I see you were running your temps a bit hotter than what I and a friend are pouring at. Of course the alloy will make that the deciding factor as well though. We're at this time using mostly either range lead or 1/3/96 or 2.5/2.5/95 Iso alloy. So far we have both found that right in the 725 - 735 degree area, depending on which caliber mold we're pouring, is the sweet spot for these alloys. We both have the same molds I listed above.
I am hopefully going to put some other 16-1, or similar together in the upcoming weeks to see if I can keep my noses from blowing off at the velocities were shooting. The alloys listed above do good, but we haven't been able to find any hogs to test expansion out on just yet. In soft sandy loam which is what I pack my recovery buckets with, they are showing excellent expansion but I get rings and half rings whee the noses separated form the bases. Not sure just how this will be on a decent sized boar hog of around 200# up close and personal. I would much rather have the full boolit shreading through as much as possible over leaving the nose shed int he shield.
Stick_Man,
Your in for a treat for sure. Just be sure to preheat before you start casting with that big chunk of brass. It makes all the difference in the world.
When I got mine, I did the usual soapy scrub out, followed up with a heat up to get everything dried off. Once I had everything good and warm I used a Q-tip and applied just a touch of the included oil to the top of the mold, and bottom of the sprue plate, then after inserting the pins I wanted to use, I took the Q-tip and swabbed it along all of the pins where they stuck out the sides, then pushed them through and did the other sides. Just enough that I could see there was a film on them while holding the mold where the light would shine on the light oil verses the dry pins. It don't take much.
Once up to temp those pins will slide through like they are on bearings. I also found that if I alternated front to back, then back to front pours I kept the pins up to temp a lot easier. Don't get frustrated with the penta pins, they simply need to be kept hot, period. If you have boolits that stick, just bump up your alloy temp a smidge, and reheat your mold on the hot plate a minute or two. Once you get there they will fall off like they were greased.
One last thing, you might want to pick up a cheap cookie sheet to use to drop these on. I have had some, which once I was in a good rhythm, were deforming the noses and some of the driving bands as they dropped due to still being a bit soft. The larger sheet will allow you to dump them in a larger area and roll them out of the way once they cool down a bit. Thus reducing any chance of denting the noses or driving bands. Trust me when I say, once you get it up to temp and are dumping those fine HP's out you sort of get lost in the process, and are simply just pouring and dumping. I emptied my 4-20 in a heartbeat, and was almost shocked when I raised the handle and only got a dribble. LOL
Good luck with yours you will enjoy it for sure.
