7.62x40 WT
- Thread starter Hawk
- Start date
Hawk
Well-Known Member
Okay, was able to cast a hundred or so from the new mold. Still breaking it in and apparently have too much trash in my mixture. Fluxed it a few times, but can't get my boolits to come out as pretty as Ben's.
Average weight of boolits dropped from the new mold is 158 grains.
Diameters 12 days after casting are 0.3095 to 0.310. Didn't seem to grow from the time they dropped. Hardness is about 15.
My very unscientific method of dropping a sized boolit in the barrel and marking a cleaning rod indicates max OAL of 2.170 with uncoated, boolits sized to .309 and 2.050 with boolits Powder Coated with a double coat.
It's been raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock for about two weeks now. Supposed to clear up tomorrow.
Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of a black boolit?
Crap, they're all upside down.
Average weight of boolits dropped from the new mold is 158 grains.
Diameters 12 days after casting are 0.3095 to 0.310. Didn't seem to grow from the time they dropped. Hardness is about 15.
My very unscientific method of dropping a sized boolit in the barrel and marking a cleaning rod indicates max OAL of 2.170 with uncoated, boolits sized to .309 and 2.050 with boolits Powder Coated with a double coat.
It's been raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock for about two weeks now. Supposed to clear up tomorrow.
Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of a black boolit?
Crap, they're all upside down.
Last edited:
Hawk
Well-Known Member
Yep. Black that I bought from Smoke 4320 on the CB forum.
I've been powder coating all my handgun boolits for a couple of years. Had great success without gas checks, though I'll gas check these.
Works great in everything up to the high end .44 Mag and high end 10MM.
I use the cool whip tub method and pick them out by the lube grooves with tweezers and a small stand alone convection oven that I got at a garage sale for $10.
Now if I can just figure out how to use my phones camera!
I've been powder coating all my handgun boolits for a couple of years. Had great success without gas checks, though I'll gas check these.
Works great in everything up to the high end .44 Mag and high end 10MM.
I use the cool whip tub method and pick them out by the lube grooves with tweezers and a small stand alone convection oven that I got at a garage sale for $10.
Now if I can just figure out how to use my phones camera!
Hawk
Well-Known Member
I'm going to give it a try. Maybe a single coat.
I was surprised how much deeper a double coat had to be seated. Seems to me 0.12" is a lot.
Probably because this bullet is designed to be such a tight fit to the chamber. The couple of thousandths in nose diameter really pushes it back. I have to check where the end of the case falls in relation to the front driving band at that depth. Maybe a single coat will work.
Maybe I can crimp over the front driving band, but that seems to defeat the whole design to get most of the bullet out of the case and increase case capacity.
The good news is with the correct nose size, you can seat it at the correct design depth. At least in my chamber.
I was surprised how much deeper a double coat had to be seated. Seems to me 0.12" is a lot.
Probably because this bullet is designed to be such a tight fit to the chamber. The couple of thousandths in nose diameter really pushes it back. I have to check where the end of the case falls in relation to the front driving band at that depth. Maybe a single coat will work.
Maybe I can crimp over the front driving band, but that seems to defeat the whole design to get most of the bullet out of the case and increase case capacity.
The good news is with the correct nose size, you can seat it at the correct design depth. At least in my chamber.
Hawk
Well-Known Member
A double coat will not work. Too deep in the case. The case mouth will be out over the radius of the nose.
OAL of a single coat is 2.100". Loaded to about 2.080" for safety and function and I should be able to crimp over the end of the front driving band.
I wonder if the increase in velocity from the Powder Coating will make up for the loss of 0.050" in powder capacity?
I'll try to get to the range next weekend and chrono some loads for comparison.
OAL of a single coat is 2.100". Loaded to about 2.080" for safety and function and I should be able to crimp over the end of the front driving band.
I wonder if the increase in velocity from the Powder Coating will make up for the loss of 0.050" in powder capacity?
I'll try to get to the range next weekend and chrono some loads for comparison.
Ian
Notorious member
Figure about 3% increase for the PC.
Josh
Well-Known Member
I am in your corner too Fiver, this one I believe would be cut in as many holes as Tom can slap in a set of blocks. It would fit darn near everything I have including my K-31 (which seems to have a standard yet short throat). Hellcats, this would even fit just pretty as punch in the 30 Badger...
Ian
Notorious member
I don't see this mould in your hands yet
Nope, I don't need it yet, and I'd still like a crimp groove, but it will fit lots and lots of things very well and it needed to be designed and cataloged. I have my bases covered for now with the 31-188G, Josh's 140 grainer, and my 311041 six banger.
Hawk
Well-Known Member
Josh,
Your package should be there Tuesday 6/28/2016.
I'm still having trouble with this mold. Four casting sessions and I still can't get shiny bullets. They seem to have a cloudy blemish.
I've fluxed with wax and sawdust til I'm blue in the face and no reside after fluxing with the wax. This bullet was cast without dropping the sprues back in the pot so as not to drive dross to the bottom. 158 grain bullets come out +/- 0.2 grains of each other. Not all bullets have this cloud, but 70-80% do.
The only ones that don't have it are the cool mold bullets that aren't fully filled.
Is this something wrong with my lead?
Ian
Notorious member
Welcome to Aluminum moulds. Run the mould hot enough to go into the full satin-frosty stage or cast with a eutectic alloy. Or do what the rest of us do, just go shoot them. The targets don't care whether there's a little bit of tin oxide swirlies on the surface. What matters most is what you've achieved, low weight variation and very nice, crisp fillout.