New design available from Moose Moulds

[bobanderson]

I wanted to share my excellent experience with the folks at Moose Moulds.

I spoke to them at the Spring Nationals about recreating the bullet design mentioned by Mr. Dave France in his articles titled "Shooting the Percussion Sharps". The articles are still available here on the bulletin board, I think. Someone smarter than me will have to chime in as to exactly where they are. Anyways, in part 2, he shows the exact dimensions for a bullet used by him and others for many years.

To make a long story short, I sent the drawing to Moose and in about a week I received a new, two cavity mould for the Dave France bullet, complete with handles and a sample of Moose Juice (mould prep). Using my pure lead, the bullets came out .542" in diameter and weigh 485 grains.
I'll be heading to the range early next week to try them out.

I can't say enough about the great service I got from Moose and Moosette. Thanks again.

[gmkmd]

What's different about this bullet design?

[bobanderson]

First off, let me qualify my comments with the fact that this is only my 5th season in N-SSA. I've shot cast bullets for almost 20 years, but this class of firearms is still new to me. That said, there are certain constants with any gun that hold across the board. The France bullet has a straight profile rather than the 3 diameter profile of the traditional ringtail or Christmas tree moulds. It also appears to have been designed using the hill calculations that determine the optimum weight and length of a bullet for bore diameter and twist rate. I've used the hill calculations for years in various ballistics programs to match bullets to rifles.

I attached a copy of the drawing so you can see the shape. With a diameter of .542, my Moose Mould bullets fit the barrel of my Pedersoli Sharps very well. I had a real good test session so far and am cautiously optimistic.

I only started this thread so that those of us that are not satisfied with what we use now have an option.

[moosette]

Thanks for the positive feedback Bob! One thing we pride ourselves on is Great Customer Service - that's so very important today!

For those of you interested, this "France-Sharps" (.542-485) bullet mould is now available for purchase. As with all our Moose Moulds, they come complete with handles, $100 for single cavity or $125.00 for double cavity, plus S & H. We also offer them either right or left handed, so please specify when ordering.

Additionally, all orders placed in the next two weeks will also receive a sample of our newly released "Moose Juice" mould prep at no charge!

Please contact Sandy at moosette@moosemoulds.com for ordering information - moulds will ship within 2 weeks of order. For your convenience, we accept PayPal and personal checks.

Have a great weekend, hope to see ya on the line soon!

Moose & Moosette
Moose Moulds, LLC
(267)229-1676

[DAVE FRANCE]

The bullet shown in the article was designed to shoot in the Shiloh Sharps carbine and rifles with their barrel dimensions. My design has the diameter of the bore (0.530) so that it seats in the bore precisely to align the bullet with the bore. I made the largest diameter of the drive bands the same size as the rifling grooves. (The 0.541 sizing die I use removes a very slight amount of lead.)
I did make the overall length agree with the hill equation. (Unlike what many believe, our weapons can work well with a variety of lengths and twist if they are designed without other problems.) I don't believe a stepped diameter bullet design is needed for barrels that have consistent dimensions, and I wanted to use a lubrisizer.

If anyone has a question for me, send me a message on the BB.

Good luck Bob,

Dave