Paper Patching for the Double Rifle
Good Evening:
I have a Merkel double rifle in 9.3x74R and, I have been casting bullets for my other guns for decades.
I am having problems finding projectiles and have decided to try paper patching bullets for my double.
Is there anyone here who has experience in patching and loading for the double rifle?
A couple questions come to mind:
1 Due to recoil,bullets are always crimped into place so no movement of the projectile in the case occurs when discharging the
first round. Can ppb be crimped into place using a factory crimp die or would a taper crimp be better.
2 The lands and grooves on my Merkel slug out at .356 and .366. Paul Mathews in his book suggests sizing the bullet so it just
fits in the bore without marking the bullet. I had a friend send me some ppb in my desired caliber. I took the ppb and ran
them through my lube sizer, with patches on, using a .366 die. They came out .367. My thoughts are sizing the projectiles to
.356, wrapping them to .366, running them through the lube sizer at .366 and using very slight amount of lube on the paper.
What say you?
3 My casting machine is a magma master caster. I am planning on ordering a mold from accurate molds. I use the rifle to hunt
deer and moose. Bullet weight would be 250-300 grains. Since the mold is special purpose, does it matter if the bullet is
smooth sided or with lube grooves?
And of course, as always, pictures and a full report will be forthcoming regarding this project.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to your input.
Kind regards,
carpediem