First time with the Lyman mold
 

Ordered the 370 Maxiball mold off midsouth shooters supply on the 3rd of May and it was delivered today on my Birthday!! :woot:

Just got in and already have a small supply of 68 with ZERO error bullets! That's the first time i ever had done this and didn't have any throw back in, bullets.

I've only weighed one and its 367 grains, Waiting for some lead to melt so I can cast some more to fill up another container.

One hell of a mold though! Well worth the $98 I paid.

Lead should appear in you P.O. Box real soon.

Excellent. Its hard to put this sucker down once you get going! I'm addicted to it now LOL.

Interesting, the mold says .504" but its actually .502"... The tiny line left on the bullets from the mold are the only places that measure .504".

They load great in the Wolf, I have my stuff ready for tomorrow if its not raining/snowing.

All bullets I cast today were within 2.5 grains of each other, I'm not sure if its possible to get any better than that?

Jon,
Are you casting with pretty pure soft lead or is it lead with some tin in it?

Pure soft lead. I melted down a bunch of 440 round balls i had made by buffalo bullets and these are real soft. I think adding some wheel weight lead would expand them a bit, but right now, they fit the bore really darn nice.

I would stay with the soft lead I think.

0 grains would be better. :poke:

MD...

The T/C Maxi-ball has always been one of my favorites. I have shot a number of deer with them and they do a great job of anchoring them quickly if you do your part. Are your mold blocks aluminim or steel? I have both but I prefer the steel ones to aluminum.

BPS

Mine are steel, i think thats all Lyman sells actually.

MD, you make nice bullets.

The look good to me. The front band seems to be engraving the rifling as it should.

Very nice looking bullet. One of my favorite to shoot.

semi, your lead came in today, I will start casting once i shoot the wolf on the range to see how accuracy is. Had 5 big gobblers walking up the road i made to the back property! I got as close as 30 yards for some pictures LOL. My gobbler in the pen was going crazy over them.

MD,

Another thing I forgot to mention, I use a "borebutton", felt wad, whatever one wishes to call them between the powder charge and bullet. Unlike the Lee REAL, the T/C Maxi-ball only engraves at the top ring. I get better accuracy with the overpowder wads. Try some with and without and see what you think and don't skimp on the lube. :nonono2:

BPS

yep i shoot them with the wad trackofthewolf sells. The 510A wad un-lubed right now just to see if the wads need to be lubed or not, Going to try them here in the wolf very shortly.

Dry ones should be fine for target shooting. I always used lubed because I buy them in bulk and the price isn't that much more. Besides, I never liked the thought of a dry one laying out in the woods smoldering after taking a shot while hunting. Our seasons can be pretty dry at times and dry leaves can flare up quick.

BPS

Mine are veg wads, not the felt/wool wads.

Wolf loves them with 80gr BH209! Cutting quarter size hole at 50 yards.

Casting Semis bullets now.

I think they can still burn, not sure because I've never used them...Are they they the hard veg wads like they use in ML shotguns?

BPS

Yes the harder style that looks almost like cardboard only hard. I've found them before on the range, they basically blow apart once they get out of the barrel.

Semi, your 100 bullets are almost done, Just resmoking the mold now and letting some more lead heat up. Should be able to get them in the mail in a few days.

That's great Devil. No rush though. I won't be able to shoot for the next two or three weeks. Was the package in decent shape when it arrived?

Yep it held together, looked antique though LOL. Bullets are done and packaged, 120 of them.

100 bullets, that has to be more than a lifetime supply. A guy gave me a 5 lb. butter tub just about full of Maxiballs about 20 years ago and I still have plenty of them left. They are not a pleasant bullet to shoot at the range so mine have been used primarily for hunting. They are an excellent bullet though, good luck with them.

:s2: Not hardly Pluckit. More like three or four range sessions.

For example, to find the best load I may shoot three or five shots groups at 50 yards with 70, 80, 90, 100 & 110 grains of powder. Then, after finding the most accurate load, I feel compelled to shoot groups at 25, 50, 75 and 100 yards in the next range session, maybe even 125 and 150.

If it shoots real well I may have to throw a few shots at the 150 yard clanger just for fun.

There's lots of lead at the end of my rifle range. :D

I only do that with a PRB. Bullets are too pricey.

I think that there is something wrong with them. Send me all the ones that come out within 3grns to me and I will let you know what I found out later this fall!!!!!! :barmy:

Not if you're casting them yourself Muley, and have a decent supply of pure soft lead.

Nice stash!

Well Flounder, that's only enough for about 7,000 .54 caliber balls or 4.400 of Devil's 370 grain MAXIs. :s2:

It's nice to have a roofer friend. Though it's a bit of a chore cleaning it up the first time and casting ingots. The roof jacks have tar and shnigles stuck to them. They stink and smoke like crazy when you melt them.

I was wondering about the mold you used for the ingots LOL

It's angle iron from an old bed frame. I cut them up with a hacksaw and my neighbor welded them together for me. Simple, cheap and effective. The ingots are about a pound and a half each.

yep 1lb 8oz. I weighted one earlier.

[QUOTE=Semisane;3936161]:s2: Not hardly Pluckit. More like three or four range sessions.

Like I said, personally, I'm not too fond of range sessions using a side lock and shooting Maxiballs. That delivers too much punishment to my shoulder. I got my Hawkins sighted in in one session and only shoot it when hunting after that. So let's say 20 to 30 shots max to sight in. leaving 90 to 100 for hunting at 2 or 3 shots per year. That equals out to about 30 to 40 years of Maxiballs. And that's when I hunted with it every year. And I use to, but since I have inlines to play with now, I never use the Hawkins anymore.

pluckit,

You might as well send that poorly neglected and cast-aside Hawken to me before it develops "ugly sister syndrome" and refuses to shoot well....:biggrin:

BPS

It's far from neglected BPS. It is lovingly cared for. The bore is oiled and the barrel removed and wiped down with an oiled rag on a regular basis. This was my first muzzle loader and has far too much sentimental value for me to ever part with it. I couldn't begin to tell you how many deer I have harvested with it. The first one with a round ball and every one after that with a 370 grain Maxiball, I simply put it into temporary retirement as I delve into the world of in line rifles and other caliber side locks.

I know where you're coming from pluckit, I never meant to imply that it's not lovingly cared for as I'm sure it is. I still have my first ML (a T/C Hawken .50) that my parents gave me for Xmas back in 1971 and I feel the same about it as you do yours. But don't you swear that sometimes when you get ready to head out with another gun that you can faintly hear it crying out... "Take me...please take me"....:sad:

BPS

Heres the new pot with the lyman maxiball mold. Great combo!

I'm NOT getting a flint lock and I'm NOT getting into casting my own bullets. THAT'S THAT!!!

I remember a little buck in particular that I shot with a .54 Renegade loaded with maxiball. I was shooting 70 grains of powder. He walked out all nervous looking. And was about 40 yards away. So I got the rifle up, cocked, and even the set trigger on. And darn if that buck did not start walking straight to me. He got about 20 yards from me and must have sensed something was wrong. So that buck turned to leave. But he turned broadside to me. After the smoke cleared I thought at first I missed him. I mean he disappeared that fast. What it was, he dropped like a stone in the tall grass. And to this day, I do not think it ever knew what hit it. That maxi took him higher in the shoulder then I figured, but the pressure it created.. blew his lungs out. He was dead when he hit the ground.

You are going to like them Gander. But you shoot them in a fast twist.. right?

Nice lead supply there Semisane.....