.480 SBH Bisley load results

[ebg3]

Figured I start a new thread with some load/chrono results from my 480 sbh. Bullets I used were a 345gr swc gc bullet from Montana Bullet Works, a Lee 400gr bullet I made both powder coated and just lube/sized. Loads were shot over chrono and shot for accuracy at 25 yards today. Conditions were drizzly and 48 degrees. Results are as follows:

345gr swcgc 25gr H110 CCI mag. Velocity= 1250fps and accuracy is good.

400gr Lee pc'd 21.5gr H110 CCI mag. Velocity= 1140fps and bullets are leading, accuracy is good until fouling gets bad.

400gr Lee pc'd 14gr HS-6 CCI mag. Velocity= 1100fps and bullets still cause leading.

400gr Lee pc'd 14gr HS-6 CCI large pistol primer. Velocity= 1080fps and leading, accuracy is good up to leading.

400gr Lee lube/sized to .476 and using Felix lube I made. 14gr HS-6 CCI large pistol. Velocity= 1100fps and really leaded barrel, badly. 

The powder coated bullets were cast and air cooled then powder coated and sized to .476. The 400gr bullet that was just lube/sized to .476 were cast and water dropped. Alloy is medical lead with tin added. Seems to be similar to old WW. I can scratch a bullet with my thumbnail when air cooled but not when water dropped. I suspect .476 is under sizing the bullets. They cast large and sizing them to.476 really makes the grease grooves tiny. If I just powder coat and don't size, the bullets are too big(up to .479). I wonder if I size the bullets and then powder coat them if the leading issue will go away.

[magnumwheelman]

I'm corn fused... I thought powdercoating was supposed to prevent leading???

[flattopdan]

I had some commercially cast Lee 400 grain bullets and they leaded like crazy and the "groups" looked like buckshot patterns, I think they must drop from the mold undersized.

[ebg3]

Mar 18, 2017 21:27:18 GMT -5 magnumwheelman said:

I'm corn fused... I thought powdercoating was supposed to prevent leading???

I was a little disappointed when I saw the leading. The powder coated bullets lead a lot less than the plain lube/sized bullet. I think either my alloy is a little too soft or sizing to .476 made the bullets too small and allow blow-by leaving the chamber and passing through the forcing cone.
I powder coated some water dropped bullets last night and did not size them. I duplicated the above loads and will shoot them today. The 400gr bullet unsized and powder coated is large, up to .478 and is noticeable when seating in cases. All are snug when chambering. This should make a difference in the leading.

[ebg3]

Mar 18, 2017 22:06:34 GMT -5 flattopdan said:

I had some commercially cast Lee 400 grain bullets and they leaded like crazy and the "groups" looked like buckshot patterns, I think they must drop from the mold undersized.

I don't think you can get enough lube on a Lee 400 gr bullet.?

[bulasteve]

Where is the leading ? The Question. My 400gr Lee's drop at .476 and a layer of PC leaves them in good shape for the cylinder mouths. If you have the thread choke issue, you still get leading in the first inch or two of barrel as bullet is swaged down.

[ebg3]

Shot test loads again today. 400gr Lee bullet water dropped, powder coated, and un-sized. Bullets measure up to .478 and all loaded rounds were snug fitting. Load was 14gr HS-6 with a cci large pistol primer. I shot 30 rounds today and leading was much less than with bullets sized to .476. On the last cylinder, I was getting a little lead around the case mouths and back in the chambers. Barrel had some lead from end to end. I don't feel any thread choke but I can feel a little choke starting 1.25" from the muzzle. The 14gr of HS-6 is going 1100fps over my chrono. It could be if I back down to 13.5gr the leading my go away with the pc'd and unsized bullets, 1000fps may work fine. For now, I'm pulling the plug on the 400gr Lee bullet.
Does anyone make a .477 size die for a lyman sizer?

[gman50]

There are a couple of guys on castboolits.com who can make you a custom sizer. Prices are very reasonable.

[gman50]

One goes by the handle lathesmith and the other is ammohead. Lathesmith has made sizing dies and M type expander plugs for me. Hope this helps.

[ebg3]

I discovered the barrel of my new/replacement .480 sbh is not as spotless as I first thought. There is a 2-2.5" section starting about 1" in front of the forcing cone that is pitted slightly from the forging process. Wouldn't you know this is the area where the fouling starts. The Lee 400gr won't work for me as the fouling is horrible. PC and unsized was much less but still terrible. The 345gr swc-gc bullet I've loaded has a bnh of 22 and seems too hard unless really pushed, no fun. Even with the gas check, getting some fouling.
Bought the RCBS 400gr mould and cast some bullets using my isotope lead with 1/2lb tin added to 20lb pot. Let some air cool and some water dropped. I sized to .476" with my lube/sizer and shot both bullets over 18gr 2400 with large pistol primers. The lube I used is Felix lube that I made. Results are great with both air cooled and water dropped. I shot 15 of each and cleaned between sets. There was ZERO leading in the barrel or cylinder. The only thing that fouled was left over lube in the cylinder and on cases. Those bullets hold a lot of lube! I shot over chrono and 18gr 2400 is doing right at 1100fps with no pressure signs on brass or primers. Brass will even fall out of chambers under it's own weight. I loaded up some at 18.5gr 2400 and they were going 1130 fps and the primers were starting to square off a little. Brass still ejected fine but a little tighter. That's not much of a velocity gain for .5 gr of powder. The 18gr load showed good accuracy potential, I'll try the 18.5gr load today.
I did buy another .476 rcbs die and opened it up slightly to .477". This die is as big as I can go with the bullets cast from my mold/alloy combo and still size most of the bullet. I'll be interested to see if there is a difference between the .476 and .477 die on accuracy.
Making progress...

[jsh]

Did you check the cylinder with a pin gauge? I did not see any mention of it.
I need to send mine off and have it honed. It pins at 476. I can almost get a a .477 CB to chamber if I keep a close eye on things. At the range I may have to run a brush and a patch through the cylinder in order for them to drop in nicely.
Did you slug the barrel at all to see what it may prefer?
Specific to my SBH 480, it should like a .477 bullet according to my slug from my barrel.

All the hardness and messing with alloy, then lube or powder coating, will not make up for poor or wrong fit. As always, size is king,but it has to be done properly.

.476 leaded mine with any combo.

I have shot some very impressive groups out to 50. But, this was after brushing and patching barrel and cylinder before any group shooting. From my findings I think .4775 would fix things, .478 may be even better.

What are you gents with an FA getting for slug size in the 475L?

Don't take this wrong at all,I am not complaining one bit. A little massaging never hurt.
Jeff

[ebg3]

I did not gauge my cylinder or bore. A .476" sized bullet will push through chambers with resistance.
I shot some 400gr rcbs bullets sized to .477"(not quite .477") today with 18.5 gr 2400. Chronosays they are around 1150 fps. They show great potential. Rear sight is all the way down and I'm 3" high at 25yds, 4.5" high at 50 yards and dead on at 100 yards. Shot a 5" 5 shot group at 100 yards off sand bags with irons. I think it will do better but that's all I could manage today, had some nice clusters at 25 and 50.
At 150 yards I guess it's 18" low, lobbed one into a flash target on second shot. Went to 200 and had to hold all of the serrations on the front ramp up with a six o'clock hold and hit a 14" X 16" plate at the base on second shot. It really clangs the steel.
I fit up a set of Hogue black pearl polymer grips to the grip frame and really liked the re-contour and wider grips. After 100-150 shots, both grip panels broke where the locator pin fits them, broke my heart after all the fitting I did. I guess the polymer/fiberglass didn't like the recoil. Just finished fitting a pair of walnut panels I got off ebay. They are blended well just may be too thin, at least they are flat bottomed. I wish I knew how to post pics...
Having said all of that, it seems the rcbs bullet with Felix lube is doing great in my gun. Zero leading and good accuracy potential.
Also shot a couple of six shot groups at 200 yards with my 8 3/8" smith 629-3, interesting.

[ebg3]

Had a good workout at the range today. Shot 60rds of my 400gr rcbs bullet with 18.5gr 2400 in the .480, and about 100rds of 24.5gr H110/240gr jfp through my 8 3/8" 629. The 44 feels quite light after shooting the .480.
With a 100 yard zero the .480 load is about 40" low at 200 yards but still knocks the heck out of the steel at that distance, that's a whole lot of front sight hold up.
Walnut grips are not too thin, they actually feel good.
18.5gr 2400 with the 400gr rcbs bullet seems very mild, primers are still round and brass easily ejects. I'd bet 19gr would still be fine and would probably be close to 1200fps. Still zero leading and lots of lube in the chambers and on case mouths.

[daveb]

I have been having good luck with the Mountain Molds bullets I cast (395gr WFNGC), and this new to me NOE 380gr GC bullet has a lot of potential, the HP versions really tear up the stumps I have been shooting. I am using mostly HS6 and Longshot as I do not need more than 100 fps or so for what I use this shooter for. I still need to get the front sight replaced.

[Markbo]

I am very surprised at PC bullets leading at all. Lead bulkets can lead for several different reasosn. Hardness vs correct velocity, actual alloy, size vs chamber mouths &/or barrel.

Have you determined which issue(s) is/are causing your leading???