Cast Bullets for 16x10.15x61R Jarmann Cape Gun

Started by gitano, May 09, 2015, 11:51:08 AM

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gitano

Custom mold, custom sizing die, the "right" gas checks (for .406 caliber bullets), and "custom" lube.

I purchased from Accurate Molds a custom mold for making 290-grain cast bullets for this Cape gun. (http://forum.thehunterslife.com/index.php?topic=18246&page=2 see posts #'d 13, 14, & 15.) I am very pleased with that mold. Then I ordered a custom sizing die from Rick Tunnel (see post # 73 in this thread http://www.forum.thehunterslife.com/index.php?topic=15192&highlight=Tunell&page=8) to size those cast bullets. They do, of course for me, have gas check heels so I needed to get gas checks. I made some .44 caliber gas checks 'work', but it was very tedious to do so, and they weren't particularly well-fastened to the bullet. So I just 'bit the bullet' and bought some specifically for this caliber even though after shipping they cost 4.3 cents apiece.

Finally, Jay Edwards (a pretty hard-core 'traditionalist' when it came to black powder and muzzle loading issues) told me that the lube he used for his cast bullets was 50% rendered bear fat, and 50% bee's wax. He also emphasized that the reason he used that particular concoction was NOT because it was "traditional", but rather that it was the one that worked the best for him. I had a great deal of respect for Jay, and I have plenty of rendered bear grease and bee's wax, so that is what I use for my .50 Alaskan and most other cast bullets that I bother to lube. I use the "dipping" method, meaning that I have a little tray that I put the lube in, I then melt it, then I set the bullets in it and let the lube harden. Then I "extract" them using a cartridge case made for the purpose. In the .50 cal bullets, the 'extractor' case is "just right". For the Jarmann, it's just a little bit too large, so I run the bullets back through the sizing die to remove the excess lube. Here are some pictures of the lubing process:

The "tray" is a sardine can. The lube looks very dark, but that just a lighting issue. You will see later that it is essentially the color of bee's wax.


Here it is after the lube returns to room temperature.


Here is the "extractor" with a bullet's base sticking out just after removing from the lube.


The 'tray" after all of the bullets have been removed. You can see both the 'extractor' and the stiff copper wire I use through the flash-hole to push the bullets out of the extractor.


Here are the bullets right after being removed from the 'extractor'.


And here are some pictures of them after they have been through the sizing die again and the excess lube 'wiped off' by the die.








There remains a thin coating of the lube all over the bullets. God only knows if that makes any sort of difference. This is certainly a "cold climate' lube. It is pretty sticky/greasy at 72 degree 'room temperature'. It's still pretty soft at 50 degrees, but less sticky. Once loaded It doesn't matter much as long as it doesn't get hot enough to melt the lube into the powder in the cartridge.

I'm still working on "The" load for these bullets in the Cape gun, so I'll be shooting these again trying to get the proper load to reach the target internal and external ballistic goals I hav set. (See here for those goals http://www.forum.thehunterslife.com/index.php?topic=18246.)

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

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