Score ?

[RBHarter]

I went to the Big Reno Show with a buddy , the idea being that we won't let each other get completely stupid ..........it usually goes something like , you know that'll land you in the dog house ........oh go ahead the dog has HBO .

They did have the CCI #41 primers that have been AWOL for 2 yr bonus packed @ 5,392 @ $23/1000 plus 392 just for playing. I also picked up some 40 S&W for the princely sum of $30/100.

The joy of the day is my first Cramer . It's a #45 and looks pretty good . I also have a shortage 30cal moulds and although it looks a lot like the 312-155 I'm going to bet it will be less sizing and a better fit in the rifles that don't need all that nose .

 

[RicinYakima]

Cramer moulds are excellent moulds, certainly equal to the early Hensley's. (SAECO bought him out and their handles fit his moulds.) That is one of the few "pointy" bullets that has worked for me, if I could get them seated out far enough to center in the throat.

 

[RBHarter]

So I did ok at $45 if it'll shoot in a match tight Rem and the almost as tight 03 A3 .

 

[David Reiss]

Looks similar to the old 311413. It is a good bullet which I have used with really good success.

 

[RicinYakima]

It was indeed a very popular bullet form. It was one of the first from Modern Bond and Belding and Mull after WW1. The key was that it would feed from all the surplus WW1 rifles (Model 1917, Ross and Mosin-Nugant) that the NRA sold beginning in 1920.

 

[Maven]

I believe it was known as a "Squibb" bullet, named after its designer I think: Can't find much info about him on the internet, though.

 

[RBHarter]

Having gotten a nudge in some direction here's what I have discovered.
Cramer was bought by Seaco in 1951 .
This mould is ,if not as issued as close as you'll get .
It was made between 1936 and 1951 .
The #45 is a Squib-Miller design of 311-169 that was poured at some point of 50-50 WW/lino at exactly 311 and 169 gr.
There is a 1 page article from American Rifleman volume 69page 269 on Google books ,I can't read it on my phone .....too small .
Mine has top vent lines across the mould top right to left and opposed mill lines on the block faces .
Pushing the sprue plate away there is a 4 5 stamped in the handle groove 1 digit on each side of the handle screw . the sprue plate has a single stamped "CRAMER No." and 45 in single stamp digits . It has a slotted shank for the handle screw under the plate and a flat topped handle screw that retains the sprue plate with a locking screw in from the handle end of the mould .
It appears that the Cramer moulds have a stop tab with a screw in the handle end of the mould vs a stop screw in the later Seaco mould .

 

[RicinYakima]

I believe it was known as a "Squibb" bullet, named after its designer I think: Can't find much info about him on the internet, though.

Modern Bond was the first mould maker back in business after Ideal tools (owned by Marlin) went broke in 1915. They sold it as the "Miller Squib" but we have never found out who Miller was.

 

[RicinYakima]

RB, that is a nice example of the pre-war Cramer. The very small plate holes with the slightly rounded indents are for his gated ladle, pressure feed like using a bottom pour pot. His post-war plates are more conventional.

 

[RBHarter]

I can see it needs a little more clean up to pour really good consistent bullets . It was nice to pour with though , I made 25 pours with 9 rejects , 6 cold ,3 non fills . I need to rub the top vent lines a little .

The pressure pour part makes sense now .
It also lets you know it's too hot by sticking the front cavity .
It is a nice mould to work with.
A random handful as cast .


It pours a nice round .312 and 162gr bullet . That lube groove is HUGE . I guess I need to pour some 312-155s the grooves seem to be the big difference .

The handles were special too they need a 3/16 /#10 hole , none of my handles were long enough except the Lee's of course and those holes are too small and not really a cooperative to drill . I "fixed" a pair of Lyman handles .

With actual dimensions at hand it looks like a prime candidate for the 325 Savage 30-30 and those 2 Rem made 06's .

 

[fiver]

you can always just lube above the gas check.

 

[RBHarter]

FWIW . The top groove doesn't appear to be suitable for crimp . It is a groove in the .301 nose . The nose beyond the band width is .300 . That goes straight up into the .312 front band . I'll give them time to settle and see what happens.

 

[RicinYakima]

The top groove is meant to scrape out the lube and fouling of the previous bullet. A Dr. Hudson, noted shooter of the 1890's, developed such a thing. It was a popular design feature until casters got used to smokeless powder and less fouling.

 

[RBHarter]

Seems that in the first half of the 1900s there was a lot of building on success ............. We got to the moon and it all stopped ....... Funny how that works .

 

[RicinYakima]

When I was drag racing in the 1960's the saying was; "Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?" and "The only thing that beats cubic inches is cubic money." There are three reason for today's national debt; in the 1960's we fought a war in Viet Nam on credit, created the "Great Society" on credit, and went to the moon on credit. We are still paying for all three.

 

[Maven]

RBH, The fixture (?) which holds the sprue plate flat to the top of the mold may be problematic, as it, rather than the vent lines, may impede venting. E.g., I have a Cramer WC mold with that device, which is a good idea in theory. However, no matter what I did, including deepening the vent lines, I got poor nose fill out until I tilted it out of the way. Once that was done, I got many more perfect WC's and changed my mind about selling that mold