boolit size?

[XWrench3]

how much smaller should a pp boolit be than bore size? the reason i am asking is someone suggested i use pp-ing on some regular boolits i already have that are 0.0015" smaller than my bore. i am not sure that is small enough. also, do you wet the paper before you roll it on? and wrap in what direction, with the boolit rotation or opposite boolit rotation? thanks.

[geargnasher]

The wisdom I've received here and elsewhere for smokeless powder pretty much universally has been .001-.0015" OVER bore diameter with the slug, and it works for me every time. Wrap to .001" or so over GROOVE [edited to correct that, thanks Nrut!] with the patch, or patch to fit the throat, which ever is larger, up to the safe limits of chamber neck clearance.

I tried going under bore one time and still patching to over groove, had trouble hitting the target paper with a gun that would group very well with .0015" over bore.

In the end it all depends, but I'll always try for just over bore diameter FIRST.

You might check out the sticky in this section, I asked all those questions and many more and got some very good answers, should help you quite a bit.

Gear

[Nrut]

Pre-wapped should be .001-.0015 over BORE dia.
Patched bullet varies but generally .001+ over GROOVE dia. or to fit the throat..

In Gear's post above I am sure he meant to say you wrap to .001 over groove (not bore dia)...with the patch, or patch to fit the throat, which ever is larger, up to the safe limits of chamber neck clearance.

Yes I wet the paper however some don't..
I wrap my bullets in a direction that the twist will tighten the patch if that is possible..

Using a single shot I patch my bullet so that it fits the "unsized fired case neck" snuggly..

[303Guy]

Using a single shot I patch my bullet so that it fits the "unsized fired case neck" snuggly.. I do that for my Lee Enfield' for magazine feeding. The Lee Enfield throats are quite large so I can do that. It doesn't take much for the neck to grip the patched boolit securely. Only the paper compresses.

[Nrut]

It doesn't take much for the neck to grip the patched boolit securely. Only the paper compresses.
Yep,
You only need 1 or 2 thou of paper compression to hold the bullet securely..

I haven't had time to do much bolt action work with PP other than determine what size push thru sizers I need to size down the bullet before PP..
I am really looking forward to NRA 30 cal. group buy mold that CRJ doing..
With that mold and right paper thickness, just cast, wrap, lube, load and shoot..

:drinks:

[pdawg_shooter]

Yep,
You only need 1 or 2 thou of paper compression to hold the bullet securely..

I haven't had time to do much bolt action work with PP other than determine what size push thru sizers I need to size down the bullet before PP..
I am really looking forward to NRA 30 cal. group buy mold that CRJ doing..
With that mold and right paper thickness, just cast, wrap, lube, load and shoot..

:drinks:

If you are a 45-70 or .458 Win. shooter the Lyman 451114 works real well. Drops from my mold at .451 and 431gr using air cooled WW and makes a fantastic hunting bullet.

[CJR]

pdawg shooter,

Lyman shows 6 grooves on the 451114 CB. That many grooves would be excellent in holding the PP from slipping.

Best regards,

CJR

[pdawg_shooter]

It is beyond a doubt the best 45cal PP slug I have found, and if there is any around I haven't tried over the last 45 years I don't know what it would be. They can be hard to find though.

[Nrut]

If you are a 45-70 or .458 Win. shooter the Lyman 451114 works real well. Drops from my mold at .451 and 431gr using air cooled WW and makes a fantastic hunting bullet.
Ha!
I have been resisting using PP in my 45-70...
But I seem to be weaking....:shock:

[geargnasher]

You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Gear

[Nrut]

You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

Gear
Funny thing I dug out a nice 325gr -.454" mold night before last with the thought of PP'ing it after I re-read Ross Seyfried's excellent article on the .450 NE in Rifle #190..
I don't care to shoot 400gr. + bullets over 1500fps in my guide gun or #3 but the little 325 grainer at 1750fps might not be to bad and would shoot flat enough to 200 yds. with out holding off the hair..

[longbow]

I made a PP mould for my .308 many years ago and used the Lyman recommendation of 0.301" diameter.

I cut the mould to cast 0.301 using wheelweights and that worked out fine. My .308 liked them and shot well.

However, when I got my .303 and tried the same boolits it wasn't happy. I knew they were a couple thou below bore size but used thicker paper and patched to groove diameter. The gun did not like this at all.

At the time I couldn't quite figure out why but thought the patch might be slipping so decided to knurl some smooth boolits. Knurled they grew to 0.304" and shot pretty well so I figured the patch slipping thing was what caused problems.

Then after reading that for smokeless PP shooting it is recommended that the boolit be bore size or slightly over then patched to groove it all started to make sense. It probably wasn't knurling that held the patch, it was knurling that raised boolit diameter to just over bore diameter that made the difference.

Also, as a bit of confirmation there, I also tried patching much oversize boolits with thick paper then sizing back to groove diameter and found they didn't shoot well either but after unwrapping and miking, I found the lead had been sized back to about 0.002" under bore diameter.

So, the short story is that as Gear says it is hard to go wrong with 0.001" over bore and patch to groove.

It works for me anyway.

Longbow

[nanuk]

I'm interested in trying some PP in my H&R Handi 45/70, but the bore is 0.455 or so...

any idea where I can find a 0.456 mould in around 350-375gr?

if nothing is out there, I guess there is always Tom at AM.

I have some others but don't have a sizer of that diameter.

[XWrench3]

i am contemplating this for my 300 win mag. it shoots cast boolits very well at extremely reduced loads, but when i tweak them up, the accuracy goes away. how do i determine what tightening of the patch is. it is a Remington 700 rifle. is tightening wrapping in the same rotation of the rifling, or opposite of it? can anyone recommend a mold for this? can i use a regular 30 cal mold, or (i think) this going to be to big.

[303Guy]

Wrap in the direction of the twist. It probably makes no difference but it seems logical. It theoretically also helps unwrap the patch after leaving the muzzle. But the patch is supposed to be shredded at the muzzle anyway so .... :roll:

[geargnasher]

If you wet patch it makes no difference, the patch sticks to itself and won't unwrap when dry. The directional wrap was more for black powder big-bores that are typically loaded with under-bore boolits and under-groove patched diameter with dead-soft lead which slugs-up when the powder goes BANG. If the patch isn't wrapped the right way, I suppose it could get loose and slip off the boolit in the throat.

Gear