502-500 HB first shots

This is my first blush on the 502 500 series

Meets design criteria in spades!

AND it’s just plain cool to have a mould that will cast 6 different bullets.
Price seems high until you divide it by 6.  That’s $30 ea for 4 bangers and you can mix / match any of the 6 at one time.

My first requirement with a Keithesquest / great plains bullet was multiple shots without any reloading problems.  Met in SPADES from the first shot in a clean barrel to the 18th shot were easily rammed home.  Same feel with the ram rod as a LEE REAL.  Starts easily with fingers, quick push with started and you can feel it cut through the Pyrodex crud from about 1” above the charge

Accuracy    It was a bit windy mostly left to right and drift was RIGHT.  I know from looking at the tables what the effect of wind on a black powder speed .500 bullets is but you gotta see your target with a 6” lateral to drive it home!

Stability excellent.  All 18 shoth cut perfect 0.5″ holes.

The targets posted are from 25 yards.  The placement of my shop lowers wind effect due to prevailing wind .  The 50 & 100 yd groups are good up & down but wind drift is 6 or so inches look dismal.  Targets look Just like the calcs say, but still disconcerting to the normal in this age of high power fast bullets.

Pyrodex charge was 75g in all cases in deference to my shoulder. :'(

Groups shot off sandbags.  Scope 3 to 9 set on 9

Cast of 40:1 alloy.
Meld held to 700F.  PID readout 697 to 705.
Mould temperature was held 350 to 380F for the GOOD pile and others relegated to way better than average before all the high tech stuff pile.

The RG-4 mould was set to casting 2 of each at a time.  The 469g heavy weights were not poured at this time cause the Optima book says “limit conical boolits to less than 400 grains” and the Optima is goin’ huntin’ this Saturday.
Weighed boolits are from an uninspected handful from the good piles. 

369.3, 370.0, 369.6, 367.2, 368.1, 366.7, 366.4, 369.0, 368.3, 368.2 for an avg of 368.28 spec 385 pure lead
288.5, 291.4, 291.2, 290.2, 290.2, 289.4, 291.7, 290.2, 291.5, 289.8 for an avg of 290.41  spec 301 pure lead

Keep in mind I am a gourmand not gourmet caster. ???

Photobucket is down so trying to add as attachment.  Will edit later when PB gets done with their maintenance

301g at 25 yd 1st shot from clean barrel up 2.25″  shots 2&3 1 high .75 right

385g at 25 yd  touching .75 right 1 high lone wolf 1.25 right 1.75 high  wind even getting to 25 yd target

385 at 100 yd  Wind drift 5 to 6″  Aim point was 3.5″ left of center.  No eye deer why shot 3 went left as wind seemed constant.  Shot 1 was up 0.25, 2 up 0.75 and 3 off to left was about center line