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Hensley & Gibbs #99, One Skinny, One Fat
© 2014 – Thomas C. Dugas
I purchased my first Hensley & Gibbs #99 .30 caliber
rifle mould around 1997 or so. In the
photos, it's labeled as the "Skinny" one since the noses tend to come
out around .297" to .298". The
mould has worked well enough for my needs over the years and I have had good
results using it in my Krag Sporter carbine, Remington 03A3
and even shot un-sized (tumble lubed shot as cast) in my Savage No. 4.
Hensley & Gibbs #99 Bullet (left) and #502 side by side
for comparison…
Awhile back I picked up the second #99 mould and had it
stored away for future use once I landed in a place where I could setup the
casting pot again. Well, over the course
of two weeks I managed to get my casting setup restored and had a chance to
play with the new #99 mould. I was
surprised to discover the noses measuring .304" when casting with the
exact same alloy as I used with the "Skinny" #99. I cast using both side by side and stacked
the bullets left and right.
As few Hensley & Gibbs rifle moulds are marked with
caliber or as cast size, I realized that once again, George and James probably
cut the cherries to order based on customer need. I would suspect that unless you cast and
measure and verify as cast dimensions on Hensley & Gibbs rifle moulds, as
cast size will vary from rifle mould to rifle mould.
I cast over 200 from each mould after culls, of which there
were very few. Both moulds cast
beautifully and a light tap on the hinge drops the bullets onto a cloth.
I've already loaded several hundred rounds of each (the fat
and the skinny) for my 30-40 Krag sporter and plan on testing at 100 and 200
yards Sunday. I will report back to this
thread and share the results.
The load is:
30-40 Krag Boxer Brass
Winchester Large Rifle
Trimmed Brass
17.1 Grains 2400
Hornady Gas Check
Sized in my SAECO Sizer with a
.311" die
OAL = 3.036"
The loaded Round:
The "Skinny" #99 Bullet:
The "Fat" #99 Bullet:
The Skinny bullet in my Krag Sporter:
The Fat bullet in my Krag Sporter:
And last by not least, the two Hensley & Gibbs #99 moulds
side by side:
If anyone else has a Hensley & Gibb's #99 rifle mould I
would love to hear about your results.
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