Importence of the wad stack

[Kurt]

Chris, thank you. I'm glad some pay attention to what I find. But all of the things I find are not cut in stone or lead in this case.
The bullets are never the same even using the same alloys, wads or the amount of powder pushing the bullets down the bore.
You cannot come to the conclusion with just 5 or 10 shots. All one can do is to take the better average and use it. I find that once I find the combination I think is it, it changes.
Chris I mostly in the summer I use Tallow that I render from my winter game I harvest that is hard or Ozokerite wax. This is a wax that has several different levels of melting point temperatures. Also I use a lot of Soy wax. Both waxes are a good carrier of oils. The Soy wax is very good but it tends to be on the brittle side and needs a little other things mixed in besides oil to make it flexable and stay in the grooves if one wants to shoot a greaser. PP lube wads I cut using the case mouth once I have the wad compressed the powder and then it does not matter if the lube wad is flexible.
But if you mainly use a B-Wax for a carrier I temper the lube a little harder using mainly peanut oil and I add some Hydrous Lanolin I get in bulk from down under. I get it in a 10 pound bucket.
With the OZ wax I use the same mix as I do with all the other waxes I just adjust the oil. It's the oil that does the work keeping the fouling under control not the wax. The wax just holds the oil.
But to your question on keeping the oil out of the powder. Use a proper over the powder wad that will not let the oil seep through.
I test mine by taking a few uncompressed powder loads and put them on the seat of my truck and leave the truck sitting in the sun with the windows up. I pull the bullets and start lifting the wads out from under the lube wad and check if any of the powder beneath is clumped together or show signs of having oil soaked in. Even the fiber gasket wads might show oil soaked through but it seldom soaks into the powder. I have found some of the popular over the counter lubes that do get into the powder and clump it up.
A good tight fitting over the powder wad or a plastic wad that needs to be pushed down in the case will stop this lube migration into the powder. Cork also is good and it works great for sealing the case neck and bore for holding gas back and lowers the ES.

Kurt

[Kurt]

Here is some good news for me.
I been working with my new .44-75 that has a .0115" deep groove (.00575 per side) and I been having some problems with the PP bullets not filling the grooves so I been working on the allot temper that will hold the integrity of the ogive enough that the prolate nose don't look like a creedmoor nose but still fill the grooves to hold back the gases and keeping the ES & SD down.
I been using a mix of 1/16 T/L alloy with this bullet and it has been giving me fits keeping the groups smaller then a Volley Ball @ 200 yds. This alloy shoots very good in the .44-100 with a .438/.446 bore/grove it has.

The bullet on the left is unfired and the one next to it has a alloy mix of 20# lead and a 1# roll of no lead solder that is a mix of 95% tin 5% antimony. Normally the 1/20 T/L mix would set the nose back enough to make the bullet look almost like a postell type of nose.
That bullet nose with the roll of solder only shortened this bullet by .040" and the .433 unfired diameter filled the grooves to .4465" at the base that lust leaves me .0015 gap per side it's not filling in the grooves.
The other three bullets are a mix of 19# lead and one roll of solder and they held up a little better by the bullet only loosing .031" and still having a base of .446".
Now to find out what the target shows.
Big snow storm moving in over night with a foot+- they are calling for with high winds. so no range time unless I crank open a kitchen window

[Don McDowell]

I don't think your spotter is gonna like that kitchen window thing.....

You have any .434-435 bullets to try in that rifle?

[Kurt]

Yup Don I have 4 left from what you gave me in the pile I cant find with the metal detector

Awww I don't think she will care as long as the wind is out of the East keeping the snow and smoke from blowing in.
Besides she will be on the spotting scope.

[Don McDowell]

You want some more of those? I think I got about 50 of the BACO and 50 of the Brooks patched already, and a pretty good mess of each cast just lounging around in their peanut jars.. Sure would send them to you if you need them.

[Kurt]

lets wait till I find them

[Don McDowell]

Ok, just let me know.
Did I tell you I sent a tank buster bullet to Brooks to have him copy it in one of his nose pour adjustables? I think that bullet might just be a whing dinger in this 44 st .

[Kurt]

Yep you did. Nothing wrong with that bullet. It also shot fine in my .44-2-5/8bn

[Don McDowell]

I'm hoping this new one will shoot as well as the old one. Those brass blocks are just wearing down and I'm getting a fin all the way around where the blocks meet. Worse on one side than the other.

[Kurt]

Drive the guide pins out and lay some 600 grid wet paper on plate glass and figure 8 both block halves till the high spots are gone. Most likely they will not sand the vent lines out. Then go to the auto supply and get some valve grinding compound and screw a #7 or 8 hex head sheet metal screw in the center of the bullet and use a drill motor and lap it round again if it needs it.
Done this just recently to one of mine.
Solved that problem.