New .44 caliber Brooks mold.

[Distant Thunder]

When started casting again things went much better and the bullets were not too bad looking. I cast about 65 bullets and weighed them. The first 5 I kept were light at 511 grains and then they settled in at 512 up to 513+ with a few at 514+. This is a lot more spread than I’m used to, but it is a start. The bullets I cast today were with the mold set to the maximum length, 1.450”-ish.

I was impressed with how easy the mold filled and I only had few that had bases that didn’t fill out completely as I first started casting again. The bullets drop from the mold when it’s opened as I give the hinge bolt a tap with a light dead blow hammer. Casting, once the mold was hot, was fast and easy. It is a heavy mold and it does not get lighter with use.

The patches I had cut are .930” wide and with the bullet being that long I would really need 1.000” wide patches to have a comfortable folder over. I wrapped one with my 8 lb. Staedtler sketch paper and ran it through my size die just to see how it would fit in the bore of my .44-77. It went through the size die very easy. It slid into the bore with some light resistance and pushed through to the muzzle easily, almost a little too easy I think.

So I wrapped another with my 9 lb. Paper Mill paper and ran it through my size die. It was a good push through the die but not hard. Then I pushed it into the bore and through. It was a bit tighter and pushed a bit harder toward the muzzle. The barrel seems to have a slight bit of choke to it.

It looks like both papers could work so I’ll test to see which is best. Any shooting will have to for awhile yet, but at least I have an idea how the mold will cast and what patches I will need.