Post by hoover on Mar 18, 2015 10:14:53 GMT -5
A few years ago, I was introduced to some great bullet molds from a fellow that goes by the name of Miha, from Slovenia, of all places. His molds were made of brass, and were constructed like the old Cramer style HP mold. They were works of art! Functional, easy to use, and fast! He operated out of the website, castboolits.com. Additionally, he was open to different bullet designs. Enter one Fermin Garza, aka 2 Dogs, among one of several other known aliases’, or Mr .32 caliber!
Fermin wanted a heavy .32 caliber bullet for the historic .32-20, and the fairly new .327 Federal. Using his vast experience and mental capacity, he designed a heavy 140 gr. bullet, and called it “The Sledghammer”, much like his personality. Alas, the molds were made and shipped. Bullets were cast and loaded, which brings us up to snuff.
As always, Miha’s molds are a joy to use. I ordered a 4 banger, with traditional round pins, pentagonal pins, and blank pins for solids. My first session I cast up about 350 bullets in about 35 minutes time. They went into the tumbler for a powder coat and then into the oven for a bake. They were then given a gas check and sized .314” with a LEE push thru die. We were ready to load.
Now this heavy bullet being fairly new, it is still in its infancy for load data. I had an idea of what powders to try from previous loads, and some from Fermin himself.
I had basically 3 loads to try on the “Sledghammers” maiden voyage. The first was 6 grs. of Longshot, 10.3 grs. of 2400, and lastly, 11.6 grs. of H110. This long, heavy bullet, with lots of bearing surface shot extremely well. Fermin did well on the design. The “Sledgehammer” can be loaded in .32 H&R brass using its crimp groove, or seated below crimp groove in .327 Federal brass. Either way, accuracy was the same.
The “Sledgehammer” clearly shows promise. The 2400 gr. Load was a little hot, as the cases were tough to extract from the cylinder. A slower powder such as AA#9 may be good to try. We shall see. H110 was very consistent, as was Longshot. I would not go any higher than 6 gr. For this bullet.
I know this isn’t the “Sledgehammer” but just wanted to share how well the RCBS 100 gr. SWC does in the .327 Fed loaded in .32 H&R brass.
Lastly, I had my new Caldwell chronograph to try out. For $80 it is a bargain. Costs are kept to a minimum by Caldwell ingeniously keeping the electronics simple by hooking up the unit to a free APP on your smart phone. It records all data, figures out Avg. velocity, SD, spread, etc., while also recording temperature, time , date, and barometric pressure. Multiple groups can be stored, and are easily retrieved. Even I can figure out how to use it! As I told Fermin, sure beats the heck out of chasing paper across the range.
All in all it was a great way to celebrate St Patrick’s Day by trying out some new loads in the Ruger single-seven at the range. More to follow.
Fermin wanted a heavy .32 caliber bullet for the historic .32-20, and the fairly new .327 Federal. Using his vast experience and mental capacity, he designed a heavy 140 gr. bullet, and called it “The Sledghammer”, much like his personality. Alas, the molds were made and shipped. Bullets were cast and loaded, which brings us up to snuff.
As always, Miha’s molds are a joy to use. I ordered a 4 banger, with traditional round pins, pentagonal pins, and blank pins for solids. My first session I cast up about 350 bullets in about 35 minutes time. They went into the tumbler for a powder coat and then into the oven for a bake. They were then given a gas check and sized .314” with a LEE push thru die. We were ready to load.
Now this heavy bullet being fairly new, it is still in its infancy for load data. I had an idea of what powders to try from previous loads, and some from Fermin himself.
I had basically 3 loads to try on the “Sledghammers” maiden voyage. The first was 6 grs. of Longshot, 10.3 grs. of 2400, and lastly, 11.6 grs. of H110. This long, heavy bullet, with lots of bearing surface shot extremely well. Fermin did well on the design. The “Sledgehammer” can be loaded in .32 H&R brass using its crimp groove, or seated below crimp groove in .327 Federal brass. Either way, accuracy was the same.
The “Sledgehammer” clearly shows promise. The 2400 gr. Load was a little hot, as the cases were tough to extract from the cylinder. A slower powder such as AA#9 may be good to try. We shall see. H110 was very consistent, as was Longshot. I would not go any higher than 6 gr. For this bullet.
I know this isn’t the “Sledgehammer” but just wanted to share how well the RCBS 100 gr. SWC does in the .327 Fed loaded in .32 H&R brass.
Lastly, I had my new Caldwell chronograph to try out. For $80 it is a bargain. Costs are kept to a minimum by Caldwell ingeniously keeping the electronics simple by hooking up the unit to a free APP on your smart phone. It records all data, figures out Avg. velocity, SD, spread, etc., while also recording temperature, time , date, and barometric pressure. Multiple groups can be stored, and are easily retrieved. Even I can figure out how to use it! As I told Fermin, sure beats the heck out of chasing paper across the range.
All in all it was a great way to celebrate St Patrick’s Day by trying out some new loads in the Ruger single-seven at the range. More to follow.
