Best moulds for "British made" Parker-Hale Whitworth

[ead]

Hey Guys,

Can any of you Whitworth shooters offer advice on a mould that will make a bullet that will shoot accurately without being sized. I'm looking for a round bullet, not hexagonal. I've heard that a Paul Jones 45020 postell is good, but it's an expensive mould to take a shot in the dark on. I don't have the money or the time to make a career of trying a bunch of different moulds, so any advice will be sincerely appreciated! Help!!!

ead
:confused:

[medic302]

whitworths don't shoot well with grease groove bullets. for paper patched bullets the postell nose shape will be fine and the diameter should be anywhere from .440-.442" depending on your bore size. also, you will need a bullet alloy of no harder than 40-1. i would suggest a bullet length of no longer than 1.4"

other things you will need are a platinum lined nipple, and 3/8" thick felt for making overpowder wads. as for powder, my whitworth likes about 90grns of swiss 1.5F.


i'll have to look but i might still have a mold that will work well for your whitworth.

[ead]

Medic302,

Thank you kindly for the great info. I've tried to mike my bore and it's kind of tough to get it right with the hex. bore but it appears to be .451. I was thinking of trying the Lyman Whitworth 475 gr. # 457-121-PH but if it's truely .457 than I'd have to size it down 6 thousandths which sounds like too much.

There's also their "Volunteer" .451 #451-114 450 gr. which seems the right diameter but it's quite short and I wonder if it will stabilize properly. Lyman's Postell is also .457 so, Can I really size it down that much without deforming or work hardening it? The Paul Jones mould may be my only hope but it's sure expensive for a literal "shot in the dark"

Does anyone out there have experience with any of these bullets in a Whitworth?

[medic302]

glad to help, i've been shooting my whitworth in long range competetion for about 5 years and on my own before that. they are an excellent 800yrd target rifle, but the twist rate is marginal for 900+ yrds. by that i mean you will still shoot a respectable score like in the 70's at 900 and 1,000 but you aren't likely to get with the top shooters who are all or mostly shooting gibbs rifles with at least a 1-18 twist. that being said, i've tried both of the lyman molds you asked about. neither produced great groups and IMO aren't worth the trouble in a whitworth. the reason is, one, both of them are a bit too short and light for a 1-20 twist, and the hex bore needs a longer bearing surface to do it's best work. in my experience. i also think that the grease grooves become too deformed when obturating into the hex of the bore. once again, just my experience. if you want some paper patched bullets to try i swage them and i have a few i can send your way.