Need some advice

B

BigRed911

Member
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
frozen tundra 8 months a year
Hey all, did my first ever casting session a few days ago and some thing just doesn't seem right. Maybe someone can tell me if I'm paranoid.

I'm using wheel weight lead.
Lee 124gn round nose mould (in theory) water dropped
sized through a .356 sizer die
My issue is I checked the weight of the rounds and the average weight is 127gn. Loaded in front of 3.5gn of SR4756. I'm getting inconsistent seating depths as well. Im postive the die isn't moving. Is my lead too soft and thats the reason I'm getting inconsistencies?

Lyman is telling me to seat at 1.115 and I'm getting variations from 1.119- 1.090.

Biggest question is am I safe? Or should i knock em down and seat them again?


Thanks
 
Cast bullets are rarely the weight they are supposed to be unless you use the exact alloy the manufacturers used to test the mold.

Check your seating die. Check for lube and/or fine lead shavings.

Unless you are using max loads you should be fine although accuracy may suffer.
 
Make sure your seating die is immaculately clean. Any debris like lube, lead, dirt, etc. will impede the seating stem free movement & give inconsistent seating depths. Lube is especially bad for this. As long as the die is clean and the seating stem is free to move your bullets should seat to a consistent length. I use the same bullet seated at 1.13" over 3.5 gr. of Alliant Promo and it works fine. At those velocities the is no need to water drop with wheel weights. Also, sizing of water dropped bullets work softens the alloy so the water dropping is a waste of time anyway. Proper lubing will solve most leading issues at the velocities you're talking.
 
if your loading your rounds at the start load then your OAL can very alot without pressure spikes etc. i would also consider getting a larger sizing die like .357 or even .358 pending what your bore slugs to. if you don't get any leading at .356 then disregard the last sentence.

ted_dent said:
Make sure your seating die is immaculately clean. Any debris like lube, lead, dirt, etc. will impede the seating stem free movement & give inconsistent seating depths. Lube is especially bad for this. As long as the die is clean and the seating stem is free to move your bullets should seat to a consistent length. I use the same bullet seated at 1.13" over 3.5 gr. of Alliant Promo and it works fine. At those velocities the is no need to water drop with wheel weights. Also, sizing of water dropped bullets work softens the alloy so the water dropping is a waste of time anyway. Proper lubing will solve most leading issues at the velocities you're talking.
Click to expand...

if you size within a couple hours, water dropping does what it's meant to, at least that's what i've read on the internet :) even if it doesn't i like water dropping just so i don't have to deal with hot bullets.
 
Spawn-Inc said:
if you size within a couple hours, water dropping does what it's meant to, at least that's what i've read on the internet :) even if it doesn't i like water dropping just so i don't have to deal with hot bullets.
Click to expand...

The reading I did several years ago on this indicated that dropping hot bullets in water will essentially case harden them. However, running the hardened bullet through a size die work softens it back to what it originally was. At the time I experimented with casting bullets, sizing them, heating them in the oven and then quenching them in cold water. They did, indeed, come out extremely hard (almost too hard to scratch with a fingernail). However, it was a lot of work and I'm not that big of a cast rifle bullet guy so I abandoned it. If they would have retained their hardness from water quenching alone it might have been worth it but the extra steps were just too much trouble.
 
not sure how it's alot of work, bucket of water with a towel in the bottom and your set, but to each his own.
 
ted_dent said:
The reading I did several years ago on this indicated that dropping hot bullets in water will essentially case harden them. However, running the hardened bullet through a size die work softens it back to what it originally was.
Click to expand...

Your understanding is flawed somewhere. Quenching from heat treating or straight from the mould is intended to put the alloy into a solution annealed condition, meaning all the alloying elements are fully dissovled into the lead matrix. Unstable constituents then precipitate out, strengthening the lead in a mechansim called age hardening. The bullets will thus be at their absolute softest right after quenching, and will get harder after days of sitting around at room temperature.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom