knotbrush
12-20-2010, 06:28 PM
I was having problems with my 9mm 124gr TC TL Lee molded bullets keyholeing and leading the first two inches of the barrel. The load was 3.5gr 700-x. The advice was:
1. The bullet's too small. -They measure .356" The BBl is .355
2. The lead's too soft. -They measured 14 BHN
So, I added a 2lb. ingot of linotype to 18 lbs of wheel weigh ingots and water dropped. Those bullets measured 18.4 BHN. Now a month later, I finally get back to the 9mm. (I'd been avoiding the frustration) I accidentally dropped a couple onto the heavy aluminum plate on my bench and they sounded like steel ball bearings. I know they get harder with age so I retested the hardness. 27.4!!! ***! Now I wonder.......the .38 SWCs I made with the same batch of lead had HORRIBLE accuracy. I went from 1-1/2" groups at 30' to 6" groups.
So, what do I do with all these (600) .38 boolits I made that are 27.4 BHN? It seems like the more I learn , the less I know, and more and more variables are getting out of control. Should I even try the 9mm boolits? What happens if they DO work, will I be able to reproduce them?
1. The bullet's too small. -They measure .356" The BBl is .355
2. The lead's too soft. -They measured 14 BHN
So, I added a 2lb. ingot of linotype to 18 lbs of wheel weigh ingots and water dropped. Those bullets measured 18.4 BHN. Now a month later, I finally get back to the 9mm. (I'd been avoiding the frustration) I accidentally dropped a couple onto the heavy aluminum plate on my bench and they sounded like steel ball bearings. I know they get harder with age so I retested the hardness. 27.4!!! ***! Now I wonder.......the .38 SWCs I made with the same batch of lead had HORRIBLE accuracy. I went from 1-1/2" groups at 30' to 6" groups.
So, what do I do with all these (600) .38 boolits I made that are 27.4 BHN? It seems like the more I learn , the less I know, and more and more variables are getting out of control. Should I even try the 9mm boolits? What happens if they DO work, will I be able to reproduce them?