Bullet Casters - Roll Call
- Thread starter Andy
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i load cast rnd ball for my 12 gauge. i use pure soft lead
so it realy expands and hard hitting. round balls are just as acurate as a rifled bore out to 50 yds so it's claimed.
cheers
Republic of Alberta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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I am currently casting .715 Lyman round balls out of Wheel weights and shooting them out of my cylinder bore mossberg. I shot a ball 537g at 1170fps into a frozen poplar tree, it went through a 5" and stuck 2" into the one behind it. I will bring that velocity up to around 1300fps and then test against a factory lead slug. I need more testing time.
FWIW Dixie slugs says the penetration from a 1oz Lee key drive, cast of wheel weights (and test fit to be sure it fits easily in YOUR bore) is head and shoulders above pure lead factory slugs.
FWIW Dixie slugs says the penetration from a 1oz Lee key drive, cast of wheel weights (and test fit to be sure it fits easily in YOUR bore) is head and shoulders above pure lead factory slugs.
I cast boolits for my 3006 for a couple of years. Had early success with the 06, even tried casting softnose successfully, but didn't do any penetration testing. It looked at the time that my 308 Sportco might be really good with cast. The first, and only, 5 shot group I shot with it at 100 meters was 0.78 inches. Not even close to a record I know, but I still wondered how good it could be with more exploration. Tried Lee drive key slugs for my 12 bore and cast 00 buck too. Nothing impressive there. Accuracy wasn't too bad with the slugs (3 to 5 inch groups at 25 meters). Had some difficulty with the 00 as they would come out with a flat area on one side. Never did find a way of getting rid of it. Groups were lousy at 25 meters (my personal mayhem mark). Thought it was probably best to just buy slugs and buckshot and that is what I am doing now. Recently ran into a club that shoots highpower metallic silhouettes at 50, 100, 150 and 200 yards using only 30/30 lever action. Looked like a ton of fun. So, I am trying to cast for my 30/30 with more than a little help from Stocker. Looking at his cast, where his work went and the kind of work he does has shown me in a good way that there is quite a ways to go yet. It kind of lit a fire under my tail to get started again too. So, now I am thinking (again) that I should hunt with cast using my 06, and maybe even my 340. Various things, including a difficult 6BR, have gotten in the way, but the 30/30 is a going to happen for sure. All I need now is good weather.
Having tried Wheel Weight round ball in both ML rifles and cap and ball revolvers I can assure you that with a rifle they are not as accurate as a lead ball at 100 metres.
Accuracy with a cap and ball revolver doesn't seem to suffer but .44 caliber balls cast with wheel weights do not go into the chamber as nice as the same ball cast in pure lead.
Cast for all my rifles and pistols. SKS shines with heavier bullets as does the .303 british. Jury out on my M 14 but with the new GI sight bclineman found for me gun should humm.
Shooting cast is a lot cheaper than jacketed, especially for the milsurps.
Take Care
Bob
Shooting cast is a lot cheaper than jacketed, especially for the milsurps.
Take Care
Bob
I have used the Lyman 311299 with a starting load of H335 in my M305 with very satisfying results. There is just enought pressure to cycle the action quietly and smoothly. The brass ejects and lands in a neat little pile as well.
and I'm looking for a low velocity load for the 314299 in 7.62x39. A 190 grain bullet out of the SKS would fun to shoot.
10x
Have not tried the 314299 in my SKS. The 7.62x39 has a very short neck which means for accuracy you are going to end up with a very long bullet. My 314299 bullets cast out at around 200 grs which is pretty heavy but no reason for them not to work if you can get them to chamber. The Lee 312 155 bullet works great in my SKS with much improved accuracy over the cheap surplus stuff in jackets. With the twist rate of the barrels gun shoots heavier bullets much better I have found. 26 gr of WC735 works wonders with this bullet sixed .313 with an OAL of 2.151 but the brass flies for ever!
Take Care
Bob
ps PM sent
Have not tried the 314299 in my SKS. The 7.62x39 has a very short neck which means for accuracy you are going to end up with a very long bullet. My 314299 bullets cast out at around 200 grs which is pretty heavy but no reason for them not to work if you can get them to chamber. The Lee 312 155 bullet works great in my SKS with much improved accuracy over the cheap surplus stuff in jackets. With the twist rate of the barrels gun shoots heavier bullets much better I have found. 26 gr of WC735 works wonders with this bullet sixed .313 with an OAL of 2.151 but the brass flies for ever!
Take Care
Bob
ps PM sent
I never thought to check to see if the 314299 would chamber.
Now I gotta get me one of those 312155 molds. How do these shoot out of the Lee enfield?
And just buy chance I do have some WC735...
DARKARCHER
Regular
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im just not going to bring that in the house ..and i dont have a out building to do it ....its just not worth my time
10x
I haven't tried them in my LE yet. I like the 314299 bullet for the .303. Will load up a box to try.
The 312 155 bullet is the bullet for the 7.62x39. Developed by CB Harris. Check out the Cast Bullet forum. Three is a sticky there on the 7.62x39.
Email sent and attached the spreadsheet
Take Care
Bob
I haven't tried them in my LE yet. I like the 314299 bullet for the .303. Will load up a box to try.
The 312 155 bullet is the bullet for the 7.62x39. Developed by CB Harris. Check out the Cast Bullet forum. Three is a sticky there on the 7.62x39.
Email sent and attached the spreadsheet
Take Care
Bob
Thusfar I've cast bullets for 8x56R, .303br and 8mm Mauser.
So far I've found one really nice load in my M95 rifle, though I have work to do yet to make my M95 carbine shoot well. I've had really good success with 8mm in one of my K98s by sizing the 205 grain .329 bullets down to .323, and hope to see if I could get some slightly oversized bullets out of my .323 mold, since my RC Mauser does not fare too well with bullets sized to .323. I have gotten reasonable accuracy in some of my Enfields, though I'm hoping that shooting .313 vice .311 cal. bullets will also bring some improvement in grouping.
This season I'll be playing a bit more with different diameters of bullets and finding the charge weights of IMR 3031 to get the best accuracy in my rifles. My proficiency in casting has improved to the point that I'm remelting lots of bullets that I would have kept in the past, though the latter did not necessarily shoot that badly. Though I'll probably be busy enough with the calibres that I'm focusing on now, eventually I'd like to order molds for .30 cals like 7.5x55, 7.62x39 and .308/7.62 NATO. I'd really like to try 9.3mm as well.
Casting certainly opens up many options for milsurps, reduced loads for small game hunting or target practice, and the joys related to making your own. Once I gain proficiency in the art, I might even begin to cast bullets for deer sized game.
Cheers,
Frank
So far I've found one really nice load in my M95 rifle, though I have work to do yet to make my M95 carbine shoot well. I've had really good success with 8mm in one of my K98s by sizing the 205 grain .329 bullets down to .323, and hope to see if I could get some slightly oversized bullets out of my .323 mold, since my RC Mauser does not fare too well with bullets sized to .323. I have gotten reasonable accuracy in some of my Enfields, though I'm hoping that shooting .313 vice .311 cal. bullets will also bring some improvement in grouping.
This season I'll be playing a bit more with different diameters of bullets and finding the charge weights of IMR 3031 to get the best accuracy in my rifles. My proficiency in casting has improved to the point that I'm remelting lots of bullets that I would have kept in the past, though the latter did not necessarily shoot that badly. Though I'll probably be busy enough with the calibres that I'm focusing on now, eventually I'd like to order molds for .30 cals like 7.5x55, 7.62x39 and .308/7.62 NATO. I'd really like to try 9.3mm as well.
Casting certainly opens up many options for milsurps, reduced loads for small game hunting or target practice, and the joys related to making your own. Once I gain proficiency in the art, I might even begin to cast bullets for deer sized game.
Cheers,
Frank
Casting for:
.22 Cal. (.221 Rem, .223 Rem, .22-250)
.30 Cal. (.30 Luger, .30-30, .308, .30-06, .303)
.338 and 8mm
.357 Mag, .38 Spec, 9mm
.44 Spec and Mag
.45's (.45 Auto, .45 Colt, .45/70)
12 Gauge Lyman slugs
The only hard part is finding enough wheel weights and the time to do it.
I've only been casting for about 6 years...still have a lot to learn.
.22 Cal. (.221 Rem, .223 Rem, .22-250)
.30 Cal. (.30 Luger, .30-30, .308, .30-06, .303)
.338 and 8mm
.357 Mag, .38 Spec, 9mm
.44 Spec and Mag
.45's (.45 Auto, .45 Colt, .45/70)
12 Gauge Lyman slugs
The only hard part is finding enough wheel weights and the time to do it.
I've only been casting for about 6 years...still have a lot to learn.
A lyman 314299 at 1400 fps will travel the full length of mule deer breaking every rib in it's path (Texas heart shot). When hunting with cast bullets go with a softer alloy than Lyman #2 and work up a load that gives you both accuracy and velocity. Soft bullets will not shoot as fast accurately as hard cast but accuracy and practice do make up for a slightly lower velocity.
Say, dnepr - Don't be put off by the size of .22 bullets, they cast just as easily and usually faster than the .30's. It's been too long to remember the loads I used, but my hornet shot reasonably well at around 2000fps, and I know that I could do better with the sizing equipment I have now.
All the best. Grouch
All the best. Grouch
We moly coat any of our cast bullets on demand at no extra cost, we do find that some or our newly developed lubes are just as effective or more so. The one concern I have is that they become too slippery with Moly and might not hold the rifling initially anyways, this could be a potential problem with fast twist barrels, which are not a cast bullets shooter's best friend anyways.
