Favorite bullet mold for 50cal ML.??

gth

gth

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I have just about everything I need to start casting some bullets for my Omega and my dads Huntsman.(both .50cals) All I need is a mold and lube/sizer.

I want something mostly just for plinking at the range but I may hunt with it if I happen to like the accuracy.

I like the look of the REAL bullet mold from Lee.
realblt.jpg




Whats your favorite muzzleloader mold/bullet???
 
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The REAL bullet didn't shoot well in our test .50 cal. Lyman 1-60" twist, the Lyman Plains Bullet shot great, much better than REAL or round ball! It is a single cav. mould made by Lyman, and no you don't need a lube sizer for M.L. bullets, just use them as cast, if you want you can put some lube on with your fingers.
 
We did alot of testing with the diff. projectiles in the Lyman GR. Pl. rifle in 2 days, we sized bullets, bumped bullets, lubed them, patched them, etc. The REAL bullets would not shoot well, nor the patched ball, the Lyman Plains bullet grouped under 2" at 100yds., the others were hard to keep on the target. At first we lubed the Plains Bullet by hand, then tried them dry, accuracy was similar, clean out of barrel between shots was slightly easier with BP lube. Since you have to mop bore between shots we didn't find lube necessary, helpfull but not nec., if one uses lube, it is soft and easy to apply as you load, use either BP lube or bore butter, crisco, etc.
 
One thing to remember when you are casting a conical for a ML it needs to be cast from pure lead, if it is any sort of an alloy it will be too hard and it will drop undersized. Not only that but it (I forget the proper word for it) but upon firing the bullet compresses slightly causing it to expand in diameter to fill the bore. If the alloy is too hard it won't happen and your accuracy will fall off.

The problem is finding pure lead I was able to buy some years ago (luckly I still have a good chunk of it) but the outfit that I bought it from no longer sells to the general public. and most everything else you find as scrap is an alloy.

One thing I was contemplating was to use a 44 or 45 cal pistol bullet mold and still use sabots that way a slightly hard alloy is still OK ( like that 25lbs of lead #4 shot that I can't use anymore),

But with a plain conical you sould get way more shots between cleanings which is more fun if you are just plinking.

I have two conical molds the lee and an old TC mold, I always lubed, supposed to prevent leading and helps center the slug in the bore. Hodgdon states in the hints for triple7 that if you accuracy falls off with conicals to try to lube the bottome of the bullet too.
 
I do have some pure lead to work with but only about 25lbs. I also have a crap load of wheel weights saved up and was hoping to use them for making muzzleloader bullets.

If I tried to scoop off alot of the tin with the clips and junk, do you think that will bring the alloy down to a soft enoung bullet to use in a muzzleloader??
 
I'd use your stash of pure lead, muzzleloaders are the only ones that should use pure lead.The ww will work for just about everything else.
 
ben hunchak said:
I'd use your stash of pure lead, muzzleloaders are the only ones that should use pure lead.The ww will work for just about everything else.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm gonna have to hunt down some more pure stuff. I have been checking any plumbing supply stores I can think of for this so called "plumbers Lead" with no success. I'm begining to think it doesnt exist anymore.
 
aulrich said:
One thing to remember when you are casting a conical for a ML it needs to be cast from pure lead, if it is any sort of an alloy it will be too hard and it will drop undersized. Not only that but it (I forget the proper word for it) but upon firing the bullet compresses slightly causing it to expand in diameter to fill the bore. If the alloy is too hard it won't happen and your accuracy will fall off.

The word your looking for is obturation ;)
Which is what my REAL bullets lacked, I would have to carry my m.l. with the barrel up^ so the bullet would'nt fall out,Of course that was at the range and not a real hunting situation.
Click to expand...
 
ben hunchak said:
I'd use your stash of pure lead, muzzleloaders are the only ones that should use pure lead.The ww will work for just about everything else.
Click to expand...


I just thought of something. Could I use the wheel weights I have to cast some shotgun slugs???? Or should slugs be soft also?

I'm thinking a slug thats pretty simple and can be loaded in a regular wad. I've got some old style AA's that are crying to be used again.
 
gth said:
I just thought of something. Could I use the wheel weights I have to cast some shotgun slugs???? Or should slugs be soft also?

I'm thinking a slug thats pretty simple and can be loaded in a regular wad. I've got some old style AA's that are crying to be used again.
Click to expand...

The lead I use for rnd ball & conical bullets is a mix,ie; sinkers,wheel wts, lead found at range and some pure lead(so I'm told) bars from an auto-body shop. That being said, I use this mix when casting my Lee Drive-Key slugs
(1oz.) as well,as they are under bore to start with and the required obturation comes from the shotgun wad. They work great. Trying to find pure lead and how to determine it is pure lead well..for me if it melts in the pot over my Coleman stove and it pours into my moulds no problem, then hey..no problem,
Just my 2 cents:)
 
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