475 linebaugh Mold options... GC preferred!

[rszkutak]

I'm picking up a F/A 475 linebaugh later this week or early next week, and now am searching for molds for this beast. I shoot 45LC frequently and love my pet loads with H110 powder chucking out 300gr GC bullets, that said I would like some serious fire power out of the 475, so I think that GC's are the ONLY way to go.

I'm not finding many molds out there that do say 400gr (ish) in a GC design besides NEI, i'm not objecting to buy a NEI mold, but what are my options here? I have PLENTY of foundry lead (about 1 ton to be exact) with a BHN quenched at around 22-23. I also have some smaller ingot's here that are in the 28 range before quenching.

So that said, anyone got any bright idea's here for this freak who likes fireballs and really heavy bullets to fly really fast?

Thanks in advance.

[dubber123]

A couple thoughts. Make sure your die set includes a taper crimp die. If your F/A is as tight as mine, it is a must have, or good luck getting them in the chamber. LBT makes beautiful moulds, I can't recommend them enough. Don't expect anything with a wide, out of the case front drive band to chamber if sized over .476", again depending on how tight your gun is. It took 3 sizers that were over their stated .476" for me to give up and hone out a .474" version. Remember the need for the short nose in the F/A guns. My heavy load is a 440 gr. WFN LBT, and I can get 1,325 fps. from a 4-3/4" barrel using H-110. Good luck.

[44man]

YOU DO NOT NEED A GAS CHECK! [smilie=p: Straight off, my most accurate boolits are PB, just cast hard with WW's water dropped.
Even in my 45-70 BFR, the best boolit I have is a PB at over 1632 fps.
I only need a check if I soften the boolits for hunting. Something the .475 hammer does NOT need because it just plain works when hard.
I found the same with the .45 Colt but have yet to make a PB mold for the .44.
Only soft boolits need a gas check in a revolver.

[44man]

I forgot, we shot my 420 gr loads for my BFR out of a friends Freedom and it shot under 1" at 50 yards. If it had 1/2 gr more powder then I use, I am sure it would have shot smaller groups because of the slower twist.
My boolit is a PB at 1329 fps using 26 gr of 296 and a Fed 155 primer.
The Lee 400 gr PB also shoots well with 26.5 gr of 296. The Freedom might want a tad more powder.

[dubber123]

I have never had 44mans good fortune shooting PB's fast in my F/A. My brother hasn't fared any better with PB's in his 6-1/2" BFR either. We have heat treated WW's to 30 Bhn, but still get leading with full throttle loads. My load, (use with caution), gets the 440 to 1,325 using 25.5 grs. of H-110 in the short barrel. The Lee boolit mentioned will go into an inch at 50 yds. at 500 fps., (5 grains of Trailboss), so it isn't affected by low velocity in the F/A.

[44man]

I have never had 44mans good fortune shooting PB's fast in my F/A. My brother hasn't fared any better with PB's in his 6-1/2" BFR either. We have heat treated WW's to 30 Bhn, but still get leading with full throttle loads. My load, (use with caution), gets the 440 to 1,325 using 25.5 grs. of H-110 in the short barrel. The Lee boolit mentioned will go into an inch at 50 yds. at 500 fps., (5 grains of Trailboss), so it isn't affected by low velocity in the F/A.
That is funny Dubber. I get no leading at all and might just for the heck of it, clean my guns twice a year.
I have to wonder if it just isn't alloy differences across the country with WW metal? I have not put all of my faith in BHN alone and just because it measures hard doesn't mean it is right.
I see too much variation in my alloys even when they measure the same BHN.
I feel a lot out of sorts recommending a hardness alone. I just don't know how to define an alloy except by hardness.

[MDF99]

Ballisticast makes GC molds and Mountain Molds can also make you one.

Here's my Mountain Mold 477 415gr GC bullet that I plan to try out this weekend.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=251&pictureid=1661

[dubber123]

That is funny Dubber. I get no leading at all and might just for the heck of it, clean my guns twice a year.
I have to wonder if it just isn't alloy differences across the country with WW metal? I have not put all of my faith in BHN alone and just because it measures hard doesn't mean it is right.
I see too much variation in my alloys even when they measure the same BHN.
I feel a lot out of sorts recommending a hardness alone. I just don't know how to define an alloy except by hardness.

It could be. The bore on the BFR appears smoother by eye, but still leads within a few Fps. of my F/A. The bulk of my WW supply is from the 90's, I don't know if that has any bearing. I have tried Blue soft, Lyman Super Moly, and my own mix, with similar results. Mine may be a touch better in respect to leading, but not much. I don't see much difference between a 22 Bhn boolit, and a 30 Bhn boolit in my guns, so I have been shooting for about 25. To get 30 is too close to slumping in the oven for my liking.

[Whitworth]

I don't like gas checks for the inconvenience they cause me, and have found that with the bullets I use (same as 44man), they don't lead at all. I too clean mine maybe a couple of times a year and I shoot my .475 a lot. I wouldn't try to extract maximum speed from your .475 -- not only is the recoil a big step up from a .45 Colt (even loaded hot), it's just not needed. I would load for accuracy first.......JMHO.

[Lloyd Smale]

probably my favorite 475 bullet is the ballistic cast 420 lfngc. It shoots real well in every gun ive tried it in and has a nose thats short enough for a FA gun. the nose almost looks like a cross between a lfn and a wfn but it still seems to shoot well even at distance.