First time posting/Requests

[mtngun]

from the old forum:

Hello,

I've been checking out the website for some time now ; have found it fascinating. I particularly like the concept of 'designing' your own bullet design, plus the choice of mould material; what looks to be very reasonable prices. I have been shooting competitively ; casting bullets since the late 1970s but still don't consider myself knowledgeable in a lot of areas, particularly the design ; technical aspects.

The last eight years I've been shooting primarily International Muzzleloading, mainly bullet guns (Minie ; Slug), but also do some roundball. However, I also dabble in some single shot cartridge rifle reloading (11.5mm Reformado); some older handguns (.32/20 ; .45AR). I also have a very fine old German double-rifle that I occasionally trot out to the range. It is chambered for what appears to be a proprietary cartridge (as I can find no references to it) that I have christened a 12.3x62mmR due to the measurements I took from the chamber castings I made from it. I have a bullet mould that I had made for it some years ago, but believe it might be too heavy although I\'ve had some pretty decent results with it at 50yds (barrel regulating-wise). I have been using mostly paper-patched bullets.
Some things I would like to glean from this forum are:
A better knowledge of how to determine the dimensions for a bullet , particularly for my cartridge rifles, that will take best advantage of the rifle ie throat dimensions, case capacity, etc.
Some feedback from people who may have some knowledge on shooting the 11.5mm Reformado (it's a Spanish rolling block military rifle), or similar cartridges, and/or shooting black powder era double rifles.

I have noticed that the site does not offer hollowbase bullet designs. Are there any plans to make them available in the forseeable future?

Thx

[mtngun]

Sorry, there are no plans to offer hollow base molds.

I have no experience with the Spanish rolling block. You might inquire at the Cast Boolits forum if you haven't already.

There is no absolute right or wrong way to determine the optimal bullet dimensions but here are a few examples.

30-06 with 0.308" groove, 0.309" throat, sloppy neck likes fat bottomed bullets, up to 0.316". Normally I shoot 0.314" because clearances become iffy with anything bigger unless very careful attention is paid to neck thickness, etc. The fat bullets made a night and day improvement with one 165 gr. bullet but 180 gr. loverins are not very sensitive to diameter.

44 mag wheeler with 0.4336" throats, 0.430" groove, tight chamber does best with 0.434" bullets but requires turning necks for anything bigger than 0.432".

357 mag wheeler with 0.3585" throats, 0.358" groove seems equally happy with any diameter from 0.358" to 0.360".

Marlin 357 mag with 0.3573" groove ; toilet bowl throat has difficulty feeding anything bigger than 0.358" so diameter is dictated by the feeding limitation.

Some people have reported that accuracy suffers if the bullet diameter is too big, but it hasn't happened to me yet.

Most of my bullets have a reduced diameter nose, for example, the 0.314" bullets in the 30-06 have a 0.308" nose, and the 0.360" bullets in my 357 mag have a 0.357" front band. I want the cartridges to chamber reliably.

I may do the opposite in the Marlin and put a 0.360" front band on top of a 0.358" body, just to see if the fat front band helps accuracy without causing feeding problems like a 0.360" body would.

Most of my bullets have a short nose and are seated fairly deep, basically variations on the loverin theme. The long bearing length helps accuracy and the many lube grooves help form a good gas seal. I often seat rifle bullets into the powder space and have never experienced any problems as a result. I think long noses are greatly overrated except for very heavy bullets where powder capacity is at a premium.

Some cartridges have "special" needs. For example, the 348 Browning has no throat so it requires a reduced diameter nose (actually, what it really needs is a throating reamer). 38/55's often have oversize grooves and an undersize chamber, making it impossible to chamber a groove diameter bullet with turning case necks. 45LC wheelguns are notorious for having throats that are either too small or too big. Lever guns chambered for revolver cartridges are usually reamed with a "revolver" reamer instead of a rifle reamer. The standard 30-06 chamber has a sloppy neck and a tight throat -- oversize bullets that fill up the neck are too big for the throat, while bullets that fit the throat are not big enough to seal the neck. The truth is that few SAAMI chambers are ideally suited for cast bullets, so we learn to live with the limitations or else pony up for a custom barrel.