Bore slugging and diameter questions

[fatelk]

I've never messed with bore slugging before, but after reading up more about it I thought I'd give it a try. I slugged the bore on both my .45 auto, and an old Steyr 8x56R.

I used a piece of buckshot flattened a bit to about .350 for the 8x56R. With my trusty old micrometer, it measured .3315", a bit over the nominal .329 that my Lee mold casts. Side question: anyone know if I can use regular 8mm gas checks for this boolit?

I used a .44 round ball flattened a bit to about .470 for the .45. The gun is an old Ballestor Molina with a Colt series 70 replacement barrel. The slug measured .4525", again slightly bigger than the boolits my Lee mold with make.

Is there any "spring back" with lead slugs, or can I assume that these are the actual bore diameters? I'm not overly concerned about it, just yet. I'll load up some of my new .45 boolits in a few days when I have time and see how they do.

The 8x56R I'll need to get some gas checks before I can really even try it out. I tried some at low velocity without checks and ended up with a mess in the bore. Now I know why. I haven't ordered any checks yet because I don't know if regular 8mm checks will work.

[captaint]

fatelk - I would think the standard 8mm gascheck will be right for the boolits you will need for your rifle. Maybe you can find a mold that throws a little larger than what you have now - or you could beagle the mold you have. As to the springback question - I'm thinking there would be no springback on slugs pushed through an entire barrel. Even a pistol barrel. enjoy Mike

[Bret4207]

If your 95 bore measures .3315 you got a fairly tight one, but no, the spring back of lead alloys is negligible. Depending on the mould you're using 8mm GC's may work. Sometimes they're cut for 338 checks, but not often. I have an NEI cut like that.

[fatelk]

I'm using the Lee .329 mold for the 95. Any idea of how to make a boolit of the right size? I assume I could open up the molds by lapping them, but I'm thinking that .003" would be a lot, and I'm afraid that I would just screw them up. I could do the "beagle" thing you guys talk about, but does that make an out of round boolit?

It seems like I would have been better off buying a .338 mold and sizing them down to .332 somehow.

[fatelk]

Just for curiosity I slugged the bores of my other .45's. My Colt series 80 measured .4505, and my old Colt commercial measured .452. Interesting how much variation there is. I'm curious to see how the barely .452 boolits work in the .4525 bore.

[462]

fatelk,

You can enlarge a mould .003" by lapping. Lap, clean, cast, measure; lap, clean, cast, measure...

Beagling is quick and reversible. Don't worry about the boolit being out-of-round, pressure, throats and barrel will make it right.

[Wayne Smith]

Also consider that BABore is making the Oldfeller Frankenstein mold that Oldfeller designed for the Steyr 1895 8x56R. It has a reputation fo shooting good in them. Go doen to the Vendors section, find his post and it will have a list of the molds he makes to order.

[JIMinPHX]

If you're only a half thou under groove diameter, you might get away with a soft boolit alloy & a fairly stiff powder charge. That combination has a pretty good chance of bumping up the diameter of the boolit when it gets fired.

Alternately, you could just change the barrel in that thing. Balister Molinas take standard 1911 barrels & magazines. All the other parts are different, but those two are the same. 1911 barrels litter the earth these days. The prices have even gotten reasonable. If you do get a new barrel, just make sure that it gets fit by someone that knows how to check the hood engagement, head space, link length, etc.

You might also try Beagleing the mold to get a few extra thousandths of boolit diameter.

[MtGun44]

beagle the mold, no permanent damage while you see if the larger diam will work.

[Bret4207]

If you're only a half thou under groove diameter, you might get away with a soft boolit alloy & a fairly stiff powder charge. That combination has a pretty good chance of bumping up the diameter of the boolit when it gets fired.

Alternately, you could just change the barrel in that thing. Balister Molinas take standard 1911 barrels & magazines. All the other parts are different, but those two are the same. 1911 barrels litter the earth these days. The prices have even gotten reasonable. If you do get a new barrel, just make sure that it gets fit by someone that knows how to check the hood engagement, head space, link length, etc.

You might also try Beagleing the mold to get a few extra thousandths of boolit diameter.

Didi I miss something? I thought he was talking a Steyr 95 RIFLE?

[HORNET]

He listed a Ballestor-Molina and the Steyr just to mess with your mind...:killingpc