Power belt 295 harder than you think

[swampratt]

I think i should post here.
I have a valve spring tester and it goes to 700psi..handy tool

Now i took 1 powerbelt hp copper series, and removed the skirt, then
cut off the little nipple.
I cast some lead bullets of my own with soft lead , that i scored at the ,well who cares.

Anyway i put the bullets base to base and compressed them at the same time to 50 psi.

I then measured the bullets,. PB =.633" long.......Homecast(HC)=.737" long
I then turn up the pressure to 550psi, let them relax about 30 seconds ,
then squished them to 650psi.

I then measured..PB=.535" long and .525" diameter
I also measured...HC=.395" long and .572" diameter

Not what i expected...

 

[swampratt]

I just gave the same punishment to wheel weight HC

The length was .734" and went to .660"
The diameter ended up at .504"
That is one hard bullet..

 

[exMember]

That sounds like a cool experiment. Was it a copper coated PB or lead?

 

[Marty1]

I don't know for sure, but I think the lead Powerbelts and the copper series Powerbelts are the same composition wise, except the copper series has a copper jacket. I would suspect the copper series to be stronger than your HC since the copper jacket may add some exterior strength to the lead body. It would be interesting to compare an all lead Powerbelt with your HC and see what happens in the same test.

 

[Marty1]

I don't know for sure, but I think the lead Powerbelts and the copper series Powerbelts are the same composition wise, except the copper series has a copper jacket. I would suspect the copper series to be stronger than your HC since the copper jacket may add some exterior strength to the lead body. It would be interesting to compare an all lead Powerbelt with your HC and see what happens in the same test.

 

[swampratt]

copper and yes that would be a good test...FG send me some pure lead series and i will send you some HC bullets.
You smash them in sand and i smash them in pressure tester

You know how i like smashing

 

[swampratt]

Bought and tested pure lead series. 348gr. .50 cal.
removed skirt and nipple, set up to squish, applied 400psi then 5 seconds went to 650psi..tested 4 bullets all the same way..2 Powerbelts and 2 HC

PB measured.=734" long and .4985" diameter
Test measure=.525" long and .570" diameter

HC measured =.737" long and .501" diameter
Test measured=.533 long and .560" diameter

My lead is a bit harder than the pure lead series powerbelt bullets
I also measured the copper jacket fron the 295Gr, Powerbelt and it came out to .005" ..Qiute substantial,, it had some structure to it .
I took a propane torch and heated the copper to allow the lead to flow out of it then cut it and measured..The copper was quite strong by itself

 

[exMember]

Dang! Where are you getting them for that price? :lol!:

Thats a great test! I actually think with 100gr pyrodex and a sandbucket at 175 yards, they will mushroom just like your tests are showing. I did some shooting with the 405s and they mushroomed a little less than that but i was using a lower powder charge.

Thats a pretty good setup you have there swampratt, thanks for the info.

 

[Marty1]

That was a very interesting test swampratt! That tells me that the Powerbelts are probably pure lead just as they claim. That also tells me that your source of lead for your HC's is probably a lead alloy of some sort, but still has a significant amount of lead in it composition.

Q: Can you scratch your HC's with your fingernail?

I'd also like to see how your HC's hold up in a recovery test. I'll bet they do well.

 

[corey0127781]

does any of us have an lead tester. I know I don't,

 

[swampratt]

the scratch test comes out the same with my HC and the powerbelt no measureable difference..The wheel weight lead is a big difference..

I will melt down some Powerbelt lead and pour into my HC mold and then cool at the same rate as my HC and then retest using the same method..

I do believe it is a tick softer the PB lead..

I was thinking if mine was as soft as the PB lead then i would want to make it a tad harder ,,,But i think it is ,,so good..
I will shoot my HC and recover and post pics. Along with some lead series PB's

 

[exMember]

Its pretty amazing how soft the Powerbelt lead balls are that i make. Just the feel of it, you can tell its soft.

 

[swampratt]

here are a few tested today ..with inserts and without ...30 yards on all but the perfect mushroomed , and that was 75 yards ..into oklahoma sandy clay with lots of accorns and sticks..

Cva bobcat 1:48 .50 cal 90gr. pyrodex rs. 338

My bullets are still too hard to load and the nose deforms upon entry

 

[Marty1]

Are your bullets too hard to load because they may be slightly oversized, or is the lead too hard? Do you air cool or water quench? I think the way in which they cool also an influence on how hard the bullet ends up in the end.

 

[swampratt]

I have a lee sizer made for pistol bullets, It sizes the bullet to .501" as
you push the bullet through it..And i know that .498" needs to be held in place as it will just drop in the muzzle

So .501" was the only sizer close without being too small (.498")

I am currently tweaking some more ..And i have tried hard and soft lead and both load the same'''Too much surface area with no lube groves is another problem..
I do not want to follow the group and do the lube grooves.

 

[exMember]

Lube them bullets maybe.

those powerbelts with the inserts look very good! Especially if that stuff youre shooting into is clay.

 

[swampratt]

did lube

Yes one of them did not penetrate..That is the one closest to the front right side up
It caved in the clay like a baseball and destroyed the paper plate and then flipped over onto the top of the pile of clay dirt..Weirdest thing and at 30 yards..that was with an insert.

one without an insert was never found .I hit high and it skipped and smashed the backdrop wood fiber wall and made a big dirty splat and disappeared

 

[exMember]

dang!

 

[Marty1]

I'm starting to see a trend here lately with the recent Powerbelt testing...that being hollowpoint Powerbelts seem to hold up much better recovery-wise with the right insert.

 

[exMember]

Yep. If i could make the aerotip i would but its just to expensive * if you can find the person to do it!*

Its easier to just make the plug. And seeing how that they are working so well, i dont think will bother with any other designs for a while.