bravokilo
10-13-2009, 08:01 PM
I am going to put a little different spin on the question. I want to know why/why not. Anybody who has been casting for any length of time knows that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Anybody who has ever fired an accurate .22 lr knows that heeled bullets are not inherently inaccurate. Has there been any research on what works and why?
As an example, let's say Joe Newbie wants to try cast in his new .357 mag. He has a small stash of WW's and something to melt them in. Somebody has gifted him a Lyman 358156 to get him started. Joe has been doing some homework and has a bunch cast up and even checked them for fit in the throats. Everything seems to check out fine, but now what? No gaschecks and no sizer. Joe isn't quite sure he wants to invest in a lot more equiptment just yet. What about lube? Will LLA work or should he get a stick of XXX lube and pan lube? What about powder? Bullseye, Unique, Red Dot, XXX?, or the 2400 he's using for jacketed loads. Will a different primer work better? How fast can they be pushed?
I have to believe that some kind of formula could be worked up that SHOULD work MOST of the time. A place to start from. I strongly suspect that certain powders will work better that others. Primers? lube? I dunno. I think alloy would make a large difference, but WW would be a good place to start.
I think that with the collective wisdom here we should be able to come up with something better than a "maybe".
BK
As an example, let's say Joe Newbie wants to try cast in his new .357 mag. He has a small stash of WW's and something to melt them in. Somebody has gifted him a Lyman 358156 to get him started. Joe has been doing some homework and has a bunch cast up and even checked them for fit in the throats. Everything seems to check out fine, but now what? No gaschecks and no sizer. Joe isn't quite sure he wants to invest in a lot more equiptment just yet. What about lube? Will LLA work or should he get a stick of XXX lube and pan lube? What about powder? Bullseye, Unique, Red Dot, XXX?, or the 2400 he's using for jacketed loads. Will a different primer work better? How fast can they be pushed?
I have to believe that some kind of formula could be worked up that SHOULD work MOST of the time. A place to start from. I strongly suspect that certain powders will work better that others. Primers? lube? I dunno. I think alloy would make a large difference, but WW would be a good place to start.
I think that with the collective wisdom here we should be able to come up with something better than a "maybe".
BK