First Home Poured thru the 454....

Well it's has been a long time coming. Too long if I sit and think of how much free lead I have passed up over the years not wanting to get into casting. I hope you will bear with me on my journey through my first boolits from WW to target, so to speak and to somewhat borrow a line from someone who has forgotten more about this than I will ever acquire.

That fact aside, through the fall and into spring I got the itch to cast up some boolits for my 454. The thing is a hoot to shoot, but finding bullets either J' or cast that are affordable and will stand up to it are more or less a craap shoot, and when you DO hit pay dirt they aren't exactly giving them away.

I have been shooting both some blem 260gr JHP's I got from LS&B a couple of years back and some Cast Performance 265gr WFN GC's. Both of these I load to base with WC-297 for an average velocity of 1530fps. This load coming from my Tarus Raging Bull's 8.375" ported barrel is powerful, but nothing over powering that one cannot shoot quite a few of them before wanting a break. They are AWESOME for the feral hogs, and to date I have yet to recover either of the bullets from any taken.

So I had 3/4 bucket of WW's sitting there gathering dust, which had been previously used for making large surf weights for shark fishing. Well since I don't get to the surf as much I decided to put it to use with the 454.

I cleaned it all up and made ingots first. That went well enough even when tossing in the paraffin and lighting it off, I managed to get it all fluxed with no ill results. Then I literally spent hours here reading this that and the other, then over to this, that, or the other site to read the links provided. Then just when I somewhat had a game plan, I got to Glen E. Fryxell writings. OHHHAAAA, Oh man it has been a major information overload to be quite honest.

So I bit the bullet and ordered me up a Lee 6 cavity mold for the 300gr RFP GC. Once I ordered it I managed to get some GC's off ebay, and I was set except for lube. Well that was simple shoot a note to White Label, and done deal. Well sort of. Well while waiting on it to arrive, I find the post on 45/45/10, then one on Felix Lube... AGGHHH which one to go with. So back to the drawing board, more reading, and several P.M.'s and emails. (and I dearly appreciate all of the info shared, as well as the confidence building I got back.)

Well I managed to get the mold prepped up proper and evidently got the lead to the proper temperature, and I poured up just a tad over a hundred, separating half of them by water quenching and the other half being air cooled. They were then once lubed with LLA, and then after sizing and installing the GC's, I added a second coat of 45/45/10 for good measure. Not quite sure where to go with the load I finally settled on sticking with my standard charge to the base of the bullet which ended up being 28.5grs of the WC-297. This I primed up with Win-WSP primers and nestled it all in brand new Starline cases.

IT was simply just too damn hot to be sitting in my shed with the sun beating down on the tin top, but I did a limited amount of testing today just to check for leading, and velocity more than anything. What a surprise I got when the velocity was right in the same 1540fps range as what I had been shooting. Not only was that great, as this was about the top end of where I was wanting to be, but the accuracy while not really concentrating on groups was great right off the bat. I was only shooting to 25 yds, but managed to shoot some 3" groups, which for not really trying was pretty good I thought. The very best part was I shot close to 30 rounds of each and no leading was noted after the initial 5 rounds I shot through the clean barrel. Not sure why it showed up then and not after I cleaned it out, but I'm happy none the less..

So a huge thanks to everyone I pestered during this process. It has been a milestone for me, a person devoted to shooting jacketed due to not wanting to have to deal with leading, lubing and sizing issues.

I'll try and get up a pic or two later on tomorrow.

Again thanks for everyone's help.

Sounds great. The leading you were getting from a clean bore (first cylinder) was because the lube hadn't worked through the barrel yet. I'll typically run a patch of thinned alox TL through a freshly cleaned barrel in my revolvers. The Lee 300 RF is a pretty darn good boolit for revolvers. Running 1540 fps is on the upper end how was extraction?

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Originally Posted by RobS

Sounds great. The leading you were getting from a clean bore (first cylinder) was because the lube hadn't worked through the barrel yet. I'll typically run a patch of thinned alox TL through a freshly cleaned barrel in my revolvers.

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I'll remember that and give it a go next time out when I concentrate on groups. Yea it was hardly visible but when I slipped a clean patch in behind the barrel where the sunlight lit it up, I could see a couple of streaks down in the groves. Nothing major at all, and WAY less than expected. LOL

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Originally Posted by RobS

The Lee 300 RF is a pretty darn good boolit for revolvers. Running 1540 fps is on the upper end how was extraction?

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Well the cases showed a little smoking which I have found normal with my loads since I am not pushing the top end, and turning the muzzle up they all fall right out with no issues other than hitting the grip. I can say this, the added weight over the CP loads, is definitely noticeable.

I can hardly wait to finish up with sighting in with them and put them to task on some hogs. I usually keep this one zeroed at 50yds, and if they are standing will not hesitate to send one out to 100. Of course hitting them at that distance has been my problem so far,:razz: but we never let them rest when we catch them out.

I appreciate the info and help with getting these off the ground. I have some playing to do before I am done, but figure that I wil use the WQ'ed over the AC as you mentioned, they seemed to shoot a bit better.

The light layer in a freshly cleaned barrel could result in an initial flier (purged barrel) so if you are hunting it could be a cause of a miss. If I were heading out hunting I personally would have a conditioned barrel (a barrel that has had rounds shot through it). My 375 H&H takes 6-7 rounds before the lube star even gets to the end of the barrel although it starts to group after the 3 shot.

At the velocities you are pushing the Lee 300 RF should be quite accurate out to 100 yards still. I found that the wide flat nose on it does make it drop quite a bit out there but then again most of your shots with the revolver are likely to be 50 and under.

Interested in the results.

I am curious how long after casting these were they shot? It is customary to age boolits a couple weeks before shooting them.

Since you did all that reading I assume you sized the boolit to fit the cylinder mouths(throat).

You did good, no very good for the first time out. It is refreshing to see somebody research and then follow direction and have a successful shoot. It puts a whole different look on shooting, huh? :)
Jay

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Originally Posted by mroliver77

I am curious how long after casting these were they shot? It is customary to age boolits a couple weeks before shooting them. Since you did all that reading I assume you sized the boolit to fit the cylinder mouths(throat).

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Your just about right on the nose. I initially cast these three weekends ago. It seemed as though everything simply fell into place. I had checked the cylinder throats at .4535", so after casting I lubed them with LLA, then the next morning I set the GC's and sized them to .452" which is the same size the Cast Performance were sized. I was hoping that since the Cast Performance had shot so well that these would also, so I was simply trying to duplicate them as best I could.

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Originally Posted by mroliver77

You did good, no very good for the first time out. It is refreshing to see somebody research and then follow direction and have a successful shoot. It puts a whole different look on shooting, huh? :)
Jay

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Thanks, but I had PLENTY of help from the folks here, and I appreciated every bit of it. Years ago I decided I needed some heavy cast for my 41 mag, and simply ordered some from a fellow and followed his loading advice. Well for what ever reason, things didn't go well at all. In fact after 5 of 6 rounds, I literally had a smooth bore revolver, and strings of lead hanging out the end of the barrel. It took over a week to get it all out. Since then I have not had much desire to go the cast route. Trust me when I say, I was VERY apprehensive about dropping the hammer on these, with the pressures and velocity this one generates.

Yes I did a TON of research before ever pouring the first cavity full. Even then, I came back and read over things several more times before deciding I had it down. Then just after the first go round of lubing and sizing, I found the thread where RobS, was checking hardness and sizes of aged boolits, then more questions and P.M.'s. It seemed that every time I made a corner and was on my way, I came to another corner. but it paid off and I ended up accomplishing what what I started out to do. Now if I can keep it up, I will be a VERY happy camper come this fall.

Like I mentioned in the first post, I couldn't, and probably wouldn't have done it without the great help and guidance, of several folks here. Sometimes I read too much then over think things that don't need over thinking. Sometimes, I simply jump, then see the rocks under the water. This time however it paid off and I now have a new hunting boolit for my revolver.

I started an album that has a few pics of my make shift boolit catcher, and a couple of targets from this weekend. After finding out that the target was not going to hold up to more than a few shots, I simply shot for the hole in the 90. After running around 25 each or so of the air cooled and water quenched, plus several mags of some factory cast through my 45acp, I dumped the water out of the barrel and only found a couple pieces of jacket material and a few GC's in the bottom, along with a pile of lead powder. So much for that plan. It was however pretty cool to see the resulting water explosion out the top of the barrel after each shot. LOL It was also pretty amazing that after every 5 shots, I had to go and reposition the 90 to keep from blowing it off the top of the drum. That thing weighs in close to or in excess of 100#.

I seen Mike's trap and while it was a good thought, I think a .475 would knock it off quick. Lead powder is a fact from our powerful guns.
The drum is good but dump the water, make a lid with thick rubber like cargo belting for the center section to shoot through. Fill it with rubber mulch and lay it on it's side. It will stop anything and keep boolits as boolits to recover.
Mine is heavy so it will be a long time before I dump it again. I lay a tarp on the ground and work out the mulch a little at a time, pick out the boolits and put the mulch in buckets so it is easy to pour it back in the drum.
I tried a wood box but internal pressure would pull 16 penny nails and bust wood. The plastic drum really works. It will stop .50 Alaskan boolits.

I'll look into the plastic barrel thing, but haven't got a clue where to look for the belt.

Yea I reckon your .475 would put that 90 on the ground for sure.:p

a couple of diesel truck mudflaps would work also.
chunk of old conveyor belt from a rock quarry, potato farmer, etc.

Coal mine belt,...Illinois, Ky...Out west..

Carpet does a barely passable job if you cannot find the belting. Get creative!! Pool liners, truck/tractor inner tubes or rubber roofing scraps will do passable duty.
Jay

Good suggestions for the rubber, I never thought of mud flaps. My neighbor brought home a bunch of conveyor belting from a limestone quarry.
If the top of the drum is cut out, make a thick plywood disk to fit. Cut a center hole to shoot through and screw the disk in the top. That will make an easy dump too.