Hey Guys,

I would like to use hard cast bullets in a .405. The rifle is being made on a P14 action and velocities should be greater than with a Win. 95 action.

I am thinking of using 350 - 400 grain bullets.

What kind of velocity can I get with a given cast bullet without getting lead fouling? Also, what mixture of metals would be best for reliable expansion and weight retention?

Thanks guys,

Smoker*

Smoker
Relating to leading, the alloy of the bullet has less to do with solving the problem, then the bullet diameter and the bullet lube. Wheel weights, with a bit of tin for good fill out, are suitable for most any load you'd use in the .405.
Jim

First,
use reloader 7

second, have the bullets .001 larger than your slugged and measured bore,
third, use gas checks
forth, use LBT or redrooster, or some SMOKELESS lube, and lots of it
only then go higher than b15, as they get brittle.

www.customcastbullets.com can fix you right up

jeffe

Almost any "standard", non-magnum cartridge can be loaded with cast bullets to the same velocities it can produce with jacketed bullets!!

To maintain accuracy and avoid leading, the max. pressures to which you load cannot exceed the Brinell hardness of the lead alloy bullets you use. This is MORE IMPORTANT to accuracy and avoiding leading than the final muzzle velocity you load to! This means that slow powders, which rise to lower max. pressures, and that accelerate your bullets more gradually, will generally tend to lead less, and give better accuracy, than small charges of fast powders!! Such large charges give more consistent ignition as well, since they don't "wander around" in the cartridge case!!

I use LBT Blue lube for high cast bullet velocity levels, and I prefer the Hornady crimp-on gaschecks, if you can get them in the right diameters. There are other gascheck methods, however. For example, with the Lyman .457122HP a 342-grain plain base bullet in the .45/70, I load it to over 2000 FPS by putting a loose, inverted .457" gascheck on top of the powder charge before seating the bullet on the compressed load of Re 7.

I recommend you buy one of Veral Smith's "Jacketed Velocities with Cast Bullets" handbooks, which if I recall (have misplaced mine!!) correctly, shows pressure vs hardness tables, as does at least one of Lyman's cast bullet manuals. I also suggest you obtain a bullet hardness tester, so you'll know exactly what your bullets will stand.

The .405 should do extremely well with a big, flatnose hard lead solid!

[ 10-07-2003, 19:42: Message edited by: eldeguello ]

Hey arkypete, jeffeosso & eldeguello,

Thanks for the info. guys.

arkypete - The rifle will be a .405 so the diameter will be .411. Do you still have to slug the barrel?

jeffeosso - What is b15? How do you lube a bullet? (I take it that redrooster and LBT are bullet lubes.)

eldeguello - I would like to get about 2,300 fps. from this cartridge. Do you believe that that velocity will be possible? The rifle will have a 28" barrel. I don't understand your statement about gas checks. If you buy a gas checked cast bullet isn't that all you need? I don't intend to cast any bullets - since you can buy them.

Thanks a bunch, guys. I really appreciate you help.

Smoker*

Hey arkypete, jeffeosso & eldeguello,

Thanks for the info. guys.

arkypete - The rifle will be a .405 so the diameter will be .411. Do you still have to slug the barrel?

jeffeosso - What is b15? How do you lube a bullet? (I take it that redrooster and LBT are bullet lubes.)

eldeguello - I would like to get about 2,300 fps. from this cartridge. Do you believe that that velocity will be possible? The rifle will have a 28" barrel. I don't understand your statement about gas checks. If you buy a gas checked cast bullet isn't that all you need? I don't intend to cast any bullets - since you can buy them.

Thanks a bunch, guys. I really appreciate you help.

Smoker*

Slugging your barrel's still not a bad idea. They're not always exactly what the groove diameter's "supposed" to be for the caliber. At least use an inside micrometer at the muzzle. And if you're buying bullets, make sure they're no smaller than the groove diameter. .001-.003" over is OK.

Hey NotRicochet,

I will ask my gunsmiths to check the inside of muzzle before they hand the rifle over to me.

Thanks again - I wouldn't have thought of that and my gunsmith will be happy to comply.

Good shooting,

Smoker*

It's quick and dirty, but gives you a better idea than no measurement at all. Often barrels have "tight spots" or taper slightly from one end to the other. Usually no problem, as long as the muzzle's the tightest point. If the barrel's tighter at some other point than at the muzzle, the bullet will be wobbly in the muzzle and that barrel likely never will shoot very well.

A method that's been recommended on the old Shooters Cast Bullets board is to load the rifle with a hard cast bullet at a very low velocity, just sufficient to clear the barrel. Shoot it into something very soft, like cotton waste, so you can recover it undamaged and measure it. Just a quick way of slugging the barrel. If you underestimate the powder necessary to clear the barrel, you still may have to drive it out with a rod. That's just slugging the old fashioned way, you really haven't lost anything.

Hey NotRicochet,

You're full of little tips are you "ya old bullet caster"!

Thanks for the tip - I'll try it.

Smoker*

Just passing on some of what I've learned from the REAL old casters. Glad to help!