Lyman 375248 Bullet Nose Diameter

[HPT]

Hi All,

I am waiting for a mould from Buffalo Arms and was curious as to what to expect as far as the bullet nose diameter. Could someone who has cast bullets from this mold let me know the diameter of the nose? The body diameter would be good to know too. Thanks for your help.

[Glenn]

HPT,
The nose of the #375248 doesn't really amount to anything, as it tapers right away, i.e. it's not a bore-ride nose. Mine is .356" right in front of the front band. The body casts .378" from wheel weights. Hope this helps.
Glenn

[HPT]

Thanks Glenn,

How was your results with mold? Gun? Load details?

[Glenn]

HPT,
The bullet is really too small for my Marlin Cowboy with its .381" groove diameter. Still, with 12.5 grs. of Blue Dot and lubed with LBT Blue, it shoots decent, about 1-1/4" at 50 yards and about 3" at 100. I had some AL-8 which shot well at 14 grs, as well as 19 grs. of 4227. These are all light loads, and were loaded in the short cases, 2.08". I recently got some of the Starline 2.125" cases with the thinner necks, but haven't tried them much yet. I think the thick necks of the short (Winchester) cases help seal the gasses a bit, so the undersize bullets aren't as bad as they could be. I tried 50-50 Alox-beeswax lube and got horrible leading! Using good lube seems to help poor bullets! A friend dusts his CBs with Motor Mica and that helps if the bullets are small. All bullets were air-cooled wheel weights.
Glenn

[HPT]

Thanks Glenn,

I want to use blackpowder. The bore groove dim are .373/.379. Maybe they'll bump up.

[Glenn]

HPT,
Your .379 groove diameter is a lot closer, so you should be OK. I haven't loaded cartridges with black powder, just muzzleloaders.
Glenn