Hard

[mag_01]

Made some hard boolits today 200grs. .309s ----The cleaned Lee pot worked well------WW-- range scrap--Babbitt--and Linotype. Thought I forgot how to make hard boolits most have been soft lately---But wow they are hard-----Lino is almost gone and Babbitt is getting there as well. Boolits where dropped in water.

[jhalcott]

mag what do you use these hard bullets for? Why do you quench linotype,it is about 22bhn already? I'm just curious, not ragging on you!

[Ricochet]

Has anybody checked lino to see if linotype gets harder with quenching? I don't have any lino and don't see any coming, but if I were to cast with it I'd water drop it anyway, because that's the most convenient way to cast. That's why when I want softer boolits I mix a little wheelweights with a lot of soft scrap lead and quench it. I'm gonna water drop regardless. Plus, I've got a whole lot more soft lead than wheelweights. A little alloying goes a long way to harden it with quenching.

[mag_01]

I'm working some boolit loads up to J-bullet power levels----Lino and babbitt are a small part of the mix---I have a 30-30 Boolit load that will punch a steel plate 3/8s thick and leave a clean hole---This was at 75 yards.----I also shoot steel at 185 yards. offhand open sites and like to hear the boolit whack the plate. My K-31 load both boolit and bullet at 185yrds. give the same report. The plate at 185yrds. is to thick to penetrate about 4 or 5 inches----1 ft. wide 1.5 ft high Love to shoot at it requires no set up of targets. Lino about 5 % and babbit about 10%---A boolit that is too hard will mess up your dies and shatter . Dont have a hardness tester so I cant tell you what it is.-----Mag

[versifier]

Ricochet,
Yes, it does. As pointed out, it can be too much of a good thing if you are casting pure lino. It gets very brittle when water dropped pure. For rifle target boolits and those pistols which require harder boolits, one can save precious lino by adding some to WW in a 1:5 or 1:6 ratio and then water dropping. This had worked out well for me generally. There is one .30 Herrett Contender barrel I cast for that shoots best with the pure stuff air cooled (not a hunting load) - why it doesn't shoot its best with mixtures, ACWW, or WDWW like most everything else I own I have no idea, but the groups don't lie.

[Ricochet]

There is a lot of of mystery in cast boolits.

[jhalcott]

Years ago I used babbit to cast some hard bullets. I found the lube to be VERY important back then. Even paper patching could increase attainable velocity..We had some thing called GALVALUME at work. It was lighter than cast lead and would cast beautifully.When loaded like a regular cast bullet it shot lousy and plated a bore quickly. I decided to shoot it like jacketed stuff and got 1 to 3" groups at 100 yards. Lube was a high pressure moly grease smeared into paper patches. Yes, you could get well above 2700 fps. BUT I never found a use for them !Not accurate enough for targets and too hard for hunting! I DID bust a ground hog or two with them.

[mag_01]

The hard boolits worked well today and increasing the load 200gr. g/c from 32grs. of 3031 up to 36grs of 3031 still showed no signs of pressure---32 shot to point of aim and 36 shot 3 or 4 inches from center at 11 O'Clock ----groups where about the same---not a good day to establish anything because it was over cast and these eyes need a sunny day. Will go to 37 and 38grs. and see what the results are. (7.5x55 Swiss)

[Ricochet]

Funny, but on my south facing range, I have a hard time shooting well on very bright sunny days. I get a glare off one side of the front sight, and have a hard time seeing the level of the rear sight. I do better on a reasonably bright overcast day when the light is diffuse.