RE: Shot some very good groups
 

BIG.PAUL
Well I sure am glad some body besides me has shot conicals out of a TC and had good results. I keep seeing these posts that say it can not be done and it has never even been a problem for me. Good shooting, it takes a reasonable steady hand to keep an inch group. Lee

RE: Shot some very good groups
 

My guess is the mold is sized for pure lead, and your lead has a small amount something else in it that causes them to come out on the light side. Not surprising at all. When you have "too much" tin or other metal in the mix, the bullets come out even lighter, and oversized, which can really be a problem.

I'd say you'd never have a problem obtaining hunting accuracy with bullets that vary in the 5 gr range, but of course, the less variation the better.

That is great shooting. I've had days when I got groups like that at 50 yds. I've wondered how I'd do at 100, but since my Renegade wears a peep and my eyes aren't that great anymore, I think those limitations would contribute to more inaccuracy than the gun. It is fun when you can call shots, and know exactly where the bullet will hit when the gun goes off.

RE: Shot some very good groups
 

Unclenorby
I'm not sure if there is anything other than lead in my bullets. I melted down some Speer .535's to make these. Does anyone know if they are pure or not?
But when you mention bullet size outcome, I had made some bullets that were high in tin and antimony (not on purpose) and they came out SMALL, they were out of the same mold but they came out at .501 at the base .502 in the middle and .503 at the point. When I used the Speer lead they were .50155, .50267 and .50445 which really fit well in my barrel

RE: Shot some very good groups
 

No kidding? I've never seen that.

As it was told to me, impurities in the lead do not allow it to shrink (when cooling) as much as lead does. So impure bullets come out oversized.

Perhaps this varies among the kinds of impurities one is likely to get in their lead?

If you used commercially obtained lead, my guess is that any impurities that were in it were intentional, and probably help fill the mold. I could be wrong on that.

RE: Shot some very good groups
 

I found it strange too, I have worked with metal for 25 plus years and have not had that happen before. Heck maybe it has something to do with the elevation (7035 ft) I live at?

I have another question, I have heard of guy's making their bullets buy cooling the mold in water? did I hear that right? I thought if the mold was to cold the lead wouldn't flow into all the little grooves in it.

RE: Shot some very good groups
 

only bullet that got in my hawkins .50 cal for 37 years was the 370 MAXIBALL for buck.

no doubt it is a great bullet in a 1-48 twist

now, my best is the 295 HOLLOWPOINT POWERBELT for a buck.

RE: Shot some very good groups
 

Never heard of using water on the mold. Maybe they meant dropping the bullets from the mold into water?

I always drop them onto a soft pad andlet them cool on their own.

RE: Shot some very good groups
 

May be that is what I was hearing, and yes I let mine air cool to. Also I agree I love the Maxi-ball. I'm not sure that barrel twist has as much to do with the bullet being accurate has we think. The thing I found funny is, I'm biulding a 10/22 for my son, to improve accuracy with sub sonic bullet I'm going to use a 1:6 instead of a 1:16 twist which is the standard twist for most 22 cal. These barrels are made for the bigger slower bullet. However in a muzzle loader they say I need a 1:38 or slower to shoot a bigger slower bullet. Go figure!

RE: Shot some very good groups
 

if you want to test something.

take a MAXI-BALL and shoot.

take a MAXI-HUNTER and shoot.

only difference is LENGTH or BALANCE OF BULLET.

after you do that, let me know results