Who shoots PP bullets?

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freire

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This weekend i shot 200 rounds of pp bullets out of my 308 Win with no leading at all.
Half of it was loaded with 44gr of H4895 the other half with 44gr of Varget, didn't measure velocity but there was a nice snap to it they had to be traveling at least 2400-2500fps.
Today when i went to clean the rifles i noticed no lead whatsoever in the 308 barrel, i was very surprised.
Any of you fellas shoot pp bullets?
 
A local gut a bullet swaging machine, and speaks of making bullets to paper patch.

It sounded like a lot of work, but I will let him convince me with a demonstration of how it all works (and shoots).
 
I use a Boomer's mould for my PP .30 cal boolits. The mould is adjustable for any weight desired. Presently throwing a 182 gr boolit. I have an Accurate mould for my 9.3 boolits (9.3X74R Ruger #1)
An RCBS mould for the .45 cal stuff. My 38-55 mics at .379-380" so I patch a GG boolit and have at her!!
 
freire said:
This weekend i shot 200 rounds of pp bullets out of my 308 Win with no leading at all.
Half of it was loaded with 44gr of H4895 the other half with 44gr of Varget, didn't measure velocity but there was a nice snap to it they had to be traveling at least 2400-2500fps.
Today when i went to clean the rifles i noticed no lead whatsoever in the 308 barrel, i was very surprised.
Any of you fellas shoot pp bullets?
Click to expand...

Are you using a dedicated PP Bullet or are you patching a GG bullet? Please explain your technique for those of us not versed in this discipline.
Thanks
 
oldrodder said:
Are you using a dedicated PP Bullet or are you patching a GG bullet? Please explain your technique for those of us not versed in this discipline.
Thanks
Click to expand...

No it's not a dedicated pp bullet, actually it's a Lee-C309-180-R that i size to .302 using a Lee type sizing die, once that is done i wrap it with .004" wet paper but not too wet.
once the paper dries it shrinks a bit and it snugs the bullet, then i just use a little dab of Lee Alox and smear around the paper, and again i let it dry.
once dry i run it through a .311 Lee sizing die, but you can take a look at this fella, i pretty much followed his footsteps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-McT8ZI2tV8
 
freire said:
No it's not a dedicated pp bullet, actually it's a Lee-C309-180-R that i size to .302 using a Lee type sizing die, once that is done i wrap it with .004" wet paper but not too wet.
once the paper dries it shrinks a bit and it snugs the bullet, then i just use a little dab of Lee Alox and smear around the paper, and again i let it dry.
once dry i run it through a .311 Lee sizing die, but you can take a look at this fella, i pretty much followed his footsteps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-McT8ZI2tV8
Click to expand...

About the same way I do it, but I fire them dry and do not resize after patching.
 
I shoot paper patched out my 303s and 7.62x54r. I use a variety of 30 cal moulds to cast and then run the bullets through a .304" sizer before patching. After lubing with paste floor wax, I then either run them through the .314" or .312" sizing die depending on the rifle they are for. I even shot an elk with one a number of years ago.
I have, in the past, also paper patched for the 577-450 MH, the 8mm Kropatchek and other old calibers including .467" bullets for a Westly Richards Monkey Tail.
 
I tried this several years ago in a 450 Marlin using some 240 gr (?) pistol bullets that were .452" dia. Used some very thin paper, I think it was at, or under .002" for a double wrap ending up around .460". Only tried them out to 50 yards with a mild load but accuracy was impressive. A bit time consuming but it was fun to do. I use to have a book by PAUL MATTHEWS (50 years of Paper Patched??) but I loaned it out, never to be returned. Excellent book if you can locate it, absolutely everything you'd ever need for doing PP. The history of PP is quite interesting as well. If I remember, some records that were set in the early 1900's using PP were not beat for decades. Do yourself a favour and read up on Harry M Pope. Very interesting barrel maker and one of the top shooters from decades ago. Also the book "The Bullets Flight" by Franklin W Mann (available on CD) is a great read. If you shoot cast or PP you really should read this.
 
I bought a custom .450" straight-walled mold from Accurate Molds for my .45-70. 400gr RNFP design. Patches up to .460" and shoot quite well with 65gr of FFg; even better with 75gr of FFFg. Still shoots lots lighter than my 500gr smokeless loads. Rifle is an H&R Buffalo Classic. I love shooting it from a bench over fresh snow as I get a littering of confetti right in front of the bench that really confuses most people.

I actually found a light rubbing on the dried paper with my fingers of RCBS Case Lube 2 to work very well for loading and shoots accurately. I tried that, Crisco, and Lee Alox. They all worked but the RCBS case lube I preferred. I do put an over-powder card, a .32ACP case full of melted BP lube, and then seat the PP'ed bullet on top of that.

My avatar picture is actually some of the .45-70 loads I did up with these bullets.
 
Actually there is a VERY good reason to use PP IF YOU"RE a HUNTER. Performance on large game (deer) is wonderful. If you can use pure lead it's so soft it deforms easy and that means better performance on game. The problem with using a soft alloy (below 12BHN) is you're limited to low velocities. Perhaps 1100fps if you're lucky. I've made 2 part bullets casting a SOFT nose, (pure lead @ 7 BHN) then filling the base with a harder alloy (14 BHN). I can easily get 1700++ fps. (In a 35 Whelen I loaded to almost 2000). This SOFT nose and HARD base it what you get from a NOSLER Partition, the nose expands, the base does not and drives deep. HOWEVER!!!!! if you use a PP bullet you're not limited to the low velocities of soft lead alloy as the allow barely touches the barrel. Perfect dimensions are bore diameter +.0005-.001".....then Paper Patch to +.002 over groove.
Sorry for the long explanation, hope you didn't fall asleep reading it.
 
(I use to have a book by PAUL MATTHEWS (50 years of Paper Patched??)

Paul's book is titled "The Paper Jacket"
His book on the 45-70 is called "50 years with the 45-70"
Both are great reads!
 
Hahaha Oldrodder, see what happens when you get old? Both books, I gave 1 title. ( The paper Jacket & 50 Years with the 45-70). Thanks for clearing up that mess. The paper jacket is rated by me as 12/10. Excellent++++. BB
 
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