As a machinist by trade, would it be possible to come up with your own punch an dies to use with scrap or stock copper?

Here's a .45 cal cast bullet I poured from a mold I made. I use it in a muzzleloading appliciation, the boattail in the pic is a new version of the original which was approx. 1/8" longer, I cut it off of the mold because it was ineffective due to the bullets obturation which flattened it out anyway.

303guy, ever try knurling?. Its a way of creating small diamond like ridges on your bullets. Find some who has a lathe in your area and has the fixture to hold collets. Bring along some of your missiles. Have him knurl a section about 3/8 to 1/2" near the nose and another one about an inch near the groove. Then get some lee liquid alox. Small artisis paint brush to paint the knurling and then go shoot your latest creation. Cheapest way I know of to roughen up a surface and improve its lube handling capacity,Frank

If a lathe isn't available, you can knurl yourself with two bastard files. Lay one flat and place the bullet on top of it with the second file on top of the bullet ( sandwiched between the two files) then roll the bullet along the length of the files, this with leave a nice crosshatched pattern on the surface of the bullet.

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303guy, ever try knurling?.

That's an idea!
It's not that there isn't enough lube, it's that it gets knocked off easily. Knurling the nose section puts the lube where I want it and will not compromize the bullet 'tightness' in the bore. Mmmmm....


Thanks for that - and for the bastard file idea, smokeeter! Nice looking bullets you make! Is yours a split mould? I'm looking for a simple way to locate the two halves (for speed of casting - my current mould is a top pour bottom eject one piece and is a little 'slow'. The bullet shape is as I think it should be. Experiments with different shapes can come later).

This is before knurling.

My mould - it was inteded to be used for casing and swaging. Here the hollow point is being impresse which also happens to fill the bullet out in the mould. I have to remove the bullet, lube it then re-insert it into the mould for this operation or it jambs.


I first tried casting the hollow point with this little device. It worked but was slow and unnecessary in light of swaging.

The cast in hollow point.

Well, I tested a well lubed 245gr bullet and it left behind some leading! It's no obvious from the bullet itself but there is not much left of it!

I cannot make out whether the flaring of the base is due to the gas check being stripped off or deformation inside the barrel.

I have tried knurling with a file and it seems to work just fine. I haven't test fired any yet. I will have to clean out the leading first to get an idea.

Posted 01 February 2009 23:49 Hide Post
Joe it looks like vaporized lead and then the accuracy went south comment kinda confirms. I agree hes doing good with a smooth sided outside lubed bullet, bet a little knerling on the bearing surface to carry lube would do the trick. I'd like to know what the lube Hornady puts on their swaged wc is, works fine.

303; I suggested knurling to you a couple months ago- I guess the mispelling confused you? Scot

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303; I suggested knurling to you a couple months ago- I guess the mispelling confused you? Scot

More likely I just forgot! I hadn't done anything with those bullets for a while and had basically forgotten where I left off. My big drive this time round was shooting those 245gr bullets and I was worried about the 60% load density and wanted to test cotton balls as a filler and to make sure that 30grs Varget?AR2208 would be OK. It was but the cotton balls wiped out the lube that was supposed to be left in the bore and the bullet protrudes too far into the throat for it's front section diameter which displaces the lube. I don't know whether the knurling helped because leading had already started. While I was at it I decided to try the knurling process and it works great with two bastard files! I have made another bullet mould to get a better shape but forgot it at work so can't try it tonight. (I was making a suppressor/muzzle break for a buddy - his blasted 22-250 has way too much muzzle blast!) I have improved my mould making a bit. Now I have a 'reamer' I made by modifying a drill bit. It produces a tapered bore with a rounded front. Not my first attempt but I switched to a long skinny boring bar and turned the taper with the compound. PITA! And very difficult to reproduce!

Did you ever get to try a slower powder, like 4831 speed? Did you ever try to sweeten your alloy, or maybe heat treat the bullets, I know h20 dropping would be difficult with your mold design. For added lube you could take a stick of one of the soft lubes and roll it out with a glass bottle until thickness you want, load your case and press it over the neck, this will work fine if the base of your bullet doesnt extend below base of neck. Another thing, have you considered that your homemade lube isn't up to the job at the pressure and barrel conditions of your rifles??

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have you considered that your homemade lube isn't up to the job at the pressure and barrel conditions of your rifles??

I am quite sure my lube is not the best. It works only by vitue of there being enough of it! The curious thing is the bore that does not lead is a rust pitted one! The leading issue only started after I added cotton ball filler to the case. That wipes out too much lube. I really must find a powder that fills the case so I don't need filler! This powder must work in my 303-25, which it should since the powder charge for both the 303-25 and 303 Brit cast is the same (for 220gr). The 303 Brit 'normal' load is a mild anyway so it will do with whatever suites the 303-25.

if you kept your load the same and added the filler it raised your velocity also.
remember it fills the case.
acting like more powder [or making the case think it is smaller]
it also does dry the bbl out.
to keep it simple i would add some carnuba wax to your mix it shouldn't change the consistency
much.
powders in the reloader-19 and 4831 range have produced some really awesome results for me without fillers and a near/or case full of powder.

hodgdon manual#25
303- 215 gr j bullet
h4831 42.0=1800, 45.0=2001 fps (mulwex 2213/h4831)

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powders in the reloader-19 and 4831 range have produced some really awesome results for me without fillers and a near/or case full of

Thanks Lamar and swheeler. You have both confirmed my leaning toward H4831/AR2213 (SC).

I v had luck with IMR3031 in my 1903A3 30-06. Corse I m using a moly based lube from Lyman, and damn is there a nice poof of smoke with it.

Alright, I emailed both Hodgeton/IMR and Ramshot/Accurate. This is what I got back from them about reduced loads. It may help you out. I have not had the chance to try it out yet. I don't use my 303 much at all. Haven't tried there powder out yet for that matter.

Caliber: .303 British.

Barrel length: 24”

REDUCED LOADS

Powder: Accurate – 5744.

Bullet weight: 150 grains.

Start load: 25.0 grains (1850 – 1950 ft/p/sec)

Maximum load: 29.0 grains (2100 -2200 Ft/p/sec).

Bullet weight: 174 -180 grains.

Start load: 23.0 grains (1650 – 1850 ft/p/sec)

Maximum load: 27.0 grains (2000 -2100 Ft/p/sec).

Best of luck

Also with the powder shortage and all, I think I will be waiting on it now for sometime. Everything is back ordered. But I know a place that is still stocked! Stocked with primers as well as powder! Anyone in Maine who wants to know?

Thanks for that.