Hi, new to group. Bullet mold question
Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 10:38 am
Hi to all. I am new to Black Powder Cartridge Rifle shooting and loading. I have cast and loaded for handguns in the past. I was recently introduced to "Ram Bash" shooting here in Virginia and was immediately hooked. I was fortunate enough to be able to purchase a Shiloh Montana Rough Rider used. I am told that it is 1994 production and was originally a 45-70, but was re-barreled as a 40-65 by John King some twenty years ago. I am also told that the gun went for many years without being fired. I'm told that it has a Badger Barrel and if I measured it correctly has a 1:18 twist. The rifle actually came with a set of RCBS Cowboy dies and a Lyman 2640678 mold as well as a couple hundred cartridge cases.
I made a camber casting as well as slugged the bore. What I am learning is that my bullets drop at 392 grains in pure lead with a dab of tin. I have an old Starret micrometer that only shows down to .001. The bullets that I have measured are out of round and vary from .408 to .409+ as they are rotated in the micrometer. If I slugged and measured correctly I am getting .409+ as a groove diameter in my rifle (at the muzzle) My chamber casting shows that the bullet needs to make a pretty good jump before engaging the riffling.
I'm bewildered about what mold to select going forward and wondering if I would be better served by a custom mold. I would like to send my chamber casting and slug to someone who can supply me with a good mold for my purposes. I will be loading mostly Black Powder, but probably some smokeless as well.
Here is a target shot at 100 yards off of a rest of ten shots, starting with a clean barrel:
I don't know if the image works or not. That load is 58 grains of Swiss 1 1/2 with a .030 vegetable wad. Winchester Large Rifle primer.
I made a camber casting as well as slugged the bore. What I am learning is that my bullets drop at 392 grains in pure lead with a dab of tin. I have an old Starret micrometer that only shows down to .001. The bullets that I have measured are out of round and vary from .408 to .409+ as they are rotated in the micrometer. If I slugged and measured correctly I am getting .409+ as a groove diameter in my rifle (at the muzzle) My chamber casting shows that the bullet needs to make a pretty good jump before engaging the riffling.
I'm bewildered about what mold to select going forward and wondering if I would be better served by a custom mold. I would like to send my chamber casting and slug to someone who can supply me with a good mold for my purposes. I will be loading mostly Black Powder, but probably some smokeless as well.
Here is a target shot at 100 yards off of a rest of ten shots, starting with a clean barrel:
I don't know if the image works or not. That load is 58 grains of Swiss 1 1/2 with a .030 vegetable wad. Winchester Large Rifle primer.