Sat. 14 of March, 09

RSS
Email

0 Kudo

Author	Comment
swede556	Sat. 14 of March, 09	Lead	[-]
Posts: 2198 (03/14/09 10:06 AM) Mad Scientist Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None Mornin' Well the army son is gone now. His mom took him to the reserve center in Ardmore so he can leave for some fort in Indiana. After a few weeks of training there he will leave for the sandbox. We have 39 degrees here with a light but steady dripping sprinkle of rain. It was 80 a week ago, then snow and now this wet stuff. Doesn't bother me though. Once I finally took off the long underwear the cold doesn't feel as cold as it did before. That doesn't make sense but I run around in just briefs and feel fine. The boy left his guns here with the idea that I would take them to my dads gun safe for storage while he is gone. I'll get around to it some day. For now I'm just playing with the things. I'm not much interested in the S&W airweight but since the boy bought it I feel compelled to work up some loads for the thing. Some light loads for my wife to shoot and some really heavy stuff just because the gun has +P stamped on it. I've never had a .38 before preferring my revolvers chambered for big bore stuff so what do you guys who shoot these thing recommend? I lean towards a 158 gr. bullet but maybe a 115 or so would be better. After all this is my wifes gun but she loves a .45 auto and the Redhawk doesn't bother her a bit. Tough little Choctaw woman with small hands. Terry in OKC
Rustybore		#1	[-]
Posts: 4003 (03/14/09 10:48 AM) Capt. Klamath Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Good morning, all. A warm 30F presently. Sky is somewhat cloudy, rain and snow is predicted for this evening and maybe today. Any moisture is welcomed at this time, as we are running below normal and already they are talking on cutting the irrigation supply in favor of the salmon. Terry, I haven't loaded the .38/357 yet, just have about everything ready to do so. I bought a Dillon, have everything else. Even have about 60lbs of lead for casting. Cisco was kind enough to load a bunch of 38's for me. I took the components to him and he loaded them while I was at a meeting in Spokane. Then he also showed me how to run his Dillon and I loaded a couple boxes. I used Unique powder, without looking I think around 4.5 gr. with 158 gr. bullets. Those are Laser Cast SWC. I have inventoried several pounds of Unique, have some Titegroup, and am thinking once all that is gone I will try Winchester 231. (not sure of the powder no., might be something else) Unique burns somewhat dirty so that is why I am thinking of trying the Winchester. Kevin in Or.
swede556		#2	[-]
Posts: 2199 (03/14/09 01:40 PM) Mad Scientist Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Kevin casting is addictive. I have been known to fire up the pot in the morning and cast all day until late at night. There is just something about making thousands of basically free bullets that makes a handloader happy. I'm looking for a .38 mold too. Not sure what to get but am leaning towards an RCBS or Lyman Keith type swc. Terry in OKC
richp41		#3	[-]
Posts: 457 (03/14/09 02:23 PM) The Bama Geezer Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Terry, Look at the Lyman 358156 mold. It casts a 158 gr slug that you can use with or without the gascheck. I started with that mold 45 years ago and have shot tens of thousand of .38s and .357s with it. It can be cast hard or soft and plain wheelweights make a good alloy thru the +P range. Accuracy is superb. Bullseye, 231, Unique and 2500 will take care of all loads from mild target to full magnums. Rich P
Rustybore		#4	[-]
Posts: 4004 (03/14/09 02:26 PM) Capt. Klamath Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Good info, Rich. Is that a SWC style bullet? Kevin in Or.
Cisco.parallaxscurioa...		#5	[-]
Posts: 371 (03/14/09 04:06 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I'm back for several days now but have been busy. Kevin SWC is semi wad cutter. I have a Lee pot and some Lee moulds. You can cast a bunch of bullets with the 6 cavity moulds, I like the tumble lube for low velocity, but low velocity only as they will lead your barrel if you push them too fast. RCBS moulds are good, Lyman are good but maybe not as nice as RCBS but cheaper. You shouldn't need a gas check unless you want to push your bullets to magnum velocities, plus you have the expense of gas checks, about 3 cents apiece now I believe. Maui was OK, lots of traffic and very little parking at the best snorkel sites. Was cloudy for the first 5 days and then one day of sun, got burnt even though I know better. Last day was cloudy again. I pretty much hate sandy beaches, damn sand gets into everything as they say. Don't think I'll go back as the 5 1/2 hour plane ride in coach is a killer if you are 6" 3". On the way home it was 7 1/2 hours crammed into that little seat. High points was the zip lining, snorkeling with a giant sea turtle and the magic/comedy show we went to. Bought a semi auto Springfield Armory .45 1911 on the day I got back instead of the Kimber I was thinking about. Stainless steel with adjustable sights, full size 5" barrel with very nice cocobolo grips. I'll catch up more later got to run, need to do some repairs on my rental in the back. Cisco in Eastern WA Paul in Eastern WA
swede556		#6	[-]
Posts: 2200 (03/14/09 04:59 PM) Mad Scientist Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Nice bullet Rich but I don't like gas check types. When you lube and size them the lube gets in the gas check groove. I was looking at the Lyman 358477 which is more like the Keith type swc that I shoot in my big bore revolvers. I may have a full wadcutter mold around here some place and as I said before I'm not real interested in this little thing anyway so a wadcutter will work for my wife to shoot. I suppose as a last resort I could use one of the .380/9mm molds. I'm not sure why I have those since the only 9mms I have shoot 700-1300 rpm so casting is a bit ridiculous. In fact I gave up reloading for the bullet hoses long ago but may have to take it up again with the ammo shortages now. Terry in OKC
akitaholic		#7	[-]
Posts: 1692 (03/14/09 09:20 PM) capt. kita Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Lotta discussion of cast bullets, which interests me even though I haven't done a lot of casting. Question for the more experienced folks: is there a downside to shooting gas check style bullets at low velocities without the gas checks? My impression is that the 358477 was pretty much the 358156 without the heel, both semiwadcutters of non-Keith design. Recently I've been working on a new trebuchet (not my own design) that's supposed to be ultra-efficient. So far there's a lot of problems to overcome, but there's also a lot of promise. Only a half-dozen or so built on this system worldwide that I've heard of, and a couple of those have had problems. One of the good ones won a minor competition in New Jersey last year, and two competed at the championships in Delaware. I have no intention of building big enough for Punkin Chunkin, though. Maybe a shot at the New Mexico event. Maybe.
swede556		#8	[-]
Posts: 2201 (03/14/09 10:06 PM) Mad Scientist Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I don't like gas check designs without the gas check because when they are run through the sizer the lube stays where the gas check should be and during the seating process is cruds up the case mouth. Otherwise there is no problem shooting a gc bullet without the gc. I have fired gc bullets at 2200 fps with no problem and plain base bullets at 1600. As long as you have the lead hardness (or more properly softness) right it works. Everybody talks about hard bullets but softer is better in most guns. Just remember that the bullet has to obturate to seal the powder gases from the bore. I had major leading troubles when I used linotype in both handguns and rifles but when I blended a softer alloy the leading vanished. Been casting since I was 16 and now I'm 50 so there is a little experience here. I can't hardly believe that the geezer club aren't experienced casters. You all must be rich. Terry in OKC
akitaholic		#9	[-]
Posts: 1693 (03/14/09 11:59 PM) capt. kita Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	No, only the 'bama Geezer is Rich. Russell said his cast bullets were the most expensive ones he shot, or something on that order. Mo(u)lds aren't that cheap, and alloy isn't free, plus your time must be worth something. In some calibers it must be cost effective, but not in others. Or if you fire thousands of rounds yearly. I quit after an "incident", but admire the craftsmanship that goes into a good cast bullet. Fresh from the mold those things are so pretty. Tom in SoCal
swede556		#10	[-]
Posts: 2202 (03/15/09 07:00 AM) Mad Scientist Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I had a casting incident once involving a frozen ingot and molten lead. The result is on the ceiling of the room I used for casting at the time. I dodged the bullet on that one, literally. DO NOT keep your lead outside when it's cold or raining! That dangerous thing aside, I am plugging in the pot today and will make another 10 years of bullets for various calibers. Anybody want some lyman 12 ga. slugs? I figured out a way to seat the hollow base plug so the slug is about 100 gr. heavier........ Terry in OKC
Stan in SC		#11	[-]
Posts: 1776 (03/15/09 02:36 PM) Icon of Geezerhood Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I could certainly use some .44 Special and .44 magnum in 240 grain SWC or round nosed (.429) and if you are casting 45/70 I'd like some 300 or 350 grain round nose like the beautiful ones you made before.There's just something about a big round nosed bullet.Is it the resemblance to a breast?I'd be happy to pay you for all you care to make. Stan The more I listen,the more I hear....and vice versa. The LT-2 sight adjuster.Have you adjusted today? Geezer is as geezer does.

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Yuku free message boards

Sat. 14 of March, 09

Sat. 14 of March, 09

Quick Reply