Very nice video. Several things impressed me: ES, SD, are very low, and your very steady hold and excellent marksmanship. I have a 500 Smith, with 4" barrel, and unfluted cylinder. I shoot a lot of 350 grain GC cast bullets, mostly from Montana Bullet Works. I have the same Lee mold as you (C501-440-RF), which I cast from Linotype. After sizing, and lubing with Blue Angel hard lube, and swaging on a gas check, they weigh 450 grains. I don't load them all that hot, just a little over 1200 fps. Even so, they pack a nice wallop. Mine still wears the factory sights, as I prefer them over optics. However, I don't shoot nearly as well as you do. More than adequate for any game in the Western Hemisphere. My favorite powders are 4227, H-110, SR-4759, and A-5744.
That is my model 500 S&W X-frame with a 6.5 inch semi-lug barrel. No longer a catalog item online. I know with the ports and expansion chamber you consider it a 5 inch barrel but it is cataloged as 6.5 inch ported barrel.
I placed the order on a Thursday morning and it was delivered on Monday via FedEx. It is an excellent mold at a great price and the shipping, from Slovenia, was amazingly fast. I also have a couple of the 440gr GC Lee molds and they do work well. They are a bit small and heat up very fast, so I run two of them when I cast, alternating between them to help regulate temp.
Thanks for the reply. I have another question if you don’t mind answering. I recently picked up about 300 pounds of pure lead. I was gonna try 5 pounds of foundry to 15 pounds pure lead. In a 20 pound pot. Any pointers as to how I can get my hardness up on pure lead.
3 parts lead to 1 part foundry is probably much harder than you need. Are you casting for handgun or rifle? For handgun bullets up to 44 mag, I use 3 parts lead to 1 part linoytype, and I water quench. I've tested bullets at this ratio with the Lee Lead Hardness Test Kit at 13.4BHN. Sized to the appropriate diameter, I get zero to minimal leading even with my hot loads. Sizing is key. Most of my 44 wheelguns shoot .430, but not all. I would suggest slugging your bore(s). I ended up with a bunch of linotype pigs years ago, which is why I'm using this lino:lead method, I assume those pigs are softer than true linotype. I've had success mixing wheel weight and pure lead as well, I don't know those ratios off the top of my head. If you can find scrap wheel weights that would be a way to keep costs down. I'd start with a softer alloy than 3 lead:1 foundry, water quench, and size to the appropriate diameter. A bit of experimenting with the alloy ratio and you should be able to find the sweet spot.
Another excellent video that is helping us casters and reloaded build valuable load data. Your standard deviation is hardly a standard deviation at all too! Thank you.
