is there a 500mag HBWC design?

[Spawn-Inc]

wondering if anyone has made a HBWC for the 500 mag, don't care about weight, just thought it would be interesting to try since it works so well in the 38/357.

[bhn22]

I'm sure Accurate or Mountain Molds could make you a std wadcutter mold. A HB would have to be specifically engineered from scratch as a nose pour, and I'm not aware of anybody doing that. Mihec might consider such a project if you can either get a group buy to take off, or order however many dozen molds yourself required to make the project worthwhile to Miha.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

How about a 50 cal Lee Hollow base minie ?

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/559933/lee-1-cavity-improved-minie-ball-bullet-mold-500-360m-500-diameter-360-grain

I'd suspect the massive power of the 500 will blow the skirt off.

[Spawn-Inc]

I wouldn't push them very hard, it would just be target loads. Bullseye or trailboss for powder.

I emailed tom from accurate and he said he can use a 38spl mold and expand it to 50cal. He only does solid molds.

[turbo1889]

. . . I emailed tom from accurate and he said he can use a 38spl mold and expand it to 50cal. He only does solid molds.

Yes, and No, if you ask real nice he will do a design bored through from the bottom of the blocks to his maximum tooling length of 1.375" and then shave the top of the block off to produce a nose pore profile for a hollow base pin. Just without the pin, he don't do that part. Then you have to have someone else make a pin to fit a job several on this forum will do for you along with Erik at hollow point mold service. So it's a two step process but it can be done. So far Tom has four designs in his catalog that are done this way: AM#32-1100, AM#45-2550, AM#45-2551, and AM#45-2552. I don't think he can do it with a true full flat nose WC because he needs at least a little step at or slightly above the 1" mark to change cutting tools from a CNC side cutting tool to a CNC boring tool but he could probably do a through from bottom cut to make a HBWC mold (minus pin) with a nose similar to AM#45-240W to fit your 500mag.

Basically, within some limitations he can do a through from bottom cut and then you have to either make your own HB pin or have someone else besides him do the actual pin work. He only cuts the mold.

[Doc_Stihl]

I use the Lee HBWC over trail boss and unique. In my encore pistol and rifle they're very accurate. I keep my velocity at around 1k fps.

[turbo1889]

Basically Tom could probably do something like this for you as a "through the block from the bottom cut" and you would have to have someone else then make the hollow base pin to fit for you (example in blue colored lines to the right):

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3776/11950875255_84d4566741_c.jpg


With his tooling capabilities at least to my knowledge the nose can't be full diameter all the way to the top end of the cut like a true full wad cutter. The newest of his cataloged designs of this type (AM#32-1100) seems to indicate that his tooling capabilities have improved somewhat. Previously the 1" mark is where he had to change tools to a boring tool instead of a side cutting tool so there had to be at least 0.375" of non-full-diameter nose but from that most recent cataloged design of this type it appears that he can now cut up to 1.23" length full-diameter needing only 0.145" of non-full-diameter nose which could make a set-up like this possible:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7413/11951935366_45c7f90785_c.jpg



Obviously Tom himself is the ultimate authority on what he can and/or will do for you. But since I'm somewhat familiar with his tooling capabilities and this type of "cut from the bottom up and shave the top of block off to 1.375" block height and you figure out the HB pin yourself" he has done for those of us really wanting a hollow base design in one of his molds. Thought I would make you aware of it and do a couple quick draw ups in my CAD to show what he might be able to do for you along these lines.

[Echd]

In my limited experience with HBWCs I'd imagine it would destroy the skirt in any load that you would expect reasonable accuracy from.

[Doc_Stihl]

I've shot a couple hundred of the Lee Improved Minnie from 3 different encores. I've never "destroyed" a skirt.
If they're susceptible to having the skirts destroyed why wouldn't a 50 caliber muzzleloader do it?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've shot a couple hundred of the Lee Improved Minnie from 3 different encores. I've never "destroyed" a skirt.
If they're susceptible to having the skirts destroyed why wouldn't a 50 caliber muzzleloader do it?

The OP was asking about using it in a 500 S&W Mag. That cartridge has a Max working Pressure of about 60,000psi. I didn't say that design was "susceptible to having the skirts destroyed". I was mostly 'thinking out loud' what might happen if the boolit was pushed through a revolver with 60,000psi behind it. And I didn't suspect the OP would push it that hard, which he confirmed in a later post.

[Spawn-Inc]

Thanks for all the replies and working out a design turbo!

i think i would just get a DEWC style for affordability sake, maybe when i win the lotto this time around i will get one done lol.

with regards to blowing the skirt off, i figured that was hog wash but it might just explain what i found when shooting some black powder rounds. i got some hornady(i think) 300gr hollow base copper plated rounds and loaded them hot with h110, a few times i found a circle of lead and copper on the table after shooting them. i couldn't for the life of me figure out how that would happen, but it makes sense now.

http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo304/Spawn-Inc/Reloading/IMG_1039.jpg

[Bjornb]

I have a Mountain Mould that casts 275 grain Wadcutters for the 500 S&W. I'd be happy to cast up a few for those who'd like to try. No hollow base though.