Cast Bullets and Handi-Rifle
- Thread starter chewie146
- Start date
Geezerbiker
New member
I think once you dial in your load, you will get the groups you're looking for.
It wouldn't hurt to read up at the Cast bullet Association forums... There's a ton of good info there.
http://www.castbulletassoc.org/forum/
Tony
It wouldn't hurt to read up at the Cast bullet Association forums... There's a ton of good info there.
http://www.castbulletassoc.org/forum/
Tony
Edward Horton
Moderator
Be a real man and forget the cast bullets and buy some 500 grain 458 Winchester magnum Hornady bullets like pictured below next to a 170 30-30 bullet. Load them "HOT" and see if you get a nose bleed like I did when I fired it out of my five and half pound No.3 Ruger carbine. 
Edward Horton
Moderator
chewie146
A "friend" gave me three of these bullets and I fired two and kept one to remember what kick really means. This was in the 1976-80 era and I did shoot cast bullets but it was hard to get consistent weights when casting.
It was fun but I traded the 45-70 in on a 30-30 that I still have to this day.
And yes I had my thumb too close to my nose, it was something I never forgot. How is your brass holding up as far as reloading goes?
A "friend" gave me three of these bullets and I fired two and kept one to remember what kick really means. This was in the 1976-80 era and I did shoot cast bullets but it was hard to get consistent weights when casting.
It was fun but I traded the 45-70 in on a 30-30 that I still have to this day.
And yes I had my thumb too close to my nose, it was something I never forgot. How is your brass holding up as far as reloading goes?
Are you casting your own boolits? If so, as has been stated before, either size them to .001 or .002 above your bore diameter, or just don't size them at all, depending on what size they drop from your mold.
In other words, you want the lead boolit to be at least a couple thousandths over bore diameter. SLUG YOUR BORE. It doesn't take long, even if you push three slugs through (as you should). Measure with a micrometer to get the best accuracy.
Also, thoroughly clean your bore, then inspect it with the brightest light and most magnification you can... is the bore rough? Then lap it. Use the slugs you pushed through, and lap it with all three of them. Clean thoroughly, then load up a good 350-400gr boolit with 14-15gr of Unique, no filler, and see what happens.
Hardness of the boolit is not as big an issue at 45-70 velocities as is diameter. I shoot my Lee HB 405gr boolit pretty soft, at about 1300-1400 fps with no leading issues at all. It's also just about one-hole accurate at 50yds, and about 1 1/2" at 100yds. This is a Marlin 1895 SS though, not a Handi-Rifle, but the potential should be the same.
In other words, you want the lead boolit to be at least a couple thousandths over bore diameter. SLUG YOUR BORE. It doesn't take long, even if you push three slugs through (as you should). Measure with a micrometer to get the best accuracy.
Also, thoroughly clean your bore, then inspect it with the brightest light and most magnification you can... is the bore rough? Then lap it. Use the slugs you pushed through, and lap it with all three of them. Clean thoroughly, then load up a good 350-400gr boolit with 14-15gr of Unique, no filler, and see what happens.
Hardness of the boolit is not as big an issue at 45-70 velocities as is diameter. I shoot my Lee HB 405gr boolit pretty soft, at about 1300-1400 fps with no leading issues at all. It's also just about one-hole accurate at 50yds, and about 1 1/2" at 100yds. This is a Marlin 1895 SS though, not a Handi-Rifle, but the potential should be the same.
Goatwhiskers
New member
Slug your bore and the general rule is size .001-.002" larger than that. Don't use soft lead, that's only for muzzle loaders. Wheel weights do well, some play with different alloys, drop the hot bullet into water to make them harder, or heat treat them--you can get as deep into that as you want. Lots of info available on the 'net. Goatwhiskers the Elder
I'm using Starline nickel and it seems to be holding up great. The first stuff I got is on reload 5 now with no signs of fatigue. I trimmed most of them this weekend to get them consistent, but all in all, I'm impressed. Most of the older stock is now going to be relegated to the low pressure loads, as I got some new brass in for the hot stuff. I've lost maybe 5 cases, and those were accidents, such as too much lube on one, crushed mouth from improper allignment, etc. I've been impressed so far with starline. It also goes on super sale on Midway from time to time, so that's the best time to get it.
Geezerbiker
New member
That's about perfect. The .459 bullets are the right size now focus on loads and seating depth. Some rifles shoot best the the bullet seated only a couple thousands off the rifling.
Tony
Tony
Edward429451
Moderator
Weight consistency is all about temperature consistency while casting.
You can always alloy your own metal. I use pure lead (plumbers, flashing, etc) and mix scrap lead free solder (tin) with it.
I don't get really anal about "exact" ratios, but just keep it kind of general. Like I stated before, at 1300 to 1700 fps or so, hardness isn't all that important. In fact, if I'm using the hollow base Lee mold, I want them to be relatively soft, quite a bit softer than the Lyman #2 alloy. It's usually about 1/20 tin/lead, which should give around 10 BHN. Lyman #2 is around 15 BHN.
Wheel weights are usually around 11-12 BHN, un-quenched. If you want to alloy your own raw metals, and you want to quench/harden your boolits, you can use magnum shot for shotgun shells. It has antimony in it, which will allow the hardening process to work.
I don't get really anal about "exact" ratios, but just keep it kind of general. Like I stated before, at 1300 to 1700 fps or so, hardness isn't all that important. In fact, if I'm using the hollow base Lee mold, I want them to be relatively soft, quite a bit softer than the Lyman #2 alloy. It's usually about 1/20 tin/lead, which should give around 10 BHN. Lyman #2 is around 15 BHN.
Wheel weights are usually around 11-12 BHN, un-quenched. If you want to alloy your own raw metals, and you want to quench/harden your boolits, you can use magnum shot for shotgun shells. It has antimony in it, which will allow the hardening process to work.
Trigger Time
New member
Sources of Lead
I got alot of my stockpile from friends who do remodeling work. They encounter lead pipes and such on occasion. Most of mine actually came from lead shower pans. If you know anyone who does remodeling, talk to them. If you don't, look for a nasty old motel (shower circa 1975) being torn down or remodeled and talk to the guys doing the work. This material is usually a liability to them.
I got alot of my stockpile from friends who do remodeling work. They encounter lead pipes and such on occasion. Most of mine actually came from lead shower pans. If you know anyone who does remodeling, talk to them. If you don't, look for a nasty old motel (shower circa 1975) being torn down or remodeled and talk to the guys doing the work. This material is usually a liability to them.