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View Full Version : Lee 8mm Silhouette Casting Results



Maven
10-15-2009, 04:15 PM
The long awaited GB mold arrived the other day, but I didn't get a chance to cast with it until earlier today. I must say that, other than degreasing, the mold required almost no Leementing at all. Casting with a dipper was somewhat problematic, however. My usual practice is to fill the dipper then fill the first 3 cavities, refill the dipper, and pour the last 3 without placing the dipper on the sprue plate.* This mold didn't appreciate that at all, as I often got poor fill out, even after I smoked it (wooden matches). What worked, albeit at a reduced output, was filling each cavity with the dipper against the sprue plate, refilling it as necessary. My CB's averaged 206.3 grs. +- 0.7grs. with gas checks attached (sample of 32; all poorly filled out CB's + those with poor bases removed prior to weighing). Noses are .321" while bases are .327". This is a bore riding design, which definitely fits the bore of my rifle (Shaw bbl.). Although I can seat them longer, an OAL of 2.93" keeps the lube grooves in the case neck while still allowing the noses to be engraved by the rifling. Unfortunately, I won't get to test them until next week.


*I'll return to this method the next time I cast jwith it just to see if things improve.