JohnH
09-27-2005, 08:33 PM
Some time ago, Bass Ackward recommended to me that I try a softer alloy than I was using, especially as the fresh cast bullets seemed to group better than either ACWW or water dropped WW. Last week I figured "What the heck, I didn't stand anything to lose...."
Made a small batch of 20:1, which I currently suspect is not but much softer, unless my WW is harder than I think....more on that in a moment. I have/had some 200 pounds of pure lead, and about 30 pounds ingots marked 6/4. These came from an old friend, and I think they are from a radiator shop. In any case, I mixed 3 pounds of this to 21 pounds of the pure lead (ingots of lead are 7 pounds, ingots of the 6/4 are 6 pounds, both are same size)
Been shooting this everyday for the last week, and the groups are much more consistant that with the ACWW or the WDWW. Still have the first shot flier, but it is only 1" or so away from the main group, not 2" or sometimes more. And best yet, it the load/alloy has shown no tendancy to produce awful groups with no reason, even mixing in bent bullets in the shot string.
That's right.... bent bullets. Couple years ago when I got my 450 sizer, I only got one nose punch. Don't recall the number, but it is simply a large flat. Worked well with WW and 44, 45, 458, even 358 bullets with a wide meplat. The RCBS 35-200 don't have a big meplat, and a few bullets want to cock on entering the die, even though I seat the gas check square by hand, pressing it against the edge of my bench.
So, I've got the right nose punch on the way, but two questions have entered my thinking, one, could the fliers I have seen in past be a result of bent bullets??? I had not noticed this with WW, and I currently have no bullets of the 35-200 cast from WW to test the idea. Second, just how hard are my WW bullets? Of the two batches I had made of this bullet from WW, I had not observed this, but it was quite obvious to me uisng the tin alloyed lead.
I'm working with Buckshot on one of his hardness testers, and hope to be able to answer some of these questions soon, as there really is only one way. Years ago when I first started casting a fellow who had shot lots of Bullseye compition told me my alloy was too hard. I ignored this, as it was not the information one found in the current publications of the day. Perhaps Len knew more than I thought, I bet he did. Sometimes we console ourselves with the idea that we learned something even if it did take half a life time.
Made a small batch of 20:1, which I currently suspect is not but much softer, unless my WW is harder than I think....more on that in a moment. I have/had some 200 pounds of pure lead, and about 30 pounds ingots marked 6/4. These came from an old friend, and I think they are from a radiator shop. In any case, I mixed 3 pounds of this to 21 pounds of the pure lead (ingots of lead are 7 pounds, ingots of the 6/4 are 6 pounds, both are same size)
Been shooting this everyday for the last week, and the groups are much more consistant that with the ACWW or the WDWW. Still have the first shot flier, but it is only 1" or so away from the main group, not 2" or sometimes more. And best yet, it the load/alloy has shown no tendancy to produce awful groups with no reason, even mixing in bent bullets in the shot string.
That's right.... bent bullets. Couple years ago when I got my 450 sizer, I only got one nose punch. Don't recall the number, but it is simply a large flat. Worked well with WW and 44, 45, 458, even 358 bullets with a wide meplat. The RCBS 35-200 don't have a big meplat, and a few bullets want to cock on entering the die, even though I seat the gas check square by hand, pressing it against the edge of my bench.
So, I've got the right nose punch on the way, but two questions have entered my thinking, one, could the fliers I have seen in past be a result of bent bullets??? I had not noticed this with WW, and I currently have no bullets of the 35-200 cast from WW to test the idea. Second, just how hard are my WW bullets? Of the two batches I had made of this bullet from WW, I had not observed this, but it was quite obvious to me uisng the tin alloyed lead.
I'm working with Buckshot on one of his hardness testers, and hope to be able to answer some of these questions soon, as there really is only one way. Years ago when I first started casting a fellow who had shot lots of Bullseye compition told me my alloy was too hard. I ignored this, as it was not the information one found in the current publications of the day. Perhaps Len knew more than I thought, I bet he did. Sometimes we console ourselves with the idea that we learned something even if it did take half a life time.