Friday, March 20, 2020

New Cast Slug (with a twist) in .338

Had been giving this idea some thought for quite some time now.  "WHAT IDEA DUDE" you ask?  Well, since swage bullets are so popular and the weights are so consistent, what If i were able to cast slugs that looked like swage slugs? Hmmmm, so the idea was born.  And for those that don't quiet get what the differences are between swage and cast, let me try and give a quick and simple explanation.  A swaged projectile is formed from LEAD WIRE (cold/room temp) of a given diameter and hydraulically pressed into a die (which is internally shaped like a bullet) via roughly 20+ tons of force.  Some call it cold pressing or cold swaging because the lead wire is never heated during or before the forming process.  With cast bullets/slugs, lead is melted to roughly 720-740 degree and poured via a ladle into a metal mold (also internally shaped like a bullet) until it cools slightly, then is dropped out of the mold and the process is repeated over and over. And that's it in a nutshell.

So now, back to the bullets which i won't give any deep details about, they drop out of the mold roughly at .3385+- some and the HP versions weight 170 grs and the FN (solid) versions weigh right at 175 grs.  They require very little sizing and the solids are very much consistent in weights.  Almost exactly like swaged slugs.  The HP"s definitely vary but nowhere near as bad as cast bullets with lube grooves.  That's right guys, these cast bullets/slugs have no lube grooves and look 100% like swaged ammo.  And to boot, they are of the RBT or REBATED BOATTAIL design.  Initial testing has shown EXTREME promise and now that the slugs have been HP'd and casted up, it will soon be time for testing.  Initial velocities of the 170 gr HPRBT's is 960 fps and the 175 gr FNRBT is 950 fps.  These are fantastic initial speeds compared to my infamous 175 gr HP with lube grooves.


Until next post guys, stay safe and shoot straight!
 TOFAZFOU

5 comments:

  1. That is one mean looking bullet brother. I would love to have a similar bullet for my moded .22 Disco

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. Yeah, this one was drawn up for me. The hardest part nowadays is that not many mold makes will accept a drawing for bullets less than 7mm or .284

      Delete
  2. Great castings! Very clean and look swaged! Be interesting to see how they group! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Pedro. Hopefully here soon, i can get some groups up. Thanks

      Delete
  3. Tofazfou, could I order some .338 ammo from you? 931-801-0787

    ReplyDelete