High BC .458 caliber casting molds.

[WalterNCUS]

Walter
Since I am only a couple of years into this Black Powder game, although 60 years into HI power Smokeless.
What will tell you what I did, find a Lyman 535 gr Postel mold to get started, it is a good bullet and should work well. Then spend as much time as you can searching and reading on this forum and maybe also The Shiloh Forum. There is a tremendous wealth of knowledge to be had about both GG and PP shooting on these and other forums.

GOOD LUCK and have fun!!!


Dave

Thanks. I want to just have some fun with what I consider a great little science project. I love my smokeless rifles... However, the BPCR rifles to me just seem so much fun where you make everything from the projectiles all on your own. Great fun.

[WalterNCUS]

As said by Don, use a Buffalo Arms money bullet. G1 BC will be right around 0.5. This is probably most common design you'll see in the winner's circle of a long range match.

I'm assuming you have a 1:18 twist. I'd pick a 530-535gr bullet. 1.45" or so long. I like to pick the diameter by the fattest bullet that slip fits into a fired case. Be a little wary of the 459535M1 as the nose is a little bigger than standard 0.450" bore so that bullet leads in most of my rifles. The 458535M1 works well in pretty much all of my rifles. It's a good choice as long as it's not so small as to be sloppy in a fired case.

The mini-groove versions of those bullets should be a little slipperier and shoot quite well in my rifles too. I cast all of my money bullets in 16:1.

Chris.

Why 16:1 and not the more common 20:1 ratio? The higher tin ratio must lower the density of the projectile while strengthening it. But, doesn't that create an issue with the bullets mass and thus require a faster twist ratio?

[Don McDowell]

Here's a picture of a direct copy of the 1881 postel bullet they came up with to make the 45-70 trapdoors competitive at 1000 yards.

[WalterNCUS]

Here's a picture of a direct copy of the 1881 postel bullet they came up with to make the 45-70 trapdoors competitive at 1000 yards.

Does this postel also work well in the larger 2 7/8ths case length as well? And what do you think of the C. Sharps 1875 rifles?

[Don McDowell]

I have not shot it in either of my 110’s
But I can’t see why it wouldn’t work well
Go to Buffalo Arms and search their bullet moulds. You’ll see the money bullets and this postel there along with several others
Don’t let the out of stock thing throw you off. As they don’t keep a lot of blocks on hand any more, but if you call them and place the order it’s usually 2-3 weeks until it arrives

The 75’s are alright I have one but it’s not my favorite rifle


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[WalterNCUS]

I have not shot it in either of my 110’s
But I can’t see why it wouldn’t work well
Go to Buffalo Arms and search their bullet moulds. You’ll see the money bullets and this postel there along with several others
Don’t let the out of stock thing throw you off. As they don’t keep a lot of blocks on hand any more, but if you call them and place the order it’s usually 2-3 weeks until it arrives

The 75’s are alright I have one but it’s not my favorite rifle


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I will have to call Buffalo Arms and order a couple of moulds. The only problem is my 1875 rifle won't arrive for 10 months now. I ordered it in Jan. So, I am getting all my supplies ready and trying to learn the ins and outs of the loading process before I start to shoot it in earnest next November and December...

So what are reasonable muzzle velocities to see in a 34inch barreled gun shooting 100-110grain loads of 1.5F powder with a 535-540 grain Money or Postel type bullets?

[dirtball]

I have not shot it in either of my 110’s
But I can’t see why it wouldn’t work well
Go to Buffalo Arms and search their bullet moulds. You’ll see the money bullets and this postel there along with several others
Don’t let the out of stock thing throw you off. As they don’t keep a lot of blocks on hand any more, but if you call them and place the order it’s usually 2-3 weeks until it arrives

The 75’s are alright I have one but it’s not my favorite rifle


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I just ordered a 40 cal mold yesterday and Dave G told me 4 to 8 weeks, which is why I suggested the Lyman as he might find one quicker.

Dave

[WalterNCUS]

I just ordered a 40 cal mold yesterday and Dave G told me 4 to 8 weeks, which is why I suggested the Lyman as he might find one quicker.

Dave

My rifle isn't scheduled to be finished until October at the earliest. So, waiting 4-8 weeks for a mould at this point won't really mean much to me. I am more worried about finding the Black Powder I need 1.5-2F that seems to be in short supply. I plan on ordering some next week I would like 30 pounds total by October so I can just load and reload like crazy once I get the gun.

[Don McDowell]

You can expect some where around 1350-1400 ish out of that 110


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[Don McDowell]

You may want to think about 1f with 1 1/2 in second place
Depends on the cases you have 102-105 grains of 1f
You will also want to get some .060 fiber or ldpe wads
Don’t forget to get a compression die to compress the powder before you seat the bullet


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[WalterNCUS]

Also, who makes the best brass for a .45 2 7/8ths??? I was thinking of using Norma Brass .45-120 and then trimming off the .375 of inch to make my cartridges. Or is there a better source of 2.875 inch cases for this rifle?

[WalterNCUS]

You may want to think about 1f with 1 1/2 in second place
Depends on the cases you have 102-105 grains of 1f
You will also want to get some .060 fiber or ldpe wads
Don’t forget to get a compression die to compress the powder before you seat the bullet

I thought 1F was for canons? But I will certainly take your recommendation. Yes, I will get a good compression die. I have question is a 30 inch drop tube long enough to get maximum cartridge capacity fills or do I need a longer one for Black Powder? I was going to get a variety of wads. in .30 to .60 thickness-- but I guess I can focus on just the .60 thickness ones. That's very useful thank you.

[WalterNCUS]

You can expect some where around 1350-1400 ish out of that 110


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That's faster than I thought I was expecting 1280-1380FPS-- but 1350-1400 is much better than I expected.

[Don McDowell]

That's faster than I thought I was expecting 1280-1380FPS-- but 1350-1400 is much better than I expected.

My 45-90’s run around 1330 depending on which one and which bullet shooting 1 1/2
1 1/2 will work in the 110 but 1 f works better in my 110’s


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[Don McDowell]

On the drop tube 30 inch is what some folks use 24 inch works ok as well
For the most part I use a Frankfort Arsenal funnel with 2, 4 inch extensions on it and slow pour the powder into the case


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[WalterNCUS]

On the drop tube 30 inch is what some folks use 24 inch works ok as well
For the most part I use a Frankfort Arsenal funnel with 2, 4 inch extensions on it and slow pour the powder into the case


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I use a drop tube on my smokeless reloading. I think it gives a few extra grains of capacity in certain cases and I don't have pour it in slowly. I thought perhaps with the large grains of the BP I would need a longer tube to gain maximum effectiveness with a drop tube method of reloading.

I almost went with a .45-90 but I just had to have that little extra capacity so I went with the .45-110. Also I hear it isn't as fickle as the .45-120. And it gives you about the same performance levels overall. So, that seemed like a good way to get into the BPCR game. I'm now looking forward to trying it all out and get into a few matches.

[Don McDowell]

I like my 110’s, but they do tend to wear on you when shooting 40 or more rounds a day in a match than thee 90’s do
Either chamber is good for long range and there are several that use the 2.6 case and do very well


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[Gunlaker]

Yeah you should be very close to 1400 fps depending on the powder you use. Swiss Fg is a good choice. I know that my .45-100 shooting paper patched bullets is right at 1400 fps with Swiss 1.5, although I prefer Swiss Fg in that one.

Either way, the recoil will be stout if you shoot it prone. I had a C. Sharps .45-110 and shot it with a PP money bullet and 105gr of Goex Fg. Prone it was pretty hard not to get smacked in the glasses each shot. Sitting was nice. I sold that one and am down to one .45-110 now. A Shiloh bull barrel rifle that weighs 15lbs. It's quite pleasant off of the cross sticks.

A lot of us use 16:1 as it seems to be a bit more accurate with Money bullets, especially when you have a large powder charge. With that said, on the BACO web site you'll see that Dave Gullo has posted pictures of practice targets he's shot with them and they are really nice targets. I believe those were shot with 20:1. There isn't a lot of weight difference when going from 20:1 to 16:1, but the nose should hold up a little better and the bullet won't shorten as much.

Chris.

[Don McDowell]

Chris gives good advice.
One thing you might want to consider, is finding 110 cases has been a pretty big challenge the last few years. 45-90's are most of the time readily available.

[WalterNCUS]

Chris gives good advice.
One thing you might want to consider, is finding 110 cases has been a pretty big challenge the last few years. 45-90's are most of the time readily available.

I've noticed that the 110 case is hard to find. I was planning on using Norma's 45-120's and trimming .375 of inch off the case and then put into a full length resizing die to size the neck area, measure and trim again to see if I had any growth from the sizing die. Finally maybe anneal the throat of the case. Is annealing unnecessary operation on the BPCR cases? I was worried about the new neck being a little too stiff and brittle for continuous reloading.