Can You Tell Me About This Mold ?

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Archer
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Re: Can You Tell Me About This Mold ?

Post by Archer »

One of the things I didn't mention was overall length.I had wondered about that and didn't know if it was something to watch for or not.
Yes you want to watch that.

In a way that is sort of what we've been talking about in a couple ways.
1. The grain weight of the bullet affects the length of the bullet and the OAL of the completed cartridge.
2. You don't want the OAL of the loaded cartridge to jam the bullet into the lands on the rifle.
3. You don't want to load shorter than the OAL of the data you are using as that will raise the pressure beyond what you are going to expect from the data.
4. You want a consistent OAL (just like everything else) to maximize your round to round consistency.

If you haven't run into #2 above it can be a real eye opener when you try to unload a loaded round stuck in the lands and either jamming the action so you can't get it closed or jamming it so you can't get it open and unload it without firing the round which will be higher pressure than you planned or pulling the bullet and leaving powder all over everywhere PLUS leaving the bullet jammed in the throat.

That OAL vs. chamber throat was half of what we were talking about in that some guns won't tolerate bullets beyond a certain grain weight. The other half is cycling through the action on lever actions (or box magazines for that matter) before we realized you were talking single shot.

Tuco,
Are you talking 35K CUP or 35K PSI?
Probably right in that the action probably won't have problems.
I might stick to the 28KCUP loads but that's a matter of personal preference.
Either way once the gun and load are doped in it ought to be a hoot.
I've shot factory loads at about 650 yards out of the 1886 with a 26" octagonal and it can be a heck of a lot of fun trying to arc on target. I've moved into the 28KCUP reloads and it is a bit more of a thump than the factory stuff.

I'm feeling the need to crank out another 100 rounds or so and go play.

P.S. the Garret article and other information on the website was a pretty darned good read.
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Tuco Ramirez
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Re: Can You Tell Me About This Mold ?

Post by Tuco Ramirez »

Arch;

I should have been more specific.... PSI. If my math is right that would be close to 32-CUP. You are right with the 45-70 that more is not always better. The 28-CUP is more enjoyable to shoot. I would like to set up a gong at 250 yards to just have fun with. I was reading a post somewhere else about a range in Pennsylvania that has a steel buffalo at 1000 yards that guys walk rounds into. I bet that would be a blast!! If you could see it.... :lol:
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Mike Weber
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Re: Can You Tell Me About This Mold ?

Post by Mike Weber »

Hollow based bullet molds tend to be tricky to work with. I use hollow based molds while casting for my .58 Caliber Civil War muskets. If you're casting for the 45-70 you're much better off going with a solid based bullet. That said my experience with Lee Hollow based molds has not been good. One of their molds fell apart on me before I had even cast 50 bullets with it. I'm not saying that all Lee molds are bad I own several of their molds and have been happy with all but their hollow based molds.
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