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PhilOhio · 08-04-2009, 06:22 PM

Ted, Hugh,

Thanks so much for all this technical info. But I should kick myself in the butt. I've got so much fun stuff I lose track of it. This time I almost ordered that 93 grain Lee 2-cavity mold, which I discovered I already have...for my .32 revolvers. It's the perfect bullet, as long as you keep the velocity reasonable (I guess), or use Alox lube. In .32 S&W Long or .32 H&R Magnum, I've never driven it as fast as what .30 Luger may require. But the weight and diameter look right. It should be fine, tumble lubed as dropped from the mold. They say .311".

In that regard, I was recently rather shocked to measure some of Winchester's Silvertip bullets on their commercial loads, to see how oversize they are. I was trying to figure out why their out-of-the-box .45 Long Colt rounds were so much more accurate than anything I had been able to load for my Colt SAA. It has .451" grooves and .452" cylinder mouths. Lyman recommends .452" lead bullets. I made a sizing die to keep them at that out-of-mold diameter, only lubing them. Still didn't get Silvertip accuracy.

Then I find that the Silvertip bullets measure .454" and that is with aluminum jackets! Incredible. Jacketed bullets, .003" oversize, no indications of high pressure, and almost single-hole accuracy at 50'. I haven't quite matched it.

The point of all this is that, even if all the bullets mentioned earlier are fired tumble lubed and unsized in a standard .30 Luger bore, they should be safe, if not used with maximum powder charges. In fact, this may produce best accuracy. Anybody have experience with this sort of thing?

In a .310" bore, a concentric .311" or .312" bullet, tumble lubed in Lee's Alox, might be an accurate 1300+ FPS bullet producing no leading...and perfectly safe, pressure-wise.

08-04-2009, 06:22 PM	#15
PhilOhio User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 145 Thanks: 5 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts	Ted, Hugh, Thanks so much for all this technical info. But I should kick myself in the butt. I've got so much fun stuff I lose track of it. This time I almost ordered that 93 grain Lee 2-cavity mold, which I discovered I already have...for my .32 revolvers. It's the perfect bullet, as long as you keep the velocity reasonable (I guess), or use Alox lube. In .32 S&W Long or .32 H&R Magnum, I've never driven it as fast as what .30 Luger may require. But the weight and diameter look right. It should be fine, tumble lubed as dropped from the mold. They say .311". In that regard, I was recently rather shocked to measure some of Winchester's Silvertip bullets on their commercial loads, to see how oversize they are. I was trying to figure out why their out-of-the-box .45 Long Colt rounds were so much more accurate than anything I had been able to load for my Colt SAA. It has .451" grooves and .452" cylinder mouths. Lyman recommends .452" lead bullets. I made a sizing die to keep them at that out-of-mold diameter, only lubing them. Still didn't get Silvertip accuracy. Then I find that the Silvertip bullets measure .454" and that is with aluminum jackets! Incredible. Jacketed bullets, .003" oversize, no indications of high pressure, and almost single-hole accuracy at 50'. I haven't quite matched it. The point of all this is that, even if all the bullets mentioned earlier are fired tumble lubed and unsized in a standard .30 Luger bore, they should be safe, if not used with maximum powder charges. In fact, this may produce best accuracy. Anybody have experience with this sort of thing? In a .310" bore, a concentric .311" or .312" bullet, tumble lubed in Lee's Alox, might be an accurate 1300+ FPS bullet producing no leading...and perfectly safe, pressure-wise.