Comments thread: July 2015 Photo contest

[SteveM]

Dang.........you guys did come strong this month!! There are some excellent pictures here, and some stiff competition!
I posted my pic today because I may be out of town on the 31th, I didn't want you guys to think I was bluffing................Unless someone posts a pic with a shotgun slug or a cannon slug, I should still win based on "MEPLAT"..........

[Whiterabbit]

Revolver cartridge

[taco650]

Revolver cartridge

Some of those look like they'd be too long for the cylinder...

[Whiterabbit]

3 inch cylinder. I can load a spitzer to absurd OAL and it fits just fine.



Basically, I have never shot anything loaded to 3 inches. I have too much powder capacity for boolit weight.

------------------------------

So, that being said, here is my dream:

take the BFR, send it in to a custom builder for 500 linebaugh conversion. This is the 3" cylinder version.

Now, 500 Linebaugh brass is 1.4" long. m33 ball bullets for the 50 BMG are 1.6 inches from cannelure to meplat. There is still plenty of case capacity to launch a 650 grian bullet at 1000 fps.

So, the gun would be a novelty oddity, designed for and capable of only shooting m33 ball bullets. From a handgun.

Technically, I think it would be classified as illegal since m33 ball I steel core (though I don't think it is designated as armor piercing??) But still, there is something silly/funny about the idea of having a revolver designed for accurately shooting 50BMG bullets.

For now, I can't max out cylinder length if I tried.



(not me, a Chinese student I took shooting. Once in a lifetime opportunity to shoot a gun, he wanted to "shoot the big one" )

[taco650]

So, that being said, here is my dream:

take the BFR, send it in to a custom builder for 500 linebaugh conversion. This is the 3" cylinder version.

Now, 500 Linebaugh brass is 1.4" long. m33 ball bullets for the 50 BMG are 1.6 inches from cannelure to meplat. There is still plenty of case capacity to launch a 650 grian bullet at 1000 fps.

So, the gun would be a novelty oddity, designed for and capable of only shooting m33 ball bullets. From a handgun.

Technically, I think it would be classified as illegal since m33 ball I steel core (though I don't think it is designated as armor piercing??) But still, there is something silly/funny about the idea of having a revolver designed for accurately shooting 50BMG bullets.

For now, I can't max out cylinder length if I tried.



(not me, a Chinese student I took shooting. Once in a lifetime opportunity to shoot a gun, he wanted to "shoot the big one" )

Too funny! I don't blame him, I would too if given the chance! Is your BFR chambered in 45-70 or 460 SW?

[Whiterabbit]

460. I size down .458-.460 boolits to .452 and off I go. That's where the 740 grain boolit comes from. NEI mold for 460 Weatherby

It's neat taking foreign nationals out shooting. All the concerns of making a good impression to turn them into a lifelong shooter and 2nd amendment supporter is gone. The moment the plane takes off they are back to a 10 year mandatory prison sentence for possession of anything firearms related (including, I believe, dummy ammo keepsakes which I did not offer despite wanting to). So, the only goal is entertainment and leaving with a positive experience. That doesn't require being able to hit the target every time, learning true trigger control, etc. It's all about creating a positive experience.

for the record, he almost gave himself a forehead tattoo a moment after that shot was taken, the background folks came running to ask if he was OK, and at the risk of sounding racist, round-eye was the operative term for a moment there. Of course it was smiles all around. Lifetime memory secured.

He only shot that one round for pistol. the rest of the day earlier was rifle. As we left, he said "I didn't realize the little one was the big one!"

[Whiterabbit]

didn;t think someone would post a shotshell slug. Awesome.

Reminds me how I would like to load some black powder-in-brass-shotshells using a custom hollow base mold that would end up looking like a MASSIVE 45/70 for a handi rifle. That's a project that, like the m33L (m33 Linebaugh) will probably never happen.

neat to think about though.

[TexasAggie06]

Doubt I'll win, but these are my first castings and reloads ever, 99 out of 100 cycled and fired perfectly, one jam and only one load that felt unusually heavy...

[SteveM]

Who won July? Who are the top 3? What is the topic for Aug? I always look forward to these photo contests

[gondwana]

Since I could only post one pic for the contest...

Here's both style boolits from the Lee C430-310-RF mould.



Left boolit with a GC (Gas Check) shank still.

Right boolit converted/milled to PB (Plain Base).

Naked unlubed & unchecked boolit weight:
With GC shank weight 306 grains cast from 50% pure lead - 50% hardball alloy.
With GC shank weight 282 grains cast using my mix of mostly Mono/Linotype.
PB no GC shank weight 265 grains cast from 50% pure lead - 50% hardball.
PB no GC shank weight 246-248gr cast from straight Linotype.

I wanted a 250ish grain boolit for my 3 inch Smith 629 backpacker, and for use in 44 Special - But I did not want to lose the ability to make 310 GC boolits for rifle and my heavy Dan Wesson 44 Magnum loads.


Here's a few 250 grain Plain Base boolits, being loaded in 44 Special cases.









I typically tumble lube 44 Special in 45-45-10. (Recluse lube) However, I was finger lubing some 44 Magnum boollits in Carnuba Red and BAC while doing this, so these Plain Base 44 Special boolits got hand lubed as well, and then pushed through a honed out Lee sizing die to clean the lube mess up.




- Bullwolf

Bullwolf, how do you make your boolits so shiny? Are you wiping them with something after lubing/sizing?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

GLL took the winning photo





and a threeway tie for runner up.
Bullwolf, montanamike, and Hogtamer

[Bullwolf]

Bullwolf, how do you make your boolits so shiny? Are you wiping them with something after lubing/sizing?

When I wipe lube off the nose of cartridges loaded with cast boolits, I use a dab of Johnson's baby oil on either a rag, or a paper towel for clean up. The scented mineral oil helps cuts boolit lube, and even Alox better than only using a dry cloth.

Baby Oil also smells better than mineral spirits (my second choice solvent to clean up lube with) when indoors, and won't incur the wrath of your significant other.

The reason those boolits are so shiny is they were cast from a mix of Mono type and Linotype. Boolits cast from my WW and Hardball alloys (especially when water dropped) tend to be more dull looking, and not shiny like boolits are when cast from printing type metal.

Oh and congratulations GLL!



- Bullwolf

[Whiterabbit]

yep, nice photo.

[gondwana]

When I wipe lube off the nose of cartridges loaded with cast boolits, I use a dab of Johnson's baby oil on either a rag, or a paper towel for clean up. The scented mineral oil helps cuts boolit lube, and even Alox better than only using a dry cloth.

Baby Oil also smells better than mineral spirits (my second choice solvent to clean up lube with) when indoors, and won't incur the wrath of your significant other.

The reason those boolits are so shiny is they were cast from a mix of Mono type and Linotype. Boolits cast from my WW and Hardball alloys (especially when water dropped) tend to be more dull looking, and not shiny like boolits are when cast from printing type metal.

Oh and congratulations GLL!



- Bullwolf

Thank you Bullwolf! I am off to get me some mineral oil.

[Skeet06]

I was absolutely impressed with the modified Lee 310 mold. My new 2 cavity is on the milling machine right now. Thanks Bullwolf!