249-39-RF-E6 Mold DAR .25

[Firewalker]

Eddie had sent me a little 'sample pack' to try out as I waited for my mold to arrive and they shot very well from my DAR .25 so I decided to really dig in yesterday and show my middle son how to cast slugs. We cast about 1100 of them and about 1/3 were perfectly formed and 2/3 had incomplete fill out at the hollow point edge. Not so bad that they are not useable but I will not use them for hunting none the less.

I am casting using my pellet trap reclaimed lead, mostly CPHP's in there so the lead is not pure. The slugs are dropping right at 0.250" and the DAR has a bore with 0.248" lands and 0.251" grooves. I size all of my castings no matter how well they fit/shoot so I bring them down to 0.249" so that they load in the breech without too much lever pressure but still engage the bore.

I use homemade lanolin sizing spray on the slugs and they do come out very nice but I also was curious as to how powder coating would work in an airgun so I reserved a hundred and ran them through the process. I use Smoke's Traffic Purple, it's momma's favorite color.

I'll post some pix then will come back and add targets at 100y when I get some bench time to show you how they shoot.

[Greg_E]

I am guessing that you wash them after sizing and before PC?

[customcutter]

Looks very good!  Those should show up well if you have a scope cam, not quite florescent but close.

[Firewalker]

Here is a target I put down afield at 310', it's a 7-1/2" skillsaw blade and an 18" metal cutting blade making up the target. You cant see it from the picture but the thin skillsaw blade has significant denting, 1/2" deep in places showing just how much energy those slugs retain at range.

I am just tickled at what I am seeing. I shot those slugs with a 10mph crosswind so hold over was the edge of the small blade but still, most of the hits were inside a small circle and the others were intentional as I was trying to hit clean steel to see the splashes.

I'll get out again today and will tweak the hammer spring a bit to see if I can shrink the groups down a bit. I want to join the NUAH Club so this is my passport! 

[Spacebus]

I have that same color PC, but never got around to trying it out. Those slugs look fantastic, and I wish my Eagle Claw had a similar bore to your DAR. Did you shoot the PC slugs or just sized slugs?

[Firewalker]

I am guessing that you wash them after sizing and before PC?

Sorry I didn't explain better, for PC, I take them right from the mold and keep them warm, 120F? then add them to the container with a 1/2 teaspoon of PC and swish them around, put them in the tray and bake them. Then I size them with no lube in the die.

For raw lead, I spray with lube and size, I dont wash the lube off as I am getting good speeds from the lube. I will just run an alcohol patch down the bore then a silicone patch if I get any buildup.

[Firewalker]

Looks very good!  Those should show up well if you have a scope cam, not quite florescent but close.

I didn't even think of that! I do have some silver florescent PC that's not very attractive but I bet it would show up well! 

[Firewalker]

I have that same color PC, but never got around to trying it out. Those slugs look fantastic, and I wish my Eagle Claw had a similar bore to your DAR. Did you shoot the PC slugs or just sized slugs?

I shot them both but the target was pretty messy when I got to the PC slugs so I couldn't tell if they hit tighter or looser. I will shot some today with my son and see how they do.

What diameter/weight do you shoot? I have a pretty wide variety of PC boolits you could try out.

[Spacebus]

I have that same color PC, but never got around to trying it out. Those slugs look fantastic, and I wish my Eagle Claw had a similar bore to your DAR. Did you shoot the PC slugs or just sized slugs?

I shot them both but the target was pretty messy when I got to the PC slugs so I couldn't tell if they hit tighter or looser. I will shot some today with my son and see how they do.

What diameter/weight do you shoot? I have a pretty wide variety of PC boolits you could try out.

My Eagle Claw likes .250-.252" slugs, and weight isn't a big issue with the adjustable poppet, I just don't like going above 45-ish grains since velocity gets slower than slugs like around there. I have a .25 cal NOE BBT slug mold, but haven't had any time to do any casting with it.

[Firewalker]

He took it out and shot a mag of the PC slugs and the group was minute of pumpkin! I'll get out and shoot a group later, he is a PB guy and may have been jerking the trigger.

[EdinGa]

He took it out and shot a mag of the PC slugs and the group was minute of pumpkin! I'll get out and shoot a group later, he is a PB guy and may have been jerking the trigger.

If you guys want hassle-free powders look for tgic polyester base. Color doesn't seem to matter as long as it isn't yellow. I don't know of anyone that's had great coverage with yellow.

[Firewalker]

He took it out and shot a mag of the PC slugs and the group was minute of pumpkin! I'll get out and shoot a group later, he is a PB guy and may have been jerking the trigger.

If you guys want hassle-free powders look for tgic polyester base. Color doesn't seem to matter as long as it isn't yellow. I don't know of anyone that's had great coverage with yellow.

I get all of my PC from Smoke (member here), he tests everything he sells so it all sticks. 

Yupper, I have yellow, it covers about 50% unless you spray it.

[EdinGa]

He took it out and shot a mag of the PC slugs and the group was minute of pumpkin! I'll get out and shoot a group later, he is a PB guy and may have been jerking the trigger.

If you guys want hassle-free powders look for tgic polyester base. Color doesn't seem to matter as long as it isn't yellow. I don't know of anyone that's had great coverage with yellow.

I get all of my PC from Smoke (member here), he tests everything he sells so it all sticks. 

Yupper, I have yellow, it covers about 50% unless you spray it.

Yes sir, he sells good stuff. I've bought a lot from a guy called Grmps on cast bullets and The Reloaders Network too. Good prices and tested.

[Greg_E]

Smoke has a yellow that is almost there, and might be there for people with more experience than I have.

I've been sizing, washing, then PC and size again because I've had too far to squeeze for straight out of mold PC. I've also been drying them with a heat gun which leaves a bit of temperature in them, and it does seem to help with coverage. The last ones I did like this were giant 450 grain .510 rounds for a gun that will not be named. I need to get some .357 and some of the .25 27gr RF cast up since it is looking like a long time until I can get the .510 working (delays again).

[Firewalker]

Smoke has a yellow that is almost there, and might be there for people with more experience than I have.

I've been sizing, washing, then PC and size again because I've had too far to squeeze for straight out of mold PC. I've also been drying them with a heat gun which leaves a bit of temperature in them, and it does seem to help with coverage. The last ones I did like this were giant 450 grain .510 rounds for a gun that will not be named. I need to get some .357 and some of the .25 27gr RF cast up since it is looking like a long time until I can get the .510 working (delays again).

I have tried it both ways with the .25 slugs but I have seen no difference in accuracy so I go straight from the mold to the bucket with a warm (not hot) pile of slugs then add a teaspoon of powder, roll them around and roll them out onto a grill matt and put them into a silicone ice cube tray.

[EdinGa]

I powder coat almost everything I shoot. It may be an extra step I don't need but it takes very little effort and I enjoy doing it.

[Spacebus]

I bought this mold a few weeks ago and finally got a chance to cast with it. I doubt these will be accurate out of my Eagle Claw in as cast diameter. My mold is a two cavity brass, what do I need to enlarge it by at least 0.002"? I may also try to PC the slugs and have the supplies/materials, but that sounds quite time consuming. Could I add some pure tin to my melt to help "fatten" the slugs? I've been adding recovered H&N, Crosman, Hatsan, NSA, and my own cast ammo to my pure lead for casting, but I can't measure any difference in my cast ammo compared to just pure lead. This slug design is very similar to NSA, and those shoot like a laser out of my Eagle Claw (at least the .250" do), so I would like to figure out how to make this mold work.

I read somewhere on GTA that you can put some polishing compound on the slugs and spin them in the mold with a drill or something. I also saw someone mention using a brass screw in the diameter I want.


One of my HP pins had "the bulge" like others have experienced, but was able to fix it with my drill and sandpaper.

[Greg_E]

I might try 1% or 2% tin with pure lead. Others have said it helps fill out the mold, and adds very little to the hardness. I haven't tried it yet, but have about half a pound of tin on hand. Not sure if that small of an amount of tin will prevent shrinking.

[Firewalker]

I bought this mold a few weeks ago and finally got a chance to cast with it. I doubt these will be accurate out of my Eagle Claw in as cast diameter. My mold is a two cavity brass, what do I need to enlarge it by at least 0.002"? I may also try to PC the slugs and have the supplies/materials, but that sounds quite time consuming. Could I add some pure tin to my melt to help "fatten" the slugs? I've been adding recovered H&N, Crosman, Hatsan, NSA, and my own cast ammo to my pure lead for casting, but I can't measure any difference in my cast ammo compared to just pure lead. This slug design is very similar to NSA, and those shoot like a laser out of my Eagle Claw (at least the .250" do), so I would like to figure out how to make this mold work.

I read somewhere on GTA that you can put some polishing compound on the slugs and spin them in the mold with a drill or something. I also saw someone mention using a brass screw in the diameter I want.


One of my HP pins had "the bulge" like others have experienced, but was able to fix it with my drill and sandpaper.

Correct, Bugling a mold, GO SLOW, check it often!

[Spacebus]

I bought this mold a few weeks ago and finally got a chance to cast with it. I doubt these will be accurate out of my Eagle Claw in as cast diameter. My mold is a two cavity brass, what do I need to enlarge it by at least 0.002"? I may also try to PC the slugs and have the supplies/materials, but that sounds quite time consuming. Could I add some pure tin to my melt to help "fatten" the slugs? I've been adding recovered H&N, Crosman, Hatsan, NSA, and my own cast ammo to my pure lead for casting, but I can't measure any difference in my cast ammo compared to just pure lead. This slug design is very similar to NSA, and those shoot like a laser out of my Eagle Claw (at least the .250" do), so I would like to figure out how to make this mold work.

I read somewhere on GTA that you can put some polishing compound on the slugs and spin them in the mold with a drill or something. I also saw someone mention using a brass screw in the diameter I want.


One of my HP pins had "the bulge" like others have experienced, but was able to fix it with my drill and sandpaper.

Correct, Bugling a mold, GO SLOW, check it often!

What grit or compound do I need? Should I use a brass screw or a slug? I'm 100% new and inexperienced beyond pouring metal into the holes, which I'm also not great at.

edit: I found a good article on mold lapping, and it seems that if I had gotten the mold in aluminum it probably would have dropped larger slugs in the first place.