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Buster Brown

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I’m shooting:
Knight Ultralight .50 (.501 bore)
RWS No 11 Caps
777 FFFg
Restricted to full bore conicals in OR, all lead or all copper.

Got the 250 Grn Thor’s shooting well, so I started to experiment with some of the Lead Bullets I’ve picked up.

I tried Hornady Great Plains 385 and Power Belt Pure Lead 300 grn. Neither seem to be as highly regarded as the heavy lead conicals, but they were immediately available.

Accuracy was non-existent. Up, down, left, right... shifts of 8 plus inches between shots. When I hit paper.

Both bullets are hollow points. The Great Plains were hard to seat through the muzzle and I noticed my cylindrical loading jag was making a circular ring on the ogive. I switched to a cone shaped loading jag and it didn’t seem to help. The Power Belt Pure Leads were easier to seat in the muzzle, and only made a light ring on the ogive. Cone shape jag also didn’t seem to help. Note: once through the muzzle they both slid down the bore relatively easily.

I noticed I was getting lead smears on the post shot patches with both bullets. I have heard “leading” mentioned in passing on here, so I backed the charge down to 70 grains. I was still getting lead on the post shot patches. Didn’t see any reason to go lower.

Is this normal? Between the nose and the base being marred, I can’t imagine it was good for accuracy.

I have read about the felt over powder wads, but I don’t have any yet. Are they a necessity for the Heavy Lead conicals?

I have heard the praises of the Heavy Lead Conicals on here, but will I have similar problems (nose marring) with Ed’s, Bullshop, Etc?

I feel alright with the Thor’s on Blacktails, but I do want to get into the heavier lead for Elk.

Just looking for what has worked for others.

Thanks,

Buster
 
Try the heavier Thor bullets or keep trying different loads withbthe Great Plains bullets as a lot of game has been takin with them. Maybe try some lee full size conical a bit honestly I’d feel comfortable shooting an elk with the 250 Thor at closer range.. They expand great as they are a Barnes bullet. Possibly try the hornady FPB
 
I’m shooting:
Knight Ultralight .50 (.501 bore)
RWS No 11 Caps
777 FFFg
Restricted to full bore conicals in OR, all lead or all copper.

Got the 250 Grn Thor’s shooting well, so I started to experiment with some of the Lead Bullets I’ve picked up.

I tried Hornady Great Plains 385 and Power Belt Pure Lead 300 grn. Neither seem to be as highly regarded as the heavy lead conicals, but they were immediately available.

Accuracy was non-existent. Up, down, left, right... shifts of 8 plus inches between shots. When I hit paper.

Both bullets are hollow points. The Great Plains were hard to seat through the muzzle and I noticed my cylindrical loading jag was making a circular ring on the ogive. I switched to a cone shaped loading jag and it didn’t seem to help. The Power Belt Pure Leads were easier to seat in the muzzle, and only made a light ring on the ogive. Cone shape jag also didn’t seem to help. Note: once through the muzzle they both slid down the bore relatively easily.

I noticed I was getting lead smears on the post shot patches with both bullets. I have heard “leading” mentioned in passing on here, so I backed the charge down to 70 grains. I was still getting lead on the post shot patches. Didn’t see any reason to go lower.

Is this normal? Between the nose and the base being marred, I can’t imagine it was good for accuracy.

I have read about the felt over powder wads, but I don’t have any yet. Are they a necessity for the Heavy Lead conicals?

I have heard the praises of the Heavy Lead Conicals on here, but will I have similar problems (nose marring) with Ed’s, Bullshop, Etc?

I feel alright with the Thor’s on Blacktails, but I do want to get into the heavier lead for Elk.

Just looking for what has worked for others.

Thanks,

Buster

The ONLY time i have ever had issues with Leading was when i Chose to Not use an Over Powder Wad. Accuracy comes from the BASE of our Bullets, NOT the Nose. PROTECT your Bullet Bases!!
 
Another Tid bit of advice, Something to try. The Hornady bullets you speak of have a Cupped Base, An Over Powder Wad can be a Problem here due to it “Pushing” up inside that Cup, Defeating the Wads Purpose. Try this loading procedure: Dump your Powder, Push a Wad Down (if using Wool i prefer a .54 Cal Wool Wad in my .50 Bores) Start the Wad Strait, Seat it on the Powder with a Decent push, Now use about a 1/2 of a Cotton Ball, Maybe just a 1/4 of one? Experiment here, The piece of Cotton Ball is to Fill the Cupped Base so the Main Over Powder Wad does Not push up inside the Cupped base. Make sure the Cotton Ball is 100% Cotton :lewis:

Why i prefer Oversize Over Powder Wads
 
Lewis, thanks for the tip on the cotton ball in the hollow base. Honestly that seems like a bit of a hassle, at least for field conditions, so I may just go straight to flat based heavy lead conical.

Oregon recently loosened up the bullet restrictions slightly, so I got some 350 grn Hornady FPBs to try. I’ll have to remove the plastic tips. I understand the FPBs have their own challenges.

I’m also going to try the 300 grn Thor’s (and again, will remove the plastic tips).
 
Thanks for the replies, fellas.

Here is another question about protecting the base of the bullet:

Would the plastic base of the PowerBelt Pure Lead bullet not protect the base of the bullet as well as a wool wad? On that bullet, it’s a post on the base of the bullet that sits in a plastic donut.

I understand now that the base of the bullet is what steers the bullet. So is that post hanging off the back of the bullet just naturally unstable, or is the small tail of the post (that protrudes through the plastic donut) being marred by burning powder and thus causing instability in the projectile?
 
Lewis, thanks for the tip on the cotton ball in the hollow base. Honestly that seems like a bit of a hassle, at least for field conditions, so I may just go straight to flat based heavy lead conical.

Oregon recently loosened up the bullet restrictions slightly, so I got some 350 grn Hornady FPBs to try. I’ll have to remove the plastic tips. I understand the FPBs have their own challenges.

I’m also going to try the 300 grn Thor’s (and again, will remove the plastic tips).

The Cotton Balls as over powder Wads is no different than a Regular wool felt Wad, in fact i feel the Cotton Ball to be easier than Over Size Wool, With oversize Wool you have to pay attention and Get them Started Straight, they have a Tendency to Turn sideways. A Cotton ball on the Other hand, you simply Push it Down! No need to worry about it turning sideways, etc. as it’s not possible. That said, some folks don’t like the added step of any over powder wad.

I have some of the Hornady FPBs as well, They Shot Decent in my .50 Cal LRH Green Mountain Barrel, They are a pretty Stout Bullet to Size the best i can Remember? I had to Size them, they wouldn’t have went down my Bore without a Jack Hammer! I don’t know much about The FPBs? I only Shot them the 1 time, Accuracy was Ok, But nowhere near as good as my Lead Conicals, But Only Shooting the FPBs 1 time is not a Fair test. I need to get Back out with these FPBs again one day Soon
 
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Thanks for the replies, fellas.

Here is another question about protecting the base of the bullet:

Would the plastic base of the PowerBelt Pure Lead bullet not protect the base of the bullet as well as a wool wad? On that bullet, it’s a post on the base of the bullet that sits in a plastic donut.

I understand now that the base of the bullet is what steers the bullet. So is that post hanging off the back of the bullet just naturally unstable, or is the small tail of the post (that protrudes through the plastic donut) being marred by burning powder and thus causing instability in the projectile?
I don't think powerbelt plastic disks would have an adverse effect on bullet bases, any more than sabots effect bullet bases. I still don't use them in my .50 cal, because I could not get good groups. But I think the plastic disk should do as well as a wad, for what it does. I use the 405 grain in my .54, because I haven't found anything else that groups better. Not that I really like it. But pushed too hard, say 100 grains by volume, I get severe leading. Like shards of lead, not little specs. Down to 90 gr by volume, I get specks, and live with it. But I think that is more due to how soft the lead is, than the plastic not doing its job.
 
I have no experience with Powerbelt Bullets, i have never shot them.
 
I'm not a fan of them. I used it once with my Flintlock Lyman Deerstalker. It killed the doe, but it fragmented badly. I think my load at the time was 80gr of Goex 3F.
 
I used to shoot powerbelts. Shoot them slower like a lead conical for best performance. That's essentially what they are but with a copper "coating". Not really a jacket. Never had any leading From the coated versions. But that lil bit of copper lets you push them a bit faster. But the plain lead versions are just a conical with a snap on sub base. Can't drive em too fast. The copper coated ones don't get noticable damage to that post that I ever saw. They shoot accurate for some, not others. When you shoot them too fast they get unpredictable performance, like any conical would, i suspect.
 

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