Finally fired my first cast loads.

[Skipper488]

Took my first cast loads to the range today. I carried two loads. The boolits were Lee TL453-230-2R, first load was over 4.5 grains of HP38 very light load, brass didn't expand enough to seal, black marks all back along brass, pistol didn't cycle well, several stove pipes and some that didn't even get all the way out of the barrel. Most shots key holed the target.

Second load was over 4.8 grains of HP38. Better results but still too light. I will increase to 5.1 and 5.5 grains for the next batch of load I take, 5.5 is published maximum in my book.:lovebooli

[Bass Ackward]

brass didn't expand enough to seal, black marks all back along brass, pistol didn't cycle well, several stove pipes and some that didn't even get all the way out of the barrel. Most shots key holed the target.

Second load was over 4.8 grains of HP38. Better results but still too light. I will increase to 5.1 and 5.5 grains for the next batch of load I take, 5.5 is published maximum in my book.:lovebooli


These statements make me wonder if your bullet diameter is large enough. Especially the key holing line.

[Walter Laich]

Always better to start too light than too heavy. 'Course you know that from how you're going about working up your loads.

Remember my Dad and his friends: how much powder could the compress into a rifle cartridge--it's a wonder I was even born with all they did :)

walt

[Skipper488]

The slightly higher load did not have the key holing effect. My mold is dropping at .4525 and I am shooting as cast. I am going to try to clean off the powder residue then weigh the barrel then use some barrel hoppes #9 and see if there is any lead removed from the barrel even though there is none visible to the naked eye.

[chris in va]

I've had two tumble lube boolit molds in 45 and 9mm and neither worked. Both did the tumbling thing.

I switched to the 452-228-1R and the 358-125-RF and both work much better.

[Char-Gar]

Skipper... All my red lights are flashing. Either of those loads should be plenty stout to cycle the pistol and make it out of the barrel. You didn't say, but that is the 45 ACP round in an autopistol..right? There should be no key holing. There is something you are not telling us that we need to know. I would suggest;

1. Check the weight of the recoil spring in that pistol.
2. Double and triple check the weight of those powder charges.
3. Make certain you have a taper crimp on those loads.

[cabezaverde]

Out of my Smith 6906, the Lee 120 TC tumble lube boolit hit the target sideways until I increased the charge of 231.

[dfrak]

Skipper488,
Sounds like you are on your way. I had a similar issue with some of my first casts a few month ago, although in a rifle.

Your load sounded like something I used in my 1911 with purchased cast bullets, so I looked at the Hodgdon site (http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp) and my notes. Hodgdon shows a range of 4.3 - 5.3 for HP-38 / W231 so you are on the light side, which is a good place to start. I used something in the middle of the that range.

Dan

[onondaga]

Your bullet diameter can be maximized by casting a little hotter. Turn up the heat gradually till you get slightly frosted bullets, this will give you the largest diameter bullet your mold will drop. Might be enough if your bullets were shiny before. Adding more tin will help also for the best fill-out of mold.

Gary

[Skipper488]

The gun is a Ruger P345 and has eat everything I have thrown at it with no problem til these. Even some factory cast SWCs. The Factory casts were right at .452, my casts were at .452-.4525 The lighter load key holed and didn't cycle the gun correctly. The heavier of the two loads I was testing I only noticed one key hole and the gun cycled everytime but didn't lock the slide back on empty one time. Both loads felt more like firing a .380 than a .45. I use a Lee Factory crimp die to put a good crimp on the boolits. I weigh every charge and while most of the charges are right on I will let the occasional +- 0.1 grain variance through. My target temperature is 750~, that seems to fill the mold the best. If it gets up to 800~ it starts acting funny. It looks like I'll be leaving town tonight so I won't get to load any but when I do I'm going to step the powder up a little and let you all know about my future observations. I really need to get a Chrony so I can put some numerical results to my reloads, I'm an engineer and I like numbers. :D

[Doby45]

Your mold temp is what is going to determine if you have frosted boolits or not. That can be regulated by your casting speed. Too frosty, slow down, too shiney, cast faster. Your melt temp needs to stay as low as you can get it. I can get frosted boolits with an allow temp of 725 and shiney boolits with an allow temp of 800. Regulate the MOLD, not the alloy.

I would also stop using the FCD on the finished rounds. My H&G68 clones were keyholing regardless of my charge weight, but the keyholing stopped when I knocked the carbide ring out of my FCD and just used it as a taper crimp die.

[fredj338]

One reason I am not a fan of starting loads in semiauto rounds. You very seldom get good results. Remember, many load data books use a Universal receiver, it only has to go bang. You'll find things get better at midrange & slightly above that. For W231/HP38, 5.1-5.2gr runs pretty well w/ a 230grLRN. Your 4.5gr load is only running around 700fps, not enough to stabelize the longer bullet.

[Char-Gar]

I have zero experience with Lee tumble lube bullets and don't have any plans to gain any experience. From reading the other posts, sound like that bullet might be something of a problem.

With any traditional 230 grain cast bullet, you should not be having the problems you state.

[Doby45]

I did not notice it was a tumble lube boolit. I concur with Charger. I would also suggest you pull a boolit from a finished round and see what the bands mic at. I assure you it will NOT be what you originally put it in the case at. If you are using nicely tuned M type dies to expand the brass and very careful you would be fine, but I am positive if you are using classic Lee dies to expand the brass you are crushing your driving bands.

[Bass Ackward]

It could be the bullet / load but I used 4.5 grains BE for almost 15 years with a 230 grain RCBS round nose, so I will guess the Factory Crimp die as well.

If you pull one and measure, I'll bet you are a lot closer to .451 and maybe under. When I just did this with mine, I got .4505 with 18 BHN after starting out @ .4525, so softer likely would be even smaller.

[Skipper488]

Yea, one of the other things I need to buy, an inertial bullet puller. I thought this was supposed to be a cheaper way of shooting.:groner:

[462]

Bullet pullers are needed for jacketed, too.

Install a shell holder in your press, insert a round, raise the ram, use a side cutter to grasp the boolit, lower the ram, measure the boolit's base with a micrometer.