Trends in BPCR Long Range Shooting

[bruce m]

if there is one trend developing in black powder cartridge shooting at the moment, it is bullets.
1st of 2 things i have noticed is the beginning of guys trying harder alloys.
when i started 20:1 was it, and some daring guys were starting to try 16:1, often being poo pooed by the old gard.
now we are seeing 14:1 and 12:1 routinely mentioned.
the other thing is the dual diameter pp bullet.
as most chambers are for groove diameter bullets, they just make sense.
no need to oversize cases to fit bore diameter bullets, just finger seat in fired cases.
and the big plus is that the base of the bullet does nor have to bump all the way up from bore to groove diameter and the get sized down again as the bullet starts to move.
i remember being castigated here for reporting my results on this, and then discovering that arnie was doing it too.
i wasn't mad after all.
if only we had known of each others doings in the beginning.
when i metdave gullo in oz i gave him a bullet, and he has obviously seen arnies bullets and spoken to him, and now baco sells dual diameter moulds, and people are buying them.
bruce.

[Kenny Wasserburger]

Bruce you as usual put it into words better than I could of.


Kurt, Arnie and Jim playing with this alloy has my attention.

The solder might be a cheap way to get down to 14-1 it seems. I have been playing with 15-1 of late and Ian and I have discussed 14-1 where he has I believe already gone to.

Kenny W.

[Don McDowell]

#2 alloy shoots well but I haven’t seen enough better from it to spend the extra cost over 16-1 yet
Another alloy that works well is 25 lbs of magnum shot with 1 lb of tin

[semtav]

Okay so I gone and pissed off some folks again, oh well..............

Dick

Well the good news is there was plenty of pyrodex on the shelves in Billings today!!!!

[bruce m]

don,
if you make your own no2 alloy it is cheaper than 16:1 due to using less tin.
i have found it too hard for my jobs, but cut with lead it is good.
bruce.

[Don McDowell]

Depends on where you live I supppose
Here the raw materials to make an alloy all need be purchased and shipped in
Buying it from someone that has already done all that works better for me
And before the pussy caps come flying out of the bush about the cost of the shot previously mentioned I got it for a dollar a bag from an old gentleman’s family that was cleaning out his garage after he passed away
They were going to throw it in the dumpster

[bruce m]

that is the best way to get stuff.
bruce.

[Kurt]

I had a lot of #2 Lyman from the pistol bullseye matches I mixed 50/50 with lead and shot up several hundred lbs of it in my .50 as well alloy mixes left over from pistol ingots with WW and I just kept adding lead till the dimple matched my 1/16. It all shoots good.
I been working on a alloy that casts a 518 gr PP with 1/16 T/L that weighs less than 490 gr out of the same mould for Silhouettes and gong shoots that need testing this winter.

[bruce m]

there are 2 beauties with antimony bullets cast to the same hardness as lead/tin.
one is a major cost saving due to the cost of tin, and the other is that you get heavier bullets due to having more lead in the alloy.
for the same shape and dimension, the heavier bullet will have higher b.c.
of course it will have a lower muzzle velocity, and this might offset the b.c. advantage, but the longer the range, the more the b.c. helps.
should i pursue lea/tin/antimony bullets further i would be seeking an alloy that uses a minimum of tin, relying on the antimony for most of the hardness.
there would be a lot of work here, and you have to go past optimum hardness to find perfection.
this will guarantee a leaded barrel, and i am not sure at my age that i really want that.
bruce.

[bruce m]

Bruce you as usual put it into words better than I could of.


Kurt, Arnie and Jim playing with this alloy has my attention.

The solder might be a cheap way to get down to 14-1 it seems. I have been playing with 15-1 of late and Ian and I have discussed 14-1 where he has I believe already gone to.

Kenny W.

well kenny,
i don't think i can put things into words that well, but thank you.
i do know that back in the days when you started playing with patches, you put your journey into words well enough to get my attention.
in fact i mostly blame you for my own most enjoyable journey down this road.
you made me take the first step.
bruce.

[Kenny Wasserburger]

Bruce,

In 2 months this thread will be 17 years old and running. And I am glad you joined the party.


Kenny Wasserburger

[bruce m]

thanks kenny.
this thread is actually history in the making.
bruce.

[bruce m]

without detracting from kenny's influence on me, i must also blame brent for some of my journey as well.
i think over the years we have all begged to differ on some issues we have dealt with, but this just goes to show that sometimes there is more than one way to skin a cat.
bruce.

[Kenny Wasserburger]

Actually Brent and Orville both I believe, had some influence on us all in the beginning.


Kenny Wasserburger

[bruce m]

yes orville is particularly remembered for his reintroduction of more traditional chambers.
bruce.