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Great day at the range today, with the 454 and ...

robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
edited June 2002 in General Discussion
Okay, you all know I've been trying to perfect my lead mix for casting, here is the end result, for now.
454 Casull- H110 powder 29.5 gr.; NEI bullet mold casting a 312 gr. bullet using the lead mix which I have settled on with a mix of 70% wheel weight and 30% founders type.; Remington 7 1/2 primer; Winch. 1 fired case; C.O.L. 1.770" before crimp, 1.765" after crimp; Crimped moderately with Lee Factory Crimp; Case was not trimmed because there was nothing to trim; Lee Liquid Alox Lube applied to bullets;
Results- 1 round was fired into compressed, alternating layers, of newspaper and cardboard, placed into a box and taped with duct tape to maintain compression, then soaked in water for 2 days. Bullet penetrated all 18" of compressed material and lodged 1/2" into a 4x4 pole behind the material. Very little, if any, expansion is noted. Bullet started out at 312 gr. in weight and after firing and recovering still weighed in at 287 gr., loss of 25 gr. in weight, not bad. ***Avg. velocity was 1,627 fps, extreme spread was 48 fps., avg. deviation was 13.6 fps, ft. lbs. of energy was 1,834 ft. lbs.***
I believe the lead mixture is a keeper! I have no idea what the accuracy is, I was not testing that, I was going for internal ballistic figures, velocity, and bullet performance on my test medium. I'm a happy camper.

Second thing for the shooting session was to test out my Savage project, I still needed to get the right height on my front sight post. I just ordered the correct one, this will do the project up perfectly. I gotta admit, I hate my Savage, just because I do. What really ticks me off is that this thing shoots so darn good. While I was shooting it today I did not know when the gun was going to fire, the trigger is that crisp and light, and it shot 3 rounds into 1" at 55 yds. from a crappy rest, with a totally jacked up sight picture, sun glaring off a rear sight that needed to be smoked, front sight so tall you would laugh if you saw it through the rear sight. These Savages may be ugly, but they sure can shoot. That accuracy may not sound so good to you, but if you could see what I saw when I was firing it, you'd be amazed at the accuracy. It was like trying to fire from the 500 yd. line, with an M-16, at a target you cant see, so you just center on the uprights of the target carriage. God I love this sport!

SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC

Edited by - robsguns on 06/15/2002 15:15:55

Comments

  • BoomerangBoomerang Member Posts: 4,513
    edited November -1
    Ryan - Watch for barrel leading. The Freedom Arms people warned me that excessive pressures can build quickly. They have had this problem in the past with lead bullets that are not hard enough. Very dangerous aspect to casting your own bullets with this specific cartridge. Pressures are already very high for these .454 Casull guns.

    Boomer

    Dang - Two years and I am still a Junior Member.

    Protect our Constitutional Rights.

    Edited by - Boomerang on 06/15/2002 15:27:45
  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Boomer,
    Thanks for the advice, and it sounds like great advice. That is one of the criteria that encouraged me to add more hardening material to my original mixture. I kept adding until the leading was reasonalble, then tested the bullet for hardness again, not scientifically, but it worked. I dont get much leading in the barrel, not bad at all. I think the next thing I will try is to moly lube the bullets, just for kicks, to see what happens when I shoot them as far as velocities and leading goes. That will be a while though, I dont feel like screwing with a good thing just yet.
    Oh, yes, almost forgot. I wonder how many rounds you'd have to fire with softer lead bullets to increase the pressure too much? I know that with the round I have I wont be planning on going out and shooting 50 rounds at a time, I have to wear a glove on my left supporting hand as it is, pesky little blood blisters, gotta learn to hold this gun differently.

    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC

    Edited by - robsguns on 06/15/2002 15:35:00
  • BoomerangBoomerang Member Posts: 4,513
    edited November -1
    Ryan - I would not know that answer. You are right about not firing all that many at one range event. However, I think some fellows do not always clean their gun after firing it. I think some think because it is made of stainless steel you don't always have to clean your gun so much as you used to.

    BTW, good shooting. What kind of .454 Casull do you have?

    Boomer

    Protect our Constitutional Rights.
  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The Ruger SRH with the 9.5" barrel. It gets a lot of bad criticism for its grip, I like the grip all right, just gotta learn how to fire it differently. I dont have any qualms about the recoil, I think its pretty easy to fire, but that left hand palm of mine just seems to be a glutton for punishment from the left rear corner of the grip. I cant seem to quite remember to get my palm off of it. I know what I'll do!!! What a great reason to order a new pair of shooting gloves, since I gave my only pair to a friend of mine in need. Now, why didnt I think of that earlier?! He, He, today is just getting better and better.

    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
  • will270winwill270win Member Posts: 4,845
    edited November -1
    29.5? Sissy! Put 36.0 in there like the book says to.


    ~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
  • gruntledgruntled Member Posts: 8,218 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Is that what you put? Been meaning to break those down & reload them?
  • will270winwill270win Member Posts: 4,845
    edited November -1
    No way Gruntled! Those are 32.0. I ain't insane, I just ask others to be.


    ~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
  • robsgunsrobsguns Member Posts: 4,581 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    What book are you reading? You must need new glasses too!! I used the Freedom Arms info. for my reloading, and I'm pushing the limit from what I figure. They use 31.0 gr. of H110 with a 300 gr. bullet. I have a 312 gr. bullet. From the math I've done with the info. they presented I figure that for every 5 gr. diff. in weight between my bullet and their 300 gr. bullet I need to come down in powder charge weight by .75 gr. That means the max load for my bullet weight would be 30.0 gr. of H110, conservatively. Thats guessing, and I dont get much velocity increase with a .5 grain increase, so I'm not going to bother pushing the envelope, considering they use a Freedom Arms revolver and I have a Ruger that probably isnt as strong, although strong enough. The other thing is that they are using a 7.5" barrel, and mine is a 9.5" so the chances of mine having more pressure than their barrel is there, and I dont think I want to risk it. I sure wish there was more data out there. Add all the variables into the fact that they used JHP/JFP and I'm using lead, and I'm really getting into the unknown. Am I having fun yet? You bet. Wish you were here Chris,

    SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
  • will270winwill270win Member Posts: 4,845
    edited November -1
    My bad, it's 34.0 for a 300 grain bullet. It's also a compressed load. Scary ain't it? For that load 29.0 is right in the middle of the high side. I would leave it at 29.0 if it's grouping good and don't hurt your hand.


    ~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
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