Wide front drive band??

[Guesser]

We as a group seem to want wide front driving bands on our cast boolits, the Keith designs are held up as examples, often; and I'm very satisfied with them. I purchased here at CB a 32 revolver mold a couple years back that has a very wide front band, the Ideal/Lyman # is 313445. This has proven to be a superbly accurate design in 32 S&W Long, 32 H&R Magnum and I'm now working on recipes for 327 Federal Magnum. I have never seen, anywhere, another boolit of any caliber that has as wide, proportionally, a band as this design.
Why hasn't it been more widely used?
Opinions?

[runfiverun]

it's often called a scraper band also. [the band was used to clean the barrel ahead of the boolits passing]
in some revolvers that front band holds everything in alignment in the throats.
in other guns it just won't fit without being sized just so, or the throats shape is tapered quickly and won't allow the larger square band.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Yesterday I got to cast some boolits for the 358win rifle I don't own yet. I recently acquired two modified RCBS 35-200 molds from a fellow member. He had Eric of hollowpointmold.com enlarge the drive bands to .360 and lengthen the front drive band...and remove the gas check shank on one of the molds. Making them about 215gr with WW alloy. You can kind of see it in the krappy photos below. I am anxious to get the rifle to see how much throat/Leade there is.

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/boolits_zps6626b5b5.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/boolits_zps6626b5b5.jpg.html)

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/moldsandboolits_zps396fadc0.jpg (http://s640.photobucket.com/user/JonB_in_Glencoe/media/moldsandboolits_zps396fadc0.jpg.html)

[detox]

it's often called a scraper band also. [the band was used to clean the barrel ahead of the boolits passing]


Especially when using thick fowling Blackpowder.

My 357 magnum 158gr RCBS Cowboy mould has no such wide band in front of crimp groove and shoots just as good or better than the Keith design with band...i am confused...lots of freebore in 686 cylinder using Cowboy boolit.. I thought the wide front driving band was supposed to align boolit in cylinder for better accuracy.

Here is a picture of the Lyman Cowboy left vs the RCBS Cowboy boolits. The lyman is loaded to just touch cylinder forcing cone (about .090 bearing surface ahead of crimp groove). The RCBS has lots of freebore with no bearing surface ahead of crimp groove. Both shoot equaly well.

[paul h]

I think it has more to do with bearing length from bullet base to the end of the driving band being sufficient for the barrel to stabalize the entire bullet rather than just the front driving band. That said, I've had short stubby bullets shoot well, and those with fairly long noses shoot well. All these happen to be .475" bullets and all have shot 5 shot 1" groups at 50 yds from a handgun.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/744100033_3339F6808143EE14AD3755B7E8638787.JPG

And I've had the same accuracy results with 1/2 dozen other bullets in the same dia and gun in swc, and lfn designs with varying weights and band lengths.

[Guesser]

85985859868598585986A couple pics to illustrate what I'm talking about a wide band like no other. Ideal/Lyman #313445, 98 grains, sized .313. The loaded round is a 32 S&W Long.

[detox]

Wide custom band. Does gun shoot better now?

[MT Gianni]

I don't think it's custom. Ideal describes it as a 95 gr 311 bullet but I can't find an original pic.

[Guesser]

Original description is in Ideal #37. It was a standard production #, and it does shoot very well in my Colts and S&W's. Haven't tried it in 32-20 or 327 yet, but I will.

There is also a comment in Lyman CBHB#1 on page 129 about this boolit in 32-20.

[Mk42gunner]

Guesser,

Your pictures didn't open for me, but I have one of the SC Ideal 313445 molds. Mine produces so so accuracy from every gun I have shot it from, with the exception of a S&W Model of 1903. That one it shoots good from.

Like many Ideal/ Lyman molds, there are at least two variations-- One with a full diameter front band, and one that is a few thousandths smaller, like mine.

I remember reading somewhere that it was designed by Ashley Haines in the mid 1930's.

Robert

[Guesser]

I find that if I push it a little hard for the cartridge I'm loading it in I get better performance. I'm also finding that Trail Boss in 32 Long seems to be very good; a full charge of Trail Boss, following the TB load instructions. Works in Colts, S&W, Charter Arms, Taurus and H&R.