Cast my first batch of .50 bullets today. Figured as expensive as Powerbelts are, I'd melt down those old weights I saved off some old-timey studio camera pedestals a couple of years ago and try to make some bullets I can shoot for fun without emptying my checking account and maybe even hunt with.
Now, first off, I have very little idea of what I'm doing. Here are the details:
Mold: Lee REAL .50-250 two-cavity bullet mold.
Lead: Came off old studio camera pedestals (counterweights). Don't know the purity. A friend ran his fingernail on a slab and, although it left a scratch, he said they seemed hard. They melt nicely and pour really well as I made a big batch of picture perfect bullets today.
Gun/usual ammo: CVA Wolf .50 (usually with 100gr loose pyrodex pushing a 240gr Powerbelt hollow point. It shoots great but those bullets cost a fortune).
I used bore butter to lube the bullets today. Plan to maybe use something a little less messy but that's all I had on hand.
Here's the problem. The ridges on the bullets are supposed to be engraved by the rifling upon loading; hence the name REAL (Rifling Engraved At Loading). Naturally, you'd expect the bullet to be a little resistant to loading.
Mine practically fall down the barrel. Once they clear the muzzle, they are way easy to push. Today I tried a few out after my casting session and after putting the powder in and loading the bullet, I turned the gun muzzle-down and heard the bullet sliding down the barrel, stopping a few inches shy of the muzzle. I pushed it back, popped in a 209, and fired the first shot with 80 grains loose pyrodex mainly just to foul a barrel a little so the bullet would stay in place. That made the bullets stay put but they still seem awfully loose on the way down to the "fouled" area by the breech. I stuck with the 80 grains and shot at a paper target about 60 yards away. All but the first bullet hit the paper, the rest of them went in the black with a respectable grouping considering I was sitting on a bucket resting the gun atop a rolled up towel on a workmate, but they seem to be keyholing. Not surprising considering how loose they are in the barrel.
My instructions say that using a different alloy than Lee used (I think they said 10% tin/90% lead) can result in a different size and/or weight bullet. Not knowing how impurities affect size/weight or even what's in the stuff I'm melting, I'm wondering what ingredients might affect this and what could someone do to make their bullets come out of the mold a little bigger?
Now, first off, I have very little idea of what I'm doing. Here are the details:
Mold: Lee REAL .50-250 two-cavity bullet mold.
Lead: Came off old studio camera pedestals (counterweights). Don't know the purity. A friend ran his fingernail on a slab and, although it left a scratch, he said they seemed hard. They melt nicely and pour really well as I made a big batch of picture perfect bullets today.
Gun/usual ammo: CVA Wolf .50 (usually with 100gr loose pyrodex pushing a 240gr Powerbelt hollow point. It shoots great but those bullets cost a fortune).
I used bore butter to lube the bullets today. Plan to maybe use something a little less messy but that's all I had on hand.
Here's the problem. The ridges on the bullets are supposed to be engraved by the rifling upon loading; hence the name REAL (Rifling Engraved At Loading). Naturally, you'd expect the bullet to be a little resistant to loading.
Mine practically fall down the barrel. Once they clear the muzzle, they are way easy to push. Today I tried a few out after my casting session and after putting the powder in and loading the bullet, I turned the gun muzzle-down and heard the bullet sliding down the barrel, stopping a few inches shy of the muzzle. I pushed it back, popped in a 209, and fired the first shot with 80 grains loose pyrodex mainly just to foul a barrel a little so the bullet would stay in place. That made the bullets stay put but they still seem awfully loose on the way down to the "fouled" area by the breech. I stuck with the 80 grains and shot at a paper target about 60 yards away. All but the first bullet hit the paper, the rest of them went in the black with a respectable grouping considering I was sitting on a bucket resting the gun atop a rolled up towel on a workmate, but they seem to be keyholing. Not surprising considering how loose they are in the barrel.
My instructions say that using a different alloy than Lee used (I think they said 10% tin/90% lead) can result in a different size and/or weight bullet. Not knowing how impurities affect size/weight or even what's in the stuff I'm melting, I'm wondering what ingredients might affect this and what could someone do to make their bullets come out of the mold a little bigger?