dexterblack
02-07-2013, 12:44 AM
Hi All:
I bought a Lee 459-500-3R mould and cast up some acww boolits to try in my Pedersoli 1874 (45-70). The results were remarkably uniform and concentric, so I loaded ten of them as cast with 26gr of 5744, lubed with spg (the nearby indoor range is "smokeless only"). Granted, this boolit looks to be for BP, and I intend to use it primarily for that application. But I doubt this load drove these boolits much over 1200 fps, and they were pretty accurate -- but the amount of leading was alarming;not flecks, but big compacted "hairs" of lead from 10 rounds. (It is a 34" bbl, and there was not much lube at the muzzle, but the lube grooves are very large on this boolit.)
Then I realized something. When I calipered the boolits, the driving band diameter gets bigger, sequentially, as you work from the bottom of the Boolit up, with the .4595 band being the TOP (the band with a crimping shoulder), rather than at the base. Isn't that back-aswards?, or at least counter to many other BP boolits?
I would think this kind of "reverse taper", if you will, would promote cutting -- but I'm pretty new to casting. Is it designed this way, or did I get a defective mould? Comments appreciated!
Regards,
Dexter
I bought a Lee 459-500-3R mould and cast up some acww boolits to try in my Pedersoli 1874 (45-70). The results were remarkably uniform and concentric, so I loaded ten of them as cast with 26gr of 5744, lubed with spg (the nearby indoor range is "smokeless only"). Granted, this boolit looks to be for BP, and I intend to use it primarily for that application. But I doubt this load drove these boolits much over 1200 fps, and they were pretty accurate -- but the amount of leading was alarming;not flecks, but big compacted "hairs" of lead from 10 rounds. (It is a 34" bbl, and there was not much lube at the muzzle, but the lube grooves are very large on this boolit.)
Then I realized something. When I calipered the boolits, the driving band diameter gets bigger, sequentially, as you work from the bottom of the Boolit up, with the .4595 band being the TOP (the band with a crimping shoulder), rather than at the base. Isn't that back-aswards?, or at least counter to many other BP boolits?
I would think this kind of "reverse taper", if you will, would promote cutting -- but I'm pretty new to casting. Is it designed this way, or did I get a defective mould? Comments appreciated!
Regards,
Dexter