Some questions on Brass & Zinc Bulletson a CNC lathe I made a Brass one but are they

[ClassicCannons]

Hi
I just got back from the gun shop and their sold out of bullets so that really put a bummer on this week end :apologetic: target shooting. I thought !

I had read on the internet that you can use soft brass and zinc for bullets but i have no mold for lead ones so i did a program for the CNC for this one i made it take a little over 2 minutes total and i think it came out OK but i want a less radii and i need to go back a bit further also and do a boat tail also.

This one weighs right at 70 grains.

What your thoughts i have my scope set at 300 yard and was using varmint rounds 58 grains with a good grouping so i,ll try this one. Like i said it weight is 70 grains and i don,t know how well it will do by having that heavy radius.

But for the sinc i,m going to drill a .250 hole between 2 pcs of aluminum 4 " long and then turn them down a lot of work should see if i can buy zinc rod.

So whats your opinion on the lesser degree of a radius

O ya the bullet measures .2425 by .850 i really did,t want to go with 243the one i took apart was .2425 but ot could of been crimp t tighter

Thanks for looking

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[Freebore]

I think you did a good job. I would be very careful though. I like how you cut out the groove in the middle for less friction I'm assuming. I use Barnes bullets in my 300wby which are solid copper and they also have multiple grooves in them. Copper is a little softer than brass which would be easier for the barrel rifling to cut into and it would also be less abrasive to the barrel then brass. I don't know about using zinc, I'm not exactly sure about its physical properties but I would think it would be too light or not dense enough. Within 100-200yds probably wouldn't matter too much. You could try doing some research on properties of the best bc bullets. A lot has changed since my spear manual was written but I read that they had the best luck or bc with a bullet that had an ogive radius twice the bullet diameter or something like that. Anyways good luck and be careful developing a load, it's hard to say exactly how well that bullet will move down the barrel

[ClassicCannons]

I need to get a thinner cut off tool I got some spec,s and loading data from Barnes and for the IMR 4831 powder. But it doesn,t state the bullet metal i think it,s copper and it doesn,t have the groves either but i,m ordering some 0.0625 cut off blades and do 4 or 5 of them and use c110 copper bar. Here.s the data. I'll be going under that recommendation. Better safe that sorry. I had read that Solid Brass bullets work well as long as the OD it within the specs it should be safe i think the .2425 is good it,s really hard to get the specs on them don,t know why i guess they don,t want people making them I did read that some of them are banned by the ATF.

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Again Thanks for your input Austin :cool:

I Updated the reply.
I went ahead and did one with more grooves and i got this at 75 grains amazingly and reduce the radius and added a boat tail & it,s a hollow point came out ok but i do like your idea in copper better but at least i got the program done for when i order it i may try one tomorrow and see how it works and yes i'll be going under the min.

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I think you did a good job. I would be very careful though. I like how you cut out the groove in the middle for less friction I'm assuming. I use Barnes bullets in my 300wby which are solid copper and they also have multiple grooves in them. Copper is a little softer than brass which would be easier for the barrel rifling to cut into and it would also be less abrasive to the barrel then brass. I don't know about using zinc, I'm not exactly sure about its physical properties but I would think it would be too light or not dense enough. Within 100-200yds probably wouldn't matter too much. You could try doing some research on properties of the best bc bullets. A lot has changed since my spear manual was written but I read that they had the best luck or bc with a bullet that had an ogive radius twice the bullet diameter or something like that. Anyways good luck and be careful developing a load, it's hard to say exactly how well that bullet will move down the barrel

[Freebore]

I think it looks good, looking forward to seeing the results!
The bullet surface looks polished, I don't see any tooling marks did you polish the surface?

[drybean]

second bullet looks great
I think you may have found a second calling

[Freebore]

One more thought, you probably want to make a go and no-go gauge if you plan to make a bunch unless you really trust the repeatability of your machine or don't mind hand inspecting each one.

[ClassicCannons]

I used 1500 grit cloth it just looks better and it should go thru the air smoother ? total time is around 3 minutes to make o ya the drilling is a bit more but i may make a drill jig on the slide to hold it and have it in the program. I,ll do a video of it doing one later OK

Thanks for you intrest got to go hit the rack


I think it looks good, looking forward to seeing the results!
The bullet surface looks polished, I don't see any tooling marks did you polish the surface?

[ClassicCannons]

One more thought, you probably want to make a go and no-go gauge if you plan to make a bunch unless you really trust the repeatability of your machine or don't mind hand inspecting each one.

Ya i,ll have make a set of gage,s later but the 4 i made were right on but i,d like to change my slide to a linear bearing rail the v-block type has play. I wanna make some tomorrow out of lead ! I,ll cast a lead bar about4" in the split mold i made at least with lead it,s a proven bullet. Thanks Austin

[Freebore]

A solid lead non-jacketed bullet in a high powered rifle might give you some accuracy problems. The jacket helps hold the extremely soft lead's shape and helps prevent lead fowling in the barrel.
You should weigh your bullets. A lot of competition shooter will weigh and sort their bullets. They can vary a few tenths of a grain. I think your bullets would weigh more consistent. I think your bullet has the potential to be more accurate because it is probably better balance than high production bullets. Of coarse every rifle is different but I hope you can get them to work in yours. Looking forward to a range report

[GaCop]

Looking forward to hearing how they shoot!

[fgw_in_fla]

Just when ya think you're really OCD about reloading, a guy comes along and he makes his own bullets.
On a lathe.

Good luck. I'm interested to see the results.

[ClassicCannons]

Sorry
Do you mean Obsessive compulsive disorder. Is this good or bad

Just when ya think you're really OCD about reloading, a guy comes along and he makes his own bullets.
On a lathe.

Good luck. I'm interested to see the results.

[ClassicCannons]

I had wanted to try today but it,s raining and windy I,ll try it at 300-400 yards when i get a chance But i wish i had a better scope this one is only 30X annd it,s really hard to get a good view of the dots on the target With my 223 i could get a 2" group at 350 on a calm day

Looking forward to hearing how they shoot!

[ClassicCannons]

Hello
I did some more hopefully it will not rain tomorrow

Also the repeatability is great their still coming out at .2425

And the weight also exepct fot the fact that i added another groove and these are not hollow point each weigh at 72 grains the non groove one is 76 grains.

But i,d like to make these at a grain weight thats regular for proper loading like 75,80,85,90,95, & 100.

Check out the picture,s Also the last picture is the inspection i,d like to get each one will be checked and weighed befor i shoot them

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http://www.gagesite.com/images/products/544-496A.jpg:o

[Freebore]

Looks like you have access to some pretty nice equipment

[fgw_in_fla]

Sorry
Do you mean Obsessive compulsive disorder. Is this good or bad

Yup....
Reloader's OCD and Savage addiction sorta go hand in hand. Not necessarily a bad thing.
Nice looking work you do there. Results ought to be interesting.

[ClassicCannons]

Freebore i don,t have that Laser scan i wish i did but theirs one on ePain that a good price if i were to buy this new i,d have to make around 20,000 bullets if not more but they have a few nice units other than Mitutoyo but i like Mitutoyo most of my caliber and indicators are that they make a good product


Looks like you have access to some pretty nice equipment

[ClassicCannons]

Yup i,m the same way on making my cannons they have to be flawless and thats what takes me so long i,m sort of picky on what i make i,d rather have a customer mad at me to do it right than to put out shotty work. And also salvage is another bad habit of mine when i lived in southern California i used to buy surplus from Boeing and Litton Northrup Grumman.

I was like a kid in a toy store i,d rather of had my teeth pulled that toleave all the neat cool stuff behind when i moved to Kansas. If i only knew that Titanium would of shot up like it did i would of shipped it here because i had 8 55 gal drums of mixed titanium and inconell bolts from the space suttle because after each flight they have to change every nut & bolt on the shuttle.

I still have some neat stuff like a manual that was in space and some inconell turbines like below

Thanks again Austin

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https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1/1901890_10201484246333414_1099705895_n.jpg

Yup....
Reloader's OCD and Savage addiction sorta go hand in hand. Not necessarily a bad thing.
Nice looking work you do there. Results ought to be interesting.

[fgw_in_fla]

Considering most of us like to assemble components to create a controlled explosion 3 inches from our faces, I'd like to think safety is always job number 1.

My brother in law was working at KSC during the shuttle project. You'd probably enjoy the 25 cent tour of his garage.

What size / kind of cannons you like to play with?

[ClassicCannons]

Hi
On the cannons i make all kinds and Mortars and thunder mugs i would not want one 3 inches from me there was one i made that used 1/2 lb of cannon powder it shook my window at least it was a controlled blast. You can check out some of the ones i have made on my website at http://ClassicCannons.com that was why i bought the cnc I,m going to hit the rack woke up at 2am so i,m sort of beat at least it Sunday

Considering most of us like to assemble components to create a controlled explosion 3 inches from our faces, I'd like to think safety is always job number 1.

My brother in law was working at KSC during the shuttle project. You'd probably enjoy the 25 cent tour of his garage.

What size / kind of cannons you like to play with?