Anyone have an oversize .45 cal

Welcome to the Leverguns.Com Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here ... politely.

Moderators: AmBraCol, Hobie

Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.

Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Post Reply
3leggedturtle
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 4145
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:34 am
Location: north of Palacios about 1400 miles

Anyone have an oversize .45 cal

Post by 3leggedturtle »

I have 60 cast bullets that measure .466-.467 and weigh around 400 grains IIRC. Friend cast these 30-35 years ago for the locals. They were only concerned with being able hit deer and bear at 25-75 yards or so. I was always gonna shoot them out of my 45/70 but sold it. About 20 are barrel foulers or sighters. Another 20 are passable, last 20 are ok. Would like to see them just get shot as a tribute to him and to know how they would do. Also have the brass mold he made if you want to cast some of your own. BTW he is the grumpy old cantankerous fanny burp :P that taught me how to reload in 1968-70. He was also the 1st guy to treat me like a person. Todd/3leg
30/30 Winchester: Not accurate enough fer varmints, barely adequate for small deer; BUT In a 10" to 14" barrelled pistol; is good for moose/elk to 200 yards; ground squirrels to 300 metres

250 Savage... its what the 223 wishes it could be...!
User avatar
earlmck
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 3423
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:10 am
Location: pert-neer middle of Oregon

Re: Anyone have an oversize .45 cal

Post by earlmck »

Todd, that's a very nice offer you made there but I'm guessing that anybody who loads for their 45/70 would suspect, like I do, that those bullets are so badly oversize that you couldn't chamber the cartridge in your gun if stuffed with that large a bullet. And If you did get it chambered it might send pressures sky high if you then went ahead and touched it off.

Friend of mine has an old trapdoor with an oversized bore but we're talking something like .461 or .462 in the oversize. Not clear up there to .465.
The greatest patriot...
is he who heals the most gullies.
Patrick Henry
Thunder50
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1185
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:18 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: Anyone have an oversize .45 cal

Post by Thunder50 »

Pan lube them to fill out all the grooves in the bullet , then re=size back down to .460" or so and you should be good to go. The lube in the grooves will help somewhat prevent deformation to the bullet when you size down so far. You might have to deep seat the bullets if the nose is also oversize, about like shooting a 45 wadcutter, but thats not a problem.
The meek shall inherit the earth, but I reserve the mineral rights!
All the knowledge in the world, is of no use to fools! (Eagles-long road out of Eden)
User avatar
Griff
Posting leader...
Posts: 20803
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:56 pm
Location: OH MY GAWD they installed a STOP light!!!

Re: Anyone have an oversize .45 cal

Post by Griff »

Thunder50 wrote: Thu May 23, 2019 10:28 amPan lube them to fill out all the grooves in the bullet , then re=size back down to .460" or so and you should be good to go. The lube in the grooves will help somewhat prevent deformation to the bullet when you size down so far. You might have to deep seat the bullets if the nose is also oversize, about like shooting a 45 wadcutter, but thats not a problem.
...or size them down without the lube, and use a lube cooke under the bullet...
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93

There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
Catshooter
Levergunner 3.0
Posts: 996
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2008 9:19 pm
Location: South East South Dakota

Re: Anyone have an oversize .45 cal

Post by Catshooter »

Shooting a lead bullet that is oversized for the bore, yet still chambers adds only a few hundred pounds of pressure. That's usually far less than the shot-to-shot variation with any ammo. Richard Lee talks about this in his reloading manual, it's simple mechanical engineering.

But you do have to chamber first. :)


Cat
3leggedturtle
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 4145
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:34 am
Location: north of Palacios about 1400 miles

Re: Anyone have an oversize .45 cal

Post by 3leggedturtle »

P.O. Ackley talked about a 30/06 barrel chambered so he could shoot .35 cal bullets down the .30 cal bore to see how much the pressure was raised to swage it down. I was hoping someone had an oversized Trapdoor or other 45 rifle to test these in. Ireally dont wanna size down to .459-.461 unless i luck into a cheap/worn out .45/70, I'll probably just mothball them and the mold again for another 5-10 years. C-S, you anywhere near Brookings? Todd/3leg
30/30 Winchester: Not accurate enough fer varmints, barely adequate for small deer; BUT In a 10" to 14" barrelled pistol; is good for moose/elk to 200 yards; ground squirrels to 300 metres

250 Savage... its what the 223 wishes it could be...!
User avatar
GunnyMack
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 9937
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:57 am
Location: Not where I want to be!

Re: Anyone have an oversize .45 cal

Post by GunnyMack »

Why not just toss these in the lead pot and make bullets you can actually use?
Years ago I bought a box of 500 .338/225 gr cast GC just for plinking with my WinMag. I started to load and the bullets fell into the case... after putting a mic on them they were .323. Called the guy I got them from and he replaced them with .338s, told me to keep the 8mm. I since turned all those 8mm's into A LOT of .257's for my 25-20!
BROWN LABS MATTER !!
User avatar
earlmck
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 3423
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:10 am
Location: pert-neer middle of Oregon

Re: Anyone have an oversize .45 cal

Post by earlmck »

Catshooter wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 12:58 am Shooting a lead bullet that is oversized for the bore, yet still chambers adds only a few hundred pounds of pressure. That's usually far less than the shot-to-shot variation with any ammo. Richard Lee talks about this in his reloading manual, it's simple mechanical engineering.

But you do have to chamber first. :)


Cat
Cat, You and Todd are totally correct about the oversized bullet going down the bore not raising pressures noticeably. What does raise those pressures dramatically is if the chambering is so tight that the bullet doesn't get easily released from the case on firing. The normal way this happens is when the case is too long (overdue for trimming) and jams into the leade and doesn't readily release the bullet. I am not totally sure a too-tight chambering because the bullet is too large would do the same thing, but I think it does. I believe a friend of mine got enough excess pressure from an oversized bulllet in his 44-40 that the pressure shortened the bolt in the 1866-style Henry he was shooting. He sent it back to Henry and they replaced the bolt and he is back in business. But oversized bullet resulting in overtight chambering is our best guess as to the cause of his overpressure. (He's one of those guys who weighs every charge and looks at things about three times before seating a bullet).

I discovered that my 6-cavity mould didn't always close 100% when I was casting and would occasionally throw a batch of .433 to .434" bullets which we tumble-lubed and now realize they lead to a cartridge that needs a very forceful squeeze of the lever to fully chamber in that rifle with those cases. We think that is what caused his considerable overpressure.

And on a side note, that experience has lead me to add a step to my bullet casting whereby I give a couple taps on the hinge of the mould handle while squeezing to insure I have got 100% closure. When I got to paying attention I found that incomplete closure to be the source of the occasional slightly oversized bullet I have been putting up with all my casting career. But heretofore it was just a bullet that took a little extra "oooph" to put through the sizer.

So Todd, when you try your old buddy's mould out sometime, give it a couple taps on the handle hinge while closing (not on the mould itself) and see if it won't make a leeetle smaller bullet.
The greatest patriot...
is he who heals the most gullies.
Patrick Henry
Post Reply