After 25 Years Of Reloading I'm Casting Boolits!

[roarin 54]

I just purchased a used Lyman 429421 two cavity mould this week and cast a bunch of boolits last night from lead that I have been saving for 25 years. In the last month I have been making ingots on my Coleman campstove getting a feel for fluxing and messing with liquid hot metal. I ordered a Lyman kit two years ago that had the 4500 lubesizer, the mini mag pot, ladle and the Lyman manual. After picking out 50 of the best boolits, I sized them to .430. They would fall through four cylinders on my 4 5/8" Ruger SBH and push through the other two with very slight pressure. I lubed the them with a home made lube that I will detail in the Lube Forum. I shot all fifty at the range today, accuracy could be better I'll just have to tweak the load some I started with 8.5 grains of Unique, Federal brass, and Winchester WLP primers. After 50 consecutive shots I pulled the cylinder and was extremley pleased to see no trace of lead in the bore at all. I'm just starting but I think I'm addicted.

[462]

Man, what took you so long!?

[roarin 54]

Man, what took you so long!?

Lack of time, and a little fear of the unknown. I am a real procrastinator I didn't get my birthmark till I was 8 years old

[slide]

Yep, you're addicted. No re hab for this addiction!

[geargnasher]

Something tells me it won't take 25 more years to cast and shoot the next batch!

I have really good luck with both Unique and 2400 in that caliber. I don't know what your alloy was, but if it's older clip-on wheel weights or anything like that with antimony in it be aware that it will be fairly soft when cast and age-harden considerably in a week or two, so loads you work up with "green" boolits might react differently with ones that are "seasoned" a bit, just something to be aware of.

Around 9 grains of Unique and 19.5-19.8 grains of 2400 proved quite accurate in my FIL's Model 29, all the way out to 100 yards. Your gun will tell you when you have the charge just right, play with it some. Also, I'm not at all a fan of WLP primers for accuracy loads, they have been all over the map when working up accuracy loads for the revolvers. Federal standard large pistol primers have been the best, and CCI a close second consistently in my guns. The two bricks of WLPs have been relegated to .45 ACP plinking ammo.

Gear

[Cherokee]

Good start there "54" , keep it up. 429421 is a good slug to cast and generally good shooting. I've driven them hard in my Redhawk and they did well.

[**oneshot**]

Welcome aboard. A little work and you'll be right on track.

[roarin 54]

Also, I'm not at all a fan of WLP primers for accuracy loads, they have been all over the map when working up accuracy loads for the revolvers. Federal standard large pistol primers have been the best, and CCI a close second consistently in my guns. The two bricks of WLPs have been relegated to .45 ACP plinking ammo.

Gear

How are the Federal standard primers for stout charges of 2400? Between CCI and Federal, which magnum powder would you use for heavy loads using H110? I am getting an LBT 300 grain plain base wide flat nose boolit mould for my Bisley .45 Colt. I plan on hunting with it in the upcoming fall.

[runfiverun]

cci 300's play really nice with unique.
i have had good accuracy with the higher end loads and federal primers.
i even popped for some fed match magnums for my 445 super mag for that "one load".
i'd relook at 2400, even with that heavier boolit you don't need [or really want] warp speed for hunting.
11-1200 fps is plenty with a 300 gr boolit for elk.

[geargnasher]

I have no use for H110/296, so I don't have much input as far as primers go. I believe that those most successful with it use Federal standard primers or maybe even the CCI. I do know that magnum primers are not needed with that powder, what's needed is strong case tension, very tough boolits, and a solid crimp.

Gear

[SlippShodd]

After a long hiatus without the plain-based 429421 in my arsenal, I recently bought another mould and have just started playing with it to find it's sweet spot. So far it seems to like pretty much anything I want to push it with. I have a gas checked version and another plain based mould all in the same weight class that have liked 18 and/or 20 grains of 2400 in my 7 1/2 inch Redhawk for the hotter loads. Unique gets relegated to the less than magnum loads in .44 at 9 grains. I've loaded it up to 11 and 12 grains in the past and it just seems to peter out in satisfactory performance beyond 9 -- more noise, more recoil, accuracy goes downhill. Could be just me and my pistola, but I like 2400 if I want to romp on it, Unique for the fun stuff. I also have a 'tweener load of 15 grains of Red Dot that shoots the 421 very satisfactorily.
Took you long enough, but welcome to the madness.

mike

[skandic]

my understanding is that 2400 works ignites fine with a standard primer and but using a standard primer with h110/296 is a good way to stick a boolit in your bore

[skandic]

at least in colder temps, in alaska I will only use a magnum primer with 110/296

[geargnasher]

my understanding is that 2400 works ignites fine with a standard primer and but using a standard primer with h110/296 is a good way to stick a boolit in your bore

See my post above regarding case tension and crimp. The stuff will light fine at sane temps provided it can get a good burn going before the boolit breaks the crimp. Like most ball powders, 296 IS tough to light when cold, but I don't hunt in the cold so that isn't much of an issue for me. If I did, 2400 would be my go-to anyway.

Gear