Po oe (RD. Publication of the National Rifle Association of AmericaWARNING ‘This book includes handloading data which are believed to be safe and satisfactory when properly assembled and fired in sound firearms of the appropriate types and in good mechanical condition Al technical data conveyed in this book reflect the experience of individuals using specific equipment and components under specifi conditions ‘Because of unavoidable variations in handloaing components used in various combinations, and the firearms in which the handloaded ammuaition may be fired, neither the National Rifle mn of America or any of the manufacturers whose products are listed can assume any lity for any consequence of using the information in the following pages or data tables. ‘The data ate furnished for the information and use of readers, entirely at the user's own tisk, initiative and responsibility.CAST BULLETS Col. E. H. Harrison USA (ret.) Published by the National Rifle Association America Washington, D.C.ARNT BOOK SERVICE jon of America Copyright ® 1979 by the National Rifle Asso ‘All rights reserved including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof For information, address the National Rifle Association, 1600 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 ISBN 0.935998-49-7 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 7989301 Printed in the United States Published 1979 second Printing, April 1980 ‘Third Printing, October 1982 Fourth Printing, May 1988 Fifth Printing, February 1990 Cover photograph by John R. Lamson, Jr, Published by the National Rifle Association of America 1600 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W. ‘Washington, D.C. 20036 George Martin, Executive Director. NRA Publications Frank A. Engelhardt, Dep. Director & Book Service Manager ‘Michael A. Fay, Manufacturing Director Harry L. Jaecks, Art Director ‘Material in this book is reprinted from past issues of AMERICAN RIFLEMAN and, while technically sound, may be out of date concerning some specific products, firms or addresses. 4 CAST BULLETSContents Tite Introduction Foreword Jim Carmichet Cast Bullets In Rifles, Part Cast Bullets In Rifles, Part 2 Heat-Treated Bullets" James V. King Cast Bullets In Rifles, Part 3 Cast Bullets In Rifles, Part 4 Measuring The Hardness Of Cast Bullets Zamak Bullets John Belck 45 ACP Handload Accuracy Alton S. Dinan, Jr. Bore Leading Using Gaag Molds Bullet Mold Tune-Up Guy Lautard Refinemeats In Cast Bullets Cleaning Bullet Molds Blued Bullet Molds Gas Check Fit Lead Poisoning. Cleaning Bullet Molds Bullet Lubricants Point-Cutoff Molds Basics Of Bullet Casting Parry C. Yob Lead Bullets After Jacketed Omitting Gas Checks Sizing Bullets ‘Shrinkage Voids In Bullets Solidification Shrinkage Cartridge Space Fillers Drossing Of Lead Alloys Making Accurate .38 Handloads ‘Antimonial Lead Cast Bullet Liabilities George A. Skokan Salvaged Type Metal ‘Testing Reduced Loads Eric Farr Cast Bullets In Rifle Loads Ed Breland Plain-Base Cast Bullets Cleaning Lead From Mold Gas-Check Attachment Mold Cut-Off Plate Slag Fron Bottom Pour Accuracy And Power With Cast Bullets Cast Bullets And How They Perform In Rifles Page "1 15 Is 9 2B » 30 31 3 37 a a at 2 43 4 a 49 50 50 50 31 52 58 58 58 58 58 39 39 59 61Title Page Cast Bullets In M-1 Rifle Charles E. Harris o Barrels For Cast Bullets w Bullets For Small Game » Bore Polish By Lead Bullets? w Cartridge Space Fillers 0 Kapok Or Dacron Filler a 31 With Cast Bullets 1 Sprue Hole Diameter 1 Paper Patching Makes A Difference n Kapok vs. Dacron Filler Fred C. Gettings n ‘Antimony For Bullet M n Shedding Gas-Checks 3 Pencil Solves Casting Problems Vernon F, Schultz n Hardness Of Bullet Alloys n Kapok In Handgun Loads Erie Farr B Patched Bullet Seating Depth. 7% Wads Under Patched Bullets ” Bullet Casting Methods ” Handloaders, Prepare Your Own Alloys so ‘Aluminum Sprue Plate Success Allen E. Lowell sl ‘Smoking Bullet Mold Cavities si ‘Aluminum Sprue Plate Rated High 22 Venting Bullet Molds 83 For Best Results Be Sure Your Alloy Is Adequate sa Make Your Own Bullet Metals Clark S, Campbell 85 Cast Bullet Loading Method J. J. Larson 86 Bench-Shooting Cast Bullets 86 Reduced Load Filler Douglas A. Tooley 86 Shrinkage In Casting 87 Schuetzen Load Refinements 87 Brinell Hardness Measurements 88 Chase Patch Joseph B. Roberts. Jr 88 Bullets For Worn Barrels 88 ‘Action Of Paper Patch s9 ‘Neck Sizing For Paper Patch 89 Powder For Cast Bullets 89 Making Bullet Alloys 90 Cleaning Bullet Molds 90 Paper Patches Wear Barrels? 91 Fluxing Bullet Metal 91 Effect Of Fluxing OL Ciled Sawdust Casting Flux 92 Buying Bullet Metal 2 Conservative Casting Frank Tylia 92 ‘Smoking Bullet Molds Dennis Marshall 92 Paper Patched Bullets Come Of Age 93 Cast Bullets For Game 94 Canadian Black Powder Shooting Goes A Long Way Maj. Don Holmes 98 Lead Alloys Age-Harden 102 6 CAST BULLETSTile ‘Sampling Lead For Hardness Thumbnail Hardness Test Tin In Bullet Metal Wear By Linotype Bulle Paper-Pateh Lubricant 1 Mold Guide Gale Asch Readers Comment On Cast Game Bullets Zinc Bullet Pistol Loads Leon Day ‘Smoking Bullet Molds Bullet Patch Paper Bullet Casting Safely Frank M. Bailey Bullet Base Edges Micro-Grocve Leading William C. Davis, Jr Watch Ladk Moisture Carl H. Oeder Paper Patched Bullets Work In 300 Magnum Lyman No.2 Alloy William C. Davis, Jr Sizing Lubricant Pressure Ellis Lea More on Cast Bullets Thomas Ridler Grooves In Patched Bullets Reamed Case Mouths Robert N. Sears ‘Age-Hardening OF Alloys Paper Patched Bullets Calcium In Lead Bullets C. E. Harris Ringed Chambers William C. Davis, Jr. Antimony For Bullet Metal Forcing Cone Polish Patching Bullets Paper Patches In Light Loads Gas Check Seater Robert N. Sears Contaminated Lead Supply Fit In Forcing Cone Patched Light Loads Battery Plates: Bad News For Bullet Casters Dennis Marshall ‘A Casting Technique That Works Sidney F, Musselman Stronger Bullets With Less Alloying Dennis Marshall The Tin In Your Cast Bullets Dennis Marshall The Truth About Wheel Weights Dennis Marshall Cast Bullets Must Fit The Bore Robert N. Sears. Casting Pistol Bullets. C. E. Harris The Importance Of Gas Checks Carl Johnson Orientation And Selection: Two Keys To Accuracy Frank Marshall, Jr Subject Index Footnotes Page 02 102 103 103 103 103 los Loe 106 106 106 w7 Ww? 07 108 ho Ho Ho ut MI MW ul m2 nz 113. 113 113 la is ies U5 us lie U7 Ls 130 133 14 136 139 40 142 14aIntroduction This Handbook collects the most significant findings on cast bullets in smokeless powder rifles and handguns, principally obtained in a systematic investigation of the subject, and published by the American Rifleman beginning in December 1957. Some minor corrections and footnotes have been added. The date in the subject index identifies the issue of the American Rifleman in which the article originally appeared. A great deal of this material as well as its final form in this handbook, is due to Robert N. Sears and C. E. Harris, Associate Editors of the American Rifleman. The Investigation determined the factors necessary for success with cast bullets. Perfor- mance now can be obtained which formerly was considered impossible. Col. E. H Harrison U.S. Army (ret.) 8 CAST BULLETSForeword Despite the ever increasing popularity of reloading one’s own rifle, pistol and shotgun ammunition, the casting of lead alloy bullets has been, until now, the great undiscovered branch of the handloading arts. This has not always been the case because during the later years of the 19th Century and early part of this Century, accuracy buffs used hand-cast lead alloy bullets in the achievement of a level of accuracy equaled only by today’s finest equipment and components. Despite these achievements the art of casting and loading alloy bullets languished during the years following the First World War and by the 1950's was almost forgotten. This is not to say that shooters no longer were casting bullets because in truth probably more shooters than ever, especially pistol shooters, were taking advantage of the economy of cast bullets but without realizing their real potential. Poor accuracy was considered the handmaiden of low cost. This unfortunate trend was reversed almost single handedly by a series of cast bullet articles written by Colonel E. H. Harrison and published in the American Rifleman during 1957-58. Until that time nearly all cast bullet shooters had been experiencing uniformly poor results simply because there was very little workable information on the subject. Harrison’s articles banished a host of miscon- ceptions surrounding bullet casting and pres- ented in clear, logical manner specific guidelinesfor casting and loading truly accurate rifle and pistol bullets. Building on these guidelines the shooting of hand-cast lead alloy bullets has become not only a reasonable alternative to expensive jacketed bullets but a totally fascinating field of hand- loading in its own right. In my opinion it is the single most absorbing area of handloading and the one which offers the greatest personal satisfaction. Cast bullet shooting is she modern handload- ing sport, an exciting new field for shooters who have become weary of merely assembling their ammo. The opportunities for exciting new discoveries in cast bullet performance still abound and this book is the first great step into a whole new world of shooting pleasure and excitement. JIM CARMICHEL Shooting Editor OUTDOOR LIFE MAGAZINE CAST BULLETS,usrbulet handloads offer the fol Mowing advantages Loy cost. The cost of ballets iin jacketed bullet handlonds ate pat of the ammunition 5 brought vere low, and becomes fost nothing when scrap metal is Be Independence. ‘The eastbullet imide is the only one who really ics any of his amanition, Others ely astmble it 3, Controlled power. ‘The power of festbilet handloads is adjustable Tetween vide limits. The ‘ser can “te his Joads Bt his environment, and sky the preferences which he will de ‘elo, 4 Ualimited barel life. While non- Brave powders are now available, and Hi also possible to. select certain jacketed bilet handloads to. minimize io, these are not in widest use With cast bullets, fine Darel will not er ot, Peed fons. Ba Ee Ae aise ease Pres Gon Se Cp Cast Bullets 1n Rifles Ce Sc hy Daher over) INRA Technical Saft Against these great advantages must be set the following disadvantages: 1, Velocity. Kimitation. Full power ccan be obtaired in low- and medium velocity cattidges. In high-velocity cartridges, cast bullets must be loaded materially below full velocity 2, Accuracy limitation. Some hand: loaders have been unable to obtain sat isfactory accuracy with cast bullets. Pistol and revolver ammunition does not suffer materially from these disad vantages. The advantages are so impor tant that .38 and 45 handgun practice and competition, on their present scale, depend on ecstbullet handloading for their existence, Problem in 30-'06 ‘The Lymar Gun Sight Corp. and others had by 1957 developed excellent castballet loads at velocities of 2400 feet per second (fpps.) or mote in the 22 Hornet andl certain other .22 center fire cartridges. The problem in the .30 06 cartridge has proved more dificult Hitherto, successful .30-'06 cast-bullet loads have generally been limited to An examination of factors affecting accuracy and power By Col. E, H. Harrison, USA (Ret’d) shout 1650 fps. This excluded them fom the Seld of powerfal losds and: Highspeed varmint loads. However, they have been sucoesflly wsed for target shooting up to 600 yas Trvestigaions for ths atte bronght the veloities of heavy ast bullets nthe S006 cartridge up 02100 fps with crecllent accuracy, This i above. the power of the onginal 3040 Krag ear idee, whi gare a 220qr. balet a muze veloc of about 2000 fps This-vas thoroughly demonstrated tobe adequate for we on al Nowth American fig gan end oy te oad tit Sheoting at 1000 yé It no more necessary to use a rile always at fall power than any other machine. Tor The enget and ther shooting done by many endlonders ast bullets can Be tmore than poweful enough Thee accuracy dificult his boom 2 este lintation, “This aticle ay de Sete to the results of a gystematc in Cestgation ito exstbullet ne td eidentaly power. After the fae tors dense. for” accuracy had been founds the rests were vety favorableo Qe o & Xo. 8 Group. Fig. 1: 30 consecutive shots at 200 yds. by John D. Kelley, Williamsport, Pa., Nov. 24, 1905. Stevens-Pope 38-72 rifle held in machine rest, 69 grs. Hazard Fg blackpowder, 3 grs. duPont No. 1 Rifle Smokeless, UMC 1} primers Cast-bullet accuracy Groups shot at 200 yds. with cast ballets were not beaten by modern benchrest shooters until after World War IL. Modem bench-rest shooting, though of fantastic accuracy, is done mostly with rifles of small bore, and most ofits records are made with rifles designed for the one purpose of bene rest shooting and not usable for any thing else. On the other hand, the lassie cast.bullet group shooting was dlone in rifles which, while of ‘heavy Singleshot type, were good for offhand target shooting as well Equaling the 30 consecutive shots in Fig, 1 would bea test For the best 30 cal target rifle “These results were obtained with blackpowder target sifles, in which suit- able smokeless powders were ultimately used. No comparable results. were a tained with east bullets in early smoke less powder rifles. However, the shoot- es of that day did lea to use cast bullets in such rifles with very good sue- cess Wohen the .30-40 Krag rifle came into wide use for target shooting in the early 1900's, shooters soon felt the necd for target ammunition more suitable under many conditions. than the full power itary rmmiion, power was fot needed for target shooting up to a least 200 yds, some of the ranges used for Schuetzen target shooting were ‘ot considered safe with military am munition, and the owner of a fine Krag id not Tite to ses are wom out with the frequent shooting necessary for proficiency, There was, therefore, & considerable effort to use in the Krag rifle the cast bullets with which every= fone was familiar, This development was reported by Dr, W. H. Hudson in Shooting and Fishing, predecessor of ‘Tue Astentcan Rivcencan. His reports were based on such solid foundations and were written with such cleamess and good judgement, that I found them a pleasure to read half a century later. Early efforts in bullet design “The fit efforts were diceted toward a bullet dexgn to provie good sealing Of the hot smokeless powder gases, and Adequate, lubrication Some Sof these bulets are shown in Fig, 2."They were used ith 14 to 13 gis of Marksmen powders a “bulk itle smokeless powder PP that day, made up of iregular and A oriia pile salar ial sik tar tol OWE Pont balk shotgun powder, These bul Jets 0 loaded were succesfully wsed for target shooting at 200 ys Resica wir aod Ach ent ed in the endenvorto keep the hot poser gases off the, bullet in'1905,"]- HL Revogh loaded: dry Cream of Wheat cereal to fil the airspace between the peredet charge’ andthe bullet bas. White it aid protect the bullet, the filer caused undesiably high powder resus with the pores ten tsed, Boog nk so 3s sme ne bt veope kapsepig fave eapleal Ths Pebmmenters of That day did something ‘inch later experimenters have too often Smitted they had: questionable loads Tiboratonetested for locity and pres sume, With bullets of this kind in the tag tile, 20 gis of Lightning powder Nth Cretm of Wheat filer give 1643 fps. muze velocity, with mean pres She of 38,600 pounds per square inch Fig. 2: The most successful 30 cal, Ideal cast bullets of 1905, just before introduction of the gas-check eup. They all share the characterisife of a long ‘body filing the rife bore to the Bottom of the grooves, with a short hore-size bearing in front. The groove before the forward band on 3 of these bullets was Intended to receive fouling seraped up by the bend, and. was also fled with ease before shooting so the est band would be Iubriated, The oversre forward band on the sccond bullet was intended to fill the excessively large Krag throat, to improve sealing of the hot smokeless powder pases Which Was ‘major problem before the gas check was used. (This has long been a feature Of bullets for the 8.15 x 40R and other German lead bullet target rifles) 12 CAST BULLETS (psi.) and individual maximum 44700 psi. Lightning was a doutl based powder, then and for some ti later Considered standard for smokeless cartridges as the 7 mm. 30:30. These Toads were used sv fully for target shooting at 500 and yas Min August 1905, J. H. Barlow, fou ex of the Ideal Manufacturing Co, reported se of a copper disk of on the bullet base with such smokd Toads. With the same charge ofp the Cream of Wheat filler being laced by the copper cup, tests T355 tps. velocity” and 21,40 pressure Sotisfactory loads are sofe This Gist established 2 fact im tant to the user of cast_bollets modem ifs their moderate pres take "losding “and experiment prctabe without the recut Laboratory measurement of presut.d we shall se, aceurate shooting with ballets ean be done only with mode powder charges. All charges giving e Feasonably stistactory Teul aea matically safe ones. Barlow mentioned that others experimented with 3 copper cup fo purpose, Di, Hudson stated that Britsh had for some years been bullets with copper eups on the ba bot that this should not detct credit due Baslow for making i able tous Te was fist intended that the cock drop off the ballet a8 Tet tlle muzale. It was soon Found that the gas check stay on the bul40 28 to do so. ‘There fundamental change since. next month, September the announcement of Tulle designed for the 1 This was Ideal No. Tailed No, 311284. In es up to 46 were made matches at 600 hip t0 47. The load was ing powder and this bul- ge making these scores id Whelen, "bullseye of the military B ithen as now, while it is minutes of angle in di 1 isnot especially casy Bete iicnen ine development had there remarkable su: td of 1905, the Ideal Manu. advertised a number of check ballets for smokeless cat 308291 for 30-30, 319295 1297 for .32 Winchester 375296 for -38-55—which bd they are still in use. ante patent for the Fon Apr. 5, 1906, gighing thing is that the Patt of this recorded develop- 130 cal, cast bullets took place Mies than one year (though “work at a slower pace going bot 1900). fer many years fallosed something almost a of further progress for sau er the standacvation of the B Springild ile modiied for Bemmuniion, Idea! bullet No Bfaan 311334) and others were Bort Dat these vas hile if Bporenenton the sls already E Probably this condition. was fel with the onset of World fin} the deaths of both Dr. nad Barlow Giealt tres daring and fol fe ft World War, the ballet Beating tol business of th Bracing Co. vas, forte fk ian cnr by the Bion Sisht Corp. Tor inany Beyer 30 cal east bullets con fit se about the same rests Bist toads of Lightning. powder Breormended in writings on the ong. nfter that powder had Ei tobe avalable bere began slow improve i cell. With many reports of Bd the work of each success feeimentr confined usually to but type of lond sll some of the ig. 3: The mechanism of cast-bullet sue- ces and. fi Lettshand bullet was fired ‘with 10" grs. “Unique. Tt “passed through the TiN bore teuly point-forward fand concenuic. (These bullets were fired ‘vith “gas checks, which ‘came off in the ecovery, medium.) Right-hand ‘let was fired with 18 gra Unique. While there is 20 of rifting filure, and the load ts quite fate, the bullet is badly cocked by. the foree of the powder gas applied to it. A bullet ia thie condition“ unbalanced fnd.also. will vaw badly on Teaving the bore. resulting in wild shooting. Complete Dr suceessfulcistbullet amimiaition con Be loaded with any rifle powder whatever, but, the. charge must be ‘comparatively light for the powder chosen.” There ate some other facors. important to cast-bul- Tet loading, bat this the eitial one results reported were striking. pose of this aril isto show the Fesponsible for success and face, and fo outline what is possible. The Ast step is computation of the rifling presure'on the bullet, to judge the Tkctnood of the bullet jumping the lings ‘The continued. populsty ff this ancient supposition is dificult to Understand, especially since the famous Dr-F-W. Mann made a point of show Ing that it could barely. occur. ‘The tabpputation jon page 22) shows that wt wandeed unlikely Except under one very special condition, Ihave never found it in thorough testing, and T do not believe it occurs fn prestice. What does occur is 2 cocking and deformation of the Iead-alloy bullet in the rifle bors, with severe unbalancing of the ballet ond resultant large yas fr wild shoctng. ‘This isthe’ mecha ism of castbule inaccuracy. The pur pose of cast bullet experiments therefore Inst be to deliver the bullet at the muzzle ondeformed and straight. The iny opinion, the limited. progress in eastbulet loading has been due fest fo lack of cleat uitlestanding oF the problem. and second to the unmanage Tole munber oF vatlbles involved. Many variables involved Fig. 3 shows what the problem is For an appreciation of the variables, consider for esample some factors which infivence ammunition performance. It is not difficult to imagine say 10 of these, such powder charg, bule align, Bulle tte ach of thse could take sever falas say for example 6. Those factors tre n’general not independent; that frehmge in one may afect reals ob. tained from the others, There will en in out example 60 vanbles im all en of them (one of each of the 10 foetors) most spear one in each Toad. How many compinatios are thereof 60 things ter 10 ata tine? By walk Enon algebraic means i found there die aout 75395,000,000, (seventy ve billion, thee’ hundred ninety ve mi Thon), "These sesult rom only cetain intended values. In pratce there must be’ chance sarations in them, since no pertion or thing cin he. completly ctifring and these variations il fet the results In addition, the design and imension of res in which the fads fre red constitute a further sopern posed system of variables Tn any ce, gnc of the exact mumber af fae tors tke and the degree to which they may be interdependent, ti clear that Fig, 4: Results of experiment were entered ‘on Royal Metice Corp.s KS3TIN Reysort ‘ards, Each card has 18 available holes on fis edge, and fo each ofthese a meaning can be aeigned, This offers the means of fort Ing dats in very many diferent ways, With 2 special hand operated punch ac, ard is torched through the holes peraining (0 Gata on that card. To sort, a sclector rod Ss'pasted through all the cards at the hole Standing for the kind of information de- Sired, which for this investigation included oth oading’ particulars and results. Litt: ing’ the selector raises the cards anda lows’ those notched at that hole 10 drop. ‘These’ cam then be sorted with respect 10 ther points, or they can be returned 10 fhe wile and’ new sorting made, Thus all he data can be rapisly ctamined, over find over, with reapect 10 any combi of factors Sorung i card systems are employed for many pur Doses and in almost countless ways, Key= Som cards are used by he Editor of Tus ‘Avtenies RIFLEMAN for management Of ‘extensive editorial material and records BbWks Tes eds the pow der gas pressure rises to a peak and then dies away. It applics to the bullet a force which is the unit gas pres sure times the area of the bullet bse foprarca=p- ‘This force will at each instant give to fan unhindered bullet forward ac Celeration proportional “19 the force fand inversely to the bullet's mass: spt with properly chosen The rifling enforces a corresponding angular acceleration, which is the lop fitudinal acceleration divided by the barrel length in which the rifting makes Turn, times the angle in 1 tura, namely ‘radians The toraue necessary for angular ae- leration is the product of that accel ation with the moment of inertia of the bullet about care The torque is made up of a force ap- plied to the bullet's surface at the end fof lever arm which is its radius, so Fr=le=t Then the tangential force at the bul- ler's surface to spin itis Is ‘Jumping The Rifling’ Likely: As a simplifying approximation con sider the bullet made up of a eylinder land 3 cone, corresponding to the body and point, ‘The moments of inertia of these’ solids about their longitudinal es are respectively -S and 3 theit masses times the square of their base der Te =F(Smoy1 + 3mewe)s land therefore 2ept F= ($m g++ Iman). Im Body and nose masses are some frac tions X and y of the bullet mass, so 2p Pa— (5am + Im 3 ym) prt +69) 7 The tangential foree fs divided among the several lands of the rifling. On each Tang, it is spread over the’ projected ares of the length and depth of the Fi: fling engraved in the bullet. The unit pressure on the land sides i therefore the total tangential force divided by the umber of lands and the projected area of each: Fo pre + 6y) NLD) INLD Knowledge of these factors governing minimize it, For an indication ‘whether this is likely 40 become: sary, the conditions in the asa ple, Lyman bullet No. 311413 shorter body than a number of bullet designs, hence will havea engraved length ‘nd preset a ‘rable condition. Its body cant fs a cylinder of 120 rs. andi 8 cone of 50" ers, which ll bore of usual dimensions, length including the gas check cluding the grease grooves 328”, depth of engraving 004 ‘of the bullet 154", and rifing turn in 10°. A peak pressure of 4. will rarely be exceeded in Tet loads in rifles, Puting hee into the sbove expresion for B 2 eso 180 (= 7 P 10(4) 328 (004) 8,200 psi, the unit fon the sides ofthe lands This valve is within the eo strength of even moderately Tead, It is true that lead alloys Jose. strength at raised temp to which the bullet surface may posed, On the other handy te peak pressure is applied only Ty. and the material 10 which i Plied is confined laterally by Fore and longitudinally by the sure behind it, There i & priori reason 10 expect the ea ee land pressure obviously opens the pos: to withstand well the twist of Siblliyof manipulating hes 40°98 to Sing—EHH no lifetime would be long enough to success or faihue of the load, These Prevse bullet weight tolve tte problem by the usual cuand- proved to be comparatively few Precise bullet Samet tay. methods. Pitt is not possible to develop success: Ballet seating depth Tnvestigation of this article was there fore done with the aid of mechanical data sorting. Since the precise results of decades of testing by hundreds of in dividuals are not available, being in general lost as soon as obtained, it was necessary to obtain the basic data by three years of test firings. The results were sed as described under Fig. 4 Removing non-decisive factors The essential feature of the analysis was removal, of nondlecisive factors, Every factor has some effect, However these effects are very uneven. Much the greater part of the task consisted in Tocating the factors whieh decide the Is CAST BULLETS ful castbullet handloads by the famil process of simply making every com ponent and loading operation as uni form as possible. This is done success fully in’ jacketed-bullet ammunition, because ammunition of that type long ago reached the stage of fundamental correctness in its components. C bullet ammunition has not hitherto been in that condition, The following factors are not de- Cartridge case make Primer make Primer seating punch shape Primer vent diameter Precise powder char weight Ballet pullout force Bullet grease, most loa The most ssduous atten aboxe factors will not make Toad perform well. They systematically ignoved with ‘est bullet load perform yey “The following factors ae Bullet hard Bulle Bullet design Rifing design Powder charge ‘The remaining. dee article are devated to these decisive. factorsCast Bullets in Rifles Cast Bullet Alloys PART 2 OF 4 Bike practicable limit on power feast bullets is set by their fand strength (almost synony ), the characteristics of mental to per- dis too soft and weak for Is. Ithas long been hardened ‘of tin or antimony this practice. its full effects at been tationally used in th Gf bullets, or even become ta hundloaders, isan impression among hand: it tin is the more important etal, and that hardness of fean be expressed as the lent of a given fraction of tin in p Neither of these impressions fat the hardness levels requived ile bullets, However, we can ge the effect of tin frst. ‘of alloying with tin fe hardness of lead-tin alloys is the lower of the two curves in fist addition of tin causes, step rise in the hardness. Then tends to level out, so addi nas less effect. It is evidently Hlewse fo put in more than 8% or By Col. 10% tin. Since the hardness of pure lend i between 444 and. Brinell we aluo perceive tat the Teadtin ally ean pructicably be made ‘only sbout 204 Times as hard a pure lead Tiardness aot the oaly important characteristic. cf ballet alloys” They must be melted and cast into bullet and Ur Behavior dung that operation is of practical importance How an alloy melts and freezes is shown by what called is eqn constitutional, or phase diagram, Fi. 6 shows in simpli form the ead end of the leadtin” equilibrium “diagram. It snakes clear thetef no sch thing a8 4 melting, point” for such an. alloy. De pending om is composition, it Begins to Thelt at a certan temperatore bet wil hot all melt until that temperature is raised considerably. In the making and Shooting of eax: bullets, this character iste works umfiverably in both dice tions ‘Wien the alloy is melted for casting it begins to melt at the. temperature Show by the solidus: Te cannot be in that condition, however, and. the temperature amst be raised above the Tiguidus, with the accompanying. in convenience of higher temperature, E. H. Harrison, USA (Ret’d) more shagging, and loss of the alloying metal. When the alloy cools in the ‘mold, it begins to freeze at the tempera ture shown by the liquidus; nevertheless it cannot be cut off and dropped in that condition, and the temperatuce must be further lowered to the solidus. This is far from ideal behavior in an alloy in tended for casting. On firing, the Thigh temperature for complete liquefaction as shown by the liguidus is of no benefit. The alloy loses all strength as soon as its temperature reaches the solidus These unfavorable factors become unimportant only at very low percent- sof tin, where the liguidus and solidus ate almost together, The cost of tin is also nat to be ignored. Everything considered, itis inadvisable to use more than a very small percentage of tin alone, say 3% Greater effect of antimony The hardening effect of antimony is greater than that of tin, Its hardness curve (Fig. 5) is seen to be much higher, with less tendency to level off The kead-antimony alloy can readily be made about 4 times as hard as pure leadFig. 5 Hardening effect of tin and antic mony” used. separately. Brinell hardness mumbers (BHT) cairn compremire Strength in kilograms per square milimeter (each number then corresponds to about 1930 psi) or the numbers can be. used simply for hardness comparison. It is evi ent that lead can be made much harder ‘with antimony than with tin ‘The equilibrium diagram of lead- antimony alloys (Fig. 7) i of the sime general form a the ead, but its pro- ortons are quite diferent. For our orposes, its most striking. character Bt is that the liquidus intersects the solidos within the lead end of the dia gam. At this eutectic composition of Spout 12.79% antimony, the alloy melts nd feeats at 2 single temperature of about 486° T., and the disndvantages of the usual lguidus-soidus separation entirely fll avy. The eutectic alloy tis of very good hardness. T have used approximately ths eutectic of lead and antimony for sf bullets with very good results it as been stated that antimony Should ‘not be used alone. to. harden Bullets, since that would leave frce lead in the alloy in a condition to nub off on the bore surface and “lead” it Tt true that the solid solubility of anti tony in lead is very stall, only about Wot 1% at ordinary temperatures, and that of tn i greater. However, the ater i til only about 2%. Where both are $0 small it is hard to see how the ifr: fence between thei can’ be. very im at: Possibly it might bein revolver Bhd other soft bullets with very low per- tentage of alloy, but in those the prob- fem of using antimony alone doet not aise, since some tin should always be Med’ for satisfactory casting qualities Tn les, leading is uncalled for in any case. With comet loads (which wl be described in Part 4) Teading wil be completely absent! Use of tin and antimony in rifle builets rests on the 16 CAST BULLETS seen ig. & Equilibrium diagram of Jeadstin al Toys, at the lead end. ure lead melts and freezes at the definite temperature 621” F. When tin. is added, the resultant alloy melts of freezes over a range of tempers: re. Above the Tine marked liguldus the foy ie all liquid, and below the solidus ive all solid. Botwoen, it a mush, For example, an alloy of 10% tin, 90% leads teuing to melt at about 510" F, but sil not all, melt until the temperature is raised {6 S60". Meaning of the evtectic is more easily seen in Fig. 7 other consideration here described Tn hardening, tore canbe accom- plished with tin and antimony together than with either alone Credit for the use of tin and anti mony together to alloy bullet metals a pears to be due to Dr. W. H. Hudson Ind the old Ideal Manufacturing. Co. The hard alloy usually recommenced is 1 part tin, 1 part antimony, 10. parts lead? This, however, hn litte ratfonal basis in the properties of lead-tn-ant mony alloys, and is not even very hard {only about 15 Brine) Tris, however, some 30% harder than'a 1 to 10 alloy of tin and lead. Type metals are well developed ‘Type metal alloys are required to have inuch the same properties as bullet alloysa sharply debned melting and freezing point, Buiity when melted, Silanes to etishing, and revistance to wear. To goin these qualities alloys of Tend tin, and antimony have been ised in type metals for centuries. During ost of tat time they were formulated by cutandty, and consequently ty Thetals of the past have been of slimest very posble proportion among. these hice metals. However” Beginning. in Germany before World War 1, and jeter am Japan and. England, funda mental eeaich mapped the characte: isis of thee alloys and Toested hore Compositions which for specific reatons are better than any other “There no goch thing a “type meta’ though sometimes certin compromise compositions are used. as. general purpose type alloys. In most caer the Fig. 7: Equilibrium diagram of mony alloys at the lead end. ‘The Intersects the solidus at 12.7% antimony. There being Spread Between liquidus and sol Alloy all melts ‘and freezes atone ture ke’ sine metal. "Ts {ageous in both casting. and. Tels. Such an alloy ie called he ‘The curved fine extending left a ward from the solidys ‘on. boll and. lead-antimony diagrams further "change of state after ‘which is explained in the requitements of the diferent proceses have called forall Paiste to each, There is thee fremning inthe words “tp Bone; itis necessary to 8) 9 of type metal i meant. Following ae the alloys well casting and’ plate mal printing company in Washi D.C. Toe Mitel Te Aatamy Sl Becnmee 39 + 23 3 he A Gifth kind, called foundy is made up of about 139 ty antimony, and 629% lead, often to 2% of copper added, It permanent type set by hand. Feason itis formulated to be a possible 35 Brnell or more I Ext by’ a type founder who necessary equipment for melting ontrlling its composition "The structure of these aio ples und tier barduest is 200 Simple relation to. the. prop tin and antimony in them, Fig the hardness of all proportion tinantinony alloys Up to in 14% tony. 24421 ‘That composition Brinell hardness sbove 2, of times the hardness of pure lead, is "evident that further increase tin and antimony content would the ally stil harder. ‘We live already seen, howe the usefulness of a cast bullet a pends not only on its hardnes a Gn its melting and fresing ch Sica It is not practicable tod