........Have you tried a side by side comparison of the accuracy of the 427098 and the 43-215C using the same load of Swiss? It seems to me that the wide lube groove would effect the streamlining of the bullet when it spun off the lube. I am talking about 200 to 300 yards. Jubal/Paul
Jubal, I have fired both bullets out to 300 meters (327 yards) and I will say that accuracy seems to be very close to the same. Paper targets @ 200 yards - showed almost the same group size for 10 shots - 427098 - 8 of the 10 shots inside 4", 43-215C - 8 of 10 shots inside 4". All 20 shots were inside 6".
58cal,
Welcome to the forum! Thank you for the information.
David,
Thank you for the report. Nice shooting! Excellent! Much, much improved as compared to your first tests.
Welcome to the world of making your own bullets!
The Accurate 43-220C is a very good choice for the 44-40 in combination with Swiss powder. It follows the same design as the 427098 (Accurate 43-210B - Fairshake) but with the crimp groove added which lengthens the bullet the width of the crimp groove (.04") and increases the weight.
I would agree that the alloy was not hot enough. I would suggest to try running the 30/1 alloy at 800F - 850F . You could preheat the mold in a toaster oven to bring it up to temp so that you will eliminate most of the rejects from a cold mold start up. I use a toaster oven set at 450F to do that. Before placing the mold into the oven I remove the screws that are used to retain the handles. I turn on the pot and oven at the same time and let them warm up for a minimum of 1/2 - 3/4 hr.
Once up to temp, I use the mold handles to remove the mold from the oven then align the holes and insert the retaining screws.
I don't have the Lee 20# pot (I have the RCBS) but I looks like it has an adjustment to control the flow. Set it so that there is a fast drip then open it slightly so that it is a solid stream. As the alloy in the pot gets lower, adjustments will need to be made to keep the stream constant.
I have had very good luck in making very good bullets with a bottom pour pot - on bullets up to 350 gr in weight. Over that and the dipper makes better bullets. As WM indicated, if you are still having a bit of trouble, you might want to try getting and using dipper.
If the mold is clean you should not need to smoke the cavities. If you do smoke the cavities, use wooden matches rather than a lighter.
I prefer to make mold contact with the spout which I find makes the base edges nice and sharp. I do have a few molds that seem to work better if I drop pour (mold below the spout by 1/2" or so. I do find that spout contact has worked the best for me with the Accurate molds I have.
Regarding Swiss 1 1/2 vs 2F, I have tried both and find them to be pretty equal accuracy wise. Since I like to = original factory ballistics (1,300 f.p.s.) I use mostly Swiss 2f. Using standard large pistol primers 35 grs = 1,309 f.p.s.. It takes 38 grs of Swiss 1 1/2 to = 1,300 f.p.s. which requires more compression, but accuracy seems to be pretty much the same. Charges are by weight.
The same volume of 1 1/2 weighs just 1/2 gr less than the 2F in the lots that I have.
Happy new year!
w44wcf