Cast .303 British reloads

[45ACPKING]

so.... I'm not quite getting this
the standard powders for jacketed bullets aren't gonna work here or work poorly?
I'm planning to cast .303 for the primary purpose of hunting mulies/blacktails in the under 100 yard environment
recommendations?
I've got 3031 , H4895 and IMR4895 .... do I have to go powder shopping ?
those flat nose bullets from bullet barn look interesting as well I was thinking of ordering some while I go thru my bullet casting learning curve

 

[LUTNIT]

Cast bullets have a velocity limit because they'll strip themselves in the rifling if you push them too fast. That's why jacketed bullets where invented in the first place; to achieve higher velocities. The max velocity depends on the alloy hardness and if they're gas checked or not. A 180gr bullet in a .303B can be pushed to 2500fps within the pressure limits of the cartridge. That's on the higher end of the limit for cast bullets. Generally a cast, gas checked bullet wont shoot accurately past 2000-2200fps. It'll group poorly, possibly tumble, and leave lead flakes inside your barrel if you push it too fast. Some people using extra hard alloys can reach 3000fps but that requires a lot of special considerations and load development.

Bullet size to bore is also very important with cast; much more important than jacketed. With jacketed bullets you can be a couple thou under bore diameter and you'll get some gas blow-by and loose some velocity but that's about it. With cast bullets you can get bad leading in your bore if that's the case. You want a cast bullet to be 1-2 thou over bore diameter so with older surplus rifles you often need to slug the bore to find out what bullet diameter you need.

3031 and 4895 (either one) are good medium burn rate powders so can work with cast bullets. With 4895 I'd start with a 60% charge meant for a jacketed bullet and work up from there.

 

[Andy]

The slowest powder I've had good results with for cast bullets is 4198. It burns well at the MV's and pressures I use, i.e. <2000 fps. I have stocked up on SR4759 - my overall favourite.

 

[TargetAcquired]

the 200gn round nose gas checked hard cast projectile in .313 from the Bullet barn works very nicely in 3 of my #4's. I've probably been through more than 1000 of them this year. Last batch that I bought came with empty lube grooves, I contacted them and they have gone to moly. I use 'normal' powders for the .303 and get fine results, my best results are with warm, not hot loads, but nothing I would really call 'reduced'. I clean my guns after each session, have never noticed any bad leading. I shoot them with irons only, and my groups are great, no complaints. Brass I use is IVI, Win, and Prvi - some of them are at or getting close to 20 loads, but i check them all carefully before loading them again. I've tossed a few, but no complete seperations. I have a handful of brass that is specifically married to each individual rifle.

 

[Boomer]

Back to the OP. This is an excerpt from C.E. Harris's article on "Cast Bullet Loads For Military Rifles" Very good read.

"Sixteen Grains of #2400 is the Universal Load

The same 16 grain charge of #2400 is universal for all calibers as a starting load. It is mild and
accurate in any larger military case from a 30-40 Krag or .303 British up through a 30-06 or 7.9x57,
with standard weight bullets of suitable diameter for the caliber. This is my recommendation for
anybody trying cast bullets loads for the first time in a military rifle without prior load development.
I say this because #2400 is not "position sensitive", requires no fiber fillers to ensure uniform
ignition, and actually groups better when you stripper-clip load the rifle and bang them off, rather
than tipping the muzzle up to position the powder charge.

Similar ballistics can be obtained with other powders in any case from 7.62x39 to 30-06 size. If you
don't have Hercules #2400, you can freely substitute 17 grains of IMR or H4227, 18 grains of 4198,
21 grains of Reloder 7, 24 grains of IMR 3031, or 25.5 grains of 4895 for comparable results.
However, these other powders may give some vertical stringing in cases larger than the 7.62x39
unless the charge is positioned against the primer by tipping the muzzle up before firing. Hercules
#2400 does not require this precaution. Don't ask me why. Hercules #2400 usually gives tight
clusters only within a narrow range of charge weights within a grain or so, and the "universal" 16
grain load is almost always the best. Believe me, we have spent a lot of time trying to improve on
this, and you can take our word for it.

The beauty of the "200 yard target load" at about 1500 f.p.s. is that it can be assembled from bullets
cast from the cheapest, inexpensive scrap alloy, and fired all day without having to clean the bore. It
always works. Leading is never a problem. Once a uniform bore condition is established, the rifle
behaves like a .22 match rifle, perhaps needing a warming shot or two if it has cooled, but otherwise
being remarkably consistent."​

Google the title and you should be able to find the whole article fairly easily. Have fun. I personally use 26 gr. of IMR4895.

Concerning 2400, this is almost word for word the advice I got from a older gentleman, when I was getting serious about shooting cast a generation or so ago. I was pretty much married to Unique and SR-4759 in those days, so I never acted on it, but never forgot about it either. Recently, I was putting together some low velocity .458 rounds for a friend of mine, and while going through my powder supply to see what I could use (spare), I came across a few pounds of 2400, and remembered old Bill's advice. I loaded 25 grs (a SWAG) under a 480 gr WFN, and tried it in my M-70 to make sure the pressure was within the acceptable range. It proved to be a very nice load to shoot. The primers neither flattened nor extruded, and although I didn't chronograph it, I expect it was in the 1200 fps range. I'll be loading some for myself, just because its so much fun to shoot.

 

[Ganderite]

so.... I'm not quite getting this
the standard powders for jacketed bullets aren't gonna work here or work poorly?
I'm planning to cast .303 for the primary purpose of hunting mulies/blacktails in the under 100 yard environment
recommendations?
I've got 3031 , H4895 and IMR4895 .... do I have to go powder shopping ?
those flat nose bullets from bullet barn look interesting as well I was thinking of ordering some while I go thru my bullet casting learning curve

Your 3031 or 4895 would work just fine.

For hunting, use a heavy bullet with a Gas Check.

Start load development mild, and load 5 of each load in 1 gr increments, to see where accuracy falls off.

Before testing, clean the barrel more than usual. metal fouling from jackets can screw up your results.

When testing, run a wet patch through the barrel after each 5 shots, and watch for leading. This will also give the barrel some time to cool a bit.

I recently ran this test and found that the mildest load shot by far the best. great for plinking, but not so good if I wanted to hunt.