Alloy for 45 cal PP booits?

[XTR]

What alloy works the best with something with a long nose like a Money bullet? I'd think it would be something a little harder to keep the nose from deforming, am I right?

[Lead pot]

If you like to use WW a mix of 50/50 (WW/Lead) will work just fine. I use 6 lbs WW 14 LBS lead.
If you dont like WW 1/18 Tin/Lead will hold the long nose.

[XTR]

I've probably got a source for pure lead to set me up for a while at minimal cost so I'll be making my own alloys. I'd read another comment somewhere else of using 16:1, which is pretty close to the 18:1.

[montana_charlie]

I'd read another comment somewhere else of using 16:1, which is pretty close to the 18:1.
16:1 is one of the 'traditional' alloys that have been in use since the 1870's.
A lot of the bullets bought directly from Sharps were 16:1.

A lot of modern shooters use 20:1 and 30:1 alloys with good results, so 16:1 is less common. But, when a nose comes along that needs stiffening, 16:1 is the natural 'next thought'.

I am using a 20:1 alloy for my paper patched Money bullets. But, I have to patch a bit forward of the ogive start ... to prevent lead to steel contact when the bullet's nose bumps up.

My bullets are very well-aligned with the bore, so they don't go sideways when they 'slump'. But they would take a more normal patch position if they were a bit harder.

CM

[Lead pot]

XTR.

I see you live in Tennessee. I don't know if you got any of the snow from the last storm or not, but you can answer your own question by casting a few bullets with a different mix and shoot them into a snow pile and see what works with your bullet design.

[RMulhern]

Here's 8 rounds (all I loaded that day cuz I was keeping my grandson) I fired one afternoon about a week back from 200 yards. All 8 rounds inpacted just adjacent to the 1 3/4" thru-bolt holding this plate on. These were with a 528 gr. BACO PP Money bullet at 1-40 alloy. Load was 102 grs. KIK 2F with a Russian primer. Rifle was my Shiloh 45 2 7/8. So far, after many months of shooting the 1-40 alloy (with the exception of a 5 month lay-off at beginning of this past June) I've found that I get excellent accuracy at this ratio! IMO...if you're going to shoot 'bore diameter' PP you'd best use a thick lube cookie; otherwise you may as well be out behind the barn choking your chicken!!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8498/8288532209_234a246788_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61286670@N08/8288532209/)
8shts200 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61286670@N08/8288532209/) by Sharps45 2 7/8 (http://www.flickr.com/people/61286670@N08/), on Flickr

[Hiwall55]

RMulhern ,a question, if you swabbed between shots would you still need a lube cookie?

[nhrifle]

RMulhern, that's some nice shootin!

It goes contrary to everything I have read, but I get excellent accuracy shooting straight wheel weight PP boolits in my Uberti Quigley. I have never recovered one so I don't know if they slug to bore size or not, but I can nail the xring of an NRA standard 200 yard target at that distance. I patch to bore size over a lube cookie over a card wad over a healthy dose of Goex CTG, WLR primer. Might not work for anyone else, but works in my rifle.

Also read that roundballs should be cast from pure lead so the patch can grip them. I read that after years of casting from WW alloy and making 100 yard shots on suirrels.

[bigted]

[smilie=1: that is exactly the advantage of using a case longer then the 2.1 length...case in point is mulherns 2. 7/8ths length. like my 3.250 length case...i have ample room for my 100 plus grain load plus my thick cookie and the walters wad over cookie wad plus the wax paper card over powder to keep the cookie from visiting my powder supply...this all sparked with a cci large rifle primer.

as to the lead i use...i buy all my casting lead from muddy creek sam and so far have had zero problems with it and anything i want to cast and shoot. the boolits that baco sell are from pure lead but i have not examined them post mordum for what happens to the nose...but my boolits all have a fairly short nose either round or flat bone crunchers AND...as will no doubt be pointed out...my LONG shots are 300 yds as primarilly im looking for hunting loads thus far and ive found a plethra of loads that fill my bill thusly...:drinks:

[Gunlaker]

Highwall55 you should search the archives and look at some of the long range targets Rick has posted. There is some impressive shooting going on there! I've found that the lube cookie works well out of all my rifles. I've never been able to make a plain veg fiber wad work well in chambers cut for grease grooved bullets, but often a LDPE wad will do the trick. It's just not very traditional.

Chris.

[montana_charlie]

RMulhern ,a question, if you swabbed between shots would you still need a lube cookie?
Watched a video he made. He does wipe between shots. Two wets and a dry ...

[Lead pot]

You have to be careful with the temper of the alloy with the "long nosed" projectiles. some times they will just get a straight setback in the ogive, this is usually the case when the bullet is patched slightly over bore diameter or at groove. A bullet one or two thousands over bore diameter or right at groove diameter will usually fair pretty good using a soft alloy even as soft as 1/40 T/L but the bullet will loose it's aerodynamics your trying to gain say over a Postell type of bullet.
I have seen bullets I have recovered undamaged with the nose having a slight cork screw twist as well as the nose bent. This will not show up at closer ranges like 100 or 200 yards on the target more then maybe a hole 2" out of the group maybe, but at long range you will be out in left or right field someplace or plowing dirt.

A alloy with just a small percentage of antimony added will hold the ogive setback where the bullet will still "bump" up and fill the grooves and still hold the nose from minimal setback. 50/50 WW/Lead will stand very good and will cast very good bullet.
I use a lot of no lead solder, 95% tin 5% antimony and some antimony, copper, silver mix in the lo lead solder with a mix of 10 lbs lead and a one pound roll of solder for my long nosed prolate . 431 PP bullets.

Going to hard and patching under bore has some problems also by not upsetting enough to get a reliable set with the lands to get full rotation where the only thing that is gripping the lands is the paper and not the alloy. Again a bullet that is patched over bore diameter will work quite well.

Here is one "money" bullet that started patched just under bore diameter with a alloy to soft. A Traditional bullet used by the ODG's would not do this even using 1/50 T/L alloy or pure lead swagged.

http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww43/Kurtalt/IMG_0324.jpg