Leadheads Bullets
I was
chatting a while back with my good friend Tommy Mace of Leadheads Bullets
- arguably the best commercial cast bullets that you can buy anywhere.
During the course of the conversation, Tommy mentioned that he had
included a new heavy .357 bullet to his already very comprehensive line
up. I already regularly use two of Tommy’s .357 bullets i.e. the 180 grain
RCBS design, and the 205 grain Marty Flack design (both gas checks and
both tack drivers). His 7mm RCBS 140 grain gas check is also a favorite of
mine. Naturally, I was very interested in learning more about the new
bullet.
Turns
out that the new slug is a 200 grain LBT revolver design. If you don’t
know, LBT stands for Lead Bullet Technology. This is a company owned by Veral Smith who as a bullet designer, has to rank right up there with
Elmer Keith and the other greats. LBT revolver bullets are distinguished
by main three characteristics:
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1. The bullet body behind the driving
band is somewhat shorter than most other designs. This means that the
bullet doesn’t protrude down into the case as far. This then has the
effect of providing more room in the case for additional powder. More
powder in the case = more velocity.
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2. The accuracy robbing bullet jump
across the barrel/cylinder gap is minimized by making the forward portion
of the bullet longer and wider. However the overall length of the bullet
is not increased.
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3. The forward driving band on the
bullet is wider than normal and that’s said to insure a very strong,
non-stripping grip when the bullet hits the barrel’s lands.
The particular
LBT type bullet being offered by Tommy is the Wide Flat Nose (WFN) design
which, as the name indicates, has a somewhat larger diameter flat nose.
It’s primarily a hunting bullet designed to deliver greater impact shock,
but that doesn’t eliminate it from being used effectively as a silhouette
competition bullet either. Some shooters prefer cast bullets with large
flat noses saying that they grab hold of the steel and impart their
momentum more efficiently than more pointed bullet designs, which are said
to have a tendency to skid or skip when they hit - thus delivering their
momentum intermittently rather than in one massive, effective blow. I
don’t have any way to verify this but do know that blunt nose cast bullets
work extremely well when it comes to kicking down silhouette steel.
However, compared to Leadheads more aerodynamically slick 200 grain Marty
Flack bullet, you’ll definitely have to crank in extra clicks for distant
targets with the new bullet.
I’ve
regularly referred to Leadheads bullets as being the best commercial cast
bullets that you can buy. The reason I make that statement is because I’ve
never used a Leadhead of any design or caliber that didn’t shoot
exceptionally well. One of the keys to Leadheads success is the lead
itself. It’s a propriety blend made in a foundry just for them, and no one
else. This particular blend is hard, BUT not so hard that it won’t upset
and fill the bore to effectively seal the propelling gases behind it. Yet,
it’s plenty hard enough to do its thing on silhouette steel or smash
through heavy bone and tissue when hunting.
Quality
control is also exceptional. I randomly weighed 20 bullets and they only
varied from 199.9 to 201.2 grains. Considering that this included the
bullet, the gas check, and the lube, this kind of high volume consistency
is truly amazing. I also measured the diameter of the bullets in four
places and every one was a consistent .358 inches in diameter. No egg
shaped bullets here.
So, how
did they shoot? As you can see, very well indeed. A load of 14.6 grains of
Hodgdon’s H110 fired up with Federal’s small pistol mag primers really did
the job. This was just something I threw together on the spur of the
moment. However my Freedom Arms revolver topped with my custom Leupold 2 X
8 really seemed to like this particular combo. I suspect that some further
tweaking or perhaps another powder (say Hodgdon’s Lil Gun) could tighten
things up even more.
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"This 50 meter group shows
that the new LBT 200 gr. bullet from Leadheads can be very accurate." |
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The bottom
line here is that if you like shooting cast bullets but don’t have the
time to do your own casting, you should definitely check out Leadheads.
Yes, you can buy cast lead bullets cheaper elsewhere, but you won’t get
the quality in workmanship and materials that translates into superb
accuracy. I know. I’ve tried those cheaper “gun show” cast bullets and
have gotten shotgun patterns rather than groups with them. Don’t waste
your dollars trying to save pennies. The cost for Leadhead products is
very reasonable, especially when compared to jacketed bullets, and when
you include the performance factor, the advantages become even greater.
I’m not the only one who thinks so. Cor Bon, the semi custom performance
ammunition maker is now using Leadhead bullets as well. If you haven't
used them before, give them a try, you won’t be sorry.
Sinclair 3000 Neck
Turner Tool
In a
previous column I spoke about the value, and the sometimes lack of value
of neck turning. I also spoke about how to use a basic neck turning tool
such as my trusty Sinclair 1000. Since then I’ve been able to get hold of
a Sinclair 3000 neck turner which is a more advanced tool.
The
primary thing that distinguishes the 3000 model from the 1000 is the fact
that the cutter blade is easily adjustable both in and out. Let me
explain. On the 1000, the blade is adjusted deeper by turning an adjusting
screw with an allen wrench. Easy. OK, but say you turned the blade too far
down so that it’s cutting too deeply. If we now turn the adjusting screw
out to reduce the depth of the cut, nothing happens. The blade will remain
in it’s last position. The only thing you can do is to back out the
adjusting screw a fair amount and physically push the blade back and start
the process over. On the other hand, the 3000’s cutter blade moves easily
both in and out when you turn the adjustment screw in either direction.
This is a big improvement which makes things much more convenient.
Another
improvement in my way of thinking is the fact that the new tool uses two allen wrenches (supplied) to set things up versus three wrenches with the
older model. I hope one day, it’ll be just one wrench. A third improvement
is the fact that the universal handle that the case is clamped into, and
which is then used to rotate the neck under the cutting blade, has a small
thumb screw type knob to tighten and loosen things up. The 1000 uses an
allen screw and wrench to do the same thing. The thumb knob is definitely
faster and more convenient to use.
Using
the new tool is very similar to using the old one and the same
considerations apply. Perhaps the most important consideration in neck
turning is to first size your fired brass. We want the case neck to have a
smooth, but snug fit on the turning/cutting mandrel. A fired case neck’s
diameter is way too large and will be slopping and flopping around on the
mandrel. The result will be very uneven cutting. The diameter of
Sinclair’s turning mandrels is compatible with most sizing die’s expander
balls, so a sized case neck should slide on ok. However, you probably
should LIGHTLY lube the mandrel with a high quality product such as
Redding’s Imperial Sizing Wax, RCBS, etc. Some benchresters even swear by
STP. This is necessary to prevent the possibility of galling.
To be
perfectly honest though, on some dies, the expander balls are
just too small, and so the sized case neck will not fit onto the mandrel -
a frustrating situation. You have two choices. You can call the die
manufacturer and see if they will send you a larger expander ball, or you
can buy a Sinclair expander body and an expander mandrel.
An expander
body is very similar in external appearance to a regular sizing die. However
there is no de-capping rod assembly with an expander ball. The sole purpose of
the expander body is simply to accommodate an expander mandrel.
An expander
mandrel is nothing more than a slightly larger turning/cutting mandrel. After
de-priming your cases by running them into your regular die, you lube the neck
interiors and run them into the expander body & mandrel which expands the neck
to a diameter that’s a perfect fit for the turning/cutting mandrel.
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"The Sinclair 3000 neck turner is much easier
to adjust than the old model." |
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To be
honest, I regard this as being more work, so being the lazy dog that I am,
I’d prefer to see if I could first get a larger expander ball for my
sizing die from the manufacturer. There’s no guarantee that they’ll be
able to accommodate you however. A third, perhaps more expeditious option
would be to simply chuck the turning/cutting mandrel in an electric drill
and then polishing it to size with some emery cloth. Remember, just like
Goldilocks porridge, the fit of the sized case neck on the mandrel has to
be “just right”.
A couple of
final notes. I’ve cautioned in previous articles that you shouldn’t get
carried away with your cutting. Unless we’re talking about very highly
customized type tight chambers and custom dies, we just want to turn off only
the high spots on our case necks. Sinclair recommends that no more than 70-80%
of the neck’s surface should be turned off as a result. If you remove too much
metal from the neck wall and make it too thin, your sizing die may not have
enough metal to size down in order to properly grip the bullet. The result is
a ruined case. A good clue that you’re probably taking off too much metal is
when you see a long, continuous curl of brass being cut away from the case. If
you’re just taking off the high spots, the brass shavings will look more like
chips rather than long curly cues.
The other
thing to keep in mind is that you want to insure that metal debris doesn’t
accumulate around the cutter blade. It can bind things up and mess up a case
as a result.
Lastly, to
speed the turning process, if you don’t already have one, you might want to
consider investing in a Sinclair case holder and a power screw driver of some
kind. I already owned a case holder and used it in an electric drill to
rapidly spin and polish my dirty cases with 0000 steel wool or “Never Dull”
polishing wool. However, the case holder and a power screw driver can also be
used to speed up the turning process by around 200-300 percent. Turning is a
tedious procedure and anything that can speed it up is ok with me.
In summary,
case turning can provide tangible benefits to the serious competition shooter,
but having the right tools to do the job effectively and efficiently is very
important. Sinclair International (www.sinclairintl.com) is the first place
you should look to fulfill those specialized needs.
What Is Exit Pupil?
Exit pupil
is a term that many sellers of optical equipment like to throw at us. They
like to use it as a way of defining how bright the image in their products is.
They also use the figure as a way to prove the “superiority” of their products
over that of their rivals i.e. “My number is bigger than your number”.
However, in reality, exit pupil is totally worthless as a means to determine
the brightness or the quality of any spotting scope, rifle/pistol scope, or
binocular.
First,
let’s define what exit pupil is. It’s simply the diameter of the shaft of
light which contains the image that is exiting the eyepiece of the scope or
binocular. Now let’s look at how this diameter size is determined. It’s
actually a very simple equation. Just divide the diameter of the objective
lens (in millimeters) by the magnification. So if you have a 6X pistol scope
mounted on your unlimited any sight gun, and it has a 36mm objective, the exit
pupil value would be 6mm’s. On a spotting scope with an 80mm objective lens
with the power set at 20X, the exit pupil is 4mm. Crank up the power on that
80mm to 60X and the exit pupil is now 1.33mm. The bigger the number, the
brighter the image is supposed to be.
So far so
good. OK, here’s the main catch. (There are several.) Take a no name 80mm gun
show spotting scope, imported from a country you never heard of, and compare
it to an 80mm Ziess. When set at the same magnification, the two scopes will
have exactly the same exit pupil number.
Are we
really supposed to believe that the image in the gun show special, selling for
$150, is just as bright as in the Ziess scope which sells for around $2500? I
don’t think so.
What really
determines the brightness and quality of the image in any scope is a lot more
complicated than a simple equation dealing with just the size of the objective
lens and the power setting. It’s also determined by:
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1. The overall optical design i.e. are the number, type, power,
specifications, etc. of the lenses in harmony with the other lenses in the
optical train to produce the best image in order to achieve the optical goal
of the instrument? This design process is known as light management. For
example, typically, low quality scopes have much more magnification power than
their feeble light management design can accommodate. The result is a
extremely poor, highly distorted image. This kind of design is obviously way
out of balance.
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2. The quality and type of glass used in the lenses
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3. The number and type of lens coatings. (Extremely important
!!!!!)
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4. Whether the coatings are applied to both sides of the lens or
just one side
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5. The precision of the mechanical system to mount and adjust
the lenses
Bottom
line: Unfortunately the sports optics industry isn’t interested in providing
us with an objective means of comparing image brightness, much less other
image characteristics such as resolution and distortion. Consequently, we as
consumers have to be very careful when someone prominently displays the exit
pupil number for a product they’re selling. They’re likely trying to make
their product appear to be much better than it really is. I’ve written
extensively in the IHMSA NEWS over the past couple of years about what
distinguishes a good scope from a bad one. Review those past articles and arm
yourself with the information when shopping. Copies of those articles can be
seen at the LA silhouette club’s web site (www.lasc.us).
Factoids
40 million Americans are active in shooting sports and hunting. During their lifetime,
they’ll spend an average of $109,568 each on those activities. (Jeezzz, my
wife tells me I spent that much on shooting just last year.) That leads to a
grand lifetime total to the economy of 4.3 TRILLION DOLLARS. No one can’t say
we’re not doing our share.
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