am i doing this wrong?

[leadjacket]

new member 1st post..i just got into casting boolits recently.i am a auto tech so i have almost unlimited supply of WW from work.i enjoy shooting BP,so i figured im going to give this a try.
i got a Lee mold part#90474 54cal. oversized improved minie on ebay.have been melting down WW in the garage ,learning as i go along.by trial and error and have managed to crank out about 100 boolits that i think are pretty decent,and having a blast the whole time.it really is addictive.
last saturday i took my T/C hawken 54 cal to the range,along with a big handful of my newly cast treasures.much to my dismay they wont fit in the end of the barrel,now im feeling stupid..is this what they mean by oversize and improved?
ive measured the boolits they are .547.i havent had a chance to measure my barrel..ok question time.. is this the wrong mold?im doing everything ive read as far as proper lead temp,alloy and hardness.do i need to size my boolits?
would appreciate any help..sorry for the long winded post

[grullaguy]

I shoot ball and REALs so I can't help you much.
Try cutting and pasting your question in the muzzle loader forum further down on this page.
I am sure lots of folks on that forum will have an answer for you.

[idahoron]

Your using the wrong lead. You want to use pure lead for them. The WW's could be used for PRB's with the right patch. Ron

[tomme boy]

I was always told to use pure lead. The WW may be too hard. Maybe not. You have to let the gun tell you what it wants. As for the mold, I think you have the wrong one.

[JeffinNZ]

I use 40/1 lead/tin for my .40cal Minies and that works great.

[leadjacket]

I shoot ball and REALs so I can't help you much.
Try cutting and pasting your question in the muzzle loader forum further down on this page.
I am sure lots of folks on that forum will have an answer for you.

im sorry..i thought this was the muzzleloader forum

[grullaguy]

im sorry..i thought this was the muzzleloader forum

Oh no, I am sorry now.
It would appear I am the confused one.
Too much jumping between forums I guess.:holysheep

[Boerrancher]

I have always been told that muzzle loaders have to have pure lead ammo, and have always used pure lead, until the other day when I casted up some round balls and found they work well, out of a lead alloy. With a minie I am pretty sure it needs to be as close to pure as possible. Having some tin in there won't hurt but antimony is a no no and wheel weights have antimony. I do know that Wheel Weights have a tendency to cast larger. I would try to get some pure lead, even if you have to go to a scrap yard and buy it. Or see if you can get some one here to trade you pure for wheel weights. I would trade you but I don't have enough pure to make a trade. I hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Hellgate]

The harder alloys will cast out at a larger diameter. Pure lead shrinks more upon cooling. The muzzleloader bullet molds are machined to throw the proper diameter bullet/ball using pure soft lead. Most other bullet molds for rifle & pistol are made to throw a lead alloy like wheelweights or linotype to the designated diameter on the mold. Some molds are a little "off" but generally within about + or - .001". Try dead soft lead and see if the minies fit. I have had no luck with 58cal minies with anything but pure, dead, soft lead. Round balls are more forgiving of hardness.

[Ajax]

You can always trade some of your wheel weights for pure lead here on the forum. When you meet the requirements to sell. On the other hand nothing is stopping you from posting a want to trade thread.


Andy

[mooman76]

You probably didn't get the mould you need. I looked at the Lee site and your mould specs out to .540. I have the same problem with their 50 cal moulds. The mini should come out a few thousands smaller than the bore size. For some reason the 50's don't, they are all .500 and the larger calibers do but your's in 54 comes in two sizes. .533 and .540 so if the bullet casts a couple thousands too big and when shooting you have your bore fouling to contend with, it makes for a tight fit and then you used WWs which makes it drop yet a few thousands bigger. I figured with the 50's I might as well be using the REALs if I have to pound it down the bore anyway.

[Hellgate]

Also make sure your bullets are not cast out of round. Sometimes spatter gets between the mold halves and they don't close completely which throws an out of round bullet. Your micrometer will tell that story. Wit real hot lead the bullets develope wings at the seam but cooler, quick hardening lead may not have the feathering which makes it obvious something is wrong. Just another thought.

[FL-Flinter]

Good answers already so I'll just add that being a newbie, I'd suggest going with soft lead until you get the hang of things then you can move on to the more involved things. The projo should be a little hard to get started, if they're too loose most won't shoot well. Also keep in mind that any projo that's not-tight-enough can migrate away from the powder charge causing a bore obstruction. Also, always double check that the projo didn't follow the ramrod back up the bore from air getting trapped and compressed under it during loading.
Mark

[leadjacket]

thanks for all the input.will certainly try softer lead.will mic the mould, aswell as the boolits to see if they are "growing".these things woulnt even begin to fit in the barrel.

[DODGEM250]

I have never searched for one, but, do any of the press makers make a sizing die for .542 or .541 ? I don't own a .54 so I might have to research this just for curiosity sake. I do know that someone makes a sizing die for .58 cal like this example (http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_101_285&products_id=8083).

Only reason I ask is that I cast .45 bullets from a Lee mold that makes them .457 and I size them down to .451 for use with my Harvester sabots in my inlines. Might be able to pan lube and then size your .54 cals down.

[Bullet Caster]

My 2 cents worth. I've always heard that you should only use pure soft lead for conicals for a muzzleloader. I ONLY shoot PRB out of my flintlock so I don't have any thoughts on minnies or REAL conicals. If it were me, I'd give up on the conicals and shoot PRB. Also someone on this forum stated that you didn't have to use pure soft lead, that alloy would work just as well as pure soft lead. So then you have a camp half divided--those who say to use only pure soft lead and those who say you can use an alloy. I don't think it matters much if you're shooting PRB IMHO. BC

[Boerrancher]

+1 on what BC said, pure lead for conicals, and alloys don't really matter for Patched Round Balls (PBRs), but they do cast larger so you may have to use a thinner patch. Try casting you some round balls out of your wheel weights using a .530 RB mould, I think you will find that they will shoot real well once you figure out the load you need.

Best wishes,

Joe