[kciH]

My CZ550 Safari in .416 Rigby is at the gunshop as we speak. I've got most of the loading components on hand as well. The weather is even in the 70's, instead of the high 90's/low 100's. The problem is that I had nose surgery on Friday and can't even drive to the darn shop to pick it up, and my doctor has recommended not drawing a bow for 3-4 weeks (archery season starts in 2 weeks), let a lone shooting large caliber magnum rifles! I will have to say that this truly sucks!

I know, I should quit whining.

 

[Marshall Stanton]

OK, so.... just sit around and prep cases and get ready to get ready! Sorry to hear about your nose putting a glitch in the works however. Sounds both painful and annoying.

Guess those deer are safe from your sticks for a few weeks!

God Bless,

 

[kciH]

Marshall,
the pain isn't too bad anymore, but that is also why I can't drive. High grade, prescribed, narcotics are my best friend right now. The annoyance factor is very high when you've got tubes stiched into your nose, I'm afraid to prime cases as a result of "drainage". This has been about the first decent shooting weekend in six weeks and I'm stuck in the house, my wife will need a vacation by the end of the week.

What do you think is the highest velocity I should attempt with a Linotype alloy in this bore size? I've cast some bullets from a RCBS 350gr FN GC mould I picked up for this rifle. I've got to slug the bore/throat before I order a sizing die for my new Star sizer, so that will help eat some time. Would you reccomend breaking the barrel in with jacketed bullets or lead? straight to lapping?

Thanks.

 

[Marshall Stanton]

I've made a practice over the years of taking a new barrel and firelapping it at least 20 rounds before ever firing it. Takes the machining burrs out of the bore, smooths the throat, eases the sharpness of the lands, and makes subsequent cleanup a snap.

If shooting primarily lead, then by all means break it in with cast. If to be a jacketed bullet gun, use jacketet. With the RCBS bullet you've cast, and the lino alloy, you should have a good shooting combo. You'll probably find that .417" will shoot about as well as anything, based on our prior experience with customers with these guns. Throats are about .418" and groove diameters a tight .416".

As far as velocities attainable with good accuracy? That's going to be entirely dependent upon your bullet lube. If using something like Rooster Red, well, you might get 1800 fps out of it if you're lucky. Lyman's Orange Magic will net you around 2300 fps with no problems, Thompson Blue Angel should provide 2100 fps pretty much trouble free. The lube we've worked out will allow 2700 fps (not with your bullet and Rigby though) as a very consistent upper velocity threshold with good bores and well fit bullets. With a good lube and everything else right, you'll get an honest 2350-2400 with very nice accuracy and a sweet shooting load.

Hope this helps.

God Bless,

 

[Bigfoot]

Sounds like sinus surgery. Had it done several years ago. It was tough but the results were worth it. Hang in there, the rifle will wait.

 

[kciH]

Marshall,
thanks for the input on this. The sizer has Orange Magic in it already, so that will probably be what is used first. It's what I've been using in general and have had satisfactory results so far. The load level you mention sounds good, since it is a rough duplicate of factory velocity with the heavier 400 gr loads. This rifle will probably see more lead than jacketed bullets, except for load development for the actual hunting load. I think some reduced recoil loads will be in order to get in the practice with this rifle.

I see that your lube is advertised as being non-sticky and needing heat to flow through the sizer, which is the case with the lube I'm currently using also. In your opinion, do you think it would be to my advantage to switch over from the Orange Magic. Most of my lead bullets go through handguns of various sorts, the highest velocities I typicall go to would be just shy of 2000 fps with my .357 Max contender and 25-20 M92. The price for your lube is nearly the same as what I've been using, and if it would work as well in the handguns as well as some of the higher velocity stuff I'm now playing with, it might well be in my interest to settle on one lube. How is the smoke factor on your lube?

 

[Marshall Stanton]

I'm not one to give a hard-sell on anything, but our smoke factor is very low, and the lube works virtually the same from -10 degrees f. to 110 degrees f. I actually shut down our entire operation two years ago from 19 december until 22 February because of lube issues, and the time spent evaluating commercial lubes, and ultimately working with developing the lube we currently have. If there was anything out there that delivered the kind of performance we're getting now, I surely would have used it instead of going through the "lets reinvent the wheel program"!!!

All that aside, the Orange Magic is good lube, as you've already found. If it's working for your applications, then by all means use it! Too, Veral Smith's lube is once again available from LBT, and it was what we used here for years. It simply wasn't available when we went through our lube woes here. When Veral went to the penstripe hotel, I had about a year's worth of LBT Blue on hand here, then we went with Thompson Blue Angel, but it failed miserably in the frigid temps of the cold winter of 2001, and was actually becoming powdered granules in the bottoms of our bullet boxes when the bullets arrived to our customers after being shipped in that unseasonably cold winter. Consequently we shut everything down and re-evaluated lubes.... even lubes from Sweden and one from Denmark. I can tell you, categorically, we've tested EVERY COMMERCIAL LUBE manufactured today!

Wow, time for me to stop, and get off a soap-box...just a painful, costly memory of rabbit trails testing crayola-type lubes all winter!

God Bless,