Casting the NOE 30 XCB for long range shooting.

waco

waco

Springfield, Oregon
A big thanks to Fiver, Ian, and Brad.
I got my new mold in the mail a few days ago. I'm trying to continue the long range shooting out to 500 yards.
My first attempt was with some bullets Lamar sent me. They worked very well. Thank you.

Alloy is 15lbs coww
6 1/2 lbs lino
1/2lb 63/37 Sn/Pb

Bullets were water dropped.

I was very stringent on culling any visual defects and then weight sorting anything out of the "bell curve"

162gr-163gr were the only things kept if they past visual inspection. I spent the better part of 4 1/2 hours sorting and weighing the 600+ bullets.

I then sorted them into .01gr batches. The best my RCBS scales can weigh at least......

A few high and low weights and some defects, but I was pretty happy with how close a 5 cavity mold throws bullets.
 
Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
.01 gr? I would go in .3 gr groupings.
Looks like you have some nice piles there of similar weights. You should have some good shooting coming up.
Better get ready and make more alloy, one will be gone faster than you think!

Nice job Walter
 
waco

waco

Springfield, Oregon
I learned a lot after weighing out so many bullets. I could guess within half a grain what they would weigh just by looking at them. Frosted would be light, shiny heavy. I got to where I could pretty much guess within .03 grains of the weight.
 
waco

waco

Springfield, Oregon
Nothing under 162gr or over 163gr made the cut. ANY visual defect was tossed. I'll load in groups of like bullets.
 
Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Frosted light because the hotter mould causes surface voids that are small but obviously have an effect.
Now to find a way to get even frosting on all of them. Cadence will be mentioned a bunch. But someone mentions a clock with a second hand. Ok, someone besides me.
I think it would get in the way horribly but I can see a place for the NOE probe and digital thermometer to make sure mould temp is consistent before pouring. The cord would be a pain in my opinion.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
so now you know what I was talking about when I said 'visual clues coming from the mold'.
and why I watch for the light color change in the middle of the bullet.
if I ride that change out I get very consistent weights and anything that doesn't conform is outside the window.
if I get a slight bit more than jus the center I drop the alloy temp and maintain my speed after taking a slight pause.

I have my rcbs 22 mold down to the point that I know the cavity's throw consistently .1gr apart in weight.
if I hold my end of the bargain up I get them criss-crossing the same weight boundary with .1 on either side from the up and down.
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
waco said:
I got to where I could pretty much guess within .03 grains of the weight.
Click to expand...

Now you know how to "visually cull". I don't mess with weight sorting very much anymore, unless I'm diagnosing a mould problem or selecting a limited number to load for hunting purposes. For target work, sorting simply isn't worth the time. If I get a wild flyer every once in a while, no big deal. The main thing is to have consistency, and you see where it is. I also water-drop a lot, and timing to the millisecond is critical. If even the slightest thing goes wrong with a pour, those bullets get dropped on a towel instead of in the keeper bucket.
 
Kevin Stenberg

Kevin Stenberg

Well-Known Member
On the speed of casting thing. I use my Comp. Tablet that has a continual counter my son made for his workout time. Its mounted just above pot level so it can be easily seen.
Each faze of casting has its own time count. Time between mold fill & sprue cut, If there is a hold time before the drop, Hold time if any till refill.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
I'm hogging most of the Dub step.
casting to chill step keeps you calm and focused, especially when it's the female vocal variety.
it kind of locks the brain out to outside distraction.
 
waco

waco

Springfield, Oregon
I kept having to chase mold/pot temps as alloy drained from pot. I did my best. I am pretty happy with how it all turned out. Proof will be in the pudding as they say. Stay tuned.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
don't drain the pot, you'll chase temps all over the place as they keep climbing,
the head pressure changes too, which affects the fill rate.
 
P

popper

Well-Known Member
Now you're wanting me to cast, PC and send you some 31-165C to try. Probably be 6 months before I get invite to try 400.
Dang, hope the range doesn't get washed out again. Last time they got 4' of water and had a helo rescue of the LEO who was there to keep people from driving into high water.
 
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