clan of the 45-70

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twobitokie
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clan of the 45-70

Post by twobitokie »

al righty then, new 45-70 mold supposed to two hole, 350 gr lee. when sorting them out what is the break point for different weights. As in 349 to 351, 348 to 352, and what do you use for back to the pot weight.

these are the biggst I have ever cast, so I am curious.
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Re: clan of the 45-70

Post by Ranch Dog »

twobitokie wrote:al righty then, new 45-70 mold supposed to two hole, 350 gr lee. when sorting them out what is the break point for different weights. As in 349 to 351, 348 to 352, and what do you use for back to the pot weight.

these are the biggst I have ever cast, so I am curious.
Statistically, with a 6-cavity mold you will have more bullets fit the "norm" as the average of the six cavities are establishing that norm than you will with a 2-cavity mold. With the 2-cavity mold, half will weight as dropped from cavity X and half will weight as dropped from cavity Y.

As to a direct answer, I use a 1% high or low based on a given lot average. I'm a pretty simple shooter but I do have silhouette guys using my products that really get into this and that is what they tend to use. What I like about it is that I can visually sort bullets for imperfections and this visual inspection is tighter than the weight spec whether it is with my 50-grain 218 Bee bullet or my 425-grain 45-70 bullet. The bullet profile is visually easy to accomplish, any dents or dings and it is gone. The next visual is base fill out, if it is solid it is good. Hollow spots or air cavities are rejected. Once that is done, I pull 10 random samples and weigh them, entering that data in a spread sheet I keep. Here is an example from my 45 Colt bullet I just cast.
cast samples.jpg
I've found that if I keep my alloy fluxed and my mold at a constant temperature, I have very few rejects and they can be visually sorted. The visual sort keeps them within a 1% tolerance. A very close visual sort would probably keep them with a 1/2% tolerance. After my visual inspection and if the random samples are within the spec, they all go out the barrel without further fiddling.

I've also upload the excel file if anybody wants to use it for their record keeping.
Michael
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Dan 444
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Re: clan of the 45-70

Post by Dan 444 »

Thanks, Michael. This is a great way to do it!

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Re: clan of the 45-70

Post by WyrTwister »

twobitokie wrote:al righty then, new 45-70 mold supposed to two hole, 350 gr lee. when sorting them out what is the break point for different weights. As in 349 to 351, 348 to 352, and what do you use for back to the pot weight.

these are the biggst I have ever cast, so I am curious.
If they look OK , I shoot them .

I tumble lube them in LLA , JPW & paint thinner in about equal proportions .

God bless
Wyr
Barry in IN
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Re: clan of the 45-70

Post by Barry in IN »

That's my way! If they don't have a screwed-up base, extra holes or great big wrinkles or folds, they get shot. And I'm not overly picky on bases if they get gas checks.

Actually, I started out weight sorting then found that with some moulds it wasn't worth doing. What few throwaways I'd get were so obvious from appearance that I quit checking so close.

Then I decided to let the rifle determine how much effort to put in. Some don't seem to care, while others need them to be pretty uniform. And with some, their intended purpose is part of the decision.
Examples:
I have a .308 that shoots jacketed bullets to pretty much the same group with anything from 110 to 180 grains, and does about the same with cast (though the cast group will be low and right, all weights hit about the same place). Obviously with that one, a few tenths of a grain difference in identical design bullets won't matter much. I'm not going to bother unless I get the urge to see what it can really do someday.
I also have a Ruger 77/44 with which it does matter. A lot. It needs them pretty consistent, even when they get heavy. So for the best groups (and zero) with it, I have to sort.
But then there is the question- is that necessary for that rifle's purpose? I see the 77/44 as a woods rifle for good size targets. Relatively big targets at relatively close range means I'm not going to get too carried away with sorting.

The Marlin 45-70 doesn't seem to be too picky about weight variances. One of my Garands is. The Savage 99 doesn't care much, as long as the design is one it likes. I have another .308 that will only shoot one design, and it has to be just perfect.

They do what they do. I act accordingly. With most though- if it looks good, I shoot it.
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Re: clan of the 45-70

Post by deaddoc4444 »

Years ago , while working with my first cast bullets , I did an experiment with the cast as compared to factory produced JACKETED Bullets .
I did weight study on Hornady 350 RN 45 cal bullets and Speer 400 Grain 45 cal bullets and Remington 405 Bullets .
I was having good results with grouping and accuracy VERY GOOD RESULTS . weighing bullets OVER 100 From each sample group listed above found variations as much as 15 grains PER BULLET . I had never even come close to that in my tolerances with cast bullets .
Due to that I do NOT do anything but VISUALLY inspect bullets after casting . I , DO do a mean weight average to determine load development , when I first get a new mold by weighing about 25 bullets and then getting an average . I go by that weight for the rest of the time UNLESS I change my mix. I get great groups and good performance . MY primary criteria is base fill-out and sharpness of the base . I have found even "Fair sized" dings will shoot well and group nicely if the base if good . PERFECT BULLETS go in the box for my hunting and "SERIOUS " loads .
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