Benjamin New to me Bulldog 357

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bivy53

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Jan 21, 2023
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Longview, Washington
IMG_0298.jpegIMG_0297.jpegIMG_0296.jpegIMG_0295.jpegPosted earlier in the master thread …
Picked up a 357 Bulldog s couple of weeks ago from a member. My first big bore. I’m hooked! Just installed Pit bull’s 160cc plenum, depinger, long moderator and barrel supports. Excited to see how this affects accuracy with the 105g semi wadcutters that I cast. May get a 125g round nose mold as well. Will also try some 000 Buck round balls just for fun. I did dry fire a couple of times just to hear the difference from stock. Quieter, but certainly not quiet. Won’t need ear pro. And ping is gone!
The seller included a variety if slugs and some pellets to try. I wasn’t real pleased with the accuracy, but then realized that I hadn’t cleaned the barrel. Now, with a sparkling barrel, plus the add ons, I am expecting much better results. Since I lost the bottom rail, I looked at top rail mount bipods. Didn’t relish the idea of spending aui that much on a bipod, so ordered a set of m-lock mounts. Modified them to mount on the stock a there ya go. Now to get to the range
 
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First pick are my own cast. 105g mold that casts my lead to 109g . Run through.357 sizing die. Second a third pics are commercial 147g wadcutters that I load for .38 special. Great self defense load when set backwards in the case so that it bec a huge hollow point. The pellets he sent are the JSB 81’s I believe.
 
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@Ezana4CE , I have been shooting, literally since before I started school. I am just a moth shy of my 71st birthday. Pistols, shotguns, rifles, BB guns, and an assortment of pellet guns. But since I was introduced to PCP’s a year and a half ago, I have only taken my powder burners out once. And that was just to train with my carry pistol. I am seriously hooked on these things. I have 5 small bore .22’s, and then this beast, the Bulldog. . I think this one is going to be the most fun of them all. If this shoots the way I expect it to, then at some point I will probably get a Huma reg for it. It will get a paint job at some point as well.
 
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bivy53 said:
@Ezana4CE , I have been shooting, literally since before I started school. I am just a moth shy of my 71st birthday. Pistols, shotguns, rifles, BB guns, and an assortment of pellet guns. But since I was introduced to PCP’s a year and a half ago, I have only taken my powder burners out once. And that was just to train with my carry pistol. I am seriously hooked on these things. I have 5 small bore .22’s, and then this beast, the Bulldog. . I think this one is going to be the most fun of them all. If this shoots the way I expect it to, then at some point I will probably get a Huma reg for it. It will get a paint job at some point as well.
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Sounds like you have the experience it takes to make a big bore pcp accurate!!!! Give powder coating a try!!!Or buy some slugs already powder coated..It doesn't hurt anything 😀 Keep up the good work
 
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RM.510bigbore said:
Sounds like you have the experience it takes to make a big bore pcp accurate!!!! Give powder coating a try!!!Or buy some slugs already powder coated..It doesn't hurt anything 😀 Keep up the good work
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I may give the powder coat a try at some point. Will have to hit up the local thrift stores for a toaster oven.. I think I have a bag of powder here somewhere. It’s black though. I would prefer a bright color that is visible in flight. The black will do for R&D.
 
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@RM.510bigbore , just read your thread on powder coating. Actually looks pretty simple. I have a couple of questions. How do you handle them from the shaker to the pan? And do you size the before or after coating? My sizing die is .357. If I size then coat, will they be to large? Not sure the max diameter for this gun. I have heard it will take up to .360 without a problem, but am unsure.
 
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bivy53 said:
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First pick are my own cast. 105g mold that casts my lead to 109g . Run through.357 sizing die. Second a third pics are commercial 147g wadcutters that I load for .38 special. Great self defense load when set backwards in the case so that it bec a huge hollow point. The pellets he sent are the JSB 81’s I believe.
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@bivy53 I'm interested in how the .38 special hollow-point wadcutters perform. JSB 81 grain diabolo pellets shoot well from my Bulldogs. When you can get a hold of some, try some Nielsen Specialty Ammo (NSA) .357, 110 grain hollow point flat base and dish base slugs. Those semi-wads look promising. Are those from a Lee mold?
 
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Ezana4CE said:
@bivy53 I'm interested in how the .38 special hollow-point wadcutters perform. JSB 81 grain diabolo pellets shoot well from my Bulldogs. When you can get a hold of some, try some Nielsen Specialty Ammo (NSA) .357, 110 grain hollow point flat base and dish base slugs. Those semi-wads look promising. Are those from a Lee mold?
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Yes. Lee molds. They work fine at half the cost of most other molds. They just don’t have as large a selection as some.
Ezana4CE said:
@bivy53 I'm interested in how the .38 special hollow-point wadcutters perform. JSB 81 grain diabolo pellets shoot well from my Bulldogs. When you can get a hold of some, try some Nielsen Specialty Ammo (NSA) .357, 110 grain hollow point flat base and dish base slugs. Those semi-wads look promising. Are those from a Lee mold?
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Will post results. I shot some the last time out, but again, that was with a dirty barrel. At fifty yards they were much worse than anything else. We’re on paper at 100. I will try powder coating them as well.
 
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RM.510bigbore said:
From the plastic container I sieve out excess powder coat..Then onto cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil in a pile... My powder coat is 400 degrees for 12 min...Staight outta oven into water.... They separate perfectly no marks...
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After powder coating then size to your bore diameter... A a little lube of your choice..
 
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Finally got the Pitbull out for a shoot today. All I can say is … hokey smoke Bullwinkle, this thing is amazing! This target has two-5 round groups from 35 yds, shooting my homespun 105 semi wadcutters. Notice there are only 8 holes. Shot from a shakey bench with bipod. Two previous groups were three hole, 5 shot groups. Off of a sled, I have no doubt you would see hole in hole. My 000 buck round balls shot just as well, as did the random ammo that the seller sent me. The 147gr wadcutters strung a line straight down from point of aim, but I was getting a little low on air when I tried them. There we’re two guys there that I let shoot, and they were very impressed, and left with big smiles on their faces. Both were powder burner, deer and elk hunters. With the puppy plenum and depinger installed I got fifteen good shots down to 2k psi. Not sure about velocities due to my chronograph being down, but if I recall, the last time out the 105’s were doing a little over 950fps. Can only imagine how fast the round balls were screaming down range. Any hole that is not in the green is on me, not the gun.
I am so pleased with the outcome. Money well spent on upgrades. Also casted about 130 more rounds of the 105’s last night that I will try the powder coat trick on, and will report back on how that goes, and how they shoot.
By the way, that target is one that I make. It is a hard board material and makes big bore hits very visible thru the scope at 100+yds. It is 16x16 and the diamonds are 1”. If you guys are interested, I can make custom sizes and stands. You can dm me for particulars and $.
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Ezana4CE said:
@bivy53 Not a bad start. Waiting to see you stretch her legs some 50, 75, 100 yards. Do you ever shoot prone? Is all of your ammo .357?
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I haven’t shot prone in a while, but have quite a bit in the past. I have a spot that I can go prone out to maybe 75. I size the 105’s to .357, but the wad cutters, I think, are a littl fatter. They load harder anyway. I will hv to mic them to be sure. The round balls, if I remember, mic’d out to about .360 or maybe a little more. I know they loaded harder than the wc’s. I was really surprised and happy at how well they performed. I will be visiting my 100yd range very soon. will let you know how it goes. There’s a public range nearby that has a 300 range, but not sure if they will let me shoot it there. County run, county rules. I am going to ask them though. That would be interesting and fun.
Going to make a trap before I go out again. Really want to recycle my lead!
 
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Today at 50yds. Everything stayed pretty consistent. What surprised me was the lack of drop with the 147 wc’s. The ones on the right were the first four from fresh fill, the ones on the left were the second four. The two holes below that were the next two at around 2200-2000psi. And they were shot withe those deep cavities forward. I won’t try anymore until I get my chronograph squared away, as I think all that is required now is getting the tune correct and getting some better glass on her. Another thing I found interesting was three different projo weights, same , or at least similar zero. I am sure that will change when we go out to 100.
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Ezana4CE said:
@bivy53 Interested in seeing what she does from 60-100 yards. Are you still talking about the 105 grain semi-wadcutters you posted about earlier in the thread? Can you make it a point to tell us the projectile shape/type your shooting on your updates? Photos of the projectiles are even better for clarity.
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Sorry, I thought the picture was more clear. I wrote all the descriptions at each group. I will repost a better picture later. And yes, the 105’s I have been calling them 109 as that was my original cast weight. It is a 105gr mold.
 
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