Just another mould..or two.

[Distant Thunder]

Kurt,

I'll still follow you, you just leave a trail of metal chips and I will have no trouble at all.

I think to heat treat HSS you need to get up to something around 2000 degrees, but I can check on that the next time I'm at my shop. I was there today but working on the building and getting cleaned up to sell the place. There is a lot of work to do yet. The good news is if this deal goes thru the guy that wants it won't be ready to move in until 2022. That would give most of next year to get a building up here at home and move the machines I kept. The bad news is it could be years before I can ever find any of my tools that were in the same place for 30 years and are now some place else! I spent 15 minutes today walking around looking for my claw hammer! Then looking for my drill index! Then looking for my combination square. Since I moved out the machines I sold everything just got picked up and move and I have no idea where most of it is. It's in one pile or another!

If that's the same .44 caliber Sage mold that you gave me some bullets from then I would don't mess with it. That bullet shot very well in my .44-77. The problem with committing to a 2-D paper patch is it does limit your seating depth. I am impressed with how well this BACO 4315520 bullet shoots seated .330" in the case. I'm going to test my 2-D elliptical seated that same depth tomorrow if all goes well. That will be .230" deeper than it's designed to seat, but it could still work well I think.

[Kurt]

Well Jim if your needing more of those Sage I can send the mould and you can cast your supply or I can send a few so you can have some to send to BA or Steve and have a mould duplicated.
I have no problem in a accuracy change seating the bullets deeper with a slight change of a powder load or compression. It just takes a little change with the load to get the same results.
I know what your saying about moving things around. I moved my mole den upstairs and some things are placed at a different location on the basement floor to get the room empty for the Mill and Lathe. I put the mill down there but when I got the Lathe the 600 pounds was just to much for me to slide down a couple planks on the stairway getting it done plus the 1" thick plate steel tables 36" X 43" with 1/4" X 3" square tube megs they have I have trouble moving them on a concrete floor so they stay up in the garage and the mill will end up there also when my Son and Son-in-law show up next time to do the carving up from the basement LOL. Garage is now heated so it will be good messing with projects there.
Good move keeping some of your tooling. It now turns into fun instead of making a living with them.

[Distant Thunder]

Thank you for the offer to use you mold again but always feel a little uneasy using someone else's mold. Those are kind special things, those molds and a good is worth a lot coin. I'm always afraid I'll misplace it and it could take me awhile to find it. I have a handful from the last time I had that mold.

The accuracy I got with your Sage bullet made me really want this latest one from BACO. The two are similar except the BACO bullet is a little more blunt and the nose is shorter too, but those are good things. This BACO bullet shows some very good results right out of the gate. I can already see that it's going to be a good one.

I have to say that this .44-77 has shot well with all three paper patch molds I've bought so far and there will be more molds. It has been a very easy cartridge to get good accuracy with using paper patch bullets.

I've moved more than a few machines in my time and I'm not done yet, but I have never moved them up and down stairs! And I don't want to, ever!

In early December we moved my BIG lathe. It is about 17 feet long and weighs some 6000 pounds, it's pretty good size. We jacked it up and put 3 large machine rollers under it, 2 under the head and 1 under the tail. The three of us pushed it around the corner and to the back of the shop with ease. Stirring is the hard part. We use my 2 overhead hoists to lift it 4 feet in the air and backed the trailer under, set it down and winched it forward. Piece of cake! A job pretty well done for country boys. That was the second time I've moved that lathe and I hope I never have to move it again.

[J.B.]

Well ..its been a while...and since we havent been able to travel within our state for the last few month and get to ranges..... well..what can I say. Yes, I've ordered some new moulds. Both brass moulds from Accurate...one a twin cavity for my 357. Catalogue #36/169D which arrived a few weeks back and another twin cavity now on order and hopefully will see in early November. Toms obviously fairly busy so at least I can rest easy knowing the 'mould of the month club' membership is very healthy and growing all the time . The 357 mould does take a while to warm up..with those small cavities but is throwing a very sharp looking bullet. Its fairly long forward of the crimp groove but was designed to clear the cylinder in my Trooper which its doing just nicely. Now when I get to shoot it ..could be the big question.
Likely the more interesting to members... a twin cavity dual design/dual calibre mould for 40 & 44 . The 40 being # 40/414P and the 44 version # 44/489P. The longer dd bullets I had designed through Rick at Kal have done well but were really suited to the 1/17" rifle in the U.S. As I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever see that again I've these to play with in my 1/19 44 and 1/14 40 back home. Provided of course we are allowed to get to a range. Didnt post the pictures as I feared the files may be too big but the catalogue numbers will get you there. FYI.

best regards from Down Under... J.B.

[Distant Thunder]

Gavin and all,

'Tis the mold ordering season! I am working with Rick at KAL on a new .44 caliber nose pour adjustable mold along the design of the original Sharps long range bullets. I am excited to get back to my .44-77 after a needed break to reassure myself that I can still shoot reasonably well.

I went with another nose pour adjustable because the one I have from BACO has been a good producer. I'll go with a diameter that will use 55W paper because that is working well with BACO mold. I'm going with a bore diameter over a 2-D because my .44-77 really seems to like the straight bullets and I like the the flexibility bore diameter gives me in seating depth which goes well with what I have found to be a very interesting trait of this cartridge.

The choice of the Sharps design is because 1) it's soooo cooool and 2) I believe it is a good design accuracy wise. There were 3 designs I wanted to work with in the .44-77 when I set out to have one, elliptical, Metford and Sharps, this is the last of the the three. My only fear is that having all three designs will not necessarily mean the "need" for new molds will be over.

In a conversation with another paper patch shooter yesterday we both agreed that the box(es) of old molds that most BPCR shooters have sitting around is part of the cost playing the game. For me part of the fascination with these rifles is the projectiles they shoot, it's why a choose paper patch. I have to confess that I have fallen behind in keeping up with my end of The mold a Month Club, sorry! I'm doing the best I can. Hopfully once my new shop is built and I get my machines running I can supplement my buying with making my own molds once again. Does that count toward my monthly requirement? I hope so!

Until next month then!

[J.B.]

Good to hear from you Jim ..and another mould can't be a bad thing....can it ? I've a couple of straight sided paper patch designs, one from Steve Brooks and another from Buffalo Arms. Both of these are nose pour and perform well. ..They also keep my frustration levels down when wrapping when compared to d/d bullets. I'll get there one day.. I'm sure ! I've a 40 cal on the drawing board with Rick at Kal but yet to give it the go ahead. I think he's been pretty busy and likely still recovering from a health set back he had earlier this year. Judging from Accurate wait time now, he must have quite a waiting list too. Incidentally...a correction to my previous post in so far as the 40 is a 1/16" ...not 1/14". Didnt know
that option was there at the time or I would have ordered the faster twist. I just dont seem to be able to win with leading & gg in that rifle and so I'll go the paper patch route with a d/d and see if I cant solve that problem. The new 44 mould is a little flat at the tip as it has to have the 1/8" meplat but as long as this flat is not overly large in comparison with the overall bullet diameter, its not proven a major issue for me in the limited shooting I've done. Most nose pours end up
around a 1/10" meplat or close to it anyway. It may be a problem , long range with the 40/70 but it was a convenient and less expensive way of testing the water. It also allows me to plan for another mould if it works out. The steel 50 cal
d/d pp mould that Tom did for me worked a treat in the 50/90 and it has the 1/8" flat at the tip. Barely notice it on a bullet that large though. Would have to concede that a bullet mould is a bullet mould...so home produced would likely still keep you in the club I think. Hopefully we'll get to a range next month as we've lost the last three months already to our more recent restrictions.
J.B.

[Distant Thunder]

It's my understanding that a small flat at the tip in not a concern in transonic shooting. It is effe tively a radius of the same size. I read that somewhere many years bad but have forgotten where. It sure doesn't bother me in a nose pour and the perfect base is a good trade off.

I never cared for adjustable molds before but I'm finding it an advantage with the .44-77, so I have have learned to accept the idea.

I feel bad for the shooter down under and for you being separated from your rifle over here. I don't believe things are going to return to "normal" any time soon and that we will see more restriction attempted here before long. This thing isn't going away!

[J.B.]

Not as traditional as your Brooks mould Jim but I've cast a few from my new , dual diameter, dual cavity, dual calibre mould from Accurate and as per normal I cant fault his workmanship. I've included a couple of photos which I'm hoping I can remember to upload. One photo includes a bullet from the BACo, hollow base fixed length bullet I had Dave organise for me and its alongside the Accurate Molds example which is a dual diameter. The other photo shows the two including their bases, alongside the 40 cal design I had Tom cut in the same blocks. Both the Acc. designs are 1.33" long. The BACo is designed around my 1/17" rifle and measures 1.398" long ..though its likely to get a work out in the 1/19" back home...if I'm ever allowed to get to a range. That original Postel-original Sharps design you've had Steve Brooks make up certainly looks the goods though and looks a lot like the gg Postel he made me up at the beginning of my adventures some years back. The ogive radius looks to be virtually identical...and its always shot very well. If I get to the States this year...and I'm praying I can... the gg Postel bullet is likely the one I'll be bringing as a ready supply of commercially available, quality cast 44 rifle projectiles seems non existent at present. Of course I could always bludge of Kurt again as I shot my best score at Big Hill when using his patched ammo. Clearly....the learning never stops.

[Distant Thunder]

J.B.

Good looking bullets all. How about a picture of the mold? That would answer a lot of questions.

[Kurt]

I have several moulds from Tom at Accurate Moulds, both Iron and Brass, they are top quality.
I asked Tom if he would ever tool up to make a elliptical nose but never got a reply back about this.

Gavin,
If you ever make it back over and I have not retired form shooting out west, you will get a supply of my torpedoes so you and your mate can reload.