Oregon Trail 215 gr SWC in 41 mag

[triggerpull]

Well santa delivered a late present: a box of 500 bullets of Oregon Trail cast SWC's and they look pretty nice. Interesting in that they use a silver mix as part of the formulation which obviously aids in hardness (and I assume reduces fouling), though the lube band seems a bit weak/inconsistent on some of the bullets.

So--any sweet recipes anyone has brewed up with these? Another question--has anyone hunted with these and noticed any difference between the way they perform compared to "conventional" lead cast bullets? thanks!

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Those bullets are very hard and will most likely have to be driven very hard. I had some and they leaded the barrel badly but then I never had any good luck with lead. They would be good for hunting.

The silver alloy is a bogus advertisement. I bet they put less than 0.1 grain of silver in a vat of lead.

 

[Bucks Owin]

Can't say for sure, but I expect it could be pewter not silver... :?

I recently had some pewter given to me and the tin content is valuable to we bullet casters. Very little is needed to sweeten bullet alloy, around 5% and is more to improve castability than hardness... :wink:

Note to jimbo:
By now most of us know of your "bad luck" with cast bullets, although many of us dote on homebrewed handgun projectiles. Heck, a lot of us enjoy casting almost as much as shooting! It's a downright shame that you are limited to stuffing J-word bullets in your cases to attain any degree of success...

 

[powder smoke]

I have had good luck with cast bullets. I push them them a moderate speed with no problems.
In my super 14 contender I do get some leading, I suspect the bore is a tad tighter

Triggerpull no help with the Oregon bullets never used them. M&P outta Vt. is what I use,
pretty good hard bullets and reasonable Mom & Pop operation. Give me a shout if you like to
try some. ps

 

[992B]

Triggerpull, I use these bullets with 17 to 18 grains of 2400 powder and a firm crimp on the bullet. I see no accuracy difference using either standard or magnum primers. Make sure your revolver has a good forcing cone, preferably an 11 degree angle. I found these to be like Thor's hammer on deer!! Regards, Gary

 

[triggerpull]

I can't figure out the "silver" part myself--but they clearly have a bright silverish component that seems to make them harder than any other all-lead cast bullet I have. I'm wondering if it's more like nickle/zinc--lots of case makers use those to harden weak areas in cases. Appreciate the advice and will get to loading some up soon. If anybody ever gets a line on either 2400, #7 or Unique (that I can order) PLEASE pm me or post here! ; )

 

[triggerpull]

thanks for that Dixie. looks like a great resource. I've been a little reluctant to go down the rabbit hole of casting my own since I already have my hands full with conventional reloading--plus every caster I know says doomsday is at hand since nobody makes lead in the US anymore and gas stations are moving away from lead balancers.