Got rain/snow/sleet this morning and it ruined my deer hunting plans, but the mail delivery gal saved my day from being a total loss. She delivered my new 250 grain Lee REAL mould!
So I fired up the stove in my shop and plugged in the lead pot and set out to salvage the day. Cast up a bunch of the 250 grain REALs and compared them to the 320 grain REALs I usuallycast. They are slightly less in diameter than the 320s. The bullet has bands that contact the bore and wide grooves between the bands. Each band increases in diameter from base to nose. The 320 has 4 bands, the 250 3 bands. They both start out at about bore size(.501 for the 250 - .503 for the 320), and thenincrease to .511, then .516 (where the 250 stops) and the 320 adds a .521 band. The 320 weighs in heavy at closer to 325 grains, but the 250 comes out 5 grains light at 244.9 avg.
Should be easier to load with the deletion of the largest diameter band to engrave into the rifling.
I'm thinking of trying a liquid alox coating for lube on them. Will I have any problems with liquid alox & BP?
I believe we've discussed liquid alox here in the past, and several members DO use it. I went ahead and coated 25 or 30 bullets with thinned lube (alcohol thinner)so they would dry faster.
The chart Lee includes is on the conservative side on load recommendations (fffg BP -22 grains min to 75 grains max), but they add that with modern rifles loads can be increased beyond their suggestions. I'll probably start off with about 70 grains fffg Goex. I use 80 grains fffg Goex with the 320 REAL for good accuracy from my T/C NewEnglander.
Now I have a new bullet to test before the late muzzleloader season the end of this month. If they shoot accurately maybe I'll get a chance to test one on a deer this year!