What size bullet do i need?

[Shorty]

Wishing someone would chime in here that is a bullet caster. I have a lyman .54 cal., new barrel that i shot the other day. I shot patched bullets with good accuracy. I want to shoot a conical bullet for deer to get their attention a little better. I had .542” no excuse bullets on hand to shoot, they loaded too easily for me to feel good lugging the gun around the woods for safety purposes of the bullet moving off the powder charge. How many thousands should i go up in diameter to get a tighter fitting bullet so safety and accuracy would be attainable? I think the bullets are mostly pure lead that are available to me commercially. Thank you shorty..

 

[anonymouscowherd]

The .54 425gr maxis from Dixie Gun Works measure .547 at widest part (front edge), seat well in my CVA and gives acceptable accuracy with medium heavy charges of 3Fg real black

They are also cheap-ish at about 47c/ea delivered

 

[Shorty]

Thank you sir for the quick reply. I will look into getting some of these to try. I have never got into shooting conicals, i would very much like to cast my own. Just trying to figure out a few things before i order a mold that doesn’t work for me..

 

[anonymouscowherd]

Thank you sir for the quick reply. I will look into getting some of these to try. I have never got into shooting conicals, i would very much like to cast my own. Just trying to figure out a few things before i order a mold that doesn’t work for me..

You could always try casting the bore and measuring

Or pm me your address and Ill drop a couple in the mail

 

[Shorty]

I will except your generosity and will gladly repay some how.. ty

 

[idahoron]

I'm assuming you are using pure lead. You might try to bump the hardness is bit.

 

[Shorty]

Not casting yet, trying to find a satisfying bullet for loading pressure and decent groups. Ty. On another note, been doing some paper patching with 9# onion skin. Thanks to your videos, they even make shooters out of us novices..

 

[Harleysboss]

I bought a 54 cal conical from Bullshop last year for my TC renegade. I have a few left and just measured one. They are .545 on my caliper. I have to size them down for a proper fit in my TC. The bullets come lubed with his BP lube. The bullets are cast from a Mountain Molds @ 420 grains. Look up Bullshop Bullets, if you have ever read about the NASA lube, that's where you get it. [email protected] is the business email.

 

[Shorty]

I bought a 54 cal conical from Bullshop last year for my TC renegade. I have a few left and just measured one. They are .545 on my caliper. I have to size them down for a proper fit in my TC. The bullets come lubed with his BP lube. The bullets are cast from a Mountain Molds @ 420 grains. Look up Bullshop Bullets, if you have ever read about the NASA lube, that's where you get it. [email protected] is the business

 

[Shorty]

Thank you, i will gladly do that…

 

[deermanok]

Patched round balls in the 54 are pretty solid for deer hunting.
I tried some 54 caliber Powerbelts in my gun last year but the round balls were way more accurate.

 

[drpatton]

I had .542” no excuse bullets on hand to shoot, they loaded too easily for me to feel good lugging the gun around the woods for safety purposes of the bullet moving off the powder charge.

Perhaps you should experiment with the No excuse bullets to see if they will move. Load it and tap the end of the barrel on a slab of wood with a protector for the muzzle. Try to dislodge it. Use your ramrod to check for movement.

 

[idahoron]

Perhaps you should experiment with the No excuse bullets to see if they will move. Load it and tap the end of the barrel on a slab of wood with a protector for the muzzle. Try to dislodge it. Use your ramrod to check for movement.

I honestly don't think that test is a valid test. I doubt that any projectile could pass the test if a person was willing to do what ever was needed to move the bullet.
There is no natural occurring circumstances that test is replicating.
I have seen some guys do it. But to me it isn't relevant.

 

[drpatton]

I honestly don't think that test is a valid test. I doubt that any projectile could pass the test if a person was willing to do what ever was needed to move the bullet.
There is no natural occurring circumstances that test is replicating.
I have seen some guys do it. But to me it isn't relevant.

I disagree. Yes, a person can be too enthusiastic with banging the bore on the board and that would not tell much. But, a bullet which is supposed to be oversized to the bore, should not move with light to moderate tapping of the bore on a board. If it does, there is a problem.

He doesn't trust his bullets because they went down the bore too easily. Too easily, is too subjective, so we need data. Did the lands engage the bullet? Did that particular bullet have only one driving band? If so, would it hold the bullet in place? If so, by how much? Was the effort to load too easy because the bore was clean?

The best way to find out the answers to the above questions, is by tapping the barrel of a loaded but un-primed rifle, on a cushioned surface to see if the bullet moves. The tapping should simulate the potential drops, jolts and movement of a rifle during hunting. It should be enough to satisfy the hunter his loaded rifle is safe in the woods. If the bullet moves, the hunter now knows for sure, his bullets are unsafe.

This isn't making a mountain out of a molehill. It's using objective data to solve a problem.
The bullets he used, may be perfectly fine. He is just afraid to use them. Or, the bullets may be a real problem. So there is an unknown, which can be figured out.

 

[idahoron]

[/QUOTE]

I disagree. Yes, a person can be too enthusiastic with banging the bore on the board and that would not tell much. But, a bullet which is supposed to be oversized to the bore, should not move with light to moderate tapping of the bore on a board. If it does, there is a problem.

He doesn't trust his bullets because they went down the bore too easily. Too easily, is too subjective, so we need data. Did the lands engage the bullet? Did that particular bullet have only one driving band? If so, would it hold the bullet in place? If so, by how much? Was the effort to load too easy because the bore was clean?

The best way to find out the answers to the above questions, is by tapping the barrel of a loaded but un-primed rifle, on a cushioned surface to see if the bullet moves. The tapping should simulate the potential drops, jolts and movement of a rifle during hunting. It should be enough to satisfy the hunter his loaded rifle is safe in the woods. If the bullet moves, the hunter now knows for sure, his bullets are unsafe.

This isn't making a mountain out of a molehill. It's using objective data to solve a problem.
The bullets he used, may be perfectly fine. He is just afraid to use them. Or, the bullets may be a real problem. So there is an unknown, which can be figured out.

My 45 cal bullets are sized .446 and my 50's are at .501
Both go down very easy, with the 50 being tighter.
Maybe I am just more careful. I have never had a load come off the charge. And that is walking around in high country. Crawling on hand and knees in the desert. And riding on ATV's.
I do check from time to time to keep on top of it. Or if I fall, would be a time to check.
Unless a guy is carrying it upside down. I honestly don't see how it can bump vertically. The only way to use the gun in a barrel down vertical hold, I would say is using it as a crutch?

At .446 my 45 cal's would easily come off the charge. No doubt in my mind. But I don't carry it upside down or use it as a crutch.

 

[drpatton]

My 45 cal bullets are sized .446 and my 50's are at .501

Your bullets are either under or just at bore size. His was very much over bore size. If yours doesn't move, his shouldn't either. But he doesn't know that unless he checks it out.

 

[smokepolehall]

I am a novice at the bore dia. testing. What i do know is your groove dia. is the sealing area. The Lands are what tells you the dia. of bullet. Take my barrel .400, that is the land size. Bullet will become very hard to load if much over bore size, quickly. .003 over would be a hammer smacker with a conical/bullet but a prb will fit .

 

[Shorty]

I am a novice at the bore dia. testing. What i do know is your groove dia. is the sealing area. The Lands are what tells you the dia. of bullet. Take my barrel .400, that is the land size. Bullet will become very hard to load if much over bore size, quickly. .003 over would be a hammer smacker with a conical/bullet but a prb will fit .

Great angle to look at bore diameter..

 

[Shorty]

I will pick u up

 

[brad502a]

You could try "knurling" the bullets between two bastard files. I personally have had issue with no excuses measuring small compared to their advertised size.