.257 cal 101 gr. BBTs - First Run

[rsterne]

I received my 4-cavity Mould from Al a couple of days ago, and had a chance today to cast the first bullets.... It took me a while to get the right temperature, the long skinny bullets were somewhat wrinkled until I got the mould hot enough.... I did some with 1% tin and some with 2.5%, and I think the higher tin content worked better.... Here is a photo of the mould, in a Lee 6-cavity handle....



This is my first NOE Mould, and I was delighted at the quality.... The bullets dropped at 100.7 gr. in 1% tin and 100.3 gr. in 2.5% tin, and I couldn't measure any difference in size.... The back of the nose ran 0.2575-0.2585" and the driving band about 0.002" larger, just like it was designed.... The center portion measures 0.246", so it shouldn't drag on the lands.... Here is a closeup of some of the 2.5% bullets....



I was pretty picky when I sorted the bullets, and threw about half back into the pot for next time.... but I got enough bullets of each alloy to allow me to test in my Monocoque, once I get the chamber machined.... Here was what I ended up with....



I'm really looking forward to testing these.... They certainly look like they should have a great BC....

Bob

[rifle50]

Bob,

Will be interested in the groupings with your new rifle. Also the BC, and the speed you can accurately shoot them at...

Will await your initial testing........................Carl

[sixshootertexan]

Looking good Bob. Wish I could get the .308 mold from him.

[cosmic]

Sweet Bob !!

[nielsenammo]

looking good Bob.  Like to see how they group at range...

[Rizen 1]

Very Nice Bob!  I am sure the wait will be worth it!

[Tofazfou]

Ok, looking good.  Gonna start cookin my popcorn

[mcc1961]

Great looking bullets!!

[Job]

O M G  finally

[KnifeMaker]

Good Looking!!!

Knife

[K.O.]

Pretty nice Bob those for ~160-200 fpe..?  Looks like a Whiteout for the .257..

Have to admit being a bit jealous... I guess the tooling for the .250 and .217 lights is more of a challenge to make..?


In the group buy thread for the 101gr .257 you wanted a two holer is there a reason you went with the four..?

[rsterne]

Al offered me a 4 cavity, good enough reason?.... *LOL*.... The tooling was a bear for this bullet, and so far they haven't been able to get a tool to live to make the 112 gr, which is even longer (it is a .257 cal copy of the .308 Whiteout).... I'm hoping for over 200 FPE (the goal was 230) with the Monocoque.... I don't expect Al will have a problem with any of the shorter designs, they just got far behind when their tool grinder (sub contractor) broke his grinding machine.... I see the .250 cal 51 gr. has moved to Closed (from Last Call), so I'm guessing that means it will be on the mill any day....

Bob

[K.O.]

I do not have experience with casting lead boolits so thought maybe it might have been a retained heat thing with the size of the round... have a lot to learn...

Did work in an aluminum foundry for about a year making cores and sand molds and learned a bit of the permanent mold side also...So I do think I am up to the challenge...

But yeah just wondered if there was an advantage other than faster production?

In the end I am just happy that there are some alternatives to the current PB molds being developed...