6.5x52 Carcano
- Thread starter DiMP
- Start date
I cast and size me own. powder coat them. was getting pretty good placement on the target with the last bunch. have to get that rifle out again and play some more.
For an Improvised Front Sight, bend a piece of clotheshanger wire 90 degrees with about 1.5" projecting up, and afix it ahead of the front sight with a hose clamp. Paint the part you'll see through the rear sight with red paint. Test at the range and use a side-cutter to cut it down to your preferred height. Once you tire of it, consider a more permanent solution.
As for loads, these are from the Lyman Cast Bullet Edition 3. Later editions drop these cartridges.
Although their case capacities are not identical, since cast bullets are shot at well below action strengths, there's no danger of using these interchangeably, in fact the loads are almost identical.
Best wishes. I tried 0.268" jacketed and a variety of cast and powders, but I was never able to get a Carcano to shoot well enough to use in a Milsurp Match, but others were, although they didn't do that well as I recall. Unique is always at least Good, but mine tended to like 4198 and 0.270" gas-checked bullets.
That doesn't mean that you can't.
As for loads, these are from the Lyman Cast Bullet Edition 3. Later editions drop these cartridges.
Although their case capacities are not identical, since cast bullets are shot at well below action strengths, there's no danger of using these interchangeably, in fact the loads are almost identical.
Best wishes. I tried 0.268" jacketed and a variety of cast and powders, but I was never able to get a Carcano to shoot well enough to use in a Milsurp Match, but others were, although they didn't do that well as I recall. Unique is always at least Good, but mine tended to like 4198 and 0.270" gas-checked bullets.
That doesn't mean that you can't.
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More Carcano's in the country means I should bump this thread. Here's where I am with my Carcano shooting
Jet Bullets .268 145gr projectiles over 10.0gr of Unique is what I've been shooting for almost 2 years in this rifle. With Jet closed down and supplies running low, I placed an ad on the EE and a nice CGN'er reached out to help fill the void (username left out on purpose because I'm not sure they want to get into this as a full-time gig). Received in the mail today cast 0.269" bullets weighing on average 165 grains. Problem is, my reloading manuals only show up to 143gr cast projectiles. The nice bullet caster sent me "their" load, but wondering what other people are using with a bullet of that size
I'll hopefully be attending the Lethbridge gun show in 2 weeks where I will be scouring the book tables for old cast bullet data
Jet Bullets .268 145gr projectiles over 10.0gr of Unique is what I've been shooting for almost 2 years in this rifle. With Jet closed down and supplies running low, I placed an ad on the EE and a nice CGN'er reached out to help fill the void (username left out on purpose because I'm not sure they want to get into this as a full-time gig). Received in the mail today cast 0.269" bullets weighing on average 165 grains. Problem is, my reloading manuals only show up to 143gr cast projectiles. The nice bullet caster sent me "their" load, but wondering what other people are using with a bullet of that size
I'll hopefully be attending the Lethbridge gun show in 2 weeks where I will be scouring the book tables for old cast bullet data
Been shooting the cast bullets (143-145gr lubed and gas checked) over 10.0gr of Unique still. I ended up adding and filing JB weld to the front sight of one of my carbines to make POA/POI the same as I couldn't find taller replacement front sights in stock. Funny thing is my full length M40 Carcano is on target at 100 yards (maybe the front sight was changed out by a previous owner already?) instead of the 300 yard zero I was expecting like the carbine
Anyways, the reason for the bump is to ask if anyone is using fill (Dacron/polyester/cotton) on top of such a small charge inside the case? I've never had issues with ignition in the ~300 loads I've made, but in some corners of the internet people talk about better groups by adding fill to the case. Any insight from this group?
Anyways, the reason for the bump is to ask if anyone is using fill (Dacron/polyester/cotton) on top of such a small charge inside the case? I've never had issues with ignition in the ~300 loads I've made, but in some corners of the internet people talk about better groups by adding fill to the case. Any insight from this group?
I won't guarantee better groups with the Dacron fibre but you most certainly wont have to worry about consistent ignition or ftf.
If you haven't slugged your bore, I would suggest that you do.
I use Dacron fibre over my charge of W760 as it leaves to much air space in the case.
With my carbine, I hit the lottery as far as bore condition and diameters go. The bore is excellent and the diameters are right on mean spec.
I'm not shooting cast, so my rifle requires .268 diameter bullets to shoot well.
.264 diameter, jacketed bullets don't group acceptably and I've tried them from 129 grain to 160 grain.
I'm lucky to have several hundred .268 diameter Hornaday, 160gr roundnose bullets on my shelf so it's not a problem as I don't shoot this carbine much.
You may be having issues getting the cast bullets you're using to obturate into the grooves sufficiently for good grouping.
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I slugged them and they are all pretty close to factory spec (the three rifles range between .267 and .2685) so I've been shooting .268 cast. Bench shooting from a sandbag I can get ~4.5" groups at 100 yards which is probably down to my eyes more than anything. Next time I reload I'll add some filler to see if it makes any difference. Like I mentioned, I've never had a hangfire or fail to fire in approximately 300 rounds loaded. Seems the Unique is flaky enough to catch the primer spark no matter where it's sitting in the case
DiMP, not having a failure to fire or a hangfire doesn't guarantee that you're getting consistent ignition between rounds.
The only good way to tell if you're getting acceptably consistent ignition is by checking velocities between several rounds and seeing how much difference there is between the lowest/highest velocities or if you're getting some unexplained lows or spikes. All of this has to be done during similar temperatures and overall weather conditions, with the same rifle.
I'm sure you already know this, just threw that in for some of the newbies.
Are you powder-coating your cast bullets???? I know a fellow who started powder coating for his carbine, which also has an on-spec bore and he told me his groups shrunk to just around 3 inches from the 4-5 inches that had been the norm.
I haven't tried powder-coated cast or any cast bullets in my carbine and was lucky enough to have several hundred .268 diameter Hornady 160 grn bullets on hand that I had picked up for my Italian built Type I, chambered for the Japanese 6.515x51, which is base on the Carcano M38 action. It has the same bore dimensions as the Carcano carbine.
I unfortunately aren't set up for casting at this point in life, so I've been buying from others (Jet until he retired, then another CGN'r recently). They all came sized to .268 and lubed. I have wondered about boiling off the lube, the PC'ing using the shake-n-bake method since I could do that with easy to find materials. It would also make it nicer to shoot when it's hot in the summer and the lube tends to get sticky and runny
I tried loading up 12 rounds today with some PPU 139gr (.268) FMJ bullets. I scoured all my manuals I have (printed and digital) to find loads using IMR4064 as that is what I keep on hand for all my other surplus rifles. I only found loads from 2 different Hornady manuals (~27-32.7gr) and one old Lyman manual (32-36gr). I loaded up 32.0gr to test. Hopefully I can get out on next days off to give them a try
How are you guys resizing the brass for the .268 bullets?.
I have the lee dies but I believe they come with a .264 expander. Did you have to order a .267 expander ?.
I got a bunch of the PPU .268 bullets and would love to load em up
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I have the lee dies but I believe they come with a .264 expander. Did you have to order a .267 expander ?.
I got a bunch of the PPU .268 bullets and would love to load em up
.How are you guys resizing the brass for the .268 bullets?.
I have the lee dies but I believe they come with a .264 expander. Did you have to order a .267 expander ?.
I got a bunch of the PPU .268 bullets and would love to load em up
When I'm loading cast I use a universal expander die. Today with the FMJ I just pushed them in without extra expanding and didn't encounter any above-normal pressure to do so
I guess no need to redact the username. I can say I was very pleased with Dakotamar's bullets and communications, so deal with confidence if you want some cast carcano bullets
