Something to share

[Dave Roelle]

Hi Kurt:

Thanks very much for the insights its very very much appreciated !!!----for some reason snow banks are tough to find around here --------------have you any thoughts on the actual hardness of the alloys used ?----------i'm trying to zero in using brinell numbers to understand some of the results you see from your snow bank bullets----------currently i'll be testing 12 Bn stuff using a Brooks Money bullet----i'm betting i'll be just a tad bit on the hard side but its a place to begin. The stack is one rubberized gasket material wad about 0.050 thick followed by either a cork wad or the appropriate grease cookie about 0.125 thick and a milk carton wad under the PP bullet, the bullet is just a light finger push to seat essentially a "zero" clearance fit to bore.

This stack with the grease cookie has had some range success with a Creedmore bullet in 30/1 ----both bullets are right at 517 grains.

Hope to have a sillywett range report in two weeks

Thanks for any insights

Dave

[Kurt]

No Dave I have no idea what the actual hardness is. I have a Saeco and Lee tester and they don't agree with each other. I just use them for reference.
This year the snow was a 10 year cycle of a bad winter. More snow and cold then usual.

[Dave Roelle]

Ok Kurt------thanks for the quick reply

Our winter was WET never too awful cold

Heading to the range

Good shooting

Dave

[Iron Coyote]

Kurt
Thank You again for sharing your results.
I have a few hiding under the snow in the pasture from last weekends fire forming session.
When I find them ,I will have a good look at them. Your photo has me scratching my head on a couple of things.
Thnx Lots
Bob

[Kurt]

Bob.

Your photo has me scratching my head on a couple of things.

That's good!! what are they?

[Iron Coyote]

Kurt
The gas cutting with the felt wads.
I hope the bore size(.4365) ,25/1 L/T will be alright.
I also had some with a.150 grease wad.
These out of the .44 2.6 case.
Recovered slugs will tell all.
Thnx Lots
Bob

[Kurt]

Bob

In my .44/2.6 I have not found a gas cut on a 1/25 T/L bullet with a .023 card over and below a felt wad.

Here are all I have recovered so far and there are more out there. I haven't gone through them except the once I was interested in, but here are some I shot through the .44-77 with the standard Shiloh chamber and they where all cases I had charged with powder and a .023 card wad I wanted to empty out to reclaim the brass. I used a 1/8" felt wad and a .023 under the 1/20 T/L bullet patched a little under bore. Nothing I would load for a match I just wanted to reclaim the cases.

[Iron Coyote]

Kurt
It's good to know that a felt wad does not work with under bore dia.
I guess the next question would be,would a 1/8 lube wad have eliminated this?
Both the gas cutting & the lack of bump up?

That's quit a pile of slugs you have to sort threw!
Have fun.
Thnx Lots
Bob

[Kurt]

Bob.

The felt will work just fine you just need to try the alloy with your powder load. As soon as your snow melts you will find your bullets and they will tell you what you need to do. Loose chambers tight chambers all react a little different.
Like I said before a .45-70 reacts different then the .45-90. My .44-100 (2.6) with a 1/20 alloy gets full engraving where the .44-77 and the .44-75 just barely cut the shank.
Those 25 in the picture are just a fraction of what I have out there and picked up. The strange thing with these 25 is where the gas cut is hardly any engraving cuts from the lands but on the opposite side they are fairly deep , like the gas pushed them over.
The cork wads I use a alloy of 1/19 with a lube wad and a .023. With the 1/17 alloy I sandwich a lube wad between two .023 milk wads and get along just fine this way.

[bruce moulds]

soaking felt wads in lube seems to increase their bumping up capacity.
possibly the lube is less compressible.
keep safe,
bruce.