45 acp Lyman 180gr HP dropping heavy...alloy?

[catman81056]

I just got this 180gr Devastator mold and the boolits are dropping right at 198grs. My alloy is 50/50, COWW/Pure +2% pewter. Is this common? What could a person do to get them to the 180gr weight?

[fryboy]

mine drops 202 grains with 50/50 ww/Pb and around 198 with straight lino ...yes i often wish it was closer to 180 but it is what it is [shrugz] btw ? mine is 3 or 4 years old now , i love that i can switch to it and not have to adjust my seating die from the regular 452-374 , heck i could even use the same powder measurement but usually up it a bit

[lwknight]

The molds are probably weight rated for 2-6-92.
Your alloy is more like 2-1-97.
Add another 5% antimony and you should get the proper weight.

[phaessler]

Lyman states 180gn using their "#2" alloy, which in itself contains less "lead" than WW, and more tin. I would assume that with the mix used they would be heavier. Although without figuring the volume of the boolit and the specific gravity of your mix, this could explain the difference, or the mould is off a little bit. Mine also throws 195+ with COWW, and tin.

matl Lead tin Antimony
#2 90% 5% 5%

WW 95.5% 0.5% 4%

pure 100 0 0

Pete

[fredj338]

Mine come in heavy to , closer to 200gr. I think they "calibrate" using lyman #2, which will not expand, vs a lead/tin alloy like 20-1. I am happy with it, though, I prefer 200gr bullets & they are accurate & expand really well @ 900fps.

[fryboy]

i've cast mine with all sorts of alloys including lyman # 2 ( which supposedly is lyman's "standard" ) as stated before even straight lino doesnt get it under 195 grains ,nothing i have tried drops it below 190 ( nothing altho straight tin prolly would lolz ) my fav alloy for this bullet is soft as sin yet functions fine and expands dramatically ( 4 to 1 Pb to coww with 2% Sn ) lubed it's just under 204 grains and a .452 sizing die just barely kisses it at the parting line
even as heavy as mine is it's a great mold , consider that it's the same cherry as the 452-374 , yes it has a big hollow point but not enough to take away 45-50 grains , my 4 cav 452-374 is older , with #2 alloy it cast @226 lubed , a newer 2 cav i have cast a bit heavier @ 229 with #2 alloy lubed

[catman81056]

Thanks for the response's. I haven't had the chance to shoot these yet but I did load a few up using 4.5gr of TiteGroup. I'm shooting a Springfield XDS and thought the 180gr boolit would help moderate the recoil. Only time will tell.

[catman81056]

Thanks for the info, I have some Unique on the shelf. Might have to give it a go.