| Jim_C |
| (.300 member) |
| 15/12/14 02:00 PM |
9.3 mould questions
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In amongst selling off a bunch of "stuff", I managed to pick up a mould for my 9.3x62. It seems to be a very well-made mould (NEI 290.368 GC). Haven't had a chance to cast with it yet, but laying a pair of calipers across the base of the bullet seems to suggest that the mould is designed to produce bullets to take 35 caliber gas checks.
Can anyone who's used a 9.3mm mould from NEI confirm this? How well has it worked out in shooting?
Thanks,
Jim
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 15/12/14 06:39 PM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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.358 gas checks, I do not think, will be of any value on a .366" bullet - unless they are large enough when new (Hornady perhaps?), to fit the depth of the 9.3's grooves & then some. Undersized gas\checks will likely be of little value.
A simple card wad of approx. .368" diameter will work much better, but - it must be in contact with the bullet's base. You may have to make a punch to cut these. If you cannot obtain 9.3 gas checks, then consider using a card wad - again, if must be in contact with the bullet's base.
If using IMR Trail Boss powder, this will be easy loading to the base of a seated bullet with no need of a filler. V
VV powder, Tin Star may or may not also have use in such loads. Contact that powder maker for further info on it. If using faster burning, less bulky powders other than AA5744, then a filler between the bullet and powder of some sort will be needed. No filler is needed with AA5744, however, all others should be in contact with the powder.
If you keep the velocity below about 1,400fps, the bullets will most likely shoot very well without any gas check, if kept between 12 and 15 Brinell and under 25,000psi.
I suggest the 9.3 mould is meant for 9.3 gas checks, or if not, then perhaps re-sized .375 gas checks.
| aromakr |
| (.375 member) |
| 16/12/14 01:45 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Both of my 9.3 moulds are designed for .375 gas checks.
Bob
| Jim_C |
| (.300 member) |
| 16/12/14 03:36 PM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Thanks for the replies, guys. Daryl, I had to laugh at myself--I had to look up the powders you mentioned. I was considering powders more in the range of IMR 3031 to IMR 4064. Those have worked well for me in a couple of 8x57s, so they seem a good starting point.
I got home from work tonight and plugged the lead pot in. The pot was full of soft lead, but figured that would be close enough to give me some measurements. Once the lead and mould were up to temp, I cast about a dozen bullets and called it good.
The gas check shank mic's out at .3408", with great consistency and concentricity. As I feared, that works out to a 35 caliber gas check. The mould is old enough that 9.3 checks were likely unavailable, leaving the options of using 35 cal or 375 cal checks.
Current plan is to finish lapping out the sizing die while I wait for some 9.3mm gas checks. I'll ream the gas check shank of the mould to fit the checks, and then I can get to load development. (Since I hadn't actually planned to get a mould til spring, I'll still be ahead of my mental timeline. I must be forgetting something. . . .)
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 17/12/14 03:05 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Is Lyman still making gas checks?
These are designed for differently shaped shank than Hornady gas checks. Hornady checks are tapered and are designed for a tapered shank and to be crimped on, whereas the Lyman checks are pretty much straight sided and are slide on gas checks.
| wjw |
| (.275 member) |
| 17/12/14 03:16 PM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Daryl
Lyman still sells gas checks - and may still make them. However, the last box of .30 cal opened looked like clones of the Hornady style.
| xausa |
| (.400 member) |
| 18/12/14 01:34 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Has anyone had any experience with this person: http://www.patmarlins.com/? He sells, among other things, dies to make gas checks out of aluminum drink cans.
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 18/12/14 02:18 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Quote:
Daryl
Lyman still sells gas checks - and may still make them. However, the last box of .30 cal opened looked like clones of the Hornady style.
Really - maybe my .270's, .30's, and .35 Lyman gas checks in the old style are collector's items - HA!
| Jim_C |
| (.300 member) |
| 18/12/14 04:59 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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From what I've heard, Lyman only sells gas checks of the Hornady pattern. I don't know if the old style checks are "collectible" but they are still in demand from some shooters.
Xausa, I've had the chance to try the tools sold by Patmarlin. Of the various tools I've used to produce gas checks, his press-mounted set-up is the easiest to use and most consistent. The end product isn't "the same" as the old-style Lyman checks, but accuracy is similar. My pet load in my good Krag shot a little high and left, but group size was as expected.
I'll probably purchase a set in 9.3 sooner or later. Gas checks for the 9.3 are currently available, but being it is a non-standard size in the US I don't trust that they will "always" be available.
| cordite |
| (.333 member) |
| 20/12/14 02:24 PM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Interesting. I have an old lbt 9.3 mould. It is set up for 375 gas checks. Easier to size them down than make a small gas check bigger!
CptCurl
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| (.450 member) |
| 30/01/15 11:27 PM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Quote:
Interesting. I have an old lbt 9.3 mould. It is set up for 375 gas checks. Easier to size them down than make a small gas check bigger!
This sounds like an elegant solution. How does it work in practice? Do the gas checks stay on?
Curl
| aromakr |
| (.375 member) |
| 31/01/15 01:56 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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I have a 9.3 mould that takes .375 gas checks. They size down quite easily when you run them through the sizing die. The checks are soft copper and re-size easy. Never had one come off.
Bob
| Iowa_303s |
| (.400 member) |
| 31/01/15 10:42 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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I have a new mould for my 9.3. The gascheck shank measures .352" diameter in a fairly soft alloy 95% lead, 3% tin & 2% antimony.
Hornady .375 gaschecks crimp on easily in my Lyman 450 sizer and are firmly crimped.
I do have to say though my 9.3 has an oversize .370" bore and the mould casts at.3725" diameter. My sizing die is .372" diameter so not much different than a standard .375.
I will post results in a new thread when I have data.
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 31/01/15 11:05 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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That's the same size as my 9.3x57 was, Matt- .370" groove diameter. The bore was a standard .358".
The neck in my chamber would only allow a .367" bullet seated in an 8x57 RP necked up case, though. It was fine for .365" to .367" jacketed bullets and very accurate with those, but would need to be enlarged by .005" to allow larger bullet to be used, to .397"- just a guess.
| Iowa_303s |
| (.400 member) |
| 31/01/15 11:27 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Daryl,
.398" is where I went to.
I will detail the whole process in a new post in a week or two.
| eagleyes |
| (.224 member) |
| 31/01/15 11:59 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Jim
Try NOE Bullet Moulds for gas checks. A mate uses them on his 9.3 NOE moulds. For home-made gas checks give Pat Marlin a miss and Google Freecheck III. Very user friendly compared to the Pat Marlin gascheck or freecheck makers. I have one of each.
| Jim_C |
| (.300 member) |
| 31/01/15 05:20 PM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Iowa 303, I'll be watching for your post--I've got a similar bore diameter situation and am debating options. (What part of Iowegia are you in? I'm "temporarily"--25 years and counting--stuck in eastern Nebraska.)
Eagleyes, I'm waiting on some samples of NOE's checks as an alternative to Hornady's .375 checks. For my purposes the Marlin tool works out better: the loading press is always set up here at home , but my arbor press is set up over at a friend's farm.
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 01/02/15 06:04 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Quote:
Daryl,
.398" is where I went to.
I will detail the whole process in a new post in a week or two.
That's great. I'm not sure my brother would let me convert that rifle to a cast bullet rifle now as he owns it.
For shooting jacketed, the case neck expansion would be excessive, I'd think. Now, there is only 1 1/2 thou. allowable expansion when using a .367" bullet. Most case necks only expand .0005"(1/2 thou) with the current loads in this tight chamber and 0 expansion to 1/2 thou above the web. from FL sized.
| Iowa_303s |
| (.400 member) |
| 01/02/15 07:25 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Quote:
For shooting jacketed, the case neck expansion would be excessive, I'd think.
This rifles neck started at .393" diameter. The increase of .005" does not seem to have affected jacketed bullet accuracy at all. Remember this is with iron sights, no scope. If there was some loss of accuracy I cant tell.
This will be a dedicated cast bullet gun anyway as I have another that is great with jacketed bullets.
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 01/02/15 07:35 AM |
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Re: 9.3 mould questions
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Matt - when you consider a lot of NA rifles have excessive neck diameters (planned chambering reamer life expectancy, maybe?) - some upwards of .008", the extra .005" might not be too bad.
With the rifle currently shooting into around an 1-1/4" or less with sized down 225gr. Hornady's, .232gr. Normas, 270speers, 285 Privis and 286gr. Norma, 293gr. TUG's and sized down 300gr. Hornady's, I think this one will probably 'stock'.
Besides, Taylor, a consumate black powder shooter & builder, is not much interested in modern stuff. Afterall, this rifle was made in 1929 and he traded merely for a better guide gun, one with a little more range and power.