Hi All,
Thought I'd share my experiences so far using cast bullets in my 375H&H Ruger No1.

Started testing using commercial cast bullets with a teflon coating, the manufacturer rated them to 2000fps. All my initial loads topped this velocity and I got heaps of leading.
Tried a friends cast bullets, 18 brn and still got heaps of leading, as an aside all my jacketed loads all gave lots of copper fouling.
I later discovered I had an oversize barrel measuring .3775 dia, and all the projectiles, both copper and lead were .375-.376 dia.

After doing some online research I came across Lead Bullet Technology (LBT).
I ordered 1 of Verals molds and some of his lube I was delighted with the results.
I now run a LBT 270gnLFN projectile made from recovered lead and water quenched (22brn) with LBT soft Blue lube, gas checked and sized .378 at an average speed of 2615fps with no leading despited firing as rapidly as I could reload and aim, I've repeated this test several times with the same results. grouping at this speed is around 2" at 100yds, the best accuracy so far has come from these components but with the load backed off to 2350fps and 1.5" groups at 100yds.
I have used this projectile on donkeys, horses and mules with excellent results, hit them in the vitals and they crumple.

I've recently received my latest LBT mold a 320gn WFN, loads tested so far have exceeded 2340fps (Same composition as 270)and all that remains is to find the right velocity for best accuracy.

Excellent work.
Veral Smith of Lead Bullet Technologies is The Man to make a custom mould to fit your rifle.
If you slug your throat as he directs, and send him the soft lead slug, he will make a bullet custom fit to your rifle's throat.

Here is a 410-grain (with gas check and Veral's Blue Lube).396-caliber LBT LFN for the 400/.395 NE 3" Aboriginal:

Good info. Here is my 350gr FN design. I plink with it @ <>1500 just for fun

X-rings

More than 30 years ago I made myself a .357" dia. flat nose .458"/730gr. mould to shoot cheap cast bullets from .460Wea. and get the same energy as from the jacketed bullets.

The only way to achieve it was to increase the weight and drop the velocity.

A 735gr/2100 fps. with a gas check achieved it, but the fouling is bad.

If your findings are correct I should be able to shoot 500gr. casts at the same velocity as the jacketed bullets and save myself a shitload of money.

What would be a real bonus to me is if I could use this shorter 500gr. casts in any .460"Wea. chambered rifle, not just a long throated special purpose Rug. #1 .

Do you think, that I should be able to shoot 500gr. cast at 2600+ fps. and keep the barrel "clean" of lead?

Pyzda

Here is that .396/410-grain LBT LFN again:



This one is made of "Rippalloy No.2" made of melted magnum shotgun shot (lead with a bit of antimony) alloyed with 50:50 lead-tin solder to approximate Lyman No. 2 alloy.
It is a nice clean mixture of only two components, repeatable.
It was shot into a row of plastic buckets filled with water, at about 2200 fps MV, 25-yard impact.

Here is the mould that Veral built, 4 boolits per throw:

I expect the LFN may work better in a bolt action than the WFN, but, I sure like the WFN style bullet. I have both for my 450/400 in a #1. I have LBT moulds for a couple other calibers, they have been good moulds for my guns.

Hi Pyzda,

I guess the only way to know for sure is to try.

My loads started mild and I increased my powder charge in small amounts. The powders I have tried are ADI 2206H which is the same as you H4895 and ADI 2208 which is Varget. Both worked well with cast and jacketed, but the 2206H was the better in my rifle.

I also use a what I believe is a polyethelene wad that is punched from a sheet to be a firm fit and take up the airspace behind the projectile.

Another quirk of my rifle is that some loads I have tested in my rifle using jacketed projectiles reach speeds below what the loading manuals suggest with starting loads, which I expected having a .3775 barrel, but I get a tight extraction which tells me pressures are high in my rifle.
For instance a 300 Sierra SPBT, the Hodgson manual lists a starting load of 77gn of H4350 at 2539fps. The ADI (Australian) manual lists 77gn of ADI2209 (H4350) with an unspecified projectile at 2540fps. I have backed my loads off.

With the LBT mold, I've tried the Lyman Moly lube, the LBT blue soft lube and a concoction made by a mate using water pump grease, High temperature bearing grease and beeswax (Not sure of the proportions)at speeds over 2500fps and no leading occured.

As someone new to casting I've found Verals (LBT) book on casting to be the most usefull I've read and seems to de-bunk much of what is written about casting, Until I had read it I was expecting to get much poorer results from cast, but I get vitually jacketed performance at a very cheap price.

Good luck with shooting a 500gn projectile at 2600fps, I think it's more gun than I can handle.

RIP
What kind of velocity were you getting with that 410gr bullet in your 400/.395? Any problems with that weight bullet in our 1-12" twist? I am just about to order a 310gr mould for my rifle with about the same shape. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Max

Max,

Go here:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...4711043/m/3201052271

near bottom of page two:

http://forums.accuratereloadin...043/m/3201052271/p/2