Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting Hollow base and Smokless?

I have been in a group buy for an hollow base slug mold for a 45-90 rifle and it just closed.

My question is can I load up smokeless behind the hollow base or is the hollow base just for Black Powder.

The mold has a plain base plug and I plan on loading 3031.

I would like to experiment a little with different loads but do not want to do the wrong things.

Any help would be appreciated

I have shot literally tens of thousands of hollow base wadcutters in a .38 Special using smokeless, so I don't see where it could hurt anything.

BP seems to "bump up" the lead slug better than smokeless due to the suddenness of the ignition, so if the hollow base is too undersized, the smokeless might not get it to "bump up" to groove diameter.

Ed

I plan on sizing .002 over bore so that should be tight to begin with.
The mold has a blank plug and I ordered an extra blank so that I can try and make a gas check plug for it as well.

I just do not want to mess up a brand new rifle. They told me I can shoot both smokeless and black powder out of it.

What rifle did you get?

Ed

Turnbull 45-90 (Winchester 1886 copy)

They just started the metal work a few weeks ago and can not give me a time frame when it will be completed.

I added a few extras from the standard model.

FS, I have a friend who shoots a Marlin .45-70 with paper patched CUP base 510 swaged bullets with rather astounding accuracy. He uses Reloader 7 and gets 1800 fps at the muzzle.

The question I put to you is in regards to your description of your bullet as being a hollow base design. If that is correct I seriously doubt you will generate suitable velocity with smokeless powder due to the likelihood of a blown skirt. Doesn't mean you can't shoot them well, but based on my experience with cupped base an hollow base bullets I'm not thinking you will get much beyond 1,000-1,100 fps if that.