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View Full Version : First softnose boolits today



superior
03-30-2009, 10:25 PM
Today, while making up a batch of Lee c312-185-1r's, I decided to whip up some softnoses. I use a flat-bottom ladle and a colman stove set-up. I tore off 10 sections of stick on ww. ( the kind that say 1/4oz. on them) and threw one of them in my ladle as it floated on top of the melt. In about 20 seconds, the weight melted in one side of the ladle, leaving the sticky smoking glue residue against the one side. Then, I poured the pure lead away from the residue and into the mold. After a few stirs, I dipped into the straight ww lead and filled the remainder of the cavity. The glue residue seemed to flux things up as I stirred and the boolits came out perfect! the entire nose all the way to the first driving band was pure lead and the rest was straight ww. Now, to test one for integrity. I tried everything I could think of to see if I could make the 2 portions separate. I tried pliers, putting it in a vise and hammering the nose sideways, you name it. The boolit would not fail and the 2 different alloys stayed together. I know there are other ways to make soft-noses but this method seems to work well and above all, quickly. I popped out 10 of them in no time. As soon as I can figure out how to upload photos, I'll post pics. I air-cooled them and will load them up soon. Look out deer! Has anyone here tried this method? If you never made softnoses, I recommend doing it this way. It was easy,quick and the boolits can take some serious abuse without failing.:castmine:

sav300
03-30-2009, 10:33 PM
Superior,darn good idea,have plenty of stickons here.
Thanks for the head ache!

briang
03-30-2009, 10:45 PM
I saw that method on here before, expect it was recommended to remelt the boolit in the mold to fuse the alloys. The poster (I don't remember who) said it took quite awhile to cool. It seems this step is not necessary, which is good news in terms of production.

superior
03-31-2009, 12:11 AM
Thank you, sav300! Give it a try. I'll bet they expand easily on any kind of game, even at lower velocities. I'll try several water-filled milk containers placed in series for my expansion evaluation and post the results in the future.