Encore 50x209 & Lee S&W 500 440gr

[OnHoPr]

Has anybody tried a pure Pb Lee S&W 500 440gr in a .50 cal smokepole? Offhand I can't remember the twist rate. I was thinking of rolling the pure Pb 440gr Lee in melted beeswax to coat and fill the grooves. Then place it on top of 100gr vol of Pdex select. I'm not sure if I would go to the 150gr mark of powder though with that heavy of boolit. Just for under 100yd semi-brushy to brushy scenarios. Do you think I would get leading or accuracy problems? It seems like it would be a pretty good thumper.

[Flinchrock]

Has anybody tried a pure Pb Lee S&W 500 440gr in a .50 cal smokepole? Offhand I can't remember the twist rate. I was thinking of rolling the pure Pb 440gr Lee in melted beeswax to coat and fill the grooves. Then place it on top of 100gr vol of Pdex select. I'm not sure if I would go to the 150gr mark of powder though with that heavy of boolit. Just for under 100yd semi-brushy to brushy scenarios. Do you think I would get leading or accuracy problems? It seems like it would be a pretty good thumper.

People still tryin' to "magnumize" front stuffers,,,yeah it's gonna "thump" somethin'
alright...Do a search for posts by Idaho Ron, that man knows how to get it done with slugs,,and that slug in particular! (at least according to the pictures of the game he's taken) at longer ranges too!

[idahoron]

I have been paper patching this bullet for a few years. Yes they are thumpers big time. I have taken a Mule deer and a Antelope that will make the ML book. A friend of mine shot a BIG mule deer and a record book antelope. My son shot a doe with that bullet. No matter what angle that bullet plows through. I pour them a little harder than pure. I do about 6 to 7 BHN. I paper patch them and size them to .501 I also use an over powder wad with 80 gr of Pyrodex P.
The paper patched bullets work well in a 1-28 twist. That bullet is accurate in my rifle out to 300 yards for paper shooting. I don't know how they would work without the paper. Ron

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd294/idahoron/Antelope%202010/9-25-10Lsmall.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd294/idahoron/Antelope%202010/JohnsbuckA.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd294/idahoron/Deer%20hunting/2009buck08-A.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd294/idahoron/Deer%20hunting/Johndeer02-a.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd294/idahoron/Jacobdeer08-3-A.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd294/idahoron/Muzzleloaders/Paperpatch501.jpg

[OnHoPr]

Idahoron

Those are pretty nice looking critters there.:2_high5: I did a scan of your posts on the subject. Do they really make a WHOOOP sound when they hit?:bigsmyl2: I purchased the Lee S&W 500 mold about 1 1/2 years ago for reloading it in the 12ga slug/sabot configuration with the secondary possible idea of the muzzleloader. Hence, my thread. I tried putting one of my Pb .501 boolits down my 209/50cal barrel and it wouldn't fall down the barrel but with very very light pressure I seated it to the bottom. It didn't engage any rifling to speak of really. So, I did check out the buffalo web site and the site that you mentioned for paper acquisition. Question, how critical was the powder charge and alloy hardness for the accuracy acquired taking to consideration PP holdup, obturation, and/or bad boolit deformation on setback?:coffeecom

[idahoron]

Yes they do make a WHOOMP! When they hit. One of the things I have noticed after seeing several animals hit now is if the animal is hit in a vital area the energy is drained almost instantly. On the buck my friend shot the three point. That buck was hit in the flank and the bullet exited out the point of the shoulder. You can see the exit beside the lock of the gun. That buck went down like he was shot by an 06. That shot was at 117 yards.
My antelope the first pic was hit about the same and I saw the bullet plow dirt on the far side of him and he never took a single step he just piled up.
My buck was in the 115 yard range and the bullet smoked through and he did go down hill about 40 yards and piled up. Time for that was less than a minute.

On the powder. I shot Pyrodex Select RS to start with. I was getting hang fires due to the powder not trickling into the area under the nipple. I switched to the pyrodex P and everything was good. I started out at 100 gr. Nothing impressed me. I backed down to 90 gr and the gun shot a solid sub 1" group. After a couple more groups like that I thought I got it.
I moved out to 150 yards and not all of the bullets even hit paper. I backed it off to 80 gr and I got great groups and then moved out to 200, 250, and 300 yards. I have tried that 80 gr load in other rifles and it worked so I quite looking for anything better.

As for alloy. I used pure and it did ok. I got an occasional flyer but it was ok at best. I went to boosting the hardness just a pinch and it became the kind of gun that you KNOW it is going to hit where I point it. When that happened I got confident in the rifle and the load. After seeing the animals pile up I knew that this was a truly outstanding game bullet. Not one of these bullets has been found in an animal. I was hoping to try them on elk this year but I didn't get a tag.

I use a over powder wad so paper patch hold up is tough to be able to see because they shred instantly on exiting the barrel. The paper must be holding up because the accuracy is great.
Bullet deformation was a real possibility with pure lead. When I started to alloy the lead I had a sneeky hunch that something was going on. Also I read up a lot on the 1000 yard boys and what they were doing to their lead. When I realized that I was trying to do something similar but at shorter range 300 yards max I decided to try hardening it up a bit and see what happens. I might try hardening it up a pinch more maybe this winter for something to do but for now the alloy I use is wicked on game and very accurate. I just tested some bullets that were 11 BHN and I know I don't want lead that hard. Ron

[OnHoPr]

idahoron

Thanx for the info. I just noticed your sticky on the boolit, but being a PP sticky, I didn't check it out. Now you got me reading about PPing. I'll do more research on the subject and ponder an initial test for my rifle.