finally tracked down a unicorn mold for paper patching grendel

[LR1955]

yeah i just clip the tail off the patch once its dry and i size with lanolin after patching to water proof and ensure good fit though im using 25% cotton 9# onion skin so may patches are quite thin and durable (that paper was hard to track down old stock on ebay) but it does make a great patch shrinks up nicely on the bullet and doesnt tear when twisting the tail like printer paper my first trials were with standard copier paper which also works fine but is way more fragile when wet

noe has a paper patch mold that seems intriguing but the now also have a 600 grain smooth sided hp i wouldnt mind playing around with

MGS:

I finally finished up a pack of that 9 pound bond that I bought from Shilo about 37 years ago. Amazon has what they call 10 pound onion skin and I bought a box of it. Will measure it when it arrives. The other weight paper that guys use is 24 pound. It all depends on if you want the bullet to be a bore rider or one that fills the grooves.

I roll the PP bullets over a stamp pad type of affair I bodged together that has some of the Lee liquid Alox on it. Does the same as yours. I have run them through a sizer die too but honestly, I have not noted any difference in performance. And 'performance' with BPCR's shooting black powder with cast bullets is a relative term.

As for hollow point cast bullets, I have had luck with a couple of them but it seems they are hit or miss and I don't know why. I would think very carefully about why I would need one before buying one simply because of the problems with casting uniform hollow point bullets. A PP will protect the barrel from the lead so I would rather go with pure lead and no hollow point for a PP bullet.

600 grain bullet? I have a NEI mold for a 600 grain grease groove bullet that I bought for a 50-140 I owned many years ago. I found the 50-140 to be brutal to shoot and basically useless. A 600 grain bullet didn't make it any nicer to shoot but of all the .50 cal cast bullets I tried to get to shoot out of that beast, the 600 grain one shot the best. I think I was able to shove 120 grains of 1F in the case using a drop tube then compressing it a little.

How are you keeping the paper from hanging up on something before the bullet chambers? I have a breach seating tool for a 38-55 of mine that does a good job of pushing that PP bullet into the chamber and lands without tearing paper.

LR55

[mongoosesnipe]

MGS:

I finally finished up a pack of that 9 pound bond that I bought from Shilo about 37 years ago. Amazon has what they call 10 pound onion skin and I bought a box of it. Will measure it when it arrives. The other weight paper that guys use is 24 pound. It all depends on if you want the bullet to be a bore rider or one that fills the grooves.

I roll the PP bullets over a stamp pad type of affair I bodged together that has some of the Lee liquid Alox on it. Does the same as yours. I have run them through a sizer die too but honestly, I have not noted any difference in performance. And 'performance' with BPCR's shooting black powder with cast bullets is a relative term.

As for hollow point cast bullets, I have had luck with a couple of them but it seems they are hit or miss and I don't know why. I would think very carefully about why I would need one before buying one simply because of the problems with casting uniform hollow point bullets. A PP will protect the barrel from the lead so I would rather go with pure lead and no hollow point for a PP bullet.

600 grain bullet? I have a NEI mold for a 600 grain grease groove bullet that I bought for a 50-140 I owned many years ago. I found the 50-140 to be brutal to shoot and basically useless. A 600 grain bullet didn't make it any nicer to shoot but of all the .50 cal cast bullets I tried to get to shoot out of that beast, the 600 grain one shot the best. I think I was able to shove 120 grains of 1F in the case using a drop tube then compressing it a little.

How are you keeping the paper from hanging up on something before the bullet chambers? I have a breach seating tool for a 38-55 of mine that does a good job of pushing that PP bullet into the chamber and lands without tearing paper.

LR55

since i dont compete in bpcr i dont really do much black powder loading my highwall 45-90 is modern so smokeless powder isnt an issue pressure wise and such but i dont get the bullet bump so i size to groove

i wrap full diameter bullets let them dry and then lube the patch with lanolin and run it through a push through sizer which seems to set the patch into the lead a bit

the high wall has a long throat which is pretty much perfect for paper patching so i just set my length based upon the bullet design seated into the rifling with my 45-70 i short patch them a bit and keep the patch mostly in the case since i cycle them through the lever action for hunting with scoped rifle while working up load i got groups under 2" at 100 yards which i declared was plenty good enough for hunting needs

i hunt with cup point bullets not full hp the noe hp molds some with different pin sets for flat, cup, hp configuration the hp do need to be hotter than flat while casting but they fill pretty nicely the full hp is too violent of expansion for hunting at smokeless velocity of 1700fps

if i get the 600 grain it would pretty much just be a novelty there isnt really anything in north america that some version of a 425gr bullet at 1700 wont take care of and i have a the some more stream lined 500 grain molds if i ever find a place to play with long range http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product...0gr103pc9bnpr3

[Mad Charlie]

I have three 45-70's that I cast for, an '85, and '86, Winchester/Miroku, and a Henry Steel Frame.
The Henry, with its recoil pad is the most comfortable to shoot because the Winchesters both have crescent steel butt plates. I mostly run 405's and 350's at mid range kind of velocities. I don't even want to THINK about a 600gr bullets recoil in my '85 at any kind of higher speeds! Novelty all right! I sure wouldn't want to shoot it from a bench very much.

One thing about it, when you go Buffalo hunting, twofers oughta be easy.

Good luck in your endeavors, keep us posted.

[LR1955]

since i dont compete in bpcr i dont really do much black powder loading my highwall 45-90 is modern so smokeless powder isnt an issue pressure wise and such but i dont get the bullet bump so i size to groove

i wrap full diameter bullets let them dry and then lube the patch with lanolin and run it through a push through sizer which seems to set the patch into the lead a bit

the high wall has a long throat which is pretty much perfect for paper patching so i just set my length based upon the bullet design seated into the rifling with my 45-70 i short patch them a bit and keep the patch mostly in the case since i cycle them through the lever action for hunting with scoped rifle while working up load i got groups under 2" at 100 yards which i declared was plenty good enough for hunting needs

i hunt with cup point bullets not full hp the noe hp molds some with different pin sets for flat, cup, hp configuration the hp do need to be hotter than flat while casting but they fill pretty nicely the full hp is too violent of expansion for hunting at smokeless velocity of 1700fps

if i get the 600 grain it would pretty much just be a novelty there isnt really anything in north america that some version of a 425gr bullet at 1700 wont take care of and i have a the some more stream lined 500 grain molds if i ever find a place to play with long range http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product...0gr103pc9bnpr3

MGS:

My Sharps can be shot with smokeless too but I haven't found any smokeless loads that do well without having to use fillers. Used to be able to get a powder that worked well with the large BP cases. 4759 (?). You couldn't load it grain for grain with black but you could get enough of it into a case that you didn't need filler. IMR brought it back many years ago and I can't find it so I guess they got rid of it again.

I prefer to use duplex loads so I can shoot a string without having to clean. However, I don't shy away from straight black powder either and find it to give more consistent results.

LR55

[mongoosesnipe]

when i want non crushing loads i use imr 4227 and i use cellulose packing peanuts (the ones that dissolve in water) cut with a sharpened case mouth as a filler to hold the powder in the bottom of the case i find around 25 grains gives me a nice mild load with light recoil for plinking

[LR1955]

when i want non crushing loads i use imr 4227 and i use cellulose packing peanuts (the ones that dissolve in water) cut with a sharpened case mouth as a filler to hold the powder in the bottom of the case i find around 25 grains gives me a nice mild load with light recoil for plinking

MGS:

Roger.

I did measure the onion skin I bought via Amazon a week or two ago. .002" which is the same thickness as the paper I bought from Shilo in the early 80's.

LR55

[mongoosesnipe]

MGS:

Roger.

I did measure the onion skin I bought via Amazon a week or two ago. .002" which is the same thickness as the paper I bought from Shilo in the early 80's.

LR55

good to know does it have any cotton/linen content or is it straight celulose i still have about 480 sheets left so probably wont be needing more paper anytime soon but its noce to know its out there