quote:

Originally posted by bradhe:
Finding no commercial source, I am going to need to cast my own reduced load bullets for a 577 NE 3 inch.

Jolly good idea.

Accurate Molds can make me a mold with a cavity for a 650g and a 480g. A few questions (casting rifle bullets is new to me though I have done some pistol bullets)

- The catalog shows the 650 as for a 577 NE but at .590 diameter. That seems way too large for a .585 bore. I thought the notion was 1-2 thousandths over the bore size.

Casting large is desirable, to size down to what you want to be 1-2 thou bigger than your groove diameter.
.590" sized down to .587" is a nice uniforming little step.
Have you slugged your barrel or do you have the maker's spec for groove at .585"?
What alloy does the mold maker say comes out at .590"?

- How to you size these? I have an RCBS sizer. There are no dies available this big, but it looks like you could bore one out and still have enough material to work.


Your regular reloading press should work fine with cast lead slugs.
I have used a 1-ton arbor press to push jacketed and monometal copper bullets through some CH4D and Lee bullet-sizing dies also.
No Corbin Mighty Mite press required here ... yet!
CH4D may make a better bullet-sizer die than Lee, but I have both, and both work well. Custom orders. Lyman won't do them that big.

I got a Lee .730" to do 12-ga slugs, 1400-grainers for 12GaFH-3.85" in .729"-grooved barrels.
My mold (Brooks) for that produces .730" diameter and about 1430 grains in pure lead.
In Lyman No. 2 alloy the slugs are a few thou larger diameter and about 1380 grains as cast.
After sizing to .730" nominal Lee sizer, if the lead alloy springs back 1 thou, and I end up with .731": Good.

I need a CH4D .616" now for 20gaFH-3.5" in .615"-grooved barrels: On the wish list.
Same plan with harder, lighter, bigger diameter alloy, sized to 1 thou over groove,
minimal if any springback of lead alloy, ending up 2 thou over groove is fine.

I did have good results with a Lee custom .511" for .510"-grooved barrels, and I use that for 777-grain slugs. From another thread on Big Bores:

A 777 not lost by Malaysian Air Lines ...
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777-grain Cast, Lyman No.2 alloy (NEI mold #374, Hornady GC, LBT Blue Lube, sized to .511" with Lee bullet-sizing die):
Hodgdon H-4831SC 100.0 grains >>> 1760 fps, 5346 fpe, from a 25" barrel of 1:10" twist, good load in 500 Mbogo.

Picture of boolitt with cm rule:



Weight surprised the heck out of me, cast in Lyman No.2 alloy from this off-the-shelf mold from NEI Handtools.
I thought the "680" would refer to weight, they must have meant 780 in pure lead without the lube and gas check.
The as-cast boolitt in Lyman No.2 weighs about 760 grains and is .513" in diameter/caliber:


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My NEI mold was supposed to be .511", might be with lead or wheel weights, but Lyman No.2 alloy came out .513".
Order a custom sizer 1 or 2 thou over your groove size and squeeze a .590" casting through that, no problem.

Thanks all

Brad