Nice time in the bullet shop
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- earlmck
- Advanced Levergunner
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- Location: pert-neer middle of Oregon
Nice time in the bullet shop
Went shooting with some friends on Thursday. From the session a couple of bullets are looking promising so I thought I'd produce a batch of them today. The SAECO pot was full of Lyman #2 and I had one left-over ingot, so I got going with two moulds and poured bullets until she ran dry. Once the moulds have come up to temp (takes me a few pours to get there) it goes pretty quick -- let one cool while pouring and dropping from the second mould, then second cools while I go back to the first. This seems to keep moulds nicely hot without getting to the frosty-bullets/brittle-sprue stage. Took a bit over an hour to make 11 pounds of 38/55 and 357 bullets. And that hour was about 15 minutes longer than the old back was happy about, but I wanted to empty the pot for use with another alloy next session.
A three cavity Accurate mould makes the 245 grain 38-55 bullet. And this 5-cavity Arsenal produces a cute little 135 grain 357 bullet. And here they are with a few the lubed bullets and the loaded rounds that result.
A three cavity Accurate mould makes the 245 grain 38-55 bullet. And this 5-cavity Arsenal produces a cute little 135 grain 357 bullet. And here they are with a few the lubed bullets and the loaded rounds that result.
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The greatest patriot...
is he who heals the most gullies. Patrick Henry
is he who heals the most gullies. Patrick Henry
- AJMD429
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Re: Nice time in the bullet shop
I miss bullet casting....haven't done it for 40 years...
Maybe again sometime...!
Maybe again sometime...!
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"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
- ollogger
- Advanced Levergunner
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Re: Nice time in the bullet shop
Nice looking bullets Earl!!
How ya liking the 38-55 in that cowboy ?
ollogger
How ya liking the 38-55 in that cowboy ?
ollogger
Re: Nice time in the bullet shop
they look great. what's the weight of the 357 ?
- earlmck
- Advanced Levergunner
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- Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:10 am
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Re: Nice time in the bullet shop
I'm liking it real well Brad. I don't know why I didn't have one of these back when they first came out with 'em. I put a Williams FP on the back and a Lyman 17A on the front and am figuring on whumping some silhouettes when us boys start the shoots again next April.
It's just a little 135 grainer but out of my Rossi it seemed to be hitting the 200 yard gong pretty nicely the other day.
The greatest patriot...
is he who heals the most gullies. Patrick Henry
is he who heals the most gullies. Patrick Henry
-
- Advanced Levergunner
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Re: Nice time in the bullet shop
Handsome boolits, Earl. Just have to love a .38-55.
- marlinman93
- Advanced Levergunner
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Re: Nice time in the bullet shop
How do the sizes compare on those multi gang bullet molds Earl? Especially the 5 gang? I've found some variances between bullets closer to the handles and those at the opposite end. Not enough to be an issue for my pistols, but for my accurate rifles I abandoned multi gang molds.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
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- earlmck
- Advanced Levergunner
- Posts: 3425
- Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:10 am
- Location: pert-neer middle of Oregon
Re: Nice time in the bullet shop
The more cricky my back gets the less picky I get -- I really feel abused if I have to cast with anything less than 3-cavities anymore. But both these moulds throw virtually identical bullets from all cavities, near as I can tell. I weighed 15 of the 38/55s after checking, sizing, lubing and they ranged from 248.4 to 249.2 grains. I'd be real happy with that variance out of a single-cavity. I weighed 25 from the 5-cavity .357 mould and they went from 134.2 to 135.2 grains. I might be able to beat that with a single-cavity, but I might not, too.marlinman93 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 10, 2019 11:05 am How do the sizes compare on those multi gang bullet molds Earl? Especially the 5 gang? I've found some variances between bullets closer to the handles and those at the opposite end. Not enough to be an issue for my pistols, but for my accurate rifles I abandoned multi gang molds.
For anybody inclined to weight bullets (I'm not -- this was just out of curiosity because of Val's question) those electronic scales are really nice!
The greatest patriot...
is he who heals the most gullies. Patrick Henry
is he who heals the most gullies. Patrick Henry
- marlinman93
- Advanced Levergunner
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Re: Nice time in the bullet shop
Those are plenty good weight variances. My concern has always been weight, but with multi gang molds I am more concerned with them being concentric. I've found the bullets out towards the end weren't as round as those closer to the handle. But sounds like yours are doing well.
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/