Hensley & Gibbs 130 sweet spot

[Barry54]

Finally got around to sending some of my boolits from my 130 Hensley & Gibbs down range yesterday. I like the wide bottom driving band and single lube groove. Out of my soft alloy they are 206 grains! Wasn’t expecting them to be that heavy.

So they don’t feed and function as reliably as a round nose. Where have you found the best running seating depth? Are they supposed to be flush with the case mouth?

The XD ran better as pictured with 3.8 grains of Red Dot (Lee 0.5cc dipper.) Next I tried 10.4 grains of Accurate 7 and it was stouter than I wanted and abandoned it.
The starting load was 4 grains of Red Dot so since I was dipping 3.8 grains I decided to seat a little deeper and see if feeding got better. Pressure obviously went up. The XD didn’t feed them well at all, but I finished them off in the 1911 with only one needing a bump on the back of the slide to finish going into battery.

Think I can find a length that works for both? Does this boolit shape require a harder alloy?

Thanks in advance to everyone for your replies.

[oldhenry]

I have the same design in a Lyman 4 cavity 452488. It is very accurate in .45 ACP & .45 Colt. I cast mine from COWW sized to .452 & seat them deeper than the photo of yours in ACP. In .45 Colt I seat them all the way to the edge of the front driving band & give them a very slight roll crimp.

In .45 ACP I use WST and HP38/231.

I feel seating depth in .45ACP depends on the throat of your barrel. A clean barrel followed by the "plunk" test will help determine what's best for your barrel. My barrel has been throated by Doug Guy back when he was doing that type work.

[GBertolet]

I have that mold in 4 cavity. Mine is the Saeco version. Mine casted heavy also. I milled a little off the top of the block to get it closer to 185 grains. Mine feed perfectly in my Gold Cup. I also seat my bullets with a little less of the driving band showing. I liked it for NRA 50 foot indoor shooting league use. 3.5 gr of Bullseye.

[LAH]

Play with seating depth & you should find a sweet spot which works.

[Bigslug]

It's potentially a problematic design. That thick rear band you admire is a lot of weight shifted rearward - what that bullet lacks for widespread reliable function is nose length. This isn't a high pressure magnum application where a beefy stern is a major mission requirement.

Longer is better for feeding, but shorter will keep the front band from impacting a tight throat. You've got the two extremes of either the leading edge of the front band or the front of the lube groove being flush with your case mouth - try 'em both.

If 200-ish grains is where you want to play, the HG 68 does a much better job of making the pistol think it's being fed Hardball. There's also some LFN-type profiles that fake it pretty well. A common thread I've found for good functionality across a few designs and weights is about a 0.60" overall bullet length with about 0.25" to 0.30" seated inside the case. Individual guns will of course set the tone, but I lean to keeping the entirety of that full diameter shank inside the case to ensure reliable lockup regardless of the throat it gets fed into.

[gwpercle]

Finally got around to sending some of my boolits from my 130 Hensley & Gibbs down range yesterday. I like the wide bottom driving band and single lube groove. Out of my soft alloy they are 206 grains! Wasn’t expecting them to be that heavy.

So they don’t feed and function as reliably as a round nose. Where have you found the best running seating depth? Are they supposed to be flush with the case mouth?

The XD ran better as pictured with 3.8 grains of Red Dot (Lee 0.5cc dipper.) Next I tried 10.4 grains of Accurate 7 and it was stouter than I wanted and abandoned it.
The starting load was 4 grains of Red Dot so since I was dipping 3.8 grains I decided to seat a little deeper and see if feeding got better. Pressure obviously went up. The XD didn’t feed them well at all, but I finished them off in the 1911 with only one needing a bump on the back of the slide to finish going into battery.

Think I can find a length that works for both? Does this boolit shape require a harder alloy?

Thanks in advance to everyone for your replies.

Try seating the boolit just a little deeper ... in 45 ACP
My instructions were to have the top driving band exposed " the thickness of your thumbnail " ... that was 50 years ago but they feed much better when the thumbnail thickness of top driving band is exposed !
Gary

[Forrest r]

Had a #130 mold decades ago, shot quite a bit of them but ended up with a #68. The #68 fed in everything were the @130 was picky.

Tried the lyman 452488 (oal +/- 1.120"), same thing, the short nose makes them harder to feed reliably.

These are the 3 bullets I cast for the 45acp anymore.
[IMG][/IMG]

The bullet on the left is similar to the #130. It a cramer 5f 175gr hb swc that is seated with a 1.120" oal
The bullet in the center is a #68 clone. It is seated with a 1250" oal.
Ther bullet on the right is a Mihec 200gr hp. It is seated with a 1,130" oal.

Different bullets but they are all seated with 20/1000th's+ of the .452" shoulder of the bullet sticking above the case mouth.

[Martin Luber]

I have an original 8 cavity plus H&G 4s. It’s the boolit you love to hate. Funny that it’s the lead version of the former big 3 versions of jacketed match ammo. As a Master precision shooter, I needed/ wanted it to run well at 50 yards and with less recoil. But because of the long bearing surface, it has to seat deeper in the case and hence at equal charges, has higher recoil negating the hopes of lower recoil. Depending on your purpose, 50 yards also likes faster speeds…900s. 25 yards for sustained fire can use lower charges .

This along with other flat base boolets need care in seating to avoid wiping a crescent off the base. Use unresized cases if you must, or get a Dillon flat base powder through expander plug from photo escape.com . They should hand start into the case by at least 1/16”. Good luck

[1Iron]

I have a H&G #130 eight cavity mold. It weighs so much that it is difficult for an old man to use. Therefore, I cast mostly the H&G #68 since it is a four cavity mold. I use the plunk test to determine COAL. Like gwpercle said, this leaves the thickness of a thumbnail of the driving band exposed. The measured length is 1.136". I have not had any problems with this round functioning in my Kimber Gold Match II. Although this boolit is accurate, I believe the #68 is more accurate. Good luck.

1Iron

[Bazoo]

The H&G 130 is an interesting bullet. I wonder how much they varied. Does anyone know when H&G started offering it? It's not listed in the 1940 catalog but is in the 1975 catalog. I don't have any catalogs in between.

[Forrest r]

1949

[45DUDE]

Love that H&G 130- I didn't mark the target but was 25y bench with 4.5 Bullseye and shot with an old Bullseye gun. I have a Lyman clone also. I seat the front band about .020 out. Target wise I don't see a difference. What ever the gun likes.

[Bazoo]

1949

Thanks. I don't doubt you, but, I'm interested in where you get your info, as I'd like to know these things too.

[Bazoo]

Love that H&G 130- I didn't mark the target but was 25y bench with 4.5 Bullseye and shot with an old Bullseye gun. I have a Lyman clone also. I seat the front band about .020 out. Target wise I don't see a difference. What ever the gun likes.

Very nice shooting.

[45DUDE]

thanks-