CAST BULLETS FOR BEGINNER AND EXPERT SECOND EDITION, 2007
Joseph F. Brennan Jr. 0.0 THE BEGINNING
INTRODUCTION
This book comes on a CD that includes a set of Excel workbooks. The print version, of course, doesn't include these workbooks. The CD is available at a minimal cost.
Most of the what's in this book was discovered or invented by cast bullet shooters over the past several hundred years. Very little is original with me. There are over one hundred and forty listed contributors to this book, and I'm sure that there are others whose names I have inadvertently omitted.
Information on all aspects of cast bullet shooting is available, but it is spread out and difficult to access for the beginner. This book puts a lot of that information in one place for the beginner as well as providing information on many advanced topics.
It doesn¶t tell you everything, it doesn¶t take sides in technical disputes and it doesn¶t confuse the important with the minutiae.
It provides an overview of bullet casting and shooting, puts a lot of reference material in one place, and mentions books that add to our understanding of cast bullets and shooting.
It must be used with a reloading manual for safe and accurate reloading of cast bullets. I recommend the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, any edition. All editions.
The distinction between opinion and fact in cast bullet shooting is sometimes blurred. Opinions abound while facts are rare. Beware of opinions masquerading as facts.
Don¶t be intimidated by the wealth of information in this book. It is a record of the accumulated experience and (sometimes conflicting) opinions of experts who have spent decades studying cast bullets from a number of perspectives. Some enjoy target shooting. Some enjoy hunting. Some enjoy letting their antiques talk again. Some are just looking for cheap ammo. Some enjoy the technical side of things, and some just enjoy the fellowship of fellow enthusiasts. Most are interested in more than one of these. And every single one will take great delight in helping you get started and getting over any problems or questions you might encounter.
But that aside, the basics of making and shooting cast bullets really is easy. Grade school
youngsters have learned the basic elements in an afternoon (though adult supervision is strongly encouraged!). At its most elementary form, bullet casting is really not much more difficult in principle or in practice than pouring water in an ice tray, though there is an added element of hazard from the heat. Everything past that is simply refinement, and you¶ll find plenty of that in this book.
Most normal adults can pick up enough basics to do a decent job and get safe, good results with a single demonstration. Or, if no mentor is easily available, a couple of afternoons reading free literature from mold manufacturers is an acceptable substitute, particularly if the beginner has ever reloaded non-cast bullets.
We earnestly solicit your comments, criticism and additional information to be included in the next edition of this book. You do the casting and reloading and experimenting; please share your knowledge with us. You may contact me through the Cast Bullet Association.
Casting and reloading and shooting cast bullets is a lot of fun. I started casting and shooting lead bullets in 1960, and have been actively doing so, with varying emphasis, ever since.
I shoot cast bullets for several reasons.
Cast bullet guns are easier to clean than guns shot with jacketed bullets. I may spend time over three to five days cleaning copper out of a bore after fifty shots with jacketed bullets; I can clean a cast bullet gun in about ten minutes.
Cast bullet shooting is less expensive than shooting jacketed bullets. Or so we tell ourselves. Certainly bullets are cheaper to cast than to buy, powder charges are smaller and cheaper, and brass lasts longer. Offsetting these savings are the costs of the equipment, which sometimes gets away from me. I do love the equipment.
Cast bullet guns recoil less than jacketed bullet guns. Not always, but mostly.
Cast bullets don¶t wear out barrels on rifles. Not yet, anyhow. I¶ve shot out jacketed bullet barrels in 2500 rounds. I¶ve yet to see accuracy diminish in a cast bullet gun. I know it has to sometime; I¶m just not there yet.
Shooting cast bullets is fun. We need more fun in our lives.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks to:
Ken Mollohan for his articles, comments and editing, Dave Goodrich for his articles and computer help, Denise Goodrich for the covers
Todd Wolf for his articles and for putting this into .pdf form
Thanks to the writers who are identified with a by-line or whose contribution is in italics. If there is no by-line or it's not in italics, I'm guilty.
Thanks to the dozens of shooters who taught me what I have written. Thanks to Rudi Prusok, the ASSRA archivist, for all his help.
Thanks to all of those named below, who contributed to this book. If I left your name out, I apologize. The omission was accidental.
The contributors:
Jason Adams Charles Graff Dave Patterson John Alexander Tom Gray Bruce Peglow John Ardito Willis Gregory John Pierce Jr. Forrest Asmus Scott Hamilton Adrian Pitfield Creighton Audette Ron Haralson Harry Pope Bruce Bannister Jeroen Hogema Hal Prucha David Berry Don Howe Rudi Prusok
John Bischoff Dick Howes Stephen Ricciardelli Jim Borton Dan Hudson Mark Richmond Jeff Bowles Claris Hyett Ned Roberts Ric Bowman Pat Iffland John Robinson Paul Brasky William Iorg Pete Schroeder Jeff Brown Tom Ireland Robert N. Sears Al Capozzi Keith Johnson Brady Sharpshooters George B. Carpenter Norm Johnson Rick Shepardson James Carter David Kaiser Wayne Smith Skyler Child Tim Kuntz Bob Steinberg Tom Cook Urban Kvensler Ed Stutz John Cox Jacob Lancaster R. J. Talley Dave Daniels Glenn Latham Dan Theodore Barry Darr Jerry Liles Dick Trenk W. C. Davis Don Loops Richard Tunnell Charlie Dell Frank Marshal John Wagner John Dickson Paul A. Matthews Bill Warner Junior Doughty R. Dale McGee Frank Washam Harry Eales Bill McGraw Kenny Wasserburger Joe Entrekin Duane Mellenbruch Joe Weist
James Evitts Jesse Miller Kim Williams Miles Fenton Val Miller Todd A. Wolf Nancy Foster Ken Mollohan Ed Wosika Larry Gibson L. F. Moore Al Young
John Goins Tom Myers MI State Archives Dave Goodrich Al Nyhus
A. C. Gould Warren Page
These contributors chose to use their forum noms de plumb. From The Cast From The ASSRA From The
Boolits Forum Forum THR
44 Man 2520 Forum
454 PB 38-55 Timuchin
Bass Ackwards 40 Rod
Black Prince Andy From The
Blackwater Boats MSN BPCR
Boom Boom Feather Forum
Chargar KWK Al
Deputy Al Marlinguy High Wall Jack
Frank Remington raider John
Geoff Scheutzen Kurt
Grumble Scheutzendave
Keith Tommy From The
Linstrum Voyageur CBA
Mike in CO Forum MT Weatherman W30WCF Newboy Nighthunter NV Curmudgeon Nyack Kid Remington Raider Spotted Pony Stew WBH
For
John Scharf
and
Gunnery Master Sergeant George V. Roberts
1911-2003
USMC 1928-1953
Good friends and straight shooters
TABLE OF CONTENTS 0.0 THE BEGINNING INTRODUCTION 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2 DEDICATION 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 RECORD KEEPING 11 1.0 SAFETY BULLET CASTING SAFETY 12
RELOADING SAFETY 13 SHOOTING SAFETY 16
2.0 BULLET MOLD SELECTION AND DESIGN 17 2.1 MEASURING GUN DIMENSIONS 23
HOW TO SLUG A BARREL 23
HOW TO SLUG A RIFLE THROAT 25
HOW TO MAKE SULFUR BARREL AND CHAMBER CASTINGS 26
HOW TO MAKE CERROSAFE BARREL AND CHAMBER CASTINGS--David Kaiser 27
2.2 BULLET DESIGN AND FIT 28
HOW TO SCALE BULLETS UP OR DOWN 28 BALLISTIC COEFFICIENTS (BC) 31
THOUGHTS ON THROATS, LEADES, BALL SEATS AND BULLET FITt --Ric Bowman 36
FITTING A CAST BULLET TO THE CHAMBER OF A FIREARM --Bill McGraw, Ken Mollohan and Ric Bowman 40
HOW TO USE THE MEASURED BORE, GROOVE AND THROAT DIAMETERS TO SELECT A CAST BULLET THAT IS LIKELY TO DO WELL IN YOUR GUN--Ken Mollohan 43
2.3 TWIST 45
ABOUT TWIST 45
HOW TO MEASURE THE RATE OF TWIST OF A BARREL 47 THE GREENHILL FORMULA 48
TWIST AND BLACK POWDER CARTRIDGE RIFLES--Dan Theodore 50 3.0 BULLET CASTING 53
3.1 BULLET CASTING TOOLS 53
3.2 BULLET CASTING METALS 54
ACQUIRING AND PREPARING LEAD FOR CAST BULLETS 54 LEAD ALLOYS AND BULLET HARDNESS 54
A CHEAP WAY TO TEST LEAD ALLOY HARDNESS--James Carter 58
A SIMPLE METHOD OF DETERMINING THE HARDNESS OF LEAD ALLOYS--David Berry 58
IDENTIFYING TIN 59
THE PENCIL TEST FOR LEAD ALLOY HARDNESS--Ken Mollohan 60 HOW AND WHY TO MEASURE THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF ALLOYS 61 3.3 CAST BULLET HARDNESS REQUIREMENTS 65
BULLET HARDNESS, CHAMBER PRESSURE AND ACCURACY 65 ANOTHER OPINION--John Bischoff 70
BULLET HARDNESS-STRENGTH-PRESSURE--John Alexander 72
BULLET HARDNESS REQUIREMENTS--Bill McGraw, John Robinson, Ric Bowman 73
3.4 HOW TO CAST BULLETS 76
HOW TO ADJUST AND MAINTAIN BULLET MOLDS 83 3.5 DAMAGED BULLETS 89
4.0 HOW TO MODIFY CAST BULLETS 99 HOW TO BEAGLE BULLET MOLDS--John Goins 99
HOW TO LAP BULLET MOLDS 102
LAPPING BULLET MOLDS--Ric Bowman 102
THREE REASONS TO LAP A MOLD--John Wagner 106
GETTING THE MOLD READY TO LAP AND PREPARING A NEW MOLD--Joe Weist 107
LAPPING THE MOLD--Joe Weist 108 4.1 BULLET SIZING AND BUMPING 110
HOW TO HONE A SIZING DIE--Richard Tunnell 111
HOW TO BUMP BULLETS IN THE LUBRICATOR SIZER 112 4.2 GAS CHECKS 115
GAS CHECKS ON PISTOL BULLETS 117 HORNADAY GAS CHECK SPECS 119
SHOOTING THE INVERTED GAS CHECK--Forrest Asmus 120 4.3 SWAGING CAST BULLETS--Norm Johnson 121
SWAGING AND BUMPING CAST BULLETS--The cast 129 4.4 PAPER-PATCHED BULLETS 135
WHY PAPER PATCH CAST BULLETS?--Ken Mollohan 136 HOW TO PAPER PATCH BULLETS--Ken Mollohan 136 PAPER PATCHING--William Iorg 138
HOW TO MAKE A PAPER PATCHED BULLET MOLD--Ken Mollohan 139 4.5 HEAT TREATING LEAD BULLETS 143
HEAT TREATING CAST LEAD BULLETS-- Tom Gray 143 BULLET QUENCHING--Dave Goodrich 148
HEAT TREATING LEAD ALLOYS AND THE EFFECTS ON BHN--Dave Goodrich
WHEELWEIGHTS AND HEAT TREATING CAST BULLETS--Bill McGraw 158 5.0 BULLET LUBRICANTS 160
BULLET LUBRICANTS AND ACCURACY 160 WHY LUBRICATE CAST BULLETS? 160 HOW TO LUBRICATE CAST BULLETS 161 HAND LUBRICATING 161
LIQUID ALOX TUMBLE LUBRICATING 161 LUBRICATING IN A LUBRISIZER 161 HOW TO PAN-LUBE BULLETS 162
PAN LUBRICATING, TWEEZERS METHOD 163 HOW TO MAKE SHEETS OF LUBE 164
THE KAKE KUTTER LUBRICATING METHOD--Ken Mollohan 166 BULLET LUBRICANTS AND THEIR RECIPES 167
SHOOTING CAST BULLETS WITHOUT LUBRICATION 170 6.0 RELOADING 175
6.1 CAST BULLET RELOADING 175
HOW TO ASSEMBLE A CARTRIDGE 175 BELLING CASE MOUTHS 178
HOW TO MEASURE MAXIMUM CARTRIDGE LENGTH 179 COOKBOOK LOADS THAT WORK IN ANY GUN 181
CHAMBER PRESSURE 184
CONCENTRICITY--Ric Bowman 186
TARGET AND HUNTING AMMO, THE WAY I DO IT-- Bill McGraw 189 6.2 CARTRIDGE CASES 191
HOW TO CARE FOR CARTRIDGE CASES 191 HOW TO TRIM CASES TO LENGTH AND WHY 191 WHEN TO TRIM CASES--Ken Mollohan 192
CASE LENGTH VS. ACCURACY 194
HOW TO ANNEAL CARTRIDGE CASES 198 HOW TO TURN CASE NECKS, AND WHY 200 THE STEP NECKED CASE 201
NICKEL PLATED CASES 202
CARTRIDGE CASE TUMBLERS AND CLEANING CASES 203 6.3 PRIMERS AND PRIMING TOOLS 209
PRIMER TESTS--Charlie Dell 211
BERDAN PRIMERS--Pete Schroeder 214 6.4 POWDERS AND POWDER MEASURES 217
THE ASTOUNDING POWDER MEASURE TEST! 221 6.5 WADS AND FILLERS 230
PVC WADS 232
DACRON WADS AND CHAMBER RINGING 233 6.6 HOW TO WORK UP AN ACCURATE RIFLE LOAD 239
WORKING UP A CAST BULLET LOAD--Jesse Miller 242 CHRONOGRAPHS AND LOAD DEVELOPMENT 245
CHRONOGRAPHS AND STATISTICS 250
6.6.1 RELOADING FOR THE SINGLE SHOT RIFLE--Bill McGraw 256 HOW TO BREECH SEAT BULLETS 256
HOW TO M AKE A PLUGGED CASE 260 BREECH MUZZLE LOADING 261
6.6.2 HOW TO RELOAD FOR THE M1 RIFLE--Bob Steinberg 266 6.6.3 RELOADING CAST LEAD BULLETS FOR HANDGUNS 267
SHOOTING LEAD BULLETS IN HANDGUNS--Norm Johnson 267
MORE ABOUT SHOOTING LEAD BULLETS IN HANDGUNS--Adrian Pitfield 271 CAST BULLETS IN REVOLVERS--Adrian Pitfield 273
A REVOLVER AND CAST BULLETS 275
CAST BULLETS IN SEMI-AUTOMATIC PISTOLS--Adrian Pitfield 276 1911 HEADSPACING METHOD--Norm Johnson 278
6.6.4 LOADING AND RELOADING WITH BLACK POWDER 279 ABOUT BLACK POWDER 279
BLACK POWDER CHARGES, WEIGHT VS. VOLUME 280 HOW TO RELOAD BLACK POWDER CARTRIDGES 286 WATER-PROOFING BLACK POWDER--Ken Mollohan 288
MAKING AND LUBING PATCHES--R. Dale McGee, Spotted Pony on Cast Boolits 289
HOW TO MAKE COMBUSTIBLE PAPER CARTRIDGES--Harry Eales 290 CARTRIDGES FOR MUZZLE LOADING RIFLES--Ned Roberts 290
HOW TO MAKE BLACK POWDER PAPER CARTRIDGES FOR REVOLVERS--timuchin on THR 292
6.6.5 CAST BULLETS FOR THE TWENTY-TWO--John Alexander 296 6.7 ON HEADSPACE 301
SHOULDER SETBACK WITH REDUCED CAST BULLET LOADS 304 6.8 ON MOLY COATED BULLETS--Jesse Miller 309
6.9 THE LEE COLLET DIES--John Alexander 310 7.0 SHOOTING 312 7.1 HOW TO SHOOT OFFHAND--Harry Pope 312 7.2 HOW TO SHOOT FROM THE BENCH 316
HANDLING HEAVY RECOILING RIFLES FROM THE BENCH--Ken Mollohan 318 BENCH RESTS 319
HANDGUN RESTS 321 7.3 SIGHTS 323
IRON SIGHTS 323
HOW TO SET CLICK-ADJUSTABLE REAR SIGHTS 325 HOW TO SET VERNIER SIGHTS 327
HOW TO ADJUST A WINDGAUGE FRONT SIGHT 329 HOW TO ADJUST OTHER IRON SIGHTS--Ken Mollohan 329 TELESCOPIC SIGHTS 331
HOW TO FOCUS A TELESCOPIC SIGHT 333 FACTORS OF SIGHTING ERROR 334
HOW TO DETERMINE ³FIRST SHOT HIT´ ACCURACY OF YOUR RIFLE 339 HOW TO EVALUATE RIFLE BENCH REST GROUP ACCURACY 339
HOW TO TEST FOR ACCURACY 340 GROUP SIZES AND STATISTICS 342 7.5 SPOTTING SCOPES 347
7.6 SHOOTING IN MIRAGE AND WIND 349 7.7 CANT 351
7.8 HOW TO CLEAN A CAST BULLET GUN 354 CLEANING GUNS WITH PAPER TOWELS 361
8.0 THE SHOOTING SPORTS 362 8.1 CAST BULLET ASSOCIATION MATCHES 363
INTRODUCTION TO CAST BULLET ASSOCIATION MATCHES--John Alexander 363
CBA PRODUCTION CLASS--John Alexander 365 CBA HEAVY CLASS 366
CBA UNRISTRICTED CLASS 367
CBA PLAIN BASE BULLET (PBB) CLASS 368
CBA LONG RANGE HANDGUN COMPETITION--Jesse Miller 368 CBA MILITARY RIFLE COMPETITION--Claris Hyett 369
8.2 INTRODUCTION TO SCHUETZEN RIFLE SHOOTING 373 8.3 BUFFALO RIFLE--Forrest Asmus 375
8.4 BLACK POWDER SHOOTING 379 BLACK POWDER Schuetzen 379
THE BLACK POWDER CARTRIDGE RIFLE--Paul Matthews 381 8.5 HUNTING WITH CAST BULLETS 383 HUNTING WITH CAST BULLETS--Todd A. Wolf 383
HOW TO DUPLICATE 32 RF HUNTING LOADS IN CF RIFLES--Ken Mollohan 388 FIELD REPORT-SOFT NOSE CAST HUNTING BULLETS--Bill McGraw 390 How To Make Soft Nose Cast Hunting Bullets-- Bill McGraw 391
HOW TO MAKE CAST HUNTING BULLETS--Ken Mollohan 393 9.0 ABOUT THE GUNS 395 AN ASIDE ON RIMFIRES 395
BLACK POWDER RIFLES AND PISTOLS 395 MUZZLE LOADING RIFLES AND PISTOLS 395
CAP LOCK TARGET RIFLES AND SLUG GUNS 397 LONG RANGE MUZZLE LOADERS 398
THE PEDERSOLI GIBBS MUZZLE LOADING TARGET RIFLE--Dick Trenk 399 BLACK POWDER SEMI-CARTRIDGE GUNS 404
BLACK POWDER CARTRIDGE RIFLES 404
INTRODUCTION TO IN LINE MUZZLE LOADERS--Todd A. Wolf 405 BLACK POWDER REVOLVERS 409
BLACK POWDER CARTRIDGE MILITARY GUNS 409 RIFLE-LIKE SINGLE SHOT PISTOLS 410
SINGLE SHOT RIFLES 410
ORIGINAL SINGLE SHOT RIFLES 411
REPRODUCTION SINGLE SHOT RIFLES 416 NEWLY DESIGNED SINGLE SHOT RIFLES 417 GERMAN SCHUTZEN RIFLES 418
ON BUILDING A SINGLE SHOT TARGET RIFLE 419 BOLT-ACTION RIFLES 420
MILITARY SURPLUS RIFLES 420
PRODUCTION BOLT-ACTION RIFLES 422
PURPOSE BUILT BOLT-ACTION RIFLES--Pat Iffland 423 SEMI AUTOMATIC RIFLES 423
LEVER ACTION RIFLES 424
APPENDIX A TABLE OF LYMAN "M" DIES 427
ANTI-CORROSION METHOD FOR STORED GUNS--Ken Mollohan 431 AN ARGUMENT FOR HARD CASES 433
CASTING µJACKETED´ BULLETS--Ken Mollohan 434 CONTENDER ASSEMBLY NOTES 437
DAVE PATTERSON ON THE 32 MS AND 32 RKS 438 FIRE LAPPING BARRELS 441
HOW I MADE A TUBE SIGHT 452 HOW TO CROWN A RIFLE BARREL 453 HOW TO RELOAD WITH A LEE LOADER 454 HOW TO RELOAD WITH A LYMAN 310 TOOL 456 LEAD BALLS: GAUGE, DIA., WT. 461
MAKING AN APERTURE FRONT (OR REAR) SIGHT 462
MANAGING THE REDDING MICROMETER M EASURE--Ken Mollohan 463 ON EYES--Jesse Miller 464
RECOMMENDED BOOKS AND PERIODICALS 465 REMOVING RUST 469
SAECO TO BRINELL HARDNESS CONVERSION TABLE 471
SCOPE SIGHT ADAPTER FOR GERMAN SCHUETZEN RIFLE--Al Young 472 SCREWS FOR THE CLEANING ROD 473
SHOOTING UNDERWATER--Ken Mollohan 474 SIGMA AS A FRACTION OF X BAR 476
SOME STATISTICS 480
SUPER CAVITATING BULLETS--John Bischoff 483 THE 32 MILLER SHORT--R. Dale McGee 485
THE 30 BR (BENCH REST) 488 THE LYMAN STS SHIFT 490
THE POOR MAN'S CASE TUMBLER--Jeff Brown 491 WILCOXON RANK SUM WORK SHEET 496
ALLOY CYLINDER WEIGHTS BY CALIBER ASTOUNDING POWDER MEASURE TEST DATA BALLISTIC COEFFICIENT, MV AND DEFLECTION BULLET HOLE WEIGHTS
BULLET WEIGHT CALCULATOR AND RECORD
C. DELL'S TWIST FORMULA WORKBOOK--Charlie Dell CHAMBER PRESSURE CUP vs. PSI
CONFIDENCE INTERVAL ESTIMATOR OF MU
CONFIDENCE INTERVAL ESTIMATOR OF SIGMA SQUARED DON EAGAN BULLETS
ESTIMATING GROUP SIZE VARIATION GREENHILL FORMULA WORKBOOK
KEN MOLLOHAN'S ALLOY BLENDING SPREADSHEET--Ken Mollohan LEAD BALL WORKBOOK
Lyman BULLET, Top Punch, SEATING STEM CROSS REFERENCE M54 WINCHESTER WORKBOOK EXAMPLE
MV WEIGHT TWIST WIND DEFLECTION RECOIL TORQUE SD OVER MEAN THE DATA
SETTING A MICROMETER POWDER MEASURE-A WORKBOOK BY URBAN KVENSLER--Urban Kvensler
SMALL SAMPLE CONFIDENCE INTERVAL ESTIMATOR OF MU SPECIFIC GRAVITY CALCULATOR
t testing
TWIST MV RPM CALIBER ROTATIONAL SPEED WILCOXON 95% TABLE
0.2 RECORD KEEPING
In the course of dealing with guns or reloading for them you will find that you will wish that you had kept better records. "WRITE IT DOWN" will be seen frequently in the pages that follow.
I have a small notebook for each gun that I own. When I send a gun down the road, I either file that notebook, or use the remaining pages for another gun.
I have often enough wished that I'd written something down so that now I'm a compulsive writer downer.
For reloading records I keep duplicate information in an EXCEL workbook or spreadsheet. I've included a sample EXCEL workbook for a M54 Winchester 30 WCF in the APPENDIX.
EXCEL allows me to sort the reloading information by various columns, such as powder or primer or bullet or date or ... I find the EXCEL record of reloading information and group sizes to be much better than the notebook alone-but the notebook is necessary for many reasons, such as sight settings at various ranges. The notebook is portable while the computer isn't-at least mine isn't-yet.
I also keep other records in EXCEL:
a list of guns I own with serial numbers and other identifiers a record of all the bullets that I cast and weigh
an inventory of guns and the stuff (molds, sights, brass, tools, notebook) that goes with them
WRITE IT DOWN!!
1.0 SAFETY
BULLET CASTING SAFETY
There are three dangers in bullet casting. Lead is HOT!!
Lead alloys generally require more than 600 degrees F to melt, which can result in serious burns. While common sense will go a long way (don¶t¶ stick your finger in the melt to judge the temperature, etc), proper gear and clothing can provide much protection. Wear a long sleeved shirt, long pants, shoes, gloves and safety glasses to protect yourself from the inevitable minor spills. For maximum protection, all clothing should be of natural, not man-made
materials. Manmade fabrics will melt at these temperatures, and the molten fabric will stick to your skin, greatly increasing the severity of any injury.
The casting workplace should be free of all flammable materials: A lead spill into your gunpowder or primer supply could make casting a much more intense experience than it needs to be. Provide a heat resistant surface on which to lay molds, spoons and the like when not in immediate use. The lead pot should be clamped to the table so that it cannot tip over. Lead is POISONOUS
>>> LEAD POSIONING IS CUMULATIVE! <<<
The body cannot eliminate lead at any significant rate. It simply accumulates lead until the total dosage becomes a problem. Contrary to the fears of many novices, lead simply doesn¶t evaporate, even from casting melt temperatures. Current thinking is that ingestion of
microscopic lead particles is the primary route to lead poisoning.
The trick is to avoid ingesting lead in the first place. Smoke from fluxing indoors should be fan-ventilated to the outside, or better still, do all fluxing outdoors. Otherwise, you can inhale microscopic particles of the lead alloy and/or oxides that are in the smoke. And wash your hands before you eat, drink or smoke while taking a break, or after casting. The process of handling ingots and castings will rub some of the alloy onto your skin, which will transfer it to other articles you handle.
I cast bullets in the cellar without ventilation for well over twenty years, and no lead problems. I didn't flux in the cellar; got the slushy stuff off the top of the melt and put it in a tin can. Later, outside, every time I melted wheelweights down and cleaned them , I put the can in the pot and melted and fluxed the slushy stuff into clean wheelweights again. Now I cast outside, on the porch, but still don't flux much.
Other suggestions include:
Never hold a bullet in your mouth for a moment while your hands are busy elsewhere! (This applies to airgun pellets too!)
Clean and vacuum the surfaces that lead touches during casting, including the floor. Store all alloys and casting equipment where children and pets cannot gain access. Do not try to use the lead from any batteries, as they contain poisons.
Thousands of shooters cast billions of bullets a year without getting lead poisoning. Taking the basic precautions should keep us safe, I've been casting for well over forty years without a problem.
Molten Lead and Water DON'T MIX.
Accidental introduction of water into a pot of molten lead will result in a reaction that can vary from disconcerting bubbling and popping of lead spatters to a LOUD AND VIOLENT steam explosion. And water can intrude in an incredible number of ways. Wouldn¶t a nice cold
glass of your favorite beverage sound good after a long time bent over a pot of molten lead? Especially when the condensation on the glass hits your hand and goes on the next ingot you pick up. If it¶s a hot day, drops of perspiration can run down your hand as you reach for the ingot. That¶s how it happened to me, (Ken Mollohan, editing), and the resulting explosion emptied the pot and sprayed lead all the way across the house. If you store ingots in an unheated area, water can condense on them when they are brought in for a casting session. Take particular care to keep liquids like coffee, tea, cokes and other beverages out of the area. The practice of quench hardening from the mold is effective, but has also been known to result in water on ingots or in mold cavities. And there are almost more ways to mess this up than there are casters. Problems arise when the ingot carries liquid below the surface of the melt: The water turns to steam with a very large volume and can blow the lead out of the pot.
Don¶t let it happen to you.
One simple technique can completely eliminate this hazard.
Don¶t put an ingot that isn¶t warm to the touch into a molten pot. And when you DO add it, let it down gradually instead of just dropping it suddenly into the pot. It¶s easy enough: Just lay an ingot on the top of your pot for a few minutes before adding it to the melt. When it¶s uncomfortable to touch, it¶ll be quite safe to add. And using a set of tongs to add the hot ingots slowly will prevent any accidental contamination by moisture from your hands, etc. If you follow these simple precautions, you can cast bullets safely for years.
Enjoy casting, it is fun, relaxing and interesting and allows you to experiment and shoot at lower cost per shot. Pouring lead into a mold can be as simple as pouring water into a glass. Or it can be just as technical as you want it to be.
RELOADING SAFETY
Unless you want a finger like mine, be very careful while reloading. Don't reload when you're tired, or angry or distracted. Don't talk to anybody while you're reloading. If
someone interrupts, either stop reloading or make them go away. If you don't want to reload, if you're sick of it, then quit.
Don't reload in a hurry. If you have to leave for the match in twenty minutes and you haven't reloaded yet, then either put off the match or reload at the range. Don't hurry. Look at the finger of a hurrier.
Double charging/overcharging a case
Many if not most cast bullet loads call for small charges of fast burning powder. It is possible to put two charges-to double charge- a case with these loads. Shooting a double charged cartridge could easily blow up the gun and injure the shooter.
Here are three ways to keep from double charging a case, I use all three.
First, always start powder charging with the cases upside-down (primer up) in the loading tray. If every case is upside-down before you throw the powder charge, it is impossible to double
Second, after you pick up each case, give it a throwing motion as if you were trying to throw powder out of the case. You are trying to throw powder out of the case. If you make this motion of throwing powder out of each case before charging it with powder, then it is impossible to double charge a case.
Third, after charging a set of cases, look in each case with a flashlight to make sure that there is one and only one charge of powder in each case. Again, if you check each case with a flashlight, it is impossible to double charge a case.
I use all three techniques, and last week found that I had double charged a 7MM TCU case with Unique. The flashlight saved my bacon. I started with all cases upside-down; I always do. I made a throwing motion with each case as if to throw powder out of the case; I always do. When I looked in the cases with the flashlight, one was obviously double charged. This is the first time that I can remember finding a double charged case. I don't know what happened, but whatever happened; I did it. Some kind of brain wriggle made me do something wrong.
Use these three techniques to be safe. Ken Mollohan
"I use a similar process: I invert all the cases (primer up) in a reloading block and set the reloading block on the left of my measure. I set an empty reloading block on the right. Cases are pulled from the left-hand block, inverted (neck up), charged, and set into the right-hand block. When all of the cases have been charged, they are visually inspected under a good light for any case that seems to have more or less powder than the others. If a case like this is found, that case is emptied and recharged. If the powder charge still seems abnormal, the powder measure is checked for the proper setting. If the measure is correct, and the weight of the powder is correct, that case is removed and scrapped or marked for plinking loads only.)"
Bridging
Some powders in some measures "bridge", means that you're throwing charges and one has LESS than the desired charge and another has MORE, because the powder got hung up in the nozzle of the powder measure. I've had this happen with SR4759, others report bridging with several other powders. Another reason to inspect the powder level in each case with a flashlight. Neck constriction
The chamber in a gun barrel is cut such that at the end of the mouth of the cartridge the chamber has a step where it becomes smaller. A cartridge that is too long for the chamber may be forced into the barrel, and at this forward step the cartridge case and bullet will be constricted, mashed into a space that is too small for them. Firing the cartridge will cause high pressure and may damage the gun and the shooter.
This situation doesn't happen very often, and is easily avoided by checking case length and trimming cases when needed.
Headspace changes
Cartridges that headspace on the shoulder may set back the shoulder of the case and increase headspace if they are fired with light charges. Many cast bullet loads contain light charges. I have had cartridge cases (30/06 and others) develop excess headspace after firing many light loads with cast bullets. Shooting a full power cartridge that has excess headspace can damage the gun and the shooter. Checking cartridge cases with a headspace gauge will identify the problem cases.
To avoid this problem, I segregate and mark cartridge cases used for light loads, and use them only for light loads.
Note that cartridges that headspace on the rim (45/70, 25/20) or the belt (300 H&H, 7MM Rem. Mag.) will not develop excess headspace.
Excess pressure loads
There are numerous ways to cause excess pressure and perhaps damage the gun and / or shooter. Almost all of them can be overcome by the simple process of avoiding maximum charges, especially when you are first developing a load. ALWAYS start with the minimum suggested powder charge. This will give you a safety margin in case one of the following factors could be in play to cause you problems.
High pressure loads are a snare and a delusion. They produce very little more velocity, and they stress your gun badly while reducing your safety margin to a razor¶s edge. If you really need more power than your rifle will provide with moderate loads, the answer is not more
powder in the case. The answer is a new rifle chambered for a bigger case that will burn more powder safely.
The first way to produce excessive pressures is to use more powder than is safe for your cartridge and bullet. To avoid this, use good reloading handbooks, start with the minimum recommended loads and never exceed the maximum charges listed. ALWAYS weigh charges, at least initially to be sure your volumetric measure is set right, and afterwards to be sure it didn¶t change somewhere along the way.
Second is to accidentally use the wrong powder. To avoid this, never load when you're tired or upset. Never load when you're in a hurry, never load without checking in a written reference. Never load if something µfeels wrong¶. Check your personal logbook or a reloading manual. Nobody has a perfectly reliable memory, and I've blown up one gun in over forty years of shooting; because I was in a hurry, because I didn't check a written reference, and most sadly, because I didn't stop even when I became suspicious of the load. I don't ever want to do it again. (Ken Mollohan, editor: ME TOO! And I have the scars to prove it.)
Third is to use the wrong bullet. It¶s possible to load, chamber and fire charges with a 200g bullet that were maximum for a 100g bullet. It¶s also possible - at least with some guns - to load an oversized bullet. Examples might be 0.312 or 0.323 bullets in a 0.308 bore rifle that happens to have a larger than usual chamber neck. Oversized or overweight bullets will cause serious pressure escalations. Even changing the TYPE of bullet in a load can result in sharp changes in the pressures developed. Hard, heavy copper jackets will produce higher pressures than thinner, softer jackets. And the jacketless cast bullet will produce the lowest pressures of all, all else being equal.
Fourth is to leave your loads in the hot sun for a while. This can easily elevate pressures into the proof load range. In fact, British proof houses used to - and may still - use standard factory rounds that have been heated before loading to proof foreign arms for which they have no conventional proof load.
Fifth is to change the type of primer in a load that is already close to maximum. A hotter primer will make the powder burn faster, and develop higher pressures. . If ANY component of a max or near max load is changed, the prudent loader will back off the powder charge at least 10% and work back up slowly.
Sixth is to change the seating depth of your bullet so that it is jammed into the rifling. While sometimes useful, this practice should not be added to a hot load without changes to
reduce the pressures until the effect can be determined. The added resistance to getting the bullet moving can result in higher pressures.
There are also variations associated with different lots of what should be (nominally) the same components. These can affect pressures, but seldom by great margins.
SHOOTING SAFETY Hearing protection
Most shooters over 50 years old are somewhat deaf. That's because we didn't wear
hearing protection at the range when we were younger. When I started shooting, virtually nobody wore earplugs or earmuffs. If you want to avoid an old age where you always look puzzled during a conversation, then wear hearing protection while shooting.
Eye protection
There are any number of ways to have a gun squirt gas and brass particles toward your eyes when you set it off. I've seen it happen twice, and had it happen to me once. To avoid losing your sight, get a good pair of glasses and wear them every time you shoot any gun, even that BB gun. Your mother was right.
Bore obstructions
It is just amazing the things that show up in the bore of a gun. Bullets, wasp nests,
brushes, patches and dirt have been reported. Shooting a gun with a bore obstruction can damage the gun and you.
Before shooting a gun for the first time on any day, look through the bore to make sure there's nothing in it.
After shooting, if you don't see a hole in the target, look through the bore to make sure the bullet got out. Be particularly wary after any shot that sounds odd or doesn¶t have the same feel with its recoil. Stop shooting, open the gun and inspect it to be sure it is still mechanically sound and that the bore is clear before the next shot.
³If anything can go wrong, it will.´ It¶s important to realize that it¶s simply not possible to foresee each and every possible mistake that can be made. The best we can do is to point out the most common or most likely mistakes, and suggest some ways to avoid them. If you
encounter something not covered in this overview, ASK SOMEONE. It is so much easier to not assemble or shoot a dangerous load than it is to un-shoot it after someone has been hurt. Be sure you¶re safe.
2.0 BULLET MOLD SELECTION AND DESIGN
For most applications there is a cataloged bullet mold that will produce bullets with adequate accuracy in your gun. Most of the time a Lyman or Lee or RCBS mold will make bullets that shoot fine in your guns.
For some guns and situations in which better accuracy is desired, it may be necessary to select or design a bullet mold for a particular gun.
The bullet and the gun must be "matched".
Rifle bullets must be large enough so that no gas can blow by the bullet, melt the sides of the bullet and lead the bore. Today's wisdom is that the optimum bullet diameter is about
0.0005´ less than the throat diameter. For non-match use, 0.001" under- the diameter of the throat of the rifle is often serviceable too.
Revolver bullets must be as large as the cylinder throat, the forward-most part of the cylinder.
To match the bullet to the gun, we must measure certain dimensions of the gun, and then, using these dimensions, decide on the dimensions of the mold.
The throat dimensions, rate of twist, bore, and groove dimensions are the important gun dimensions.
The length and the diameters of the various parts of the bullet are the important bullet dimensions.
Matching the gun dimensions and the bullet dimensions will generally improve accuracy. We are concerned with the rate of twist because a bullet that is too long for the rate of twist cannot be stabilized and thus will group poorly and may strike the target sideways.
The following explains how to measure these dimensions and how they are inter-related. Bullets
Cast bullets have some or all of these parts: ³Grease grooves´ for the lubricant, ³bands´ or larger diameter sections before and after the grease grooves, a ³base band´ on the bottom or a ³gas check shank´ on the bottom to accept a gas check, a ³nose´ on the front of the bullet and a ³meplat´ that is the flat, however small, on a bullet's nose.
Rifle Bullets
Many of the rifle bullet molds available today will produce bullets that will shoot accurately; some combinations yield exceptional accuracy. Standard molds will produce bullets with acceptable accuracy for most of your shooting. In the 30 calibers, the Lyman 311041, 311291 or 311299 shoot very well. While the 311041 and 311291 are not "bore rider" or "tapered" bullets, or any other trick shape, they shoot well and sometimes wonderfully in 30 caliber rifles, and have done so for about a hundred years.
Rifle bullets come in a myriad of styles, suited for various applications. Some are unsuited to any application. Most successful rifle bullets are of one of these four styles:
Single-diameter bullets are the same diameter on all bands. Examples are the H. Guy Loverin-style bullets such as the Lyman 311465 or 311466 and many Lyman designs such as the 319247 that has been popular for many years..
Tapered bullets have bands that are about bore diameter at the front, and gradually get larger as they approach the rearmost band, which is several thousandths of an inch larger than groove diameter. Lyman made molds for tapered bullets in the past and other custom mold makers make them now.
Two-diameter or Pope style bullets have front bands of bore diameter or slightly larger, and a rear band or bands which are a couple of thousandths of an inch over the groove diameter. This design is not as popular as it once was. Single shot shooters sometimes find that a Pope style bullet can be dropped in the rifle chamber, then the loaded cartridge case with perhaps a cork wad can be chambered, and that the rifle will shoot with great accuracy. There is a happy coincidence of dimensions that allows the case to seat the bullet.
Bore-ride bullets have a nose that is at or slightly over bore diameter, and a base that is slightly over groove diameter.
This design is quite popular today, and examples include Lyman¶s 311299 and 311284. Some shooters have written that the bore-ride bullet must be a press fit in the barrel (at the muzzle) of the rifle for good accuracy. A helpful shooter at the range will sometimes take one of your loaded cartridges and try the fit of the nose of the bullet in the muzzle of the rifle. The shooter will then shake his head, and make a clucking noise. He will explain that your bullet is either: a. too loose, or b. too tight. Don't listen to the clucking, and don't worry about the fit. Good fit is nice, but poorly fitting bore-ride bullets may shoot well in light loads, sometimes with target accuracy.
The difference between a sloppy fit and not being able to push the bullet into the barrel of the gun with your thumb is about one thousandths of an inch.
The chamber-end groove and bore diameters become larger than the muzzle-end
diameters after not too many shots are fired in the rifle. The fit of any given bullet will vary with the rifle checked; it doesn't take much rifle bore and/or groove variation to make the bullet tight or loose.
The largest diameter of the 30 caliber bullet should be at least .002" and preferably .004" larger (my experience, others differ) than the groove diameter of the barrel at the breech end. Thirty caliber barrels (for the sake of argument) have bore diameter of .300´ and groove diameter of .308´.
The ideal 30 caliber bore ride bullet would then have a nose about .301´ diameter to
snugly fit the bore, and base bands about .310´ diameter. If the breech end of the barrel is worn, the nose and body should be larger. Some barrels will accept bullets with noses of .303"- .304". Shooting a bullet that is too small in diameter for the barrel causes a lot of trouble. The bullet must be big enough! Leading of barrels at lower velocities, 1400-1600 feet per second or below, is almost always caused by bullets that are too small.
Today the conventional wisdom is that the bullet must fit the throat of the rifle. Harry Pope wrote that the bullet must fit the throat over 75 years ago. The throat is that part of the chamber between the end of the cartridge case and the rifling. The bullet should be as large as the throat.
The more advanced cast bullet shooters have molds and bumping/swaging dies made to form the bullet to the shape and size of the throat, and chamber rifles for this tapered fit of the bullet to the throat. The rest of us can get good accuracy without leading by shooting big bullets.
THE LYMAN-POPE 308403
This bullet was originally the Lyman 308403, and later the number was changed to 311403. According to Rudi Prusok, the ASSRA archivist, this bullet was first listed in the Ideal/Lyman handbook in 1927, and was listed until 1957-when the number was changed to 311403.
From the 1927 Ideal Hand Book:
³308403. Bullet designed by Mr. Harry Pope for extreme accuracy in competitive
shooting in the .30 Springfield rifle. Should be used as cast and not resized.
last band .315´. Bullet seated in case with fingers so mouth of case extends only half way up base band. Powder charge 12 to 15 grains Dupont No. 80 powder. This bullet gives better accuracy up to 200 yards than any combination we know of in the Springfield, but owing to the bullet being seated so lightly in the case, it is not suitable for handling except on the target range.´
Loring Hall has shot these bullets offhand very effectively in the Winter League matches at the Old Colony Sportsman¶s Association in Pembroke MA for many years, in one of his 30/06 Hammerli Team Rifles.
I¶ve borrowed a mold for this bullet several times from Pete Ziko, a member at Old Colony, and cast a thousand or so bullets each time. Pete absolutely refused to part with the mold. These bullets, at lower velocities, have shot accurately in a number of 30 caliber rifles that I¶ve owned.
Recently I¶ve borrowed molds from John Greene, to cast some additional bullets. John made the mold I borrowed from him, a very nice piece of work. He has the cherry and can supply molds.
The trick to this bullet is that the base band is tapered smaller at the rear-larger at the front; and the dimensions are made so that the bullet slips into a fired 30 caliber case and wedges itself to a stop about half way up the base band. To reload: deprime and reprime, throw a charge of powder and seat the bullet with your fingers. No sizing of the cartridge case or bullet is required. I find that chamfering the inside of the case mouth helps in seating the bullet..
Here are some typical 100 yard groups with the 308403 with Darr lube, Winchester M54 30 WCF, 30X STS, 6.8/Unique, Dacron wad, WLP primer.
Revolver bullets
The accepted wisdom on revolver bullets is that the diameter of the bullet must be equal to or .001" greater than the diameter of the cylinder throat. The cylinder throat is the most forward part of the cylinder, where the chamber narrows. Tapping oversize slugs through the cylinder throats of the revolver and measuring them will give you the throat diameter. Oversize slugs can be made by tapping a proper sized (= 44 bullet for 44 gun) bullet nose with a hammer or squeezing it in a vise. Either method will expand the bullet.
If the bullet is much less than the cylinder throat diameter, the barrel will lead and accuracy will fall off. With any reasonable middle velocity load, a good lube, and a correctly sized bullet; the revolver won't lead. Higher velocities can be attained by fiddling with the powder charge, lube and bullet hardness.
Most often a revolver bullet doesn't have to be too hard.
Some revolver bullets are made for gas checks. I agree with Elmer Keith on this, we never, (almost never), need a gas check on a revolver bullet.
Revolver bullets come in many styles. Here are examples of the most popular.
This is a round nose bullet, found in some factory loaded ammunition. This style of bullet has nothing much to recommend it, it is not very accurate and is not particularly suited for hunting.
Here is a wadcutter with a hollow base. This is the most accurate bullet for short range = up to 50 yard shooting with a revolver. This style bullet is factory loaded and reloaded quite commonly.
These are the hollow base and standard versions of the Elmer Keith designed 44 Special and 44 Magnum revolver bullet. There is also a version with hollow point. This bullet, the Lyman 429421,(429422 in hollow base), has proven to be quite accurate and quite a good hunting bullet in the 44s. This is called a semi-wadcutter style bullet. I'm not much of a pistol shooter, but I've had very good luck with this bullet in 44 Magnum pistols over the past 40 years or so.
2.1 MEASURING GUN DIMENSIONS
Most gun dimensions can be measured with a 6" caliper, a 1" micrometer caliper and a steel tape measure. .
The 6" caliper is either a vernier or dial or digital (electronic) caliper that reads to .001", a thousandth of an inch. I find a dial caliper easier to read than a vernier caliper and less expensive than a digital caliper. There are plastic vernier calipers available, I have used them and don't consider them of much value.
The 1" micrometer caliper measure to .0001", a tenth of a thousandth of an inch. These come in mechanical or digital varieties, I prefer the mechanical.
Steel tape measures measure to 1/16", one sixteenth of an inch.
Learning to use these instruments is not difficult, but it helps to have a person show you the tricks.
Most gun dimensions can be measured with these instruments, with one exception. Slugging the barrels of guns with odd numbers of lands and grooves gives you slugs that CANNOT be accurately measured with these instruments. More complex and involved equipment is necessary. Any competent machinist can measure these slugs.
(Bill McGraw contends that it is possible to measure the groove diameter of odd-number-of-groove barrels with a micrometer. I haven't been able to measure five groove S&W barrel slugs or Trap Door Springfield 3 groove slugs with a micrometer.
Bill suggests that another way to measure the slugs is to try them in a sizing die; if sized any, the slug groove dimensions are larger than the die; if not sized, the die is larger.)
O. H. McKagen can measure these slugs free of charge for CBA members.
Mail your slugs in a padded envelope, each marked as to what part of the barrel they were formed in, and include a SASE for a return reply. His address is 9229 Arlington Blvd., Apt. 551, Fairfax, VA 22031 (He offers this service in The Fouling Shot, (Journal of the Cast Bullet Association); look for any address changes.
HOW TO SLUG A BARREL
Slugging a barrel is the operation of driving a soft lead slug through a bore to determine the bore and groove dimensions This enables us to determine the proper cast bullet nose and throat diameter(s) so that the best accuracy may be obtained in that particular firearm. Some cast bullets have two diameters, some have just one diameter, and some are tapered.
Slug rifle barrels at both ends since some guns have barrels that are larger at one end than at the other. This is of some importance. As a rifle is fired and cleaned, the chamber end wears bigger, faster, than the rest of the barrel. This happens sometimes in surprisingly few shots. If the object of slugging the barrel is to select bullet diameter, it is the chamber-end diameter that is of most importance. Pushing a lead slug through a barrel results in a slug of the smallest diameter of the barrel that that slug passes through.
There are reports that some rifle barrels are constricted, are smaller, where a band for a front sight or sling swivel has been swaged onto the barrel. There are also reports that a constriction can sometimes be found in a barrel where the printing is pressed into the metal. Ruger single shot rifles are frequently mentioned, where the sling swivel band installation may swage the barrel down several thousandths of an inch.
There are also frequent reports that revolver barrels are squeezed undersize at the rear, where the barrel screws into the frame of the revolver.
The most important thing about slugging a barrel is not to damage the barrel, especially the crown-the forward end of the barrel. Be careful!!
Get some soft bullets or muzzle-loader balls that are bigger than the bore of the gun. If you can't get bullets bigger than your bore, take a lead bullet of the same caliber as your bore and squeeze it in a vice or tap it with a hammer to make it shorter and bigger in diameter
To slug the muzzle end of the barrel, tap a bullet into the muzzle with a plastic mallet and a brass drift or wooden dowel. Do not use a steel hammer, even for the first few blows. No, don¶t even use that little tiny toy steel hammer. (If you use a steel hammer you will probably have to become familiar with barrel crowning, which is covered elsewhere.) Then carefully tap the slug out of the barrel with a cleaning rod and screw. (See the Appendix about the cleaning rod and screws.) Measure the slug to get the bore and groove diameters.
As long as there are either a lot of grooves or an even number of grooves, measurement is easy. When there are a small odd number of grooves, measurement is more difficult. The Trap Door Springfield has a hard-to-measure barrel with its three grooves, as is a Smith and Wesson revolver barrel with five lands and grooves.
Barrels with an odd number of grooves take special equipment to get accurate
measurements because of their unique geometry. The best approach here is to become friends with a machinist, and complain to him until he measures the slug. Constant moaning and
complaining to my machinist friends, amateur and professional, has gotten me a lot of work done and an unenviable reputation.
To slug the breech end of the barrel, drop an oversize bullet in the chamber, put in a plugged case, put a brass drift or wooden dowel on the primer end of the plugged case and tap the other end of the drift or dowel with a plastic mallet until the bullet is up into the rifling. (Use a rawhide or plastic mallet, not a steel hammer!) Whacking anywhere on the action end of your rifle with a steel hammer will cause you to say bad words and be a generally mean person for several weeks.) Then tap the end of the slug out with a cleaning rod and screw, and measure the bore and groove diameters. (See: HOW TO SLUG A RIFLE THROAT)
Be aware that new revolver bores often have a constriction in the area where the barrel screws into the frame so you may want to note this possibility.
To slug a revolver barrel, tap an oversized slug completely through the barrel to get a slug with the smallest diameter, possibly/probably where the barrel is screwed into the frame and squozen down. Slug the cylinder chamber throats as well.
To find the barrel dimensions after the constriction, put a drift into the barrel and down into the cylinder area. If, for example, the barrel is six inches and the cylinder is two inches, use a five inch drift. Now put quarter inch or so strip of steel, aluminum or brass between the drift and recoil shield; this will allow you to drive the drift and slug out. Drive a slug into the muzzle end of the barrel until it just touches the drift-with the five inch drift mentioned above, the bullet will be just shy of three inches into the barrel. Using the strip of steel, aluminum or brass and the drift, knock the slug back out the muzzle end of the barrel. This slug will have the barrel
dimensions, bore and groove, of the barrel where it is not squozen down by the frame.
Slugging a barrel takes a little practice, be ready to make several slugs of each end of the barrel. Remember; don¶t damage the barrel, and WRITE IT DOWN!
HOW TO SLUG A RIFLE THROAT
Use a cartridge case that fits in the rifle. Fill the case with lead, halfway up the neck. In this case, it took two bullets melted in the case with my trusty Bernz-O-Matic.
Now put a soft bullet in the cartridge case, and put the case with bullet in the rifle.
Use a piece of steel rod. In this case, for a 30-caliber rifle I used a quarter-inch steel rod three feet long, from the hardware store. File the business end so there are no sharp edges. Put masking tape on the end, and every five inches or so. The tape shims the rod away from the bore of the barrel.
Here's the end of the rod, with tape
Put the rod in the barrel until it touches the bullet in the
cartridge case. Then put masking tap on the rod at the muzzle, so that the rod doesn't touch the bore at the muzzle. Tap the end of the rod with a steel hammer until you feel it bottom-the rod will bounce. Open the rifle and gently tap out the cartridge case and slug.
Here's the throat slug. In this case it showed me that the chamber was cut for a cartridge case 2.115" long rather than the 2.039" standard, and that there is no throat to speak of, merely a bevel from the end of the case to the
From Ken Mollohan:
Joe,
Pretty nice 'How Too' on slugging throats. I always did it slightly differently: Drop a steel rod in the case, and mark it at the mouth, so's I could cut it off flush with the mouth of the case. Drop a couple of buckshot in the throat, chamber the case (with rod) and pound them out with a rod much like you described. Gets to the same place, but with a bit less trouble; but I like yours because it gives you an OAL to the origin of the rifling.
HOW TO MAKE SULFUR BARREL AND CHAMBER CASTINGS
The easiest and most accurate method of making an impression to measure the throat and/or the barrel is to slug the throat or barrel as described above.
Castings of the chamber are best made with sulfur or CCeerrrroossaaffee.
An alternative to slugging the barrel is to make sulfur castings of the breech and muzzle ends of the barrel. It is easy to make a casting of the chamber while making a casting of the barrel. I hadn't made a sulfur chamber cast for a few years, so to check my memory I went through the process.
I ordered 12 ounces of "Sublimated Sulfur" from the pharmacy, for $6.83, in 2003. It was delivered the next day.
It took three tries to make an acceptable casting, partly because the gun I chose is a Martini with limited space to work in. Eventually I had a casting of the chamber and about 1" of the bore that was free of voids.
Sulfur castings are about .002" smaller in diameter than the lead impact slugs of the bore or chamber, in the diameter range of .3"-.4".
It was suggested that I try adding one part powdered graphite to two parts sulfur to stabilize the casting. I did and made another casting . With the graphite added the sulfur casting is about .001" smaller in diameter than the lead impact slug.
The lead impact slug has the largest dimensions of any cast or slug I've made of a particular gun, and I suspect that it gives the most accurate dimensions of the throat-bore.
Here's how to make a sulfur casting:
Sulfur will not melt in a double boiler; a higher heat is needed. A tin can or an aluminum measuring cup over a low heat, watched carefully, works fine.
Oil the barrel very lightly, and then plug it with a tight cleaning patch where the casting is to end. A casting with one inch of barrel is about right.
For a muzzle end casting, put masking tape around the end of and beyond the end of the barrel. Make a sort of open-ended funnel with the tape at the end of the barrel, which will hold some sulfur and keep it from spilling. Stand the rifle muzzle up. Warm the sulfur over a very low heat. It doesn't take much heat, if you cough, the sulfur's too hot!! Warm the end of the barrel slightly with a Bernz-O-Matic torch until it is hot to the touch. Not too hot! Make sure that the bore is plugged! (I forgot on my second attempt.) Pour the melted sulfur into the funnel. Wait until the barrel is cool and sulfur is hard-this may take half an hour-and then knock the casting out of the barrel carefully from the breech end with the brass screw in the cleaning rod. (See the Appendix about the brass screws in the cleaning rod.) Measure the bore and groove diameters, and write them down.
Making A Chamber And Barrel Casting
Remove the bolt or breech block and extractor from the rifle, use masking tape and/or modeling clay to block up where an over-enthusiastic pouring of sulfur would drool out, and proceed as explained above. Use a funnel, or make a funnel from a manila file folder, if needed. When the barrel is cool and the sulfur is hard, drive out the casting with the brass screw in the cleaning rod. Make a sketch of the chamber with all dimensions and measure the bore and groove of the barrel. Write it down.
Alternative casting materials such as "CerroSafe" (a low temperature melting point metal alloy) are available from Brownells. Some shooters have reported that Cerrosafe castings change dimension in time, making the castings inaccurate. I have never used this material, so you're on your own.
HOW TO MAKE CERROSAFE BARREL AND CHAMBER CASTINGS David Kaiser
(The easiest and most accurate method of making an impression to measure the throat and/or the barrel is to slug the throat or barrel as described above. Castings of the chamber are best made with sulfur or cerrosafe. joe b.)
Cerrosafe is pretty easy to use, if a little care is taken with it.
First step is to clean the chamber and bore, dry patching when done. Take a dry patch and cut it to size so that it can be folded in half and rolled into a bore-fitting cylinder. Shove the patch into the bore from the muzzle, with the folded edge going in first. Use your cleaning rod to run it to within 1/2" of the chamber's throat, so that you can get a cast of the bore at the breech.
Next, strip the barreled action from the stock and clamp the action upright in a padded bench vise, so that you have access to the chamber.
I've never needed to warm up the barrel, but if you do, don't go over 100 Fahrenheit. Take a clean round can, I use a tuna can, and bend a pouring spout on one side. I like to have the spout extend about 5/16" from the can body. Put in your Cerrosafe, and clamp a small Vise Grip pliers on the side of the can, 90 degrees from the pouring spout. Using an electric heat gun, heat the can from the bottom until the Cerrosafe is just molten. Quickly pour the casting metal into the chamber, stopping when it's just past level with the chamber mouth. When you see it solidify--just like the sprue when casting bullets--wait one minute.
Using a cleaning rod with a jag, push the casting onto a couple of shop towels. If you wait too long, you'll have to heat the barrel and melt it out! Two hours after the casting has cooled to room temperature, you can get an honest measurement. Cerrosafe shrinks on initial cooling, then expands as it ages.
David Kaiser Montezuma, IA
2.2 BULLET DESIGN AND FIT How To Scale Bullets Up Or Down
Sometimes we wish to scale a bullet design up or down, to design-for example-a 25 caliber bullet that is a "scale model" of a certain 30 caliber bullet.
The Ballistic Coefficient (BC) of a bullet is a measure of how efficiently that bullet goes through the air; of how little velocity is lost as the bullet travels down range.
If two bullets are fired at the same muzzle velocity, and if one has a higher retained velocity at (say) 200 yards, then the bullet with the higher retained velocity has a higher BC.
Bullets with the same BC, fired at the same velocity, follow the same path from muzzle to target. So, for instance, if we fire 22 caliber and 45 caliber bullets with the same BC and muzzle
velocity, in the same conditions; then the trajectories of the bullets will be the same, and they will both be affected by the wind to the same extent. The higher the BC, the less the bullet is displaced by the wind and the less it drops at any range, for a given muzzle velocity.
So if -back to our example-we want a 25 caliber bullet that is a "scale model" of a certain 30 caliber bullet, what we really want is a 25 caliber bullet that has the same BC as that certain 30 caliber bullet.
There are two ways to design this new bullet, the easy way and the hard way. (Keep in mind the fact that we're using approximations, and that the new bullet will have
APPROXIMATELY the same BC as the original bullet.)
Dimensions of the new bullet should be determined by the dimensions of the barrel that the bullet is to be shot in.
The Easy Way
Draw the original bullet, with dimensions. Lets say the 30-caliber bullet is a bore-rider, with nose of .302", base bands of .311", and length of 1.1".
Then copy the drawing and change the diameters to those desired. Then the 25-caliber bullet drawing might have a nose of .251" and base bands of .259"
Make the new bullet as long as the original bullet. The 25-caliber bullet would then have a length of 1.1", the same as the 30-caliber bullet. Elongate the new bullet design by making either the base bands or the nose or some combination longer.
N.B. We're designing a bullet with the same BC as the original. In our example, we've ended up with a 25-caliber bullet 1.1" long. This may or may not stabilize in a particular rifle, depending on the twist. For a 25-caliber rifle, the Greenhill formula tells us that a twist of one turn in nine inches, or faster, will stabilize a bullet 1.1" long, and the 25-caliber bullet will weigh 144.5 grains. (calculations below)
This "Easy Way" is based on the notion that bullets of the same design and length have approximately the same BC. A 1" long 45-caliber bullet has the same BC as a 1" long 30 caliber bullet-approximately.
The Hard Way
1. Draw the original bullet, with dimensions. Lets say the 30-caliber bullet is a bore-rider, with nose of .302", base bands of .311", and length of 1.1".
2. Re-dimension the drawing proportionately. The 25-caliber bullet would then have a nose of .251", base bands of .259", and a length of .909". The .909" is the scale model length-the
ratio of bullet diameters is .257/. 311, multiply this by the 30-caliber length of 1.1", and get .909".
You now have a 25-caliber bullet design that is a "homologue" of the 30-caliber bullet design.
BUT, while the 25-caliber bullet is a model of the 30-caliber bullet, it does NOT have the same BC.
3. Lengthen the 25-caliber bullet such that it has a Sectional Density equal to the 30-caliber bullet. What we're doing here is figuring out how much the new bullet must be
lengthened to make the SD and BC equal the 30 caliber bullet- how long the new bullet must be. How to do that is explained in excruciating detail below.
Ballistic Coefficient is related to Sectional Density (SD). Bullets with the same form or shape and the same SD have the same BC.
SD = Weight/Diameter Squared, where the weight is in pounds and diameter is in inches. Then SD is measured in pounds per square inch.
The 30-caliber bullet weighs 208 grains in wheelweights. The SD of the 30-caliber bullet is calculated thus:
Weight in pounds is 208 grains/7000 grains per pound = .029714 pounds. Diameter squared is .311" squared = .096721 square inches
Weight/Diameter Squared= SD = .029714/. 096271 = .307216 pounds per square inch.
How much does the 25-caliber homologue weigh?
A .308 diameter cylinder 1" long, made of wheelweights, weighs 210 grains. (I use the .308" cylinder dimension and weight for convenience, as an approximation of the bullet diameter average. Remember-this is an approximation.)
Then a .308" diameter cylinder 1.1" long, made of wheelweights, weighs 1.1 X 210 = 231 grains. The 30-caliber bullet weighs 208/231 = 90% as much as a wheelweight cylinder as long as the bullet.
It seems reasonable to assume that the same ratio, 90%, holds for the 25-caliber bullet. A .257" diameter, 1" long wheelweight cylinder weighs 146 grains. Then a .909" long .257 diameter cylinder weighs .909 X 146 = 132.7 grains, and the bullet would weigh 90% of that, or 119.4 grains.
How much should the 25-caliber bullet weigh, for the SD's of each to be equal? SD = Weight/Diameter Squared
SD of 30 caliber bullet = .307216 Diameter of 25 caliber bullet = .257"
Diameter squared of 25 caliber bullet = .066049" sqrd. SD = .307216 = Weight of 25 cal bullet/. 066049" sqrd.
Weight of 25 cal bullet = .307216 X .066409 = .020291 pounds, X 7000 = 142 grains How much weight must be added to the homologue bullet?
Should weigh = 142, minus Does weigh, 119.4 = 22.6 grains must be added.
A .257" diameter, 1" long wheelweight cylinder weighs 146 grains. A 22.6 grain .257" diameter cylinder is 22.6/146 = .155" long.
Then the homologue 25-caliber bullet .909" long must be lengthened .155" to a total length of 1.064" for the 25-caliber bullet to have the same SD and BC as the 30-caliber bullet.
Compare The Easy Way and The Hard Way Easy way-length = 1.1", weight = 144.5 grains.
Hard way-length = 1.064, weight = 146 grains.
Here's a table of weights of lead alloy cylinders 1" long, various diameters and alloys. Do I have a lot of time on my hands?
Lead/Alloy>>>> Lead 5sn/95pb 10sn/90pb Wweights Linotype Lyman #2 Monotype Specific gravity>>> 11.34 11.00 10.50 11.14 10.63 10.63 10.10
Cylinder
Volume Weight Weight Weight Weight Weight Weight Weight Caliber cubic " Grains Grains Grains Grains Grains Grains Grains
0.224 0.039 113 110 105 111 106 106 101 0.244 0.047 134 130 124 132 126 126 120 0.257 0.052 149 144 138 146 140 140 133 0.264 0.055 157 152 146 154 147 147 140 0.277 0.060 173 168 160 170 162 162 154 0.284 0.063 182 176 168 179 170 170 162 0.308 0.075 214 208 198 210 201 201 191 0.311 0.076 218 212 202 214 204 204 194 0.323 0.082 235 228 218 231 221 221 210 0.338 0.090 258 250 239 253 241 241 229 0.357 0.100 287 279 266 282 269 269 256 0.375 0.110 317 308 294 312 297 297 282 0.410 0.132 379 368 351 372 355 355 338 0.429 0.145 415 403 384 408 389 389 370 0.457 0.164 471 457 436 463 441 441 419
Note that if the new bullet is SMALLER in diameter than the original bullet, then we must ADD a cylindrical section of the new bullet to make sectional densities and BC's equal; and that if the new bullet is BIGGER than the original bullet, then we must REMOVE a cylindrical section of the new bullet to make the sectional densities and BC's equal.
Note that the EFFECT of a change in BC is not proportional to that change. The BC determines, for any given muzzle velocity, how much the bullet will drop, and how much the
bullet will be affected by the wind, at any range. For example:
Muzzle Velocity = 1500 fps// G1 ballistic table//Deflection from 10 mph wind
BC >> .400 .350 200 Yd Drop >> 35.5" 36.2" 200 Yd. Deflection >> 7.5" 8.6" 1000 Yd. Drop >> 1371.8" 1449.0" 1000 Yd. Deflection >> 164.4" 182.5"
