Cast Lead Thread ?

[akaroa1]

Time for some more cast lead

I finally got a mould I've often thought might be useful to have in the mould hoard

Lyman 457 330 grain hollow point Gould mould

My new old Army & Navy 45-60 was the primary reason to get this mould .
That rifle just loves a case jammed full with Black Powder

This mould might also be useful in some of my British 450 Express rifles

Despite the extra nose plug and single cavity it turns out good bullets at a reasonably steady pace



Off to the powder coat oven and tried the Ford Blue ( coats best ) and blend of grey and white ( grey alone is quite difficult to get a decent coating )



The hollow point is 12.5mm deep
elm wide tapering to 1.75mm



The PC needs to cure for a while and then I will load a few cases and devise a practical expansion test to compare the hollow point and solid bullets

And of course an accuracy test

[Friwi]

Do you have a picture of the 45-60 rifle you are shooting?

[akaroa1]

Do you have a picture of the 45-60 rifle you are shooting?

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....s-when-104097/

[akaroa1]

Wrong photo
This is the bullet box

[akaroa1]

Did some expansion testing today on the 45-60

This is my bullet baffle box
12mm MDF with 25mm gaps
A pretty brutal test medium but good to test two different bullets with



The solid nose 360 grain went through 10 baffles
The Hollow point 340 went through 9 baffles
The hole size was identical through the first few baffles and then the Hollow point left a bigger hole



The Hollow point is shorter and fatter

[Jhon]

Did some expansion testing today on the 45-60

This is my bullet baffle box
12mm MDF with 25mm gaps
A pretty brutal test medium but good to test two different bullets with



The solid nose 360 grain went through 10 baffles
The Hollow point 340 went through 9 baffles
The hole size was identical through the first few baffles and then the Hollow point left a bigger hole

Attachment 256436

The Hollow point is shorter and fatter

Attachment 256438

Surprised how close in size they look. Is the HP worth the effort? How about cupping the flatpoint like you can get in 32-20? With a large drill bit on a depth stop. Be interesting to see that alongside these two.

[akaroa1]

Surprised how close in size they look. Is the HP worth the effort? How about cupping the flatpoint like you can get in 32-20? With a large drill bit on a depth stop. Be interesting to see that alongside these two.

When you see them in the flesh there is a little more difference than the images show.
My bullet box is maybe not a very good comparison to a decent sized game animal though.

That is the next test to be done

[akaroa1]

I really think either bullet would be good to hunt with
But wanted one of these Lyman Gould hollow point mounds

[Micky Duck]

Oooooh they do look great. They will be awesomeness on game going by how your .44ones went.these are just more of a good thing.

[Oldbloke]

Anyone casting for 223?

[T.FOYE]

Anyone casting for 223?

Smallest i've gone is 308 sorry

[Oldbloke]

Mainly interested to avoid barrel leading.

Couple of beginners Qns.

Can you use any brand or colour of powder coating powder?

A more difficult one, if I PC but don't GC, what sort (aprox) of speed and accuracy can I expect but still no leading?

[Jhon]

Mainly interested to avoid barrel leading.

Couple of beginners Qns.

Can you use any brand or colour of powder coating powder?

A more difficult one, if I PC but don't GC, what sort (aprox) of speed and accuracy can I expect but still no leading?

Commercial PC bullets from Hawke River Bullet Company, sold here by Delta Mike, are rated to 2200fps without GC..whether they are accurate at that velocity would be a different matter.

[akaroa1]

Commercial PC bullets from Hawke River Bullet Company, sold here by Delta Mike, are rated to 2200fps without GC..whether they are accurate at that velocity would be a different matter.

Most of the commercial cast bullets are as hard as hell
They won't do anything on an animal except hole in and hole out
Made hard and PC to be pushed hard and fast

Sub optimal for hunting

[Jhon]

Most of the commercial cast bullets are as hard as hell
They won't do anything on an animal except hole in and hole out
Made hard and PC to be pushed hard and fast

Sub optimal for hunting

Delta Mike site -

"HRBC uses a high performance dry lubrication on all projectiles. Only Certified “Virgin Bullet Alloy” not recycled, is used in the production process of HRBC projectles, giving pistol calibers a rated hardness of #7 Saeco scale or #16 Brinell Hardness Scale"

Have the same for e.g. 303 Cal