Does it make much of a difference 1 groove or 3? I'm thinking of trying some hard cast bullets from the bullet barn in .459 for a trapdoor pressure load but don't know whether I need 1 lube groove or 3. Also those come prelubed am I correct?
# of lube grooves on a cast bullet
- Thread starter brybenn
- Start date
The bullet has to strike a balance between lotsa lube, and support for the bullet esp. for the start of it's send-off, for potential BP bullets more lube capacity is better. Cast bullets for guns like the trapdoor should be very soft or 30-1 alloy, not the BHN25 very hard cast that is kinda std. with production cast bullets.
The gun ill be firing is a baikal mp221 modern gun not an actual trapdoor rifle. It will take 28000 CUP. I just want to start with trapdoor loads as I'm new to loading and just wanna break in the gun. 405gr at 12-1400fps. Ill be using smokeless powder as well. Its wicked accurate with factory remington express loads but at $60/20 I can't afford to play much
I agree with Ben about the balance between bearing area and lube capacity... In your application thinking you are going to be working up the load to the warmer side, both are very important... You should also consider using a bullet designed for a gas check if you are going to venture above the 1600 fps mark... I shoot 405 gr RNFP's with 4 lube grooves in my Ruger #3 and Uberti Highwall... Since these are plain based bullets bullets (no gas checks) 1500 fps is about the ceiling for bullets cast out of quenched wheel weights in the Ruger, before accuracy deteriorates and leading becomes an issue... I have never pushed the Highwall above black powder velocities due to its curved steel butplate...
Something you may not be aware of -
You have to clean all traces of bullet jacket material out of the bore before you can get naked lead bullets to shoot well, at least in my experience.
The more lube the better in my B78 Browning 45/70 - 405 grain original Winchester mould has huge grease grooves, just the ticket in my rifle with FFg black, not smokeless.
You have to clean all traces of bullet jacket material out of the bore before you can get naked lead bullets to shoot well, at least in my experience.
The more lube the better in my B78 Browning 45/70 - 405 grain original Winchester mould has huge grease grooves, just the ticket in my rifle with FFg black, not smokeless.
