Quote Originally Posted by Andyt2 View Post
I have one for you Jay Andrew -

9mm in the Ruger PC

Here is what I am doing. I cast lots for bullets in zinc for other calibers with great success but here is what I need

I got a super deal on Winchester WSH powder it was one of those deals you do not pass up. I have been using it my 9mm with lead bullets with great success and sub sonic 223 55gn lead bullets and 30-06 in subsonic

Anyway here is what I am looking for. I am using the Lyman mold 356637 147gr 356 dia FN BB - using Zinc the bullet weighs 90 grains. I plan to be at 1.08 OAL. So what I need is to choose the WSH powder with the 147gn Lyman bullet and then change the weight to 90gns and get powder charge weight range to work with. I am thinking it would be around 4.3 to maybe 5.5 grs.

Not sure if you can help but I figured it is worth a try.

Thanks
Andy T
Hey Andy,

That's a interesting project you got going there. Casting in Zinc, I'd love to know more about how you're doing that, and your results. I've done some work with Zinc core used in jacketed bullets, and found them to have some really interesting properties, especially when it comes how they come apart when they hit steel.

I have a few challenges with this one....but I'll try and work through it...

Unfortunately WSH isn't a power that is recommended for use in metallic cartridges. This is due to the powder having some funky behavior when pressures start to get into that 25-35kpsi range. Thus QuickLOAD doesn't offer it as an option. With that said, if you are dead set on using WSH (Which I don't blame you if you got a good deal on it) then we can take a look at Win 231. Since Win 231 is a faster burning powder, your max load for 231 will be a little less then what will be used in WSH.

The bullet weight is typically the most important factor when considering the P/V data. QuickLOAD doesn't have that exact bullet, I used a Lyman #358495 which is a wad cutter, this bullet has more bearing surface then your bullet design. This will typically increase pressure albeit slightly, with the material being Zinc instead of Lead, it's hard to say how that will effect pressure and velocity other then to say it has some effect, and QuickLOAD doesn't have data for Zinc Bullets.

Now that I've aired the disclaimers... here's what QuickLOAD is saying:

Bullet: Lyman 358495 LWC
Bullet Weight: 90gr
COAL: 1.080in
Barrel Length: 4in (Assumed)

Zinc Load.png

QuickLOAD is predicting that the max load is going to be 4.9gr of Win 231. Using this data, I would not exceed 4.9gr with WSH on my starting loads. I would recommend decreasing the load by 10% to 4.4gr. QuickLOAD indicates the pressure with Win 231 would be ~26kpsi, likely with WSH it may be a little lower then that.


Hopefully that helps. It's not the apples to apples comparison that most people would like to run, but hopefully it helps.

Thanks,
Jay Andrew
www.theballisticassistant.com