44 bullet

[Nuclearcricket]

Please keep me posted on what bullet you finally get. I might want to beg from you.
[/quote]

Not a problem, I was figuring on sending some out for others to test while I wait. If someone tests them for me I figure I get some cheap load development in the process.

[Mike]

Please keep me posted on what bullet you finally get. I might want to beg from you.

Not a problem, I was figuring on sending some out for others to test while I wait. If someone tests them for me I figure I get some cheap load development in the process.
[/quote]
Maybe wishful thinking... But, worth a try.

[J.B.]

I'm a big fan of Accurate Moulds also and this 480 grn was one attempt at designing a bullet for longer range work ..that hopefully wasnt too long for the 1/19" twist and allowed for the forward band and grease groove to be seated out and not compromise powder capacity too much. Running with a 1/20 mix I've been getting , as cast, 1.314" long, .447" at the bottom four driving bands , .4375" for the top band and .435" for the bore riding portion of the nose. Pushed along with about 76-78 grns of Swiss 1.5 it has been fairly promising to date. It's not as forgiving with fouling as a Brooks design I have but I'm pretty happy with it so far. The brass mould I have casts beautifully. As mentioned...all the dimensions can be varied by Tom if required. I would probably opt for .446 as an ideal base diameter but didnt want to run the risk of being undersized and preferred to trim .001 off whilst lubing to be sure. Not much work on paper to date but out to 800 yds its hitting steel when I do my bit. It seats with a gentle push with your thumb in my Shiloh and that's just what I was after. I'm not sure it's a 1000 yd bullet ..but then I havent had a chance to try it yet. Hope this helps.

[Mike]

I'm a big fan of Accurate Moulds also and this 480 grn was one attempt at designing a bullet for longer range work ..that hopefully wasnt too long for the 1/19" twist and allowed for the forward band and grease groove to be seated out and not compromise powder capacity too much. Running with a 1/20 mix I've been getting , as cast, 1.314" long, .447" at the bottom four driving bands , .4375" for the top band and .435" for the bore riding portion of the nose. Pushed along with about 76-78 grns of Swiss 1.5 it has been fairly promising to date. It's not as forgiving with fouling as a Brooks design I have but I'm pretty happy with it so far. The brass mould I have casts beautifully. As mentioned...all the dimensions can be varied by Tom if required. I would probably opt for .446 as an ideal base diameter but didnt want to run the risk of being undersized and preferred to trim .001 off whilst lubing to be sure. Not much work on paper to date but out to 800 yds its hitting steel when I do my bit. It seats with a gentle push with your thumb in my Shiloh and that's just what I was after. I'm not sure it's a 1000 yd bullet ..but then I havent had a chance to try it yet. Hope this helps.

An excellent report. Thank you.

[Nuclearcricket]

I would like to thank everyone for their input on this bullet design. I have not heard back from Tom yet on a question I had for him but I think that I will be ordering this mold later on this week. I do plan to make a few changes, I would like the nose not larger than .433 and I would like the grease grove width's increased by .010. Those 2 changes should not change the weight by more than 20gr or so. And I would rather have a little extra lube than have it run out.
If my changes drop the weight to around 460 or so, that should still make it a good bullet for silhouette and perhaps playing around with a little of the long range stuff. Also the slightly smaller nose should allow it to set into a dirty barrel a little easier as it is going into a rolling block, they have to go in or nothing works.
Again, thanks to all.
Sam

[Mike]

Sam, You run the risk of having me beg for samples...

[Nuclearcricket]

I placed my order for a mold today, I ordered the 44-480S mold with the nose diameter at .433 and had the grease groves widened by .010. Being frugal, not by choice, I went with the Aluminum mold. $89 delivered. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me price wise. I have other molds from Aluminum and have not had any problems with them, and I don't expect any problems with this mold. The web site says a 3 week turn around, so now its time to wait and see.
Sam

[Nuclearcricket]

I didn't expect to get an email I just received. I placed my order yesterday and this evening I received a shipping notice that my mold is on its way. I should have it by the end of next week. I in no way had any expectations that the mold with the modifications that I wanted would be cut that fast. Guess its going to be a long week waiting for it to arrive now.
Sam

[Don McDowell]

Looking forward to the reports.

[Nuclearcricket]

I have received my mold from Accurate molds. He makes a very nice looking mold I must say. I was very surprised that I ordered it on Wednesday, was told it was ready to ship on Thursday and it got here to PA on Monday. Cant beat a turn around like that. I have cast some up and they look nice, the first band is running .435/.439 the driving bands are .447/.448 and the nose is .433. This is with an allow that tests out at about 20-1. I had ordered the mold for use with 30-1. If and when I order another mold from him I will pick a harder alloy or reduce some of the band diameters a little more. Overall length is 1.325.
One small complaint I have on the mold is that the alignment pins fit very tightly and you need to make sure the mold is fully closed. I just five the handles a little tap to make sure they are fully closed.
I did try to cast some with just a naked clean mold and got wrinkles and such, and it is an aluminum mold. A little time with a butane grill lighter gave it a nice coat of carbon inside the mold cavity and it started to produce nice shiny bullets right away.
Next step will be to get some softer alloy mixed up and cast some from that and see how they measure. I am not sure at this point if they will chamber in an unthroated barrel but if your barrel has a little taper in it from breach to muzzle it should work. I did seat one in a case with the first band exposed and the rest of the shank looks like it takes all of the neck.