Cast in 303

WhelanLad

WhelanLad

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Australia AU
wondering what thoughts are here in regards to this Ruger 1 303, going to grab some commercial cast projies to plink with it now im out in the valley an got room to do so, but the local cast is .311 180gr, wondering if ya think with a good load of powder behind it, that it may expand at the base? to fill the void with the rugers barrel sizing?

i can get 314 stuff but its super light 98gr or so, 115 being heavy, for other cals..............

i would want to run them decently without the fouling...
Thanks
https://www.rebelgunworks.com.au/products/hawkesbury-river-hrbc-311-303-180gr-fp-copperhawkes-500pk#generate-quote/?view_5_page=1&view_5_filters=%5B%7B%22field%22%3A%22field_1%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22is%22%2C%22value%22%3A%22Parcel%20Post%20%2B%20Signature%22%7D%2C%7B%22field%22%3A%22field_12%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22is%22%2C%22value%22%3A%224%20-%205%20kg%22%7D%2C%7B%22value%22%3A%223707%22%2C%22field%22%3A%22field_13%22%2C%22operator%22%3A%22contains%22%7D%5D
 
I shoot .314” 200 grain cast out of my Number 1.
.311” pushed hard, will probably lead your barrel.
That said, lead can be removed and then you will know.
 
Last edited:
yeah rightio, fair call on the leading, ..i tried pushin .308s fast to fill the bore but it didnt really, or satisfactorily, maybe the cast will at a sweet spot before leading! ill have to find out..

i do wanna shoot off hand an stuff at distances 20 to 150 an cringe throwin Speers or Woodleighs out into the paddock lol, Lead.... no dramas.

i haveemailed a few 'producers' to see what they have in 311-314 an go from there, order an load.
 
I have three enfields that I like to shoot, each of them prefers a different cast recipe unfortunately. Luckily, I seem to have the best luck in all three guns with .313 size.

The load I think is most consistently accurate I produce is using these 200gn checked casts in front of 26.5gn imr4198 in the dark #4. I don't test brinel/hardness but i believe these are a harder alloy than most other casts I've used, they just sound different. I am going to try and etch the moly off them and powdercoat, I have had good success with an unchecked 180gn lead cast powdercoated but not resized over 15gn Unique through the GC. All loads using magnum primers.



I'd like to find somewhere that has saeco casts, there is an 180gn pill described in the Lyman book with a flat nose I am interested in powder coating and trying, both resized and not.
 
WL, I have had reasonably good performance with the Lyman 311284 bullet in several 303s. Cast wheelweight metal drops from the mold at around 212 gr. In spite of them being barely large enough to fill the grooves, they shoot into around two inches at 1800 fps, perhaps because the bullet is so long.

It is also a very deadly bullet in the 30-30 Win, straight from the mold to the case with no gas check.

Ted
 
WhelanLad said:
wondering what thoughts are here in regards to this Ruger 1 303, going to grab some commercial cast projies to plink with it now im out in the valley an got room to do so, but the local cast is .311 180gr, wondering if ya think with a good load of powder behind it, that it may expand at the base? to fill the void with the rugers barrel sizing?

i can get 314 stuff but its super light 98gr or so, 115 being heavy, for other cals..............

i would want to run them decently without the fouling...
Click to expand...

The .303 British is a fine case/caliber for cast bullet shooting. In similar sizes the 30 U.S. (aka 30/40 Krag) might be even better due to the longer neck, but that's getting into nitpicking.

Dealing with fouling (leading your barrel?) is mostly dealt with by using cast bullets that fit the ball seat/leade of your chamber, and bullets with sufficient BHN/tensile strength to match the pressures your reloads create.

The advent of powder coating in the cast bullet world is just about the best thing to come along since ###, at least as far as everything it delivers. E.g.; want a slightly bigger bullet dimensionally to fit your rifle's chamber as you mention above you want to deal with? Bake on an additional powder size to get the size you want.

Powder coating, many of us believe, is essentially a tough durable jacket over your cast bullet, which also helps to minimize or eliminate leading your barrel due to other causes like poor fit or excessive pressure for bullet strength. Easy-peasy, fast and easy, and definitely not greasy!

One coat of Smoke's clear powder coat increases diameter by about .0015"; one coat of his black powder coat increases diameter by a bit over .002". Bake on an additional coat for further increases in measurement.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom