R.E.A.L.s

[docone31]

The only molds I could get so far for my Hawken Wannabe has been a R.E.A.L.
I like the performance. I did have a box of balls, and both the R.E.A.L., and the patched ball were compareable.
Now, sometimes, the R.E.A.L.s are a bit touchy to load. You really have to engrave the rifleing!
So far, I have been useing the ball starter. I have had to hammer on a couple of occasions a R.E.A.l. into the bore. Once it is started, it slides down ok, however I did mess the pristine tip with the ball starter on a couple of them.
Patched ball, lube the patch, put it on the muzzle, center the ball, set the starter so the small brass ferrule is on the ball and bap with the hand. The other one, I sometimes have to lightly bap the casting to keep it centered, and drive it in.
I like the way it fires, it hits hard, and where it is pointed. I have used 110gns with it and it is same point. I just had to try some hot loads. 70gns is more like it though.
Anyone have any advice on these?
I do have a white rubber mallet. Perhaps that is more gentle on the nose.

[357maximum]

I use a small 3/8 inch thick piece of osage orange wood about 1.25inches wide and about 3.5 inches long. It is shaped like a paddle of sorts, one end is flat the other resembles a dowel rod...use the flat to start the R.E.A.L and the dowel like end like a short starter.

I simply make sure the real is square with the bore and seat it with hand pressure. My tc is looser than my cva sidelocks, but they both go in nice...and straight this way.

Is your alloy pure or just "pure ..ISH"?

I find 100% pure lead works alot better in the cva's...while I can get away with the slightly fatter real (scrap soft lead with some "stuff" in it) in the TC. It does not take much tin/antimony in scrap to make the size difference very apparent come time to seat the R.E.A.L.

[Maven]

Your .50cal. REAL's must drop larger than mine (I had both the lighter and heavier .50cal. REALs), as mine just slid down the bbl. of my Knight Bighorn with little resistance. In fact, I even tried paper patching the heavier one, which helped, but it never surpassed the Lyman or T/C Maxi-Ball in accuracy in that rifle. However, I had a .45cal. REAL that equalled the Maxi-Ball's accuracy in my T/C Hawken. There was no trick to it, but I did the following things:

1) Inspected the bases of both the REAL & Maxi- for perfection (literally).

2) Inserted a 7/16" cardboard disc cut with a cheap arch punch (tablet backing, cereal box, etc. will suffice) over the powder charge to protect the CB base. I now use a 1/2" arch punch in the Knight Bighorn.

3) Damp swabbed the bbl. after every shot, then ran a dry patch down it before I added the next charge and CB.

4) Ran another dry patch down the bbl. after loading, but BEFORE capping the rifle.

The above is for target accuracy and I can get 5 shots touching @ 50 yds. in the Knight, from a rest, with Maxi's by doing this. You can also weigh the REAL's to eliminate outliers. In the Hawken, REAL and Maxi- accuracy was the same: 5 shots touching @ 50 yds. from a rest.

Hope this helps!

[Hurricane]

Don't worry about the tip of your boolit. It will have no effect on accuracy.

[2shot]

Don't worry about the tip of your boolit. It will have no effect on accuracy.

+1

I have also loaded them (R.E.A.L) backwards also in looser fitting barrels and got a WC effect on both target and game at shorted ranges like 50 yards.

2shot

[Bulseyetom]

I haven't cast REAL's for some time but as I remember, the temperature of the mould made quite a bit of difference in the diameter of the finished product. If cast right, mine loaded great and if not, they were hard to seat. I cannot for the life of me remember what the diameter of the first ring should be and the difference between it and the next, but that info was available online five or six years ago and it helped me cast a good bullet. I still have two different 50 Cal REAL moulds, a 250 grain and I think a 320. I used the 250 to take four bucks with before they outlawed lead bullets for hunting here in my neck of the woods!

[Acronn]

Also the lead has to be very pure, very soft lead. Any wheel weights in the pour and the boolits are very hard to start. Once I started with dead soft lead, my troubles loading were over.