36 Cal C&B EPP-36 Big Lube molds are here!

[Dick Dastardly]

I am pleased to announce the arrival of the Navy size 36 Caliber cap & ball El Paso Pete bullet molds.  They are Six cavity molds made on the same platform as all the other Big Lube®LLC molds.  Our new Stainless Steel handles will fit these and other six cavity molds.

From test casting the bullets drop at 90 grains.  The driving bands prove out at .382" diameter.  The rebate at the base is .352".  The rebated base makes the bullets sit proud and straight under the rammer for straight alignment and easy seating.  The bullets are intended to be lube/sized to precise chamber dimensions for a good seal.  The lube held captive in the very generous grove seals the chamber completely against chain fire from chamber to chamber.

To load these bullets, simply drop in the chosen amount of powder and seat the lube sized bullet.  No wads, cookies, over bullet smears or any other adjuncts are needed or desired.  All the lube and chamber seal is handled by the lube that fills the lube grove.

The copious quantity of lube means whole match shooting with no need to clean between stages to maintain function or accuracy.

I've attached the working drawing for your review.

DD-MDA

[Dick Dastardly]

Got it Sir Charles,

Sent you an email.  I'm holding your order till I hear from you.

Many thanks,

Dick

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Reply sent'  Thanks Dick.  I'll make sure I get a user test report for you, in due course.  Carl

[Cactus Cris]

Do this mean that I won't have to shoot HB boolits in my conversions?  I can put these in 38spls and shoot them?   If so--sign me up for one!

[Dick Dastardly]

Howdy Chris,

The reason for hollow base bullets is that the bore diameter is larger than the chamber diameter of the cartridge conversion cylinder.  The EPP-36 bullets wouldn't change this.  What is needed is for the chamber diameter to be reamed to match the bore diameter plus the thickness of the brass.  Then, the 38 Special brass would have to be sized to match the chamber diameter.  What you would end up with is a true 38 caliber gun.

The EPP-36 bullets drop at .382" and I'm thinkn' your bore diameter is about .380".  That would make a good fit for .380" lube/sized EPP-36 bullets in 38 Special brass.  But, I'm betting that your existing conversion cylinder has .357 chambers.  This undersize mis-match makes the shooting of the hollow base bullets necessary because they have to "bump up" to bore diameter.  This bump up would no longer be needed with proper sized chambers loaded with bullets that match your bore diameter.  Also, I'm betting that your accuracy would improve.  You would enjoy the benefits of all that lube in the grove of the EPP-36 bullets.  Also, you would have to size your brass to the new chamber diameter.  That may call for a custom die set.

So, the short answer is that I'd be happy to sell you a mold, but I'm guessing that your guns would have to be looked at.

Thanks for asking.

DD-MDA

[pony express]

Cactus Chris, I don't know if those would work well as a heel base .38 bullet. If the diameter of the rebated base is only .352, it might be difficult to get them to stay in the casas. The only part of the bullet that would be inside the case is the rebated part. I have a mould from Old West Moulds for .38LC, the base diameter is .358 and appears to be about 2X longer than the EPP bullet. Regular crimping dies won't work for a heel base setup, either, because the bullet is the same diameter as the case O.D. Old West Moulds makes a modified Lee factory crimp die that works well for them, with that crimp die, you MIGHT get a good enough crimp to hold them in the case.

Dick D. , Usually, if the conversions are intended to be used with the origional barrell, it will be bored straight through chamber diameter, only the ones intended for re-lined .357 barrels have a "step" and .357 chamber mouths.

[Dick Dastardly]

There is one experiment that I'm going to try with the EPP-36 bullets.  That is loading them in my 38-55 brass.  I'll seat them so that the driving bands are both inside the case mouth.  I'm not sure just what powder charge I'll use, but I'm sure some filler will be in order.  I'd like something in the neighborhood of 1400 fps velocity.  This should make a great camp meat getter.

DD-MDA