303 Brit with Cast Bullets

[Tinman204]

I have never shot cast bullets in my Ross. It appears to have very shallow rifling, so the mild load with shotgun powder might be a good place to start.

I am sure others can share actual experience with the Ross.

My Ross is a tack driver with 180 grain cast lee bullets and 13 grains of red dot!!

These are some groups shot off a bench. Range was approx 200 yards but it may have only been 175 (have to check my notes)

These were shot with straight wheel weight bullets gas checked and sized to .312 for a .311 bore.

Needless to say my Ross really likes cast bullets. The long barrel seems to give good pressure. I've yet to chrono these rounds so I have no idea how fast they are going.

 

[buffdog]

My Ross is a tack driver with 180 grain cast lee bullets and 13 grains of red dot!!

These are some groups shot off a bench. Range was approx 200 yards but it may have only been 175 (have to check my notes)

These were shot with straight wheel weight bullets gas checked and sized to .312 for a .311 bore.

Needless to say my Ross really likes cast bullets. The long barrel seems to give good pressure. I've yet to chrono these rounds so I have no idea how fast they are going.

OMG, SMELLIE! We have created a Monster.

First, we introduce him to the Ross and the 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser, and the next time he comes to visit, we tell him about Cast Bullets and the C.E. Harris load of 13 grains of Red Dot. What are we going to have to tell him about the next time he shows up?

That load is my "go to" load for the .303 British cartridge with a cast bullet. It usually works very well with any Military calibre cartridge with a bullet of similar weight as the original Military loading. As TINMAN204 illustrates, it can be very accurate, and usually will shoot as well as Mark VII Ball ammunition. Of course, TINMAN204 takes care in his reloading and is meticulous about his loads and consistent in his loading practices, and that makes a big difference in the quality of ammunition that is produced.

Great shooting, Steve! Nice clean, round holes in the target, so that bullet is stabilizing well. I see that you have remembered what you were told about the Four Round Groups when testing ammunition, and the reasons for them.

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[Tinman204]

OMG, SMELLIE! We have created a Monster.

First, we introduce him to the Ross and the 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser, and the next time he comes to visit, we tell him about Cast Bullets and the C.E. Harris load of 13 grains of Red Dot. What are we going to have to tell him about the next time he shows up?

That load is my "go to" load for the .303 British cartridge with a cast bullet. It usually works very well with any Military calibre cartridge with a bullet of similar weight as the original Military loading. As TINMAN204 illustrates, it can be very accurate, and usually will shoot as well as Mark VII Ball ammunition. Of course, TINMAN204 takes care in his reloading and is meticulous about his loads and consistent in his loading practices, and that makes a big difference in the quality of ammunition that is produced.

Great shooting, Steve! Nice clean, round holes in the target, so that bullet is stabilizing well. I see that you have remembered what you were told about the Four Round Groups when testing ammunition, and the reasons for them.

.

First off master, the proper word for my reloading is ANAL!!! I always load for accuracy and I always think that my ammo can be better so therefore I'm constantly trying new things until I run out of ideas.

The loads above were weighed by hand using the Gaven method, slow and steady. Brass is Canadian WW2 vintage (perfect headspace) necksized and trimmed to uniform specs. Primers are CCI benchrest BR2's.

Now all things being equal it took me some time to get good accuracy with my cast bullets and I've found being very picky while casting is the most important thing. Uniform bullets will be accurate every time.

Without good teachers like Buffdog and Smellie I'd still be shooting factory ammo probably. They pretty much have spoon fed 50 years of knowledge so I'd be an idiot to not listen!!