inthebeech
01-15-2011, 03:21 PM
Thank you all first off for the suggestions from my earlier posts regarding a lead free target load for my Flat Top Blackhawk.
We are a couple hundred rounds later, having tested a variety of combinations, all comming from the recommendations here and I believe that I have now come as close to my goal as I can with the existing bullet, lube and perhaps even powder. So I am now wondering where to go from here, if indeed mor progress could be made.
***Bullet - Accurate 43-220 (It is a collaberative design made for me). Please take a look at the shape (on-line catalog) to understand the design.
***Alloy - Moved from unknown scrap to carefully blended Lyman #2 alloy - noticably harder to the fingernail test.
***Lube- Tumbled with LLA AFTER SIZING.
***Sized - .432 with a honed out Lee push through die, which is a very tight fit in my cylinder throats.
***Seated - about 3/16 inch is fully within the throat so roughly half the bullet is out of the case. The half in the case is being sized down When seating, only about .0005 inch (and probably springing back most of this half a thou when it comes out.
*** Charge - unlike before I am now able to shoot my "gauge" load of 6.5 gr Unique with very little leading. Before using a harder alloy and matching the diameter to just over throats, my testing only allowed 4.9 grains with this same nominal amount of leading.
Conclusion and Request: It seems that I have found as much success as I might ever without changing powder, bullet, or lube (or lube style) as I am now comfortably in the midrange of power, probably in the 800 - 850 f/s zone, with very little leading which is concentratd within the first eighth inch of the lands and the forcing cone.
I would like to know if any of the "constants" now need to be addressed as I do recall comments from others who have obtained zero leading as well as having clean barrels with considerably heavier loads. I am not opposed to a traditional lube grooved design or a different design for other reasons. Another mold and a lubri-sizer are not really constraints here. I am enjoying the learning process.
Thanks and feel free to ask any questions.
Ed
PS- Recall that the amount of leading that I am describing is always after ten rounds for every test load. Then I scrub clean and move on.
We are a couple hundred rounds later, having tested a variety of combinations, all comming from the recommendations here and I believe that I have now come as close to my goal as I can with the existing bullet, lube and perhaps even powder. So I am now wondering where to go from here, if indeed mor progress could be made.
***Bullet - Accurate 43-220 (It is a collaberative design made for me). Please take a look at the shape (on-line catalog) to understand the design.
***Alloy - Moved from unknown scrap to carefully blended Lyman #2 alloy - noticably harder to the fingernail test.
***Lube- Tumbled with LLA AFTER SIZING.
***Sized - .432 with a honed out Lee push through die, which is a very tight fit in my cylinder throats.
***Seated - about 3/16 inch is fully within the throat so roughly half the bullet is out of the case. The half in the case is being sized down When seating, only about .0005 inch (and probably springing back most of this half a thou when it comes out.
*** Charge - unlike before I am now able to shoot my "gauge" load of 6.5 gr Unique with very little leading. Before using a harder alloy and matching the diameter to just over throats, my testing only allowed 4.9 grains with this same nominal amount of leading.
Conclusion and Request: It seems that I have found as much success as I might ever without changing powder, bullet, or lube (or lube style) as I am now comfortably in the midrange of power, probably in the 800 - 850 f/s zone, with very little leading which is concentratd within the first eighth inch of the lands and the forcing cone.
I would like to know if any of the "constants" now need to be addressed as I do recall comments from others who have obtained zero leading as well as having clean barrels with considerably heavier loads. I am not opposed to a traditional lube grooved design or a different design for other reasons. Another mold and a lubri-sizer are not really constraints here. I am enjoying the learning process.
Thanks and feel free to ask any questions.
Ed
PS- Recall that the amount of leading that I am describing is always after ten rounds for every test load. Then I scrub clean and move on.