Hollow based wadcutters, Lyman 41027

[azrednek]

Seems everywhere I see the subject on the net there is a horror story about skirt being left in the barrel and the next round damaging the gun or barrel. I have cast a few hundred 41 hollow based wadcutters, would like to shoot them but I’m a little hesitant fearing damage to my S&W Model 57.

Has anybody here ever personally experienced a problem with hollow based wadcutters leaving anything in the bore?? I’ve shot perhaps 5-6,000 hollow based 38's from straight wheel weights, loaded mild and never had a problem. The 38's shot well but surprisingly didn’t do as well as Lee tumble lubed flat base.

Can anybody share their experience with the Lyman 41027 or any bad experience with hollow based bullets?? Real horror story in itself just casting these, very time consuming and allot of rejects.


Do you think the horror stories are an out of hand internet rumor or is there a real concern when shooting any hollow based bullet in a reload??

[docone31]

I have not had any bases left in the revolver. I have not cast any, but I purchased both swaged, and cast hollow base wad cutters.
Today, I load them hollow base ourwards. Makes an interesting hollow point load.
Same load charge as putting them in base in.

[beagle]

I've shot the .41 HB WC and a bunch of cast 358395s, 358431s and 429422s....all HB. Never had a bit of problem.

Cast the HB bullets hot so as to get good fillout, inspect the cavity, sides and base carefully and reject any with wrinkles and you'll not have any problems./beagle

[jameslovesjammie]

Never cast any, but have shot thousands of 148 gr. hbwc's in .38 special and never had any problems. Never had a skirt break off.

[Harry O]

I have shot several thousand hollow-base bullets that I have cast and even more that I have purchased (.32 and .38 Hornady swaged hollow-base wadcutters). Never had a problem with them, but also I have never pushed any of them to high velocities. The 41027 sounds like an old number that was probably not created for the .41 Magnum. It was probably supposed to be used at lower pressures.

[Ricochet]

If you're loading them backwards with the same load, pressures will be higher if you seat them to the same overall length, because the "base" of the boolit in the case is now the solid nose with no cavity in it. You need to seat the boolit out farther to keep the internal case volume the same.

[docone31]

There is some base showing. Not a lot, but I do watch for pressure signs. Primers can really tell a story.
When the primer really craters, That is a little bit much.
Both of my revolvers are .357. I do have some lattitude with loads. I use blue dot and load for 158gns. They work ok up to 25yds, then the group spreads out.
I use the round punch in the die, it seems to roll the "base" in just a bit. Not much, just a bit.
So far, no pressure signs. The primer looks like a regular 38spl fired primer. Suprisingly little lead around the forcing cone, no shavings either

[floodgate]

Harry O:

The #41027 HB WC was introduced in 1962 (Lyman Annual Product Catalog #45) as one of the "New Bullet Designs For The .41 Cal. Smith& Wesson Magnum", and was dropped after 1978, when Lyman reverted to private ownership. The cherry number was borrowed from a long-obsolete #25727, a 75-gr. plainbase hollow-point listed from 1897 through 1939.

Floodgate

[beagle]

If you're unsure about using that HB .41, drop me a PM and we might be able to work up a trade for another .41 mould as I have a specific purpose in mind for one of those./beagle

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I had this mold and used it successfuly for the 41 Mag. for a long time. I never had any trouble with the skirts letting go. I seated it deeply with a reduced powder charge and shot good groups with a S&W M57 revolver. Casting with this mold was not fun at all. I had to rig up a rest made of heavy gauge wire to hold the HB insert in front of a propane torch in order to keep the insert up to temp or else it would cool down too fast and I would get wrinkles in the HB. Lubing all the grooves would make for a lot of smoke and also crud up the gun. I wound up trading the 57 and then used the mold for, of all things, a .405 WCF for short range practice. It was casting at .412 anyway so tossing in a little tin got it up to .413. it worked fine, again with a reduced charge. Of course it had to be fed by hand, one at a time, but...no skirt probs, plenty of lube and sharp clean holes. I eventually traded it at a gun show for another mold that I needed. LLS

[azrednek]

Thanks for the interest and inquiries I received but I don't want to put it it on the trading block at the moment. Could change tough. I also have three different discontinued Lee flat based 41 cal full wadcutters I'm going to experiment with.

If I don't get a worthwhile accuracy improvement with the hollow based mould I'll likely part with it as it takes allot of work and allot of patience to cast with it. Even after I get a good flow, the mould hot enough, there is about a 20-40% reject rate. I played around with a Lyman .358 HBWC mould loaded with loads ranging from 2.5-3.1 grs of Bullseye, un-sized, sized .358 and .357. None of the loads shot as well as the Lee tumble lubed DEWC with identical loads. On the other hand, a Lyman hollow based round nose .452 mould a friend owns, out shoots any 45 cal load I've ever cast and loaded. Sure wish he's part with it!! He also has a hollow based semi-wadcutter 45 mould. He paid a small fortune for both on Ebay.

I'm dealing with some time consuming medical issues, with summer near, Arizona heat and it getting to hot to enjoyably shoot. It could be a several months if I decide to part with it. Possibly I'll be horse trading the Lee 41 cal wadcutter Moulds. I'll keep the group in mind if I decide to trade it away but don't be embarrassed to initiate contact in a few months if I drop off and don't post regularly on the group.