I made some bullets

Idahoron · Dec 13, 2018

I got busy and made up 1400 bullets. These are 460 grain Lee 500 S&W bullet. I paper patch them and size them for my rifles.
I had a few friends that wanted some so I made a big batch. I added a 380 ACP round for size comparison. They are weighed +- 1 grain. They are hardened to 6.5 BHN. I separated them into lots so I can re test for hardness in about a month.

BigChiefJ · Dec 13, 2018

Nice. How hard is it to shove those down the bore? I once made the mistake of using wheel weights for casting Lee REAL bullets.

Idahoron · Dec 14, 2018

I harden them just a pinch. After wrapping them with paper I size them to fit my gun. They go down with about 5 to 8 pounds of resistance.

cannonball · Dec 16, 2018

Idahoron, Do find it makes much of a difference after aging for a month or so?

Idahoron · Dec 16, 2018

These have a little alloy in them. Alloy will age harden for bit. I like to double check them in a month.

BigChiefJ · Dec 16, 2018

Does the hardness of the bullet matter since it's patched? At least for loading purposes.

Idahoron · Dec 17, 2018

If they are too hard they can't be sized very well. At 6 to 7 BHN they are easy to size.

BigChiefJ · Dec 19, 2018

What sizing die do you use? I know the mold is a .501 diameter and Lee only has a .501 sizing die. I'm really curious about trying this.

Idahoron · Dec 19, 2018

The way I do it for my rifle is the bullets drop out of the mold at .501, I wrap them with 9# onion skin paper. I then size them to .501 with a Lee sizer die. All of my rifles have Green Mountain barrels. They fit real tight. Other manufactures have different barrel sizes. You really should measure the barrel at the top of the rifling to see what it measures. Some are only .500so a .498 or .499 sizer would work better. Some rifles are real loose. It depends on the measurement of your barrel.

BigChiefJ · Dec 19, 2018

LAST EDITED ON Dec-19-18 AT 09:38PM (MST)[p]My barrel is a NEF Huntsman. I slugged it and it looks to be O.510" groove diameter. I've read it's 0.501" between the lands. I may have to give this a try after I test some Lee 320 grain REAL bullets.

Thanks for all the information.