Casters Log: RD's TLC359-180-RF

[Ranch Dog]

I thought I would post some of my casting notes as I know there are a few guys waiting on Jeff223's GB on this mold.

I was out of boolits and I have my Postal Match IV hog hunters coming this weekend and they want to hunt with my 35 caliber guns. I cast up a couple of hundred boolits this morning but wanted to try something different than the 1 to 1 WW/Linotype I usually cast with. I've been doing a little mix and match to come up with something that fellows without access to linotype can use for high velocity big game boolits that do a good job of filling out the Lee Micro-Bands.

I'm very pleased with the results of RD Alloy #3 at the pot. I used 18# of wheel-weights, 2 1# bars of 1:1 (lead/tin) that I bought at Ace hardware, and 1 ounce of #8 shot. I ran my Lee Pro 4-20 pot hot... full heat until the alloy started to "brown" on the top of the pot and then backed the temperature control down to "8". This produced an 800 to 830° reading on my Lyman thermometer. The results were a good looking "silver" boolit that filled the Micro-Bands perfectly. I water quenched these boolits as they dropped and at the end of the day they averaged 187-grains, .3594", and a 21 BHN as measured with my Lee Tester. I pounded a number of the rejects (very few) with my 10# sledge against the garage floor and they are tough but start to flatten with a heck of a hit without shattering, crumbling, or anything else you don't want to see on game.

Now I'm going to load them up for my 336D and SC (35 Rems) and 336ER (356 Win). These guys should hammer some hogs with these boolits this weekend.

[Uncle Grinch]

Michael,

My formula is a little different as it's 8 lbs of WW and 1 lb of Lino, with 1 lb of #2 alloy thrown in to sweeten it. When WQ'd they test the same as yours (21 Bhn).

My lino is getting short (only about 60 lbs left), but I picked up a 60 lb bar of stereotype foundry lead that should help out.

Keep us posted on those hog hunters! (with photos)

[Ranch Dog]

Uncle...

We are lucky to have that linotype... I still have around 1500# but I want to be able to recommend a tested alloy for my molds that is easy to come up with, fills the Micro-Bands with great definition and knocks the snot out of big game. My experience with the straight WW and the Micro-Bands is that it just doesn't flow/fill well and that is why I turned to the tin. Again, based on what I've tried it seems that any cut of tin over of 2% is a waste of stock and 2% does a great fill job. The #8 shot is just for the arsenic as a hardening agent and is based on the LASC's recommendation of "1/4 of 1% arsenic is all it takes." (http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm)

I can get the 50/50 lead/tin bar stock or as rolls for around $7 each (or $14 a pot) at my local hardware store. I bought the 8# bag of lead shot for $20 so the one ounce that I used in the alloy mix was 16¢. Even if my wheel weight stock cost me 5¢ a pound my 20 pounds of alloy cost me $15.16 or 2¢ a boolit (based on the TLC359-180-RF). I don't think that is bad for a high velocity big-game boolit!

Last but not least Uncle Grinch... thanks for being a Sponsor of this fine site!

[jeff223]

thanks alot for all your work with these boolits Michael.your time and work with these boolits sure help out the mold buyers

im sure there will be alot of responces once my group buy molds are returned to me and i get them shipped out to the buyers

[Ranch Dog]

Boy, it is getting warm here. I spent the morning out on the range shooting my 336SC with this boolit of subject and H322. This old gun is tough to shoot, it's simply never been a good shooter with cast or jacketed but something in the neighborhood of 35.8-grains (my forth charge increment) did pretty good. I've been using TMT's Precision Records and Ballistics (http://www.tmtpages.com/index.htm#BPCB) (forum member Tom Myers) and this is what the screen-shot of the Target Analysis looks like...

http://gunloads.com/fam/ranchdogmolds/TLC359180RF/Data/35R/TMT336SCTLC359H322SS.jpg

Following his instructions, I use "Sorted By Average MOA From Group Center" to make the load selection which was 35.8-grains of the H322. This isn't as good a load as the H335 load I'm using in my 336D, the MOA is greater and the velocity lower with H322. I will do a little more tweaking with H322 before moving on to H335 in this rifle. This is good enough to kill a hog in the brush at 50-yards this weekend.

[Muskrat Mike]

RanchDog posted
"I can get the 50/50 lead/tin bar stock or as rolls for around $7 each (or $14 a pot) at my local hardware store. I bought the 8# bag of lead shot for $20 so the one ounce that I used in the alloy mix was 16¢. Even if my wheel weight stock cost me 5¢ a pound my 20 pounds of alloy cost me $15.16 or 2¢ a boolit (based on the TLC359-180-RF). I don't think that is bad for a high velocity big-game boolit!"

[/QUOTE]

I have been using 1# of 95Sn/5Sb soldier which I buy from my plumbing wholesaler for $8.73 a roll to 19# of WW. They want $4.80 for 1# bars of 50/50 bar solder which is tin/Lead. I fiquired for $8.73 I'm getting 15+ ounces of tin and .8 ounce of antimony whereas I'd have to buy two 1# bars of the 50/50 to get one # of tin for $9.60. In additon to being a smidge cheaper a little antimony should be a help right? Is antimony what you are using the shot for?:coffee:

[Ranch Dog]

I have been using 1# of 95Sn/5Sb soldier which I buy from my plumbing wholesaler for $8.73 a roll to 19# of WW. They want $4.80 for 1# bars of 50/50 bar solder which is tin/Lead. I fiquired for $8.73 I'm getting 15+ ounces of tin and .8 ounce of antimony whereas I'd have to buy two 1# bars of the 50/50 to get one # of tin for $9.60. In additon to being a smidge cheaper a little antimony should be a help right? Is antimony what you are using the shot for?:coffee:

MM... The roll of solder sounds like a great idea and I will try to find it once I'm out of shot and bars. Yes, the shot is for the antimony and the roll of solder you are using is doing the same thing with one less purchase and a few cents less. Thanks, just got to find it here in my one dog town. Everything is going "lead free" here but there is a plumbing supply as I go into Victoria which I do about once a week. I'll put it on my shopping list!

[cbrick]

In additon to being a smidge cheaper a little antimony should be a help right? Is antimony what you are using the shot for?:coffee:

The shot is added for Arsenic (As) as was mentioned above. In addition to the LASC page linked above, here is another page on cast bullet alloys that describes the arsenic in the alloy, plus it has some alloy recipes listed at the bottom of the page.

http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletAlloy.htm

Rick

[leftiye]

Not to be a PITA, but unless I'm lost in the fog, 1Lb. Tin (2 ea. 1lb. bars of 50/50 solder is giving you 5% Tin in a 20 lb. pot? 5% is good, but more than $7 more expensive than you said you wanted at 2% tin.

[Ranch Dog]

Not to be a PITA, but unless I'm lost in the fog, 1Lb. Tin (2 ea. 1lb. bars of 50/50 solder is giving you 5% Tin in a 20 lb. pot? 5% is good, but more than $7 more expensive than you said you wanted at 2% tin.

leftiye...

Dang, you are right. I wasted a one pound bar on 50/50....:???:

[Ranch Dog]

Now how about this... Some of you may have seen these charts that I've been working on. I've come up with a ballistics generator from all the pressure trace recordings I've collected with Hodgdon powders. It's just for my use, so heed the warnings on the chart. I'm pretty pleased with it though. It only shows one data plot from one shot yesterday against the forecasts (otherwise it clutters the chart too much) but the "pet load" for this rifle yesterday was only 1.2% off! The white star was actual and the blue star forecast! Very pleased. Use at your own risk.

http://gunloads.com/fam/ranchdogmolds/TLC359180RF/Data/35R/35R Data Chart.gif

The only trouble with all this is I'm supposed to be just getting a hog load settled for my Postal Match IV hunter but I start spending gobs of time working on this program. That's bad, things aren't getting done. This program selects Hodgdon powders that fill the case (with the boolit seated to the OAL) from 86% to 100% based on a given pressure range. Usually, it spits out three powders but for the 35 Rem it listed these four and two with honorable mention. 36.1-grains of H4895 (29.1K CUP, 100%) and 36.8-grains of Varget (27.1K CUP, 100%). It didn't plot lines for these two powders as it only generated the one load for each at 100% case density. None of this means that any given load will be a shooter, it's just telling me what is safe.

The numbers against the powder in the legend are burn rates from the Hodgdon chart (XX/105). My plans down the road, if the RD molds sell, is pay Hodgdon to record the data for me.

[Muskrat Mike]

MM... The roll of solder sounds like a great idea and I will try to find it once I'm out of shot and bars. Yes, the shot is for the antimony and the roll of solder you are using is doing the same thing with one less purchase and a few cents less. Thanks, just got to find it here in my one dog town. Everything is going "lead free" here but there is a plumbing supply as I go into Victoria which I do about once a week. I'll put it on my shopping list!

You have to really read the labels and quiz the people selling it because there's a whole bunch of different lead free solders out there with different ingredients.:coffee:

[Ranch Dog]

Not to be a PITA, but unless I'm lost in the fog, 1Lb. Tin (2 ea. 1lb. bars of 50/50 solder is giving you 5% Tin in a 20 lb. pot? 5% is good, but more than $7 more expensive than you said you wanted at 2% tin.

Like I noted before you are correct on the 5% figure. I went ahead and tried the 2.5% (1 bar) but will stay with 2 bars of 50/50 (at 5%) because the Micro-Band fill out wasn't as good.

[Ranch Dog]

Grrrr... 107 rounds down-range and this is the best out of my 336SC so far.

http://gunloads.com/fam/ranchdogmolds/TLC359180RF/Data/35R/LoadWorkComparison.jpg

Now on to Benchmark and H335 which this bucket of bolts has had a history of liking and then H4198 that I've never shot out of this rifle. I've got to keep reminding myself that this is a 100-yard hunting rifle... after shooting the 444, 45-70, and 450 Marlin's this accuracy is disappointing. We have had some pleasant days and this sure beats work or sitting on the tractor!

Spring break is next week and my shooting machine will be here (my nephew) and I've got plans for him. Strain gages are on the 45-70 and 450 Marlin, he's a big kid and can handle the recoil!