Bullet Casting Woes

[villiers]

Just two further queries .... I cast bullets from a Hensold mould made to a Serrosafe casting of the barrel, chamber and muzzle end. If I used a sizer, would it change the calibre so that it no longer suited my specific barrel? And secondly, if I load the original amount of BP, there´s no space left for lube under the bullet. Even using a bit less powder, the bullet compresses the powder ... or ... the round comes out too long and the breechblock won´t close on the base of the cartridge. Should I use a compression die to get all the powder into the cartridge?

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[Patrick Chadwick]

I cast bullets from a Hensold mould made to a Serrosafe casting of the barrel, chamber and muzzle end.

If you sent him a Cerrosafe casting, Hensold will have made the mould so that the cast bullet is correct without sizing. Ask him if you are not sure.

If I used a sizer, would it change the calibre so that it no longer suited my specific barrel?

If you size down any more than a thou or so (i.e. just enough to smooth the surface) then the bullet will be a trifle undersized. But soft-lead bullets can bump up several thou to fit a bore, so the diameter is not nearly as critical as for jacketed bullets. You should be using something like max. 5% tin in a tin-lead alloy. Anything higher is an expensive waste of tin, anything with type metal is instantly too hard, and anything with wheelweights is unpredictable scrap. Lead flashing (i.e. roofing lead) with 8% eutectic (electronics) solder added is a simple answer that provides consistent performance. Your bullets should (almost) all cast out at about plus/minus 2gn of the average value. Anything outside that range should go back into the pot as having voids, lumps of slag etc. Then classify the bullets into two classes, each with a spread of 2gn. For a long-range competition you can select classes with a spread of 1gn, but I doubt that you will see any significant difference at 100 meters.

Should I use a compression die to get all the powder into the cartridge?

No, compression seems to make the vivacity inconsistent. Just adapt the amount of BP to what you can get in as a charge when the powder is well shaken down. You must have the lubricant, with an amount as I explained in a previous post. The original "service" charge is effectively a theoretical maximum.