Suggestions of mold for this 35 cal Chamber

[barrabruce]

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This is it anyway as it stands at the moment on the left.
All of 4 lb 8 oz’s
I plan to be able to shoot a rabbit size quarry at 75 yrds when done as it will be about its pbr before the bullets start to nose dive abruptly.

[forrest]

Need your address & I'll send you that mold

[barrabruce]

P.M. sent.
Thanks your a champion!

[barrabruce]

Got to shoot a few rounds yesterday but didn’t have time to load anymore of the heeled? mold.
2.0 grns BE diagonally 3"
2.75 shot o.k.
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Has potential have to be more consistent with things as I had a couple of flyers if they are hard to chamber.

I upped the sizing die to 0.0003" of the throat diameter and breachseated some bullets.
Best group was with 2.3 grns BE Lee 140 gn
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Tried 2.75 grns of BE and a 195 gn rn and was not stable.
3 Grns yealded a group of 7 with signs of good progress.
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4 with in a cluster.
I think it could be me not being able to hold stable enough on the bench with supported elbows.
May have to figure out a way for of a solid rest.
Be a month before I can venture out again.
Cheers
Bruce

[barrabruce]

Well we have a new contender to shoot in this rifle.

"Forrest" did kindly send me that hollow based ideal mold.

I have now become the custodian of it.

I made a handle from the advocado tree I chopped out the other week.

I think we are getting to know each other just fine and it casts beautifully if I behave myself.

Here is a pic of it on the pile of duds I cast as I have loaded some and they are finger/thumb seated in fired cases.
The rest have been packed away for the loading on the test range day.
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I’ve had to rub a little shine on some through a sizing die to fit some of the thicker brass.
I will conduct a shooting test when I’m able too.

Forrest was right on the money about its cast diameters and did a splendid job making the base pin out of drill rod.
Thank-you so much I hope I can do it justice.
Bruce

[Barry54]

Looking forward to a range report!

Thanks for the photo. I’d like to see a picture of the pin and open mold one of these days when you get around to it.

[barrabruce]

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Hope this is what you wanted to see.

Sorry about the mess and my rural/agricultural pin handle.

[barrabruce]

Range results today.
The new hb ideal bullets seated to the crimp groove like in the glossy magazines was a bit spotty.
A ladder test revealed.
@2-21/2" groups at 50m.
I will have to do it again seated out to touch the lands and see if that makes a difference.
Top groups was this.
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Somewhere there is 5 shots. I count 4 and looked everywhere but couldn’t find the 5th.
Not bad really.
The modified / modified Lee 140’s loaded easily and the best today was this load in the ladder test.
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I may have picked up some lead maybe or need less lube or try something else.
Anyway not terribly bad.
I think I need a Hubble telescope and a rest as I’m not sure if red dots really suits me.
As the light changes so does the comet and intensity.
Anyway definitely a rabbit through the slats accurate.

[Barry54]

That was exactly the photo of the mold I wanted to see. Thank you! I wasn’t expecting the pin to go that deep. Is it a pain to cast with?

And I like your homemade exotic wood handle. Waste not, want not.

As to the dot appearing as a comet, it is your astigmatism. I get the least comet effects at the dimmest setting where I can see the dot. I’m impressed you’re shooting as well as you are with a red dot and no magnification. I’m enjoying following along with your journey.

[Soundguy]

A hollow base boolit seems to be the real answer to this problem.. blowing/bumping the skirt up/out is likely the better(easier) way to tackle this imho.

[barrabruce]

"How hard is it to cast with"

Well…. So far I have found that if you hold the mold pretty horizontally then ladle pour over the sprue plate then it dribbles down and solidifies on the wood handle.
Then grabbing handle with out knowing that.
The handle will put a nice blister on the finger that clenched tightly on the handle first.
O.k. Pretty basic.

I was putting the nose pin resting against the propane burner flame to keep it hot.
That works well but the wood gets a little warmish too after awhile.

I found the pin needed to be removed first up when getting the mold to temp before cutting the sprue otherwise it would stick and be vacuumed in.

After I re-turned up the heat of the full pot and added a couple of printer lead spacers the lead melting point dropped and the extra heat helped heaps with fill out.

So……I found in the end so far………

If I cut the sprue, then
Take out the pin and use the base of the pin handle to knock the hinge of the mold handles then
Release bullet
All goes well and quickly.

If the pin gets sticky a bit I wipe it with a cotton cloth and dip it in a small container of shot pellets with graphite in it.

close blaaa blah blaaa.

Things I need to address are sprue plate tension (most likely picked up a burr from the thread of the top of block) As being left handed the sprue plate always wants to swing open instead of shut as when held in the right hand.

And maybe make pin handle longer as the aluminium tube tends to make my eyes water like overflowing the sprue plate as mention earlier.

Apart from that it’s a peace of cake.

Well I’ll have to put learn to rest the mold down to take out the jolt of my poorbugger shoulder and arm when I knock the plate open with my little stick.

Hope this helps.
Regards from your somewhat "sooky princess" caster.

Please note:
I am taking a teaspoon of concrete every morning too try and toughen up a bit.
I may need to increase the dose, as it seems I may be a bit soft.

Barra

[forrest]

Picky mold for sure. I bumped the alloy/pot temp up to +/- 780* to get that mold to cast efficiently. When I cast (every mold) I use a q-tip and put a drop or 2 of synthetic 2-cycle oil on it and lube the top of the mold & bottom of the sprue plate every 15 to 20 pours. I also use that q-tip to oil any hb or hp pin (nose & body length) along with the cavity the pin rides in. Get it dialed in and you'll still be casting at a snails pace at best. But it will cast a quality bullet.

[IMG][/IMG]

I picked that mold up for $5? at a gunshow, it didn't have a hb pin. I wanted to use that bullet in a 1911/9mm for a bullseye competitions. Hense the unusually lllloooooonnnnnggggg hb pin taking weight out of the bullet. I kept getting groups like this 10-shot group @ 50yds with that 1911.
[IMG][/IMG]

Didn't feel like chasing down the fliers. Could of been a brass issue with the long bodied bullet being seated so deep in the 9mm cases. Or the 8# spring not going consistently back into battery with the extremely lite loads. Or simply casting flaws in the bullet.

When I saw what Barrabruce was trying to do I thought perhaps that mold found it's calling.

Good luck and enjoy

[barrabruce]

I think it’s a wonderfull mold for this rifle.

I was going thou my fired brass and checking as I went.
I found some of the 357 mag brass is tighter down near where the base of the bullet seats.
So that will screw things a bit.
Some is thinner and bullet release will differ.

I will put up a wind flag an compensate for wind drift, which maybe an 1" at 50m at 10 knots.

I don’t know the b.c. But I will start at 22lr and see how that goes.

Apart from that it’s probably my eyes and the red dot and slight tremors creeping in from a braced position and not relaxed muscles.

Working on it.

This light wand a short forearm sure makes one concentrate on the basics more.

Could be just the rifle.

Hahaha.
I got lots of excuses to use yet.

[barrabruce]

Just to ask ……
My next attempt at world dominance I will seat these hb soft bullets out as far as I can.
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A bloke at the range reckons that at the velocities I’m shooting at I would nearly need little to no bullet lube.
Well……
My thinking is I will need the grooves full, or enough when seated in the chamber to either fill up the spare space or enough to provide expansion and contracting back down through the cone of death to work.

I know that revolver shooters do it all the time with great accuracy at 10 feet.
Or are there thousands of you’s Miculeks’ out there that can pop ballon’s with a pistol at 1000yrds like that?

Thanks in advance.
I will try well lubed but may run a hand full with just greasy finger lubed ones to see how they fare.

Bruce

[Mk42gunner]

I'd be tempted to try a thin tumble lube at the low velocities you are shooting.

I have no idea what is available down under for tumble lubing, somehow I doubt that Lee ships liquid alox internationally. There has to be something suitable, the question is if you can buy reasonably small quantities.

Robert

[barrabruce]

All over it mk4gunner.

I have some vintage Lee alox that was pretty thick last time I found it and the bottles were cracked.
I was forced to put it into another "container" and put it away "somewhere safe", just in case!

Might be awhile.
Wish me luck

[Mk42gunner]

It took me a long time to try tumble lubing, now it is my preferred method for under 1,400 fps loads. It may work faster, I just haven't tried it.

I have used BLL for 95% of the cast loads that have went down the barrel of my Rossi LWC in .357 Magnum.

It is just soo much easier to swirl a dozen or so boolits at a time and tip them onto wax paper to dry than it is to run them all threw a lubrisizer, it isn't even funny. Even if they need sizing, a push through sizer doesn't take long. I do use two coats of BLL.

Good luck

Robert

[barrabruce]

Well had a bit of a win today.
A string of bulleye loads with the hb 134 grn bullet from 2.8-4 grns.
3 and 4 grains seemed to be the winners today at 50 yrds.
I used reclaimed primers of various dubious origins,so there might be a bit of leeway for improvement.
Either I’m shooting better or casting better.
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Just for grins I loaded some of the hb bullet dry paper patched.
Needs more investigation.
I may have found something it likes.
Loads of bullseye 2.8 and 3 grns.
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A low flyer, most likely from a weird primer(well I hope).
I think I’ve found something it likes.
At least it may clean up and polish the bore a bit.
Cheers
Bruce

[Mk42gunner]

Looks encouraging to me.

Robert