To much or to little ,, of something ??

[Slamfire]

  Just cast some ,, Lyman # 427098 ,, suppose to be at 200-205 gn's. .427 -.429 ,, moulded about 90 ,, mic'ed @ .430- .431 ,, weighed average @ .217.6 gn.  Do I have to much lead and not enough antimony ,, or tin ,, bullets filled out w/ sharp edges ,,sooo,, which way do I need to go ,, up the tin ,, antimony  ?? These are for a Rossi 44/40 ( 90's model ) .

 smoke'm if y'a got'm ,, Hootmix .

[will52100]

First I'd check the hardness, and if suitable I'd size and shoot.  From what it sounds like, I think you might be a bit on the hard side with maybe too much tin or antimony. 

Generally speaking, the closer to pure lead you get, the more shrinkage you get.  Cast pure lead in a mold and 20-1 alloy and the pure lead casting will be smaller.

Of course, it could also be the mould itself.

Just as an aside, I don't know what velocity your planning on shooting, but I've pretty much settled on 20-1 lead/tin for just about everything, 44 colt to 45acp and 45 colt.  If I was casting for magnum rounds I'd want them harder though.

[Slamfire]

 Thank you will52100 ,,that's the answer I think I'm looking for . I did the pencil test on fresh ( waited a couple hours ) cast rds. tested @ 20/1 ( B2 ) ,, but I will try adding more lead to the pot .It will be raining all day ( tomorrow ) Sat. will have time .

 smoke'm if y'a got'm ,, Hootmix .

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[will52100]

Unless your shooting as cast, I'd just size them when lubing if it's testing at 20-1 hardness.  Even if shooting as cast I'd load one and see if it'd chamber.  Keep in mind, some guns may state they are what ever size, but like larger bullets.  As a general rule, the larger the bullet that will still chamber and cycle the better.  Most of my pistols and rifles in 45 colt prefer a .454 over a .452.  My as cast 44's are .430-.431 and will shoot just fine as cast in my guns.  I do have one that's a bit finicky though.

Also, of all the molds I have, not one drops the exact weight they say they do, every one is a couple grains one way or the other, but as long as it's consistent and shoots good it's not that big a deal.