I cant get it any better

[Gunlaker]

Hmm. My previous post seems to be missing.

I just wanted to say thanks for the post and the information regarding alloy and that bullet. This sort of information is very hard to get for most of us and very valuable to anyone who takes this stuff seriously.

This year I'm going to order an elliptical mould for my .45-70 as they've worked quite well in my .38's and I'm curious too see how the .45-70 would like it.

I have one question though, why did you choose that particular weight/length? I've seen some postings regarding Brent's match results and I've seen two lengths posted for his bullets. Is your rifle a 1:18 twist or other? The wait for my .45-2.4" is driving me crazy. It's now been more than 3 years for a re-barrel at the gun smith. If I don't get it by late spring I'll just send the reamer to CSA and have them build a rifle around it :-)

Chris.

[Kurt]

Chris.

This is not my design it is Bent Danielson's bullet design. He has two moulds one is longer than the other but all else is the same.
The moulds are not made by a mould maker but by a machinist friend of his and he had an extra mould of the longer bullet and I asked to buy that mould and I had him shorten the bullet to match Brents short bullet.
I fill in when one of his shooting partners cant show up at Lodi and I spotted for Brent twice once he came in second and the last match I spotted for him he won that match.
I saw how that bullet performed for him and it shot very well but there is an occasional unexplained traveler that shows up that should not have happen with the call I gave him. This sort of made me think well it's that long nosed elliptical syndrome showing up that I find with the money bullet now and then, but Brent's bullet is not anything like the MB in the ogive design.
So this winter I had a chance to shoot the snow banks with some ideal soft powdery snow we usually don't get here because of the single digit temp the snow fell this year making it an ideal catch medium.
I loaded a bunch the way he loads his .45-70 using a single card under the bullet and I found that several, not all had some gas cuts. This makes me think that is what is going on with the unexplained wandering shot.
Chris I have several long nosed elliptical bullet moulds and I don't like the way they perform in the .45-70 with a 18 ROT. They shoot just fine close but I don't like the way they fly when the wind picks up using the .45-70. When you order that elliptical mould make sure the shank is longer than the ogive.

I just started working with this bullet in my .45-90 since last fall and loaded some 2 grain ladder loads a couple times using 3F OE and I'm really impressed the way this combination is shooting in the .45-90. One group at 200 yds was a 5 shots that went in a 2 bullet diameter round group with the sixth going out, the round group was about an inch. And I just shot one 5 shot at 130 yds I could just about cover with a nickel, quarter was more than needed to cover the holes.

Kurt

[Kurt]

I forgot to add. The 90 is a 1/18 ROT.

[Kenny Wasserburger]

I am wondering if my wad stack is part of why mine do not upset past the patch? I never get a speck of lead either. Plus the slower 1f and the 1.5 also may come into play. Measured set back is on order of .030-.034. We will have some for certain as the bullet has too bump up to the rifling. All good stuff here. Based on the vertical from 1 mile and 1000 yards I will not be changing alloy or loading methods ever again.

A side note: my 516 gr money shot poorly in the heavy conditions at 800 in Phoenix it is always good for a mid to upper 90's score but the conditions really played hell with it the 539 gr bullet performed very well at 900-1000 yards though! I think it's the 539 at all yardages from now on.

KW

[Gunlaker]

Thanks for the information Kurt. Brent's success with that bullet is the reason I went with an elliptical for my .38's. I had Steve Brooks make mine and I left the shank/nose ratio up to him. I don't remember the exact dimensions of the shank, but it is a bit more than the nose length. I have a print of Brent's bullet that he'd posted some time back, I think it's close to 50/50 from what I remember.

I'm not sure how well my bullet would fly at longer distance but they work well at 200m. Of course that may not mean much :-). I tried them at 20:1 and 16:1 and I haven't shot them enough to know if there is a difference. That is a pretty skinny nose though and I imagine things could go wrong easily.

I'll take your advice on the shank length for the new bullet for the .45-70 :-). I am looking forward to my 2.4" as I think it'll be a little more versatile, as I can load it down with Fg or faster FFg. I think my .45-70 pretty much wants to be loaded with 82gr of FFg, and it doesn't seem to like Fg or FFFg so much.

I find it interesting that you got good results with OE FFFg. That gives me hope to keep trying. I'm down to my last few pounds of FFg Express which I've been saving for the Kamloops match this year mostly. The FFFg Express, which I have plenty of, seems to cause me grief with my paper patched rifles. Your results there are encouraging so I'll keep fiddling.

thanks very much,

Chris.

[Kurt]

Kenny I'm changing my wad stack. Looking at the bases the last two winters with I stack my wads I find a definite dish base forming on the base even with the 1/16 or the 3 alloy bullet that is about the same dent impression as the 1/16 T/L but it holds the setback better than the tin/lead even with more lead in the mix. I always used a 1/16" cork between the lube wad and bullet base. This holds the gas back very well but it pushes the center of the bullet base in. It does not seem to hurt the accuracy but I think there could be a chance that one side of the base could get pushed in more making an uneven base exit at the muzzle and start a yaw that will increase down range. I added a plastic wad cut from a ice cream bucket for a base wad over the cork and the bases from I looked at last year and the fresh once from this year really look as good as an unfired bullet except for the wrinkles of patch folded under. Also a .023" OJ carton wad under the base looks just as good as the plastic wad.
The thing with the standard chamber diameter of my .45-90 Shiloh I had some lead problems I was getting I think from gas cuts when I didn't use a cork from gas getting by because of the larger standard chamber. The cork sealed that.

[Kurt]

Chris.

I worked with Rick Kalynuik (KAL) making a Elliptical for my .44 that has a ogive/shank combination that really shoots good in my .44-100 rem.
The only problem I have his moulds is that big hole he uses in the sprue plate. It lets the alloy in to fast and it really gives that well vented mould fits controlling the vent hairs. I has him make me a plate that has a .100" hole and the way I cast it is perfect. The temperature control is not too critical.
The 3Fg OE is a very hot powder and I had problems taming it. And I still have problems using it in the .44-90bn, but I have not found any powder that shoots as well in my .45-90 with the D prolate does with the alloy mix I use so far.