45 colt BP mold?

[Will52100]

I'm just getting into casting and I've got a six cavity 250 grain that works great for smokless, but it has two shallow lube groves and with black powder quikly leaves the bore fowled and inacurate.   I supose a grease cookie would cure the problem, but that takes a good bit more time reloading.

I need a mold(preferably a six cavity because you can turn some bullets out fast!) that will cast a 250 grainer out of WW with one or two BIG lube groves.

Any ideas?

Thanks

[West Creek Charlie]

Hey Will

What kind of Lube are you using?

Check my post on your other thread for the PRS 250 Mold.

I Shoot 45 colt and have not yet developed a good load but it is on the list to work out. I have one of the PRS molds but have not been successful yet. I water quenched the bullets on my first run and it was a failure I believe because of the bullet hardness. You need the softer lead to obturate the bullet and create the hydrolic pressure on the lube.

I have a freind who shoots 44-40. He shoots a light load with corn meal over the powder. When he is done shooting his barrel look like they have been shooting smokeless. The barrels are actually shiny. He shoots a two lube groove 205 grian bullet lubed with a softer blue commercial lube. Not LBT Blue - I forget the lube he uses but it works for him. His guns clean up with a couple passes of a wet patch - wipe down the outside and he's done.

I think part of the success he has with haveing very little fowling comes from the use of the filler load but have not duplicated it yet with 45 colt.

I believe it is possible to duplicate his success with a two lube bullet - the right lube and a filler load. Just havent had the chance to try it yet.

you might want to try Felix lube - it is a quality lube made with a beeswax carrier that I think will fit the bill. A soft black powder lube will also work well but ANY of the typical comercial hard lubes will fail and especially Liquid ALox will fail.

[Will52100]

The lube I use is a mix of Bee's wax, parifin wax, and mutton tallow.  Works real well with black powder, and works realy good when just a little is added to felt wads for use with cap and ball revolvers.

If you want I'll try to find the post where I got the how-to.

The bullets I cast from WW seemed to upset just fine from recovered rounds,(I didn't water quench) and with smokless loads worked great.

[JBMauser]

My questions here are for learning not so much contribution.  I thought that   in pistol anyway the need for lube in the grooves was not so great as the bullet only needed enough to carry the pill less than 8in. BP vs. smokeless -  Rifles a differant matter.  I have read the only way to soften fouling (not reduce it) was a lube cookie to wet the exhaust so to speak and since we are talking about a few inches, by the time the wax is melted it is out the muzzle anyway?
corn meal or cream of wheat sounds like a built in bore brush.  Am I all wet?  would you need more lube with bigger and deeper grooves?  JB

[ButlerFord45]

JB, briefly, Cowboy Action uses pistol cartridge rifles and most pistol bullets just don't carry enough lube for the longer rifle barrel and in pistol cases, a wad or lube cookie takes up a lot of precious case volume.  Some folks will use a 160 grain bullet in a 45 Colt with just enough powder to get the bullet to the target, that leaves a lot of space to be taken up with something so that you have a full case (necessary with black) but with a full case of compressed powder you need extra lube in the groves for high volume use in the rifles.  I don't know if the filler scrubs the bore or not, I've never used a filler.  I can't get enough powder in the case as it is, just a personal preference.

[JBMauser]

Butler Ford, I hear you.  You kind of said what I thought.  for rifle more lube would been a keen issue.  I have a trapper with a 15in. barrel I think,  Not much longer than a pistol but still, in pistol barrels I guess you may not need a tub of lube in the grooves. I can see a different bullet in rifle fodder.  As for the need for room for as much BP as possible, for cowboy anyway, whats the point?  We are't tying to kill anything, just make it ping! and for that 3/4 of a case with other stuff in there , lube, filler, wads etc, is more than enough to kill any metal plate, don't you think??  JB

[ButlerFord45]

"....for cowboy anyway, whats the point? We are't tying to kill anything, just make it ping!"
JB, that's not necessarily correct.  I play cowboy the way I envision it being done in the 1860's through early 1900's.  Easy to understand that I'll Never be any serious competition for anyone, but that is the point.
Besides, I DO try to kill with this load, I use it for deer, coyote and dispatching downers. I, being somewhat simplistic, like to use one load for everything.  While there is normally a Combat Commander close at hand, there is ALWAYS a Colt SAA stuffed with 250 grains of wheel weights sitting on 38 grains of 3f beside my bed and as arcane as that may sound, I sleep quite well.  Why, you may wonder, would anyone chose a SAA and Black Powder for home protection?  Simple, it's effective, and in the course of a years time, I'll shoot 10 times as much of this combination as with all other guns and loads combined.