I´m a beginner to cast bullets and my first Lyman mould is the 330grs Gould HP.
I´m very satisfied with the results I get fired from my High Wall, my M1886 and my Sharps. I get a few casted bullets from an other marksman, 525grs RCBS FN and the shooting results at 100m are good (2" group with one flyer).
Now I will have my own heavy bullet mould and I don´t know what I should buy. The tightness choise is the RCBS 525grs FN, the 500grs BPS or the Lyman 535grs Postell. I will use it in my new Sharps rifle with 1 at 18" twist. Or are they to heavy and it should by a lighter bullet mould, between 420 and 475grs ?

Thanks for help.


Martin

Assuming you are writing about a .45-70, the original boolit was 500 grains. The speer reloading manual number 10, published in 1979 says the 47-70 had a twist rate of 1-20, so your 1-18 ought to be enough to stabilize 500 grns. Many BPCR shooters are using bullets heavier than 500 grains and using twists as fast as 1-16.

quote:

Assuming you are writing about a .45-70, the original boolit was 500 grains.

Not so sure about that... I believe the .45-70 was designed around the 405-grain bullet...

I would opt for the 500-grain RCBS BPS bullet. I believe your rifling twist is fast enough to stabilize that bullet. Might try a 405 as well, if you have access to the mould.

Regards,
Doubless

I can't help you with the heavy bullets, but the very inexpensive Lee 459-405-HB has been extremely accurate and pleasant to shoot. It's also far easier to cast with than your Lyman HP mould. In the US, it's only about $20 so buying one is not a serious decision to make.

The Postell is the one most used for long range/silhuette shooting. I have the 405 hollow base Lee mould, and its not as accurate as my 400(?) gr Lee hollow point mould. But that might be because I lapped the hollow point mould to get it rounder than tha factory made it. Bigger grease grooves in the HB mold. PS: The original Army rifle load for the 45-70 was 500 gr, the carbine Army load was 405 gr. Carbine loads were in tin plated cases for easy ID.

quote:

Originally posted by Doubless:

quote:

Assuming you are writing about a .45-70, the original boolit was 500 grains.

Not so sure about that... I believe the .45-70 was designed around the 405-grain bullet...

I would opt for the 500-grain RCBS BPS bullet. I believe your rifling twist is fast enough to stabilize that bullet. Might try a 405 as well, if you have access to the mould.

Regards,
Doubless

I don't think so. The 500 gr. bullet was the standard with 70 gr. of powder. The 405 gr. bullet was adopted for use in the Springfield carbine with 55 gr. of powder. This was done to reduce the fierce recoil of the 500 gr. load in cavalry carbines. The 500 gr. bullet came first and was for use in the infantry rifle.
All you have to do is shoot a 500 gr. bullet with the 70 gr. BP load one time in a carbine and you'll see why the change. Actually, in modern brass you'd be lucky to cram 65 gr. of BP in the case, but it will still kick like hell.
Paul B.

I found in an older German reloading book datas for a Lyman bullet called 475grs Snover. Is this mould still in production and when yes, what´s the Lyman number? For this bullet I have datas with european propellant ( Vith. and Rottweil, 39grs of N130 and 44grs of R902).

Thanks, Martin