Heavy lead with a smokeless.

[Mnt monkey]

I'm getting as accurate of groups with these two bullets as I have ever achieved with any of the other high performance smokeless bullets and I'm getting these results in multiple guns all with 18 twist barrels

 

[exarcher]

I recently purchased a hankins 45cal bullet sizer die to size my .458 home cast bullets for my cva optima elete 45-70 conversion. I’m impressed with the die and the load I worked up for it shoots great with no swabbing required. One pic is before sizing and the other after sizing.

How small can one size the 458 bullets with this sizer??? just wondering how much one could shrink a lead bullet without problems?? The fast twist rice barrels require .448 or .449... & how much longer does the bullet become?? thanks!! (encouraging an experiment here!) ;>)

 

[MeatMachine]

How small can one size the 458 bullets with this sizer??? just wondering how much one could shrink a lead bullet without problems?? The fast twist rice barrels require .448 or .449... & how much longer does the bullet become?? thanks!! (encouraging an experiment here!) ;>)

What type of bullet are sizing and from what size? With lead It should size down to .448 without any problems. Even if jacketed it should still be ok. Only length I noticed was some tail fins on the base of the bullets from sizing but I’m sizing from.458 to.453. The fins are very small and not affecting anything in my application. I have trimmed some off to see if it makes a difference but none found at this point. Also I can size them running the base of the bullets through the die first and that eliminates the tail fins.

 

[Leigh Clambakes]

Not trying to brag up Gardners cache, but I think if you contact him, he will custom size for you. He used to offer that service, but that was before powder coating.
I've purchased them unsized, with gas checks in a bag so I could size with my own version of Mirror Lube.

 

[bronko220002]

Want to try something else? I take my .459" cast 405 gr bullets and size them down to .452" then paper patch them bringing the diameter up to .458" for my Pedersoli 1874 Sharps .45-70. They shoot fantastic. No lube and no leading.

 

[MeatMachine]

I’ve shot paper patched in the past with this muzzleloader but not with the bullet I’m using now. I’m thinking about trying it with the bullet I’m using but it’s working well with no leading.

 

[bronko220002]

I recently purchased a hankins 45cal bullet sizer die to size my .458 home cast bullets for my cva optima elete 45-70 conversion. I’m impressed with the die and the load I worked up for it shoots great with no swabbing required. One pic is before sizing and the other after sizing.

Have you tried loading and shooting without sizing? If your mold cast a .458" or .459" bullet and you're using pure lead you may be able to shoot them without sizing and it so would reduce your chance of any leading. Just a thought because a lot of leading issues are caused by bullets being slightly undersized and the bullet "skips" in the rifling.

 

[MeatMachine]

I tried after running the bullet through a lee .454 sizing die and it was a no go short of using a hammer . The lee .458 405gr bullet mold uses narrow and shallow grease grooves. I’m using hanks die adjusted for a slip fit and this is the result using a different smokeless powder from before. This is a three shot group at 60yrds leaning my shoulder against my house. The card board was damp from the previous day’s rain is why the holes are a little ragged.

 

[MeatMachine]

One thing I noticed about this new powder I’m using is the point of impact shifted to the left about three inches unless my scope zero shifted. I was aiming at the circle on the right.