Accuracy ? Ruger 77/44

[Skip Sackett]

Hi Smithcrazy, here is a pic of a five shot group produced by 11 Grains of Unique.
Ian (Teasel)

Very nice, Ian, very nice.

I think you were asking about my moulds. I have had several for 44 caliber. One was a 209gr LSWC from Lee. That 6 gang mould could really put the bullets out. Then I got the H&G #503 that I gave over $200 for. Sold it a year later and made money!

After that I went to two different moulds, one was another Lee. The 210gr LRNFP cowboy bullet. That one shoots pretty well from the Marlins.

Now, I have two Mihec copies of the H&G #503. They are bigger in diameter than the H&G which suits the Marlins better too. My M629 Classic has no clue that they are bigger!

Then I have a new mould on order too. It is a Mihec mould too. It is a RNFP in 295gr in solid form and 265gr in round HP version. Single grease groove. The HP is absolutely a cavern!

I am working like a DOG right now and haven't the time to work through this with the Ruger. In the near future though...........

 

[Skip Sackett]

Got a break from work today and got a gift (had to pay for it) in the mail, so I thought I would put the gift to work right away.

The gift was a mould I had ordered a while back from mp-molds.com, Miha from Slovania. The mould is called a 434640 HP. It came with both round pins and some special pentagonal pins that are his special creation. If you think that things with 5 sides cannot fly straight, don't try to recover a bullet that you shot from your Smith revolver. (5 lands and grooves )

So, here is a dummy round picture:

This one shows the deep cavernous hollow point. It is actually so deep in the bullet that it extends inside past the crimp groove!

This bullet is nice because it will fit in the magazine of the M77/44 when crimped in the groove, something the H&G #503 will not do. Both bullets (boolits) have the same seating depth but with the rounder nose it is a tad bit shorter. The bearing surface is a bit longer for this same reason. I think that will be a win/win for this caliber and rifle combination.

The mould did need to be pretty hot as well as the alloy. It needs a bit more tin that I am used to putting in an alloy to fill out but, it turned out some really good bullets in a hurry.

So, just one more picture and then, I will have to do some load development.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention, in this configuration, this weighs just what the H&G #503 does! In the solid "mode" it is about 295gr.

At any rate, thought this would be a neat bullet to work up loads for too.

 

[Teasel]

Hello Smithcrazy, that bullet looks interesting.Where did you say you got the mould from, Slovania ? are you talking about somewhere in Europe?

I have moulds in various calibres all of them made by Lee.At the moment I am buying bullets as my Lee Production Pot has a blocked spout. When I get time I will dismantle it and try and fix it.

By the way what do you do for a job? You seem to put in a lot of hours.
Ian(Teasel)

 

[Skip Sackett]

Hello Smithcrazy, that bullet looks interesting.Where did you say you got the mould from, Slovania ? are you talking about somewhere in Europe?

I have moulds in various calibres all of them made by Lee.At the moment I am buying bullets as my Lee Production Pot has a blocked spout. When I get time I will dismantle it and try and fix it.

By the way what do you do for a job? You seem to put in a lot of hours.
Ian(Teasel)

Hi Ian,
Yes, the moulds come from a man named Miha and he is making them in Slovania in Europe. He has a web site, mp-molds.com

Go and check him out. Over on castboolits.gunloads.com, in the "Group Buy" section, you can find many styles and configurations that he is currently making or going to make.

Lee 6 cavity moulds are great in their "flat nose" or SWC profiles. I have had some problems with their RN versions especially the "1R" variety.

As for this bullet (boolit to us yank casters ), I just got my mould Saturday and went right to work with it! It casts like a dream and the boolits, OH MAN, the BOOLITS! They are simply beautiful and the round hollow point pin makes some awesome cavities! WOWSERS!

I took some to the range tonight to run them through the rifle and the Classic. All in all I was pretty pleased. In the configuration in the picture, they weight right at 250gr but their bearing surface is much longer than the H&G #503.

I'll tell you what though, I was pleasantly surprised tonight. I loaded some of the H&G #503 to a bit higher velocity than before and they seemed to shoot better out of the rifle. The boolits pictured above, did OK but not superb.

The H&G #503 shot great out of the handgun and so did the 434640 (profile above). I must admit though, there is a bit of leading in the handgun so, I may have to work on the alloy a bit for this velocity!

As to the type of job I have; I am an "Electronic Machine Automation Specialist". That is a fancy title for a guy that does system integration for machinery. I design, build, install, program and configure every aspect of specialized machine controls. Mostly PLC (Progammable Logic Controllers) but I have some PC controls that I designed running in the field too. Variable Frequency Drives for AC motors, DC Drives and Fanuc robotics also. I troubleshoot all manner of machine controls on manufactured machinery, such as CNC and process controls such as paint lines, roll former lines and metal working machines too.

All in all, I stay super busy. For a time I was working as an Electrical Controls Engineer at a local manufacturing firm but, they wanted me to work a ton of hours and be on salary based on 40 hours! I had promised them I would stay 1 year and made it 11 1/2 months. When the boss freaked out because I wanted to go home a half hour early the day after I worked 14 hours, I said; "That's enough!" and gave my 2 weeks notice the next day.

The problem in my field that I notice is that there are no younger folks coming down the pike to take my place! I spoke with a Chinese man that emigrated to Japan and then to Canada and he said that he saw the same thing all across the world! So, either I will have to wait until I am 90 to retire OR there is going to be a fairly big hole (and not just because of my 6'2", 270lb frame either) when I am gone or someone will have to start filling those gaps now!

Thanks for the interest. Hope I didn't bore you!

 

[Teasel]

Hi Smithcrazy, had a look at mp molds.com Wow, those moulds look very nice. I may get one myself.

I tried 11.9 grains of Unique behind a 250 grain gas checked bullet and the group is getting smaller with increased velocity. And also no sign of those occational flyers that I used to get.

Found a source of HS-6 powder so I will try your load of 14.0 grains of the same.

I am a retired Technical Illustrator. I do a lot of painting and occasional art jobs for my agent.
You may want to checkout my website [url=http://www.ianappleyard.co.uk
Ian(teasel)
If that does'nt work just go in to Google search and put in ian appleyard artist.

 

[Skip Sackett]

Ian,
I'm about as "artsy" as an orangutan! Most primates can paint or draw better than I can! Never could get it from my mind to paper! The link worked and your stuff looks really cool. Congrats!

I have two of Miha's moulds that I am working with for this rifle. One is the old standby of Elmer Keith's 250gr LSWC copied from an H&G #503 (THE 44Mag BULLET) mould, the other bullet is the 434640.

The latter has much more bearing surface that should translate into more accuracy because of how it grips the rifling. I haven't been able to prove out any of my loads with HS-6 yet so, hold off buying some. Lots of things going on here with work and family and all. Hopefully next week I will be able to get to the range.

I did cast up a bunch of those 434640 bullets a little harder than I usually cast them last night. I used 20% Linotype to 80% wheel weights and water quenched them right out of the mould. I would imagine that that may make the hollow point too brittle to be good on larger game at rifle velocities but, I am going to push these really hard and see what I get.

In all honesty, these are the best moulds I have ever used. Listen, I have some original H&G moulds, so that is saying a lot. The bullets seem to FLY out of them and if you use a decent amount of tin in your alloy, they fill out wonderfully. Some of the sharpest corners I have ever seen on cast bullets, seriously.

The next loads will be with either H110/W296, 2400 or Lil' Gun. Cannot make up my mind yet. Living in the States poses all kinds of problems, too many choices might just be one of them! (Just kidding around!)

Glad to hear that your loads are doing better. Keep us apprised of how things progress!

 

[Teasel]

Hi Smith crazy, one of the main problems with boolit casting over here is that linotype is so difficult to get hold of and wheel weights are often made frome something other than lead.
Ian(Teasel)

 

[Skip Sackett]

Ian,
Just another reason to emigrate!

All kidding aside, ebay has lead, mostly wheel weights, and Linotype can be purchased other places online.

Old pipes, there should be plenty of them around. Over here they were all made out of lead at one time. What about the scrap yards? Are there any that recycle metals over there?

Check out Rotometals online. They have whatever you want. Not sure about shipping across the pond though.

 

[Teasel]

Hi Smithcrazy, yes , have plenty of lead, just need the hardner.. yes you are right there must be some where on line where I can get linotype. I will try that link you sent me. Actually I do have a dwindling ammount in my shed but it won't last much longer.
Ian (Teasel

 

[buck460XVR]

Hi Smithcrazy, yes , have plenty of lead, just need the hardner.. yes you are right there must be some where on line where I can get linotype. I will try that link you sent me. Actually I do have a dwindling ammount in my shed but it won't last much longer.
Ian (Teasel

I have a friend that uses 95/5 solder to increase the hardness that you can find at most hardware or plumbing supply stores. Don't know how he determines how much, but he shoots a lot of lead. He has given me some of his bullets to shoot and they shoot well. He's been trying to get me started into casting my own also, but I don't have the space nor the time right now.

 

[Teasel]

Yes I could try solder.
Ian(Teasel)

 

[Teasel]

11.5 Unique

Hi Smithcrazy,finally settled on 11.5 grains of Unique, at least until I can try some HS-6 or maybe 2400. See attached photo.
Ian(Teasel)