Thirty caliber blues

[Maximumbob54]

So many of my projects are failing me so I went back to an oldie but a goodie.

With so many project failures or those that are taking too much time to figure out I wanted to just pull out some known good ammo and get a rifle sighted in with a freshly mounted scope. It's getting to the point if it's not a peep sight then I can't hit a barn using most iron sights so I put the scope back on my 30AS. This is an old setup I had abandoned because I thought it unnessisary. I'm not too big headed to admit when I'm wrong so back it went. This ammo has sat in the back of my closet for a couple of years now so it's not been in the heat or anything. The .30-30's are tipped with RD's original TLC311-165-RF cast from a Lyman #2 clone. This was a known good load in this rifle a couple of years ago so I loaded literally a bucket of it for future use.

Setup paper at 25 yards to make sure the scope was setup correct. Knew I would be high but kept getting fliers. Started dialing down a little so I wasn't four to five inches high but kept getting random two to five inches right or left. I started thinking it's the scope maybe dying but it doesn't seem to be. It's more like a random sampling of the ammo is just causing flyers. If this was loaded for just range time fun and general trigger time practice then that would be one thing. But this ammo was loaded up for possible future hunts and random fliers aren't going to allow that to happen.

What gives? What am i doing wrong this time???

[akuser47]

Is your closet temp and moisture controlled. Also what was your lead that you used the mixture what powder. All will help in maybe seeing what has happened. Also did you check to be sure there is no lead buildup in the throat or lands?

[Ranch Dog]

Max you and I are having the same run of luck. Just been through four rifles this week, about 200 rounds, trying to find one that is good to go for my desert mule deer hunt.

I think my problem is aging bullets. In the past, I cast too many, always a full pot of each kind. Last year, I stopped that and now only cast enough for no more than a two year supply. In that I also switched to Ben's LL, I'm only going to check, lube & size them as I load them so that if they go over 2 years of age I can just melt them down with no material or time lost in those endeavours.

This past week, every rifle I picked up shot like crap but the last time I pulled the trigger they were sighted in at 100 or 200 yards depending on the cartridge. I'm black & blue because these are some of my heavy hitters. I didn't understand it until I put my LBT BHN Tester to the lead. It has gone from 21 to 14 or less over the course of as few as three years. No way my max loads can survive that.

I've got to sign off and get to bed as I have a early drive and will go into this in detail when I return. Will be gone all week without any kind of service and no land lines.

[akuser47]

This is my concern the state of the molded lead after it s time stored. AS rd stated it changes to our surprise in time. A whole new consideration on storing until tested after time stored. The reason that old lead ballasts from 1000 year old ships is prized for electronics to be made as aged lead is more electrically conductive for whatever reason. If that is so imagine what happens when our meager souls play with its anatomy.

[Maximumbob54]

It's an interior closet so I don't know why anything in there would degrade. I would hate to think all this lead has gotten that soft already but I did water drop them originally. I guess that fades with time.

Hate to say this but at this point I'm getting a little tired of some of my casting for rifles. It's just such a demanding thing compared to pistols. Or maybe I shoot up the pistol ammo fast enough. It doesn't help any either that I paid good money for the high antimony shot and tin to add to the lead to get it just right.

Guess I can pull them and melt them all back down to re-utilize the lead. Not sure I will recast them though. Midway has boxes of Sierra Pro Hunters on sale for $24.99 and I may just add a box or two of them to my next order.

[62chevy]

RD can you heat treat 50 old bullets at 400 for an hour then drop them in ice water. take a couple and test for hardness. A half hour may work just fine too but I've never tried heat treating so can't say.

[akuser47]

He's on his nagalia hunt literally primitive camping and such only way to charge is by vehicles so he'll probably be mia for around a week he left this morning. I'm sure he'll have a lot more info to add or help in this department than I can provide.

[62chevy]

He's on his nagalia hunt literally primitive camping and such only way to charge is by vehicles so he'll probably be mia for around a week he left this morning. I'm sure he'll have a lot more info to add or help in this department than I can provide.

So you get to herd cats for a few days.

[RBHarter]

I have read .....
Air cooled will take 10-16 days to reach nominal hardness.
A/C hardness will be softer than shock cooled but will be typically through hardened .
Water cooled tends to be a more case hardened affair but is stable after 2 days .
W/C will be harder than A/C of the same alloy .
Over time and temperature cycles, because lead and alloys work soften, all cast will soften some .
Folks with way way WAY more time in than me have reported tool error changes out to 7-8 yr ,meaning the changes may be real or they may be the tool that day . After 10 yr or so all report 1-3 bhn loss in about 2.5 yr steps out to 20 yr .
It is all dependant on specific alloys, temperature swing , seismic hum and trace elements in your particular metal.
I mention that because lead from my region is likely to have copper ,silver, arsenic murcury and even gold trace in it because it all comes out of the same holes here in concurrent veins. Chemical compounding isn't my strong suit so the above in terms of atomic bonding may be all wet but it makes sense. The streets of Virginia City were briefly paved in silver because nobody knew what to do with all the blue mud from the mines . It took 5-6 assayers to finally agree that it was high percentage silver as the 1st guy told them it was worthless lead mud . We have copper mines close to those mines as well as natural arsenic.

[Maximumbob54]

Well I'm cheating and going back to jacketed for a while. I would try heat treating these again but that's not something that can be done once they are loaded...