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What did you do in the reloading room recently?
- Thread starter DW357
- Start date
gerrycaruso
NES Member
Loaded some .38/55 and .44 special and shot them both at the 100 yard silhouette. It was pretty easy with the .38/55 rifle but not so easy with the .44 snub.
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
Snubby Easy beans. With a 4’x8’ sheet of plum wood
What rifle is the 38-55 chambered in?
Lank
NES Member
So I used lead foil to see the difference in quality vs lyman #2. Then I added lyman ingots and the end result was fugly boolits. I did size them, but my question is will fugly boolits cycle/function well enough? Does powder coating help with a smooth looking finish? I don't really care about looks, I am making these for SHTF and for general fun at the range.
Also, could the deformities be a result of not keeping the cast mold hot enough? Every few minutes I will set it on top of the oven to try to keep it hot
Also, could the deformities be a result of not keeping the cast mold hot enough? Every few minutes I will set it on top of the oven to try to keep it hot
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Lank
NES Member
Or am I keeping the furnace too hot? Should I STFU and stop caring?
gerrycaruso
NES Member
The .38/55 is a Hi-Wall. It's a Browning with crescent butt and octagonal barrel. They don't make it anymore but I think it was called the traditional hunter. It has a Parson Long Scope. I don't think that's around anymore either. It's a pretty low tech combination but fun to shoot.
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
Love it. Low tech is my tech. Any pictures of it?
gerrycaruso
NES Member
Posting pictures is beyond my ability but when my daughter gets back from South Carolina I'll have her do that. You're welcome to shoot it if you ever get up to Harvard or Shirley.
Lead foil for the most part is pure lead. So its molten point is higher than lyman #2 , your bullets look like a combo of to low alloy temp and to low mold temp.
They will shoot, covering them with a coating is like painting over rust and dents.
if tou dont care coat them and shoot them. If not put them back in the pot and keep trying.
Keep tour foil lead aside for other things , like shotgun slugs and black powder projectiles.
Lank
NES Member
Thank you
You have cold flow due to not being at adequate temps.
I'd just throw them back into the pot.
Mildly blemished bullets can still be fired successfully, but if they are too poorly cast, you run the risk of the bullet breaking apart inside your magazine, cylinder, chamber or while in flight.
also if your not going to coat that lee tumble lube design bullet you will want to get the best mold fill out for the tumble lube grooves to hold the lube
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
I swear I’m going to take you up on that sometime. I need to put that on my short list.
I might have a bullet mould that would work well for that rifle. What diameter Bullet are you using?
gerrycaruso
NES Member
I'm using a Lyman375449. It's a 264 grain flat nose gas check and I size it to .379. I've tried SR4759 and AA5744 but this rifle likes IMR4227 better.
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
Ah nice. I have the Lee mould on hand right now. It’s a buddies. I was casting and coating some for him. Let me know if you want to try some. It’s around that weight and RNFP also.
Do you use starline brass? I read a good article on their website a few years back about 2 different sized 38-55 cases and needed to know what your chamber are bore were like. It was a damn good one
There are two companies making long scopes, MVA and a cheaper one (forgot the name).
If you ever buy one, spend the money on MVA. Or get the cheaper scope but use MVA mounts. (Based on what I read on other forums).
Once in a while I think of buying one.
45collector
NES Member
200 7.62/.308 done.
hv55maxx
NES Member
mold not up to temp
gerrycaruso
NES Member
I have Winchester, Remington and Starline(the shorter one) brass. I's so old I can't remember where I got it but I think I ordered it from Midway. It's not from factory ammo because I've never used any.
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
Nice. I really want to get an old Stevens or something that I can make a single shot 38 special or something crazy like a 25 stevens extra long.
Lank
NES Member
Thanks. I was thinking of using one of these to keep it hot, eg every few pours place on stove
Or is this overkill?
Still early this weekend but,
- 100 rounds of .223 sized
- Loaded 25 7.62x54R with Viht 135
- Loaded 43 7.62 NATO with BL-C(2)
- Found a box of once-fired 303 British and prepped those cases
- Sized 100 rounds of 308
- Prepped more 6.5x55
Also found a box of 1000 9mm projectiles, so I might use those.
I also plan to load some Makarov.
- 100 rounds of .223 sized
- Loaded 25 7.62x54R with Viht 135
- Loaded 43 7.62 NATO with BL-C(2)
- Found a box of once-fired 303 British and prepped those cases
- Sized 100 rounds of 308
- Prepped more 6.5x55
Also found a box of 1000 9mm projectiles, so I might use those.
I also plan to load some Makarov.
hv55maxx
NES Member
nah, just rest it over the melting pot for a few minutes
38ExtraSpecial
NES Member
Not overkill if you already have it.
if you plan on investing money then buy one of the $11electric hot plates from Walmart.
yes its over kill, cheap hot plate is better, less fuel, less fumes, more control.
Easy enough to pre warm mold on top of smelting pot and cast a few and it should be up to temp.
Then if you start getting frosted bullets you can let it cool a bit. I rest it on my steel oil tank , makes a good heat sink.
Put away the 1k Zero 158 gr JHPs
steve8140
NES Member
There are some small tricks people do that claim better performance. You can polish the inside of the powder drop and cone to make powder flow smoother.
You can also tap the hopper or some people mount a small vibrating piece to ensure there’s no air pockets in the powder.
Most just accept the “range” of the powder throw the be good enough. Even though you can load for high end precision on a progressive press most people would do the powder on a trickler for better powder measure consistency.
I've never had a Dillon or. Lee that threw powder charges that were more than +/-0.1gr
houdini
NES Member
resizing 40 s&w threw a case bulger
