Rossi 92 Oversized Bore

A couple weeks ago I had finally got around to shooting my first cast bullets with the Lee 429-200-RF through my Rossi 92 chambered in 44 Magnum and had experienced some serious pleasure in doing so, but I also experienced serious leading. Im also in the process of developing a load for my dads Rossi 92 chambered in 357 Magnum using the Lee 358-158-RF with no leading whatsoever. As far as my Rossi 92 goes I thought for one it was lube failure along with unburned powder due to the charge being to light for the bullet weight. It may have been lube failure but it was something else as well. I had been needing to slug the bore on my 92 to see what the bore diameter was because when using cast bullets proper fit to the bore is essential. I had found out previously on the leverguns forum that SOME of the Rossi 92's chambered in 44 Magnum could very likely be overbored and sure enough mine was. I have several options on how to make the mold the correct size but havent made up my mind yet on what to do.

I finally made a throat cast and to my surprise it measured .432! No wonder im getting major leading using a .429 diameter cast bullet with a .432 diameater bore.



Pictures of the TLC432-285-RF courtesy of Ranch Dog. Thanks again Michael!!!



But luckily I got in on a group buy on a custom Lee six cavity mold for the 44 caliber. The Ranch Dog TLC432-285-RF which I believe will do nicely for my bore size. From the game this bullet has taken it seems to be a flat faced killer. This is a tumble lube and gas checked designed bullet and I cant wait to get my hands on this mold.

1000 visitors!!!

WOW , 1000 visitors!!!. I hope all of you have enjoyed this site and keep coming back. Please feel free to leave remarks for any input, suggestions , or opinions you may have. I would like to hear from you. I appreciate the support Thank You!....Steve.

Lee 358-158-RF

Im in the process of developing a load for dads Rossi 92 (see above photo) chambered in 357 Magnum and got to send a few over the Beta Master Shooting chrony today with an average velocity of 1410 fps out of the 24" barrel.

Im using the Lee 358-158-RF with a dose of WC820(n) surplus powder. Unlike my 92 there was no leading in the barrel. There was some unburned powder due to the lighter starting charge but that will be fixed tomorrow...To Be Continued

Ammo Penetration Testing

I added a link to The Box'O Truth website in the links section. A very informative site all about ammo penetration testing,Its a very difficult job (Yea Right) but someone has to do it! And these guys do a great job at it. Tests are from pistols, rifles , and shotguns in everything from metal doors, locks, to ballistic resistant glass,Check them out. Thanks again Old Painless!

The BoxO'Truth

Lifetime Concealed Carry Permit Just Passed by Indiana House & Senate

Lifetime Concealed Carry Permit Just Passed by Indiana House & Senate

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Jim Tomes, the Second Amendment Patriots, Senator Johnny Nugent, and Rep. Troy Woodruff, Indiana has become the first state to pass a lifetime concealed carry permit, which Governor Daniels has said he will sign. Jim suggests that we might want to call the lawmakers and thank them for carrying the ball on this one. The Capitol switchboard is 1-800-382-9467. YES!!!!!!!!

Meet, Greet, Shoot, And Eat Picts Added!!!!

I added some more EXCELLENT PICTS of the 1st Annual Sixgunner.com/ Leverguns.com Meet, Greet, Shoot, And Eat Picts that I took back in Nov at the Red Brush Rifle Range in Southern Indiana. Click on the title link and check them out!

Shooting My First Handloaded Cast Bullets

I have been reloading now for going on two years but only started casting my own bullets a little over a month ago. It's really a hobbie in itself, but goes hand in hand with reloading your own. A few years ago I never would have thought I would be casting my own bullets, but I didnt think I would be doing alot of things I do now. I have always been into firearms since my teens but being on the internet and a member of a couple forums and one in particular Paco Kelly's Leverguns I have met and talked to some very knowledgable and kind folks with the same interests as me. And made some good friends along the way. Anyway it all leads me to the point where I am now. Shooting my very first hanloaded cast bullets!!!

I was setting up the chronograph and the anticipation was intense to say the least. Several days ago I loaded my first cast bullets a Lee 429-200-Rn dropped from the mold right at 208 Gr. I had gotten 16lbs of surplus powder and it was time to use some of it. I started off 10% below start charge out of the Lee Modern Reloading Manual for the simple fact I dont know the quickness of this powder but followed AA#9 data as instructed. When I first pulled the trigger on my Rossi I felt just like I did when I began handloading a couple years earlier. My Fun Meter Was Pegged, and the sense of satisfaction was intense. Of course I was just happy they went bang! I knew from a fellow forum member that I probably didnt have the correct bullet powder combo due to the WC820(n) needing more chamber pressure to burn effectivly( Thanks Junior) But I had already loaded these and just couldnt help myself, and if there was any leading from the bullet not having enough lube. After I was done shooting I examined the bore and sure enough there was leading a couple inches from the muzzle and about halfway through the barrel as well. Lube failure was evident as was unburnt powder and residue from a light charge. I was told this would be the case with my bullet and powder weight combination but wanted to try anyway to give me an idea what barrel leading looks like and to give me some experience etc,etc,. Heres a pict that shows the lead deposits in the bore. Another thing is I really didnt know what leading in the bore looks like because I have always shot jacketed bullets in my pistols and rifles. Like I said this is all new to me. But you have to start somewhere.....To Be Continued.

Lee Turrent Press/ Auto Disk Pro Powder Measure

Over the last month my dad and me have melted close to 400 lbs of wheel weights into ingot moulds. Cast A BUNCH!!! of bullets, and learned alot about the entire process.We now have some 350-400 lbs of ingots in our inventory waiting and ready to be cast, and hundreds of bullets ready to load up and shoot.YES!!! Seems like it has taken forever to get to this point.

I finally had a chance to load some of those Lee 429-200-RF cast bullets. I am developing this load using a surplus powder I got from Gibrass out of Owensboro KY. The powder is WC820(n) Orignal application is for the U.S. Cal. .30 Carbine Ball M1 round. This lot loads at 14gr with 110gr FMJ projectile. This is a ball powder which can be loaded using Accurate Arms #9 (AA#9) data. This is new ball powder. It is quite affordable, right at ten dollars a lb delivered to the door.




It felt good being in front of the turrent press again, seems like its been awhile. When I initially got my casting supplies I had purchased a Lee universal expanding die, which I haven't needed to use as my powder through expanding die works great for this without any shaving as the bullet is seated. Another fine piece of Lee equipment I haven't used in a while is the Lee Auto Disk Pro Powder Measure. The Pro Powder Measure screws into the top of the powder through expanding die and the drop tube fits into the end of the hollow expanding plug. The case while being expanded, pushes the expander up and this operates the powder measure through a bell crank.





This setup is absolutely a joy to use!!!. With the Lee turrent press and the Auto Disk Pro Powder Measure I can produce 200-300 cartridges an hour! I got my Lee 44 Mag dies setup for proper amount of flare, bullet seating depth, and crimp and made a couple of dummy rounds to see how they function in my Rossi 92. They functioned flawlessly! I loaded twenty rounds to see how the starting loads will do. Now just finding the time to run them through my chronograph and test them out....To Be Continued.
Heres a link to an interesting article on Testing Surplus Powder WC820(n)

Shooting Chrony
Lee Precision
Gibrass/Surplus powder

Robs Reloading Organizer/Ballistic Software

There are many ballistic programs out on the market, I have used several including Lee Shooter , Point Blank which is a free program for download, I have tried several of the more expensive ones and trials like the ballistics program from Barnes Ballistic Software .Some are quite expensive while others are free. I have been using a program for over a year now named Robs Reloading Organizer. Out of the programs ive tried this one I like the best. RRO is a combination reloading data storage and ballistics program. While there are other programs out there that cost 50.00 - 100.00 and up that doesn't have the features that RRO has. I will touch on just a few of these but the robsoft website will go into much greater detail and screenshots.

Some of the features I like about this particular program are it has a simple user interface, has the ability to help you when creating a series of loads for testing new powders and bullets. RRO can even help you when testing loads for best free bore (jump to the lands) measurements.

The ballistic section of this program is able to calculate the velocity, energy, trajectory, total drop, time of flight, wind deflection, lead, MOA, and the sight adjustment up to 1000 yd. It is possible to compare up to seven different loads at the same time and save the data as CSV or an image file. The program uses the Ingalls tables for the ballistic calculations. This is identical to the G1 table which most of the bullet manufacturers use to calculate their bullets BC.

One feature I like in particular is RRO is able to communicate with my Beta Master Shooting Chrony . You can download your saved velocity information directly to the program just by connecting a cable from the chronograph to the computer. The program can handle up to 20 shot strings of any length, the program also calculates the average velocity, standard deviation, extremespread and shows the highest and lowest velocity. You can add and delete shots and the program can display a chart with all the velocities in each shot string. If you don't have one of the supported chronographs, you can use the data receiver screen to enter shot velocity information by hand. RRO has databases for your Firearms, Bullets, Powders, Primers, Ammunition, Max & trim to length. You can create loads by Percent, Max and min, weight, and freebore. RRO features calculators for Flight time lead, energy, recoil energy, sectional density, bullet stability, and case capacity.
The program also features a conversion tool for length, weight, velocity, and energy. Anyone may use this software during a test period of 30 days. Following this test period of 30 days, if you wish to continue to use Rob's Reloading Organizer, you MUST register to use all the functions in this software. You can still use the program to save and open your reloading data when the test period is over, but most of the functions will be locked until you have registered the program. For 35.00 bucks this program cant be beat! Heres the link to Robs Reloading Organizer website and free 30 day trial.

I have tried several other brands, and out of those my pick is Robs Reloading Organizer.

Here is a couple more links for reloading software.

Ballistic Software Downloads/Steves Reloading Pages

Heres some more from my walk yesterday.

It was such a nice day (almost 70 degrees) that I took a stroll down the ole railroad grade and got some picts of my Winchester 94. I am looking forward to Springtime as I want to get more time in with my 94 and get used to the Williams FP thats on my Rossi 92. Also to work up a nice load for both with all those cast bullets ive been tinkering with! Still gotta get a mould for the 30/30 though.