I got reinterested in casting bullets when I purchased my Ranger 45.
Before I had burned out casting bullets while competing in 1000 yard black powder cartridge rifle. I used to cast one hour per day to obtain the bullets for a weeks practice, I culled anything not visually perfect and then weighed each bullet, then I culled everything not within 1 grain + or -, so as a result out of 100 bullets cast, I would keep an average of 40.
I also hunted with cast bullets in my Sharps rifles, A shlio# 1 Sporting rifle and a orginal engraved Borshardt, both in 45-100. I lived in the middle of an elk herd for many years and as a result I have killed 50 elk in my lifetime, but the real fun was the 5 elk I killed with the big singleshots and cast bullets, I have shot some nice bulls, but my real trophy was a spike I killed with a 500 grain cast bullet, cast in a Lee pot powered by my solar pannels, I always called it my solar bullet.
I eventually sold all my reloading and casting equipment, including over 30 molds, and traveled for a few years.
Then when I bought my Ranger 45, I had Accuratemolds build me a .452 bullet mold that weighed slightly over 400 grains. I knew my bore dimensions and had the mold made precisely the same diameter as the bore, which is somewhat different that what you would do with a firearm.
With that bullet I have shot under an inch at 100 yards and achieved over 600 FPE.
Airguns do not deliver an expanding push as do firearms and in particular black powder arms, so they must be the same size or perhaps.0005 over.
I had read posts from Marvin Mello about his casting for his Condor 25 using a 25 acp bullet, Marvin had miked his barrel and he was around .2495, so a bullet coming out of his RCBS mold at .251 was just right after a little sizing with a Lee Prescision die. Lee does not make a standard die for the 25 so you have to have them custom made..
Problem was my LW barrel measured .2545, but I ordered a mold anyway hoping I could make it work. I also ordered a .253 sizing die from Lee Prescision, thinking I could make it larger if need be.
LW barrels are all over the map in dimensions. And they are choked of course, so when you slug the barrel you must push the expanded slug into the breech and a few inches down the barrel, then push it back out the breech, the choke in the last inch or so will be considerably smaller, mine meansured .251. To date the mold only cast bullets in the .252 to .253 realm, so I have had flyers.
My intial groups with unsized/undersized bullets and 30-1 lead were in the inch range at 38 yards with flyers taking them out to 1.5 inches. I started experimenting with alloys with more tin, 20-1 and Lyman #2 alloy until I had a hard bullet, but even then when I looked into the choked end of the barrel, only the rifleings had lead smears on them, indicating my bullets were still undersize. But my groups also tightened up, at 50 yards the typical 5 shot group will be .5 to .6 inches, with a 1 out of 10 flyer that takes the group to 1.2 iches. I can measure the bullets diameter and pretty much pick which bullets will be flyers.
What I do get is incredable power from my Condor. I have been able to push these bullets at 1025 FPS which equates to 120 FPE. To take that into perspective, a 25 acp at the muzzle is doing 750 FPS, the Condor is doing 750 FPS at 145 yards!
Usually I keep the velocity at 950 or so for now.
I sent the RCBSmold off last week to Hollowpointmolds in Corvalis Oregon. Erik alters conventional molds into Hollowpoint molds, and he also cuts molds to a larger diameter. I am having him cut my mold to .0005 over my barrel diameter and also add a driving band to the nose. Erik can also remove a gas check from a mold, something really not needed on a air gun bullet, for we have no heat as firearms do, and as a result do not need gas checks or lube.
But even a cold lead bullet rubbed against steel will tansfer lead onto the steel. Some do not use any lube on air gun cast bullets, I however do use lube on my bullets, I spray them with moly. I have experimented with different lubes, everything from Transmission fluid to Johnsons paste wax, and see no difference other than they are messier than moly.
I have ordered a 2nd mold, a Lyman 25-20 mold that throws a 65 grain gas checked SWC bullet, which could be a great hunting bullet. But either bullet will give tremendous penetration. The 25 acp bulets will shoot thru my Morrel crosbow target.
Hopefully in another week or two I will have the molds back and more information.
Regards,
Roachcreek
Before I had burned out casting bullets while competing in 1000 yard black powder cartridge rifle. I used to cast one hour per day to obtain the bullets for a weeks practice, I culled anything not visually perfect and then weighed each bullet, then I culled everything not within 1 grain + or -, so as a result out of 100 bullets cast, I would keep an average of 40.
I also hunted with cast bullets in my Sharps rifles, A shlio# 1 Sporting rifle and a orginal engraved Borshardt, both in 45-100. I lived in the middle of an elk herd for many years and as a result I have killed 50 elk in my lifetime, but the real fun was the 5 elk I killed with the big singleshots and cast bullets, I have shot some nice bulls, but my real trophy was a spike I killed with a 500 grain cast bullet, cast in a Lee pot powered by my solar pannels, I always called it my solar bullet.
I eventually sold all my reloading and casting equipment, including over 30 molds, and traveled for a few years.
Then when I bought my Ranger 45, I had Accuratemolds build me a .452 bullet mold that weighed slightly over 400 grains. I knew my bore dimensions and had the mold made precisely the same diameter as the bore, which is somewhat different that what you would do with a firearm.
With that bullet I have shot under an inch at 100 yards and achieved over 600 FPE.
Airguns do not deliver an expanding push as do firearms and in particular black powder arms, so they must be the same size or perhaps.0005 over.
I had read posts from Marvin Mello about his casting for his Condor 25 using a 25 acp bullet, Marvin had miked his barrel and he was around .2495, so a bullet coming out of his RCBS mold at .251 was just right after a little sizing with a Lee Prescision die. Lee does not make a standard die for the 25 so you have to have them custom made..
Problem was my LW barrel measured .2545, but I ordered a mold anyway hoping I could make it work. I also ordered a .253 sizing die from Lee Prescision, thinking I could make it larger if need be.
LW barrels are all over the map in dimensions. And they are choked of course, so when you slug the barrel you must push the expanded slug into the breech and a few inches down the barrel, then push it back out the breech, the choke in the last inch or so will be considerably smaller, mine meansured .251. To date the mold only cast bullets in the .252 to .253 realm, so I have had flyers.
My intial groups with unsized/undersized bullets and 30-1 lead were in the inch range at 38 yards with flyers taking them out to 1.5 inches. I started experimenting with alloys with more tin, 20-1 and Lyman #2 alloy until I had a hard bullet, but even then when I looked into the choked end of the barrel, only the rifleings had lead smears on them, indicating my bullets were still undersize. But my groups also tightened up, at 50 yards the typical 5 shot group will be .5 to .6 inches, with a 1 out of 10 flyer that takes the group to 1.2 iches. I can measure the bullets diameter and pretty much pick which bullets will be flyers.
What I do get is incredable power from my Condor. I have been able to push these bullets at 1025 FPS which equates to 120 FPE. To take that into perspective, a 25 acp at the muzzle is doing 750 FPS, the Condor is doing 750 FPS at 145 yards!
Usually I keep the velocity at 950 or so for now.
I sent the RCBSmold off last week to Hollowpointmolds in Corvalis Oregon. Erik alters conventional molds into Hollowpoint molds, and he also cuts molds to a larger diameter. I am having him cut my mold to .0005 over my barrel diameter and also add a driving band to the nose. Erik can also remove a gas check from a mold, something really not needed on a air gun bullet, for we have no heat as firearms do, and as a result do not need gas checks or lube.
But even a cold lead bullet rubbed against steel will tansfer lead onto the steel. Some do not use any lube on air gun cast bullets, I however do use lube on my bullets, I spray them with moly. I have experimented with different lubes, everything from Transmission fluid to Johnsons paste wax, and see no difference other than they are messier than moly.
I have ordered a 2nd mold, a Lyman 25-20 mold that throws a 65 grain gas checked SWC bullet, which could be a great hunting bullet. But either bullet will give tremendous penetration. The 25 acp bulets will shoot thru my Morrel crosbow target.
Hopefully in another week or two I will have the molds back and more information.
Regards,
Roachcreek