Just another mould..or two.

[Distant Thunder]

I used to think I didn't have an addiction and that I could stop buying molds anytime I wanted, but now I'm beginning to think I may have a wee bit of a problem. It's not really my fault however, it's just that I tend to hang out with a bunch of enablers, good people though they are. I just have to accept the facts and realize that the last mold I bought probably isn't the last and that the next probably won't be either.

Fortunately God has stepped in to help me keep the problem somewhat under control by limiting my funding. As a result I've managed to cut the number of molds I buy in half and will only be buying them one at a time every other month or so. This is not chiseled in stone tablets and I could have a moment of weakness from time to time, so I'll have to consider it a goal to work toward.

Of course I would be much more successful in this endeavor if I could stop acquiring new rifles/cartridge that lead to the need for new molds. I'll work on that later.

The point is since I had my old Shiloh rebarreled to .44-77 I have been able to stick to the plan....., pretty much. My new ,44 caliber mold is another from BACO. Talk about enablers, those people in the business of enabling! This one is a JIM430520 which I had them cut at .431" diameter for use with my 9# paper. It is a pretty close to the Metford design and I really wanted to give this design a go in my .44-77 right from the start. There are 3 design I plan to test extensively in the .44-77, elliptical, Metford and the Sharps original long range. I have the first two now and will acquire the Sharps design by spring.

The sample that came with the new mold is spot on .431" and weighs 518 grains. So far my bullets are .4305" and running 513 to 518 grains. They are the roundest bullets I've ever seen from a mold. The mold cast beautiful bullets, but it fills a bit slow and I have to remember that or the bases are rounded. I've cast about 150 bullets so far as I fiddle with my alloy trying to get the weight up a bit and maybe gain a little on the diameter.

I've shot somewhere around 50 of these and right now 80 grain of my Swiss 1 1/2 (2013 Lot) is doing fairly well with an unsized bullet seated .330" in the case over a .060" LDPE wad and set off with Federal 210 LR primers. The groups are holding up at a under 3" for 10 shots at 220 yards. That's should be a competitive load as is, but I will continue to work at reducing that hopefully to something much closer to 2".



The bullet is 1.455" long and should be well enough stabilized in my 17-twist Krieger barrel to make it to 1000 yards still in good shape. The 80 grains is very comfortable to shoot and wouldn't be too over powered for silhouette on the lay downs, but the goal is Creedmoor.

I've still have to test different primers and wads, but by reducing the powder charge to 80 grains the fouling is much more controllable. The fouling with 90 grains, especially with Goex 2F, also with Swiss, was a killer for me at matches with long strings of fire last season. I was spending too much time wiping and was unable to finish my strings without dumping the last few or more in the dirt if I tried to reduce the wiping.

The accuracy of the rifle/cartridge continue to look really good and easy to realize, but it has been a learning experience working with this bottleneck. I'm enjoying the process and I have no doubt I will get it where I want it by the end of this coming season (if there is a season in 2021).

I really like this bullet design, it fills all the important requirements I have for a Creedmoor bullet design. While it's toward the upper end of the length to twist ratio it's not AT the high end. It fits my bore as patched (unsized) with some resistance without being hard to chamber. It has a nose that is in the 40-45% of it OAL and not too slender. The nose is capped with a radius in the 30-35% of caliber. It is a bit over my minimum 500 grains. It is a PAPER PATCHED bullet with enough of the shank up in the bore to provide good alignment.