Shooting cast lead out of inlines

[grizzly63]

Does anyone shoot cast bullets out of their 45 cal inline ? I'm looking at trying 230 Maxi-balls. Any tricks to keep in mind? Performance on Game?

 

[Bullshot]

Should work fine and certainly will hammer any deer-sized game you hit properly at reasonable range (150 and under - my opinion). For bigger game, if legal, maybe get closer even. Lube up the grooves, load over a dry wool wad (optional), work up to an accurate load. Don't over-do the powder, it's not needed or that helpful with conicals.

If using 777, don't use magnum primers, use the ones made for muzzleloader use to avoid the "crud" ring.

 

[jhudson1]

I cast my own lead 470 gr bullets in a .45 caliber White Rifle marked .451. They are sized to .4495 in a sizing die. They are very accurate. Be sure to know your exact bore size, and twist rate. edit sorry forgot the twist rate 1:20. JH

 

[ShinOakMZ]

Speed is not your friend with soft lead. Keep the loads moderate and you’ll be much happier cleaning the gun and whatever you shoot with it.

 

[BrentD]

Speed is not your friend with soft lead. Keep the loads moderate and you’ll be much happier cleaning the gun and whatever you shoot with it.

You could shoot proper paper patched bullets and have the best of all worlds. And you would look better doing it to boot.

 

[MThuntr]

Speed is not your friend with soft lead. Keep the loads moderate and you’ll be much happier cleaning the gun and whatever you shoot with it.

This...I tried with Lee R.E.A.L. bullets and was pushing them too fast. Man the barrel leading was the worst and they never shot worth a dang either

 

[BrentD]

This...I tried with Lee R.E.A.L. bullets and was pushing them too fast. Man the barrel leading was the worst and they never shot worth a dang either

That was the bullet's fault, not the lead. Those bullets don't shoot well any anything.

Words like "fast" and "hard" are relative and worthless without a yardstick to help parameterize them. But an old fashioned flintlock rifle can shoot a pure lead ball 2000 fps if it's cloth or paper patches.

Sometimes "soft" lead shoots better "fast" than "hard" lead because it bumps up and fills the bore better, sealing the gasses and preventing gas cutting - which basically solders your bore.

Wads make a huge difference in some cases and especially with heavy, conicals in small bores when pushed hard - again helping with gas sealing and prevention of gas cutting. Low Density Polyethylene works well, as does "veg" fiber (basically gasket material). Sometimes felt or cork works well also.

Generally speaking, leading comes from hot gasses passing the bullet super fast and creating a torch-like effect. This results in soldering lead to your barrel. Your barrel is probably not leading from rubbing off the bullet like wax off a crayon, for lack of a better analogy.

 

[grizzly63]

Well, here is where I'm at now. I recieved both the three hundred maxi balls that were cast by god knows who or with what and the factory 220 TC maxis. I tried loading one in the barrel to see how tight it fit. Sadly, it went down without much resistance at all. I pulled the breech plug before I began so I could look at the bullets for rifling engagement. It was leaving faint rifling marks on about two thirds of the bullet. I went to the range and tried shooting them as was to see if they would obturate to the bore size. Unfortunately they did not do very well. I was using lubricated wads under them. I cleaned the rifle at home, removed the breech plug and continued to play. I wrapped the bullets in aluminum tin foil to make them bigger. They would go down the barrel harder but still didn't necessarily leave good rifling marks all the way around. I went to the local Wally world and bought some thin cloth to try as a partial patch. Sure, I bought polyester which I found on the net to not be any good as it burns up. I picked up some small cleaning patches that looked pretty thin and when i ran them down the barrel I was getting better rifling marks. Back to the range I went. First three shot group looked real good as I swore I had placed two bullets in the same hole. Later I discovered that I had perfectly shot the black center out of another target dot ten inches away. Hey the hole looked black like all the other target dots. Needless to say, I had an 11" group, not a two inch. Working up the powder scale did not improve the groups. I started at 70 Triple 7 and went to 90 in five grain increments. I swab the barrel in between each shot. I then loaded up a 200gr SST in a sabot and shot three in two inches. Ok the gun will shoot these. I already knew that so I will keep playing with these Maxis. When I mic them they seem to be .456 in one area and when i rotate the bullet, they measure .452. Is this typical of cast lead bullets ?
Never one to just give up, I started thinking about how to size them a little larger. What I came up with is a 1-1 /2" thick walnut block with a 15/32 hole drilled into it just deep enough that the base of the bullet sticks up a little bit. I dropped one in their and gave it a whack with a center punch. I ran it through the barrel and it gave much better rifling marks. I put another one in there and gave it two whacks. It left very nice rifling grooves on the bullets. I will try these with lubricated wads underneath and see what happens.

 

[grizzly63]

Another thing I am working on is I purchased some 455 Webley cast bullets, 260 grains. They are basically a conical shape and they supposedly measure .454 Only downside I see is they are Moly coated. Might be causing myself problems. Maybe not. I will see how they do. Its fun to tinker and get range time.

 

[grizzly63]

I did buy some onion paper and it just seems to sheer off when I try to load the maxi's in it. Maybe I have the wrong stuff. It did say "cotton construction" on it.

 

[grizzly63]

Both recent attempts were dismal failures. The tighter fitting maxis wouldn't group worth a hoot at 70 g Triple 7. Very erratic. The 260 gr 455 Webleys didnt pan out either. I then cleaned and shot some more 200SST in Hornady sabots. I guess thats what I'll be using. I got my one power scope back from Burris and everything checked out well. Those people have great service. I ended up shooting less than three inch groups at 100 yds. That will do. I might play again with the lead bullets if it ever gets nice enough out that I'm not freezing my fingers loading and handling primers with bare hands. C'mon summer. I still have a vortek 50 cal pistol to play with and if I remember right, the only thing it will shoot is round balls. It is a percussion cap version but I still have some caps.

 

[BrentD]

I did buy some onion paper and it just seems to sheer off when I try to load the maxi's in it. Maybe I have the wrong stuff. It did say "cotton construction" on it.

If you want to load paper patched lead, your paper is probably fine per its cotton content, but you have to match three numbers. The thickness of the paper (x4), your bullet diameter, and your bore's land-diameter.

FWIW, cooking parchment paper is often a superb hunting bullet paper - but again, paper thickness is critical and must match the bore and the bullet. Always buy your bullet mold last, barrel and paper first.