molds/bullets perform. I'm all about function, so if they work, that works. I'll try this lube with the RD bullets, thanks for the info...Jeff