.54 Paper Patch Mold

[54bore]

Just got my new Custom Paper Patch Mold for my fast twist 54 Cal from Accurate molds, Tom does AMAZING work! I went .533 with both designs, these were in his Catalog as 50 PP, i just had him chubby them up a bit, the smaller of the 2 bullets here is the bullet i plan to have made up for .50 Cal, it will be put on a diet and trimmed to .492-.493, This is a Steel Mold. Hopefully get some bullets poured today

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[johnson1942]

oh my gosh, that is a beauty and those bullets will drop anything and drive tacks at any range your shooting. keep us in the loop.

[Nobade]

Not much is going to be able to stand up to those. Hang on when you touch it off!

Tom is such an amazing resource for us now. All of a sudden doing things like what you are up to is no big deal rather than what we used to have to go through to get just the right bullet for some project or another.

-Nobade

[Harleysboss]

I cant believe we have not seen a fresh batch of bullets poured in that new mold!

[54bore]

I cant believe we have not seen a fresh batch of bullets poured in that new mold!

The weather has been horrible here, I usually set up and pour bullets outside but that is out of the question with snow falling and suppose to continue for the next few days, my little garage is packed so full of stuff i have to climb over and under to get around in it! I'm thinking tomorrow i will get out there and make a spot, stay tuned

[rfd]

tom makes a great mould, i prefer aluminum and i have a 45-505xr for paper patching .45-70 and just ordered a 45-530P for a heavier payload.

[54bore]

First session, not real proud of my casting, casting is NOT my specialty! I can't seem to get the temp right? I'm confident i am running to hot, these turned out good but the farther in the session they started acting up, i ended up tossing the rest back in the pot. I cleaned the mold up good, gonna give it another go this morning and try backing way off on the heat. Here is a few pics of the ones i kept. They measured right on the dot .533 diameter, 2 wraps of onion skin brings them up to .541, then a trip through my .539 sizing die to snug the paper up. These are gonna get tested by Harleysboss in his Knight MK-85 .54 Cal 1:28 twist. I tested the Hardness with my Cabin tree, they are on the soft side at 6 BHN

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[rfd]

those sure look like beauties to me! dang good job!

[54bore]

those sure look like beauties to me! dang good job!

I am excited to get out and try these in this new Lyman GP 'Hunter' 1:32 Twist, weather has been horrible around these parts, snow, and rain, quick as this breaks i will get to hammering these! I cleaned the mold good again yesterday morning, turned the heat down on my lead pot and got better bullets, about 750-800 degrees on my RCBS thermometer seems to be the spot. Steel molds definitely require more maintenance but i much prefer them, I have a steel RCBS mold like Idahoron for my .45 that is truly a pleasure to cast from, i have a tendency to cast HOT, by doing so i have slightly galled a couple of aluminum molds.

[rfd]

i like aluminum moulds - they heat up fast, cool down fast, and can produce some fine bullets of pure to alloy lead. i run the pots at around 800-850 and don't have any issues. getting into a good casting rhythm is always a key thing, and i use #64 rubber band on the handle ends for relatively consistent mould pressure (and it helps lessen hand tensions).

looking forward to yer results, lewis!

[OverMax]

To stabilize the pots heat. PID it and be happy ever after pouring shinny boolits.

[johnson1942]

if you put a tiny bit of 700 degree silver solder in the pot with the lead you bullets will shine more and fall out of the mold better. in the buffalo hunting days the old timers would put a silver dime in the mix for this reason.

[54bore]

if you put a tiny bit of 700 degree silver solder in the pot with the lead you bullets will shine more and fall out of the mold better. in the buffalo hunting days the old timers would put a silver dime in the mix for this reason.

That is interesting, never heard this before? Casting is a love-hate thing with me. When i get on a roll i can turn out darn good bullets. I dont do it enough to stay consistently good at it, I modified my Lee 4-20 Lead pot for pouring BIG HEAVY bullets, i opened the pour spout up a bit, i can fill this 650 Grain Cavity FAST. This pour spout wouldn't be worth a hoot for smaller bullets, but it works really good for me, i dont pour anything under 400 Grains. I also have a brand new Rowell bottom pour ladle that i have never used, i have a Lyman Ladle that i have used, Ladle pouring is NOT my strong suit! I need to force myself to learn how to Ladle Cast. My bottom pour Lee Pot is a nightmare to keep contaminant free, this is a lot of my problem. Casting is one of them things i need to dedicate some more time to

[johnson1942]

i dont think ive ever come up with a tip that wasnt there for years and years before. im pretty good and reading old books and rediscovering what every one else knew many many years ago. doesnt take much silver solder and it is the 750 degree kind, not the real high temp kind. it will make lead harder so dont use much. just a little.

[54bore]

i dont think ive ever come up with a tip that wasnt there for years and years before. im pretty good and reading old books and rediscovering what every one else knew many many years ago.

Same here Roger!! Everything i am doing is something ive seen or read about, the little steam cleaner idea came from a friend, my knowledge in Paper Patching came from You and Idahoron, i have a difference in opinion on some of it and have changed things around a bit, but i am a total tinkerer and enjoy trying new things. Actually the way i am Paper Patching now days is a combination of Buffalo Arms, your article on Ramshot, and Idahoron. I noticed all of Buffalo Arms Paper Patch bullets are 8 thou under bore, example being their .45s are .442, their .50s are .492, It got me to thinking if they win 1000 yard matches with these EXACT bullets why not go that route? Plus it's WAAAAAAAY easier to do, and just makes way better sense to me. NONE of us know it all, and every single one of us can learn something if you are not to proud to. To me this is all fun, i enjoy every single minute of messing with this stuff! If it hadn't been for my friend Idahoron teaching me about Peep sights on these old guns i would likely have given up, i cut my right eye bad working in the woods Logging, since then i have never been a good open sight shooter due to my change in eyesight, but these Peep sights have opened up a whole new world for me! I have Peep sights on 5 of my 6 Muzzleloaders, they allow me to shoot open sights good again! The way i see it, If you are not having fun in this hobby maybe you should take up Quilting?

[johnson1942]

you may or may not know this so i will put a little tip here from yesteryear about your bullets. i see they are double wrapped. many old timers who did long distance pp muzzle loader shooting and double wrapped did this to make sure the paper comes of at the muzzle. they took a sharp as a razor little knife and jast as they were about to put the wrapped bullet down the bore they slit around the seam line about 3/4 of the way down the bullet through both layers of paper. the paper will stay on because of the twisted tail. they called this the single wrap double wrap pp system. as it turned two wraps into one wrap. this way the two layers of paper come off faster then leaving to unwrap and tear. nothing new with this tip also, just good old tips come to light again and rediscovered. i never do the slant thing anymore, i find wrapping with a rectangular piece of paper is just as accurate and easier to do fast. your bullets are a thing of beauty and your wrapping is perfect. cant see why they wont be consistantly accurate and good shooters. make sure to use a good stiff wad between powder and bullet. that is very important.

[Nobade]

Good tip there! And you're right on about the single wrap patch. My 375 has very deep rifling that wasn't happy with the double wrap patch. Switching to the Chase patch made it really tighten up the groups.

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[johnson1942]

glad to here that, my 50 cal 1/23 twist didnt like double wrap either and worked perfectly with the single wrap. im in the process of making a 358 fast twist and it will use single warp. i got the idea from your posts on your 375 cal, thanks.

[Harleysboss]

I got a chance to give 54bore's PP Bullets a go today. They loaded and shot very well. I loaded them double wrapped with a hard card over 80 grns of FFG Goex. Shot a 4 shot group at 50 yrds that was just at 2". Shot the last two at 100 and they were at about 1". The paper shredded into nice confetti 10' in front of the bore. They are sized at .539 and they slid down with just enough pressure. I turned the rifle upside down and bounced the muzzle off the wood bench 6 or 7 times to see if they would migrate off the powder. Nope! Stayed right where they were seated. Rifle was a 54 cal. Knight MK85. I do believe I will be getting my own mold and sizer for this gun.

[54bore]

Pictures of Harleysboss targets

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[Nobade]

Looks like it works. Congrats!

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