bullet mold questions for CPA Silhouette rifle

[tnlonghunter]

I've got a new (to me) CPA Silhouette rifle in .40-65Win. I need a bullet mold to fit. I know BACO is one of the favorites, so that's certainly up there. But has anyone got any experience with either the Lyman Snover (400g, .410 diameter) or the RCBS 40-400-BPS (also 400g, .410")?

Also, reading the bottom of the Badger barrel where the specs are marked, I see the twist is 1/16". There is another set of markings that read: .4088 7.8.08 1307

I presume this indicates: depth of grooves, date of manufacture, some variation on serial number (perhaps the 1,307th BPCR barrel made that year or something)?


Thanks,
Robert
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201217/f7ff37f3b5ad05b0c45fc73ef64ff0f5.jpg

[hiram]

I think the .4088 is the barrel slug size, not depth of grooves.

[tnlonghunter]

I think the .4088 is the barrel slug size, not depth of grooves.Sorry to ask a dumb question then, but I thought the slug size gives the barrel diameter at the groove depth.

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[Chill Wills]

That's right. Measure slug across the larger points = groove diameter in this case 0.409" basically.

The Badger barrels are (intended) to be choked on the muzzle end. Choosing a 0.409" diameter bullet or even a 0.410" is a good starting point. A 16 twist is fine. Bullets in the 1.385 to 1.425" length range should stabilize.

There are too numerous opinions to say which is the "best" bullet but there are some consistent winners found in the notes of match results.
If you can find a good round Lyman Snover mold, it could work well in this rifle. It has for many people. A good mold is not always found on the first buy. (sadly)
For a sure bet, I would start with a mold made by Buffalo Arms or Steve Brooks. On the used market, 400 grain molds made by Colorado Shooters Supply (Hoch) are very good as well, IF you can find one.

Is this the rifle from your father in an other thread or am I confused?

Either way, you have a good rifle. Take your time getting started and if it feels slow having success, hang in there and keep trying and get mentoring. Accurate loads will get easier with time as you get used to loading for this rifle.

One other thing with load testing, the more you shoot, the more accurate your ammo becomes! ( your aim improves ;) )

[tnlonghunter]

Yeah, this is the one from my father. I appreciate the explanation on the barrel. I'll keep an eye out for some of those molds.

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[Gunlaker]

Chill have you had good results with the Hoch 400gr bullet? That is the only bullet that hasn't shot well in my Shiloh .40-65 for some reason. In mine the Saeco #740 is excellent, as is the BACO 409400M4. I'm going to order the slightly shorter and heavier version of that bullet this year to give it a try. The Brooks Turkey Killer sounds like it was a very successful bullet and would be worth a try, although the BACO money, and Saeco #740 could easily be called Turkey Killers too :-)

Robert, a friend of mine was a big fan of the Snover bullet. It seems to work quite well if you can find one. I'd be wary of the RCBS molds. They are pretty hit and miss as far as quality goes. I pretty much only buy BACO and Steve Brooks molds now that Hoch is out of business.

Chris.

[Lead pot]

Now that you have a fine rifle now the mould of the month starts. :D
There are a zillion moulds out there to choose from and chances are if you get serious with this rifle you will be looking for that magic bullet that hits center every time you let one fly. I have been in this game for over 60 years and I'm still looking.
With the .40 caliber black powder cartridge rifle with a 1/16 ROT, I have a couple plus faster twists, but the 1/16 be careful with the longer ogive radiuses that get close to 50% nose to shank lengths. The longer ogive radiuses work in HP rifles but get squirrely in the black powder velocity ranges especially when the winds come into play.
I have a Snover bullet that never has been reliable at midrange and longer, sometimes but mostly not. The money bullets got popular but also did the rifle twists to keep them stable. I have some money bullet moulds from Paul Jones, Steve Brooks and Buffalo Arms some the elliptical ogives have a longer radius and sone shorter ellipticals, the shorter ellipticals have always shot better in my 1/14 to 1/16 twist bores.
Below is a cherry I'm starting to cut, I should get it finished maybe today or tomorrow it is for my .40-65 and other .40 calibers I have. That is the nose profile I like and it works well in tough conditions./ It might take a twist of elevation more at a 1000 yards but it will make a round hole through the paper when it hits.
Buffalo arms has a fine selection of good moulds and this is one that I would look at for a 1/16 ROT .40-65. It is a PP bullet but as it is designed it needs a thin paper for the reduced shank diameter it has so the shank diameter is patched to bore diameter the base of that bullet will be close to groove diameter and that will help seal the bore faster for the gas pushing the bullet. I have one for the .44 caliber and one I made and they both shoot very well. https://www.buffaloarms.com/405-390-grain-pp-1-cavity-flat-base-elliptical-two-diameter-cast-bullet-mold-jim405390e
But if you want a GG bullet there is always the reliable postell bullet.

273461

[Don McDowell]

The CPA 40-65 I had shot the Lyman snover and this bullet from Buffalo Arms well. I cast them both from 20-1.https://www.buffaloarms.com/409-395-grain-creedmoor-1-cavity-bullet-mould-jim409395c1

[John Boy]

I've got a new (to me) CPA Silhouette rifle in .40-65Win. I need a bullet mold to fit.
The Saeco 640 or 740 bullet shoots accurately in my CPA 40-65 Badger barrel shooting black powder

[tnlonghunter]

For some additional context, I'm one of those "jack of all trades, master of none" guys. I've got too many hobbies to go all-in on one, so I need to keep this process relatively simple. One load to do all my shooting with this rifle. My maximum interested range is 500m for silhouttes. I have neither interest nor opportunity for anything farther. So, for what it's worth, I don't need to get too wrapped around the axle about whether a bullet holds up at longer ranges, as long as it will hit a ram reliably.

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[Don McDowell]

500 meters is about the point where the 40-65 starts to crap out. Most any 400 grain bullet will take a ram off the rail, most of the time. Where you'll have the biggest issue is finding the one that your rifle and you can shoot consistently well.

[Chill Wills]

Chill have you had good results with the Hoch 400gr bullet? That is the only bullet that hasn't shot well in my Shiloh .40-65 for some reason.

I pretty much only buy BACO and Steve Brooks molds now that Hoch is out of business. Chris.

Chris, I am not telling you anything when I say some pairings of good bullets and good rifles don't work well together. And the longer I am in this game, the less I can come up with good reasons for that. ????
However, Yes, I have three Hoch 40 cal molds ranging from 407grs to 430gr. One seats deep, the 407grn one is tapered and seats out and I like the way both shoot. Well behaved with no bad habits.
The third one I just received (all used) and have not worked with it yet to know what it is good for.
I keep my eye out for them and Paul Jones molds. Just cuz

[tnlonghunter]

500 meters is about the point where the 40-65 starts to crap out. Most any 400 grain bullet will take a ram off the rail, most of the time. Where you'll have the biggest issue is finding the one that your rifle and you can shoot consistently well.Thanks for that piece of info. When you say "crapping out," can you clarify a bit? I presume you're talking about losing enough velocity that it begins to drop much faster in its trajectory, making it harder to find "the one" that hangs together best at that range....

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[Don McDowell]

Not so much dropping the trajectory, but it is slowing down enough that a crosswind can cause all manner of variations in impact on target.It does make a good silhouette and midrange gun.

[Gunlaker]

Chris, I am not telling you anything when I say some pairings of good bullets and good rifles don't work well together. And the longer I am in this game, the less I can come up with good reasons for that. ????

Yeah I know exactly what you mean. I have a few .32-40's and .38-55's that I shoot breech seated bullets in and to be honest I can't figure out why they like one bullet more than another. Usually I'm wrong, which gets expensive when you start buying molds to test each theory :-). This is one of the reasons I like my Shiloh rifles so much. I know which bullets they like and they are very predictable. I used to think I understood why they like the bullets they do, but maybe not so much :-)

Chris.

[tnlonghunter]

Well the small amount of time of spent working up loads for my Sharps. 45-70 has me convinced that witchcraft plays a significant part of this process.

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[semtav]

I got a 400 gr mould from Steve Brooks that just shoots lights out in my 40-65 and 40-82 with 16 twist badger barrels.
Unfortunately, I can't tell you what it is.
I ordered a money bullet, but it came something else.
I just call it my "who nose" bullet.
its got reduced front bands so it sits out quite a ways. I get 70 and 80 grns of Swiss 1.5 with it compressed.
I did start an OE uncompressed load of 62 gr in the 40-65 and that shot well also but quit when I went to PP ing.