nrut: I have 3 moulds for my 35's. An RCBS 200 (35 rem bullet), a Lyman 350318 (approx 250 grains and I have 2 Lyman 358009 which cast out at 287 grains with check and lube. I don't use the 200 grain much. For the 350318 I like 40 grains IMR 4895 and I use the identical load for the 287 grain. Both the latter loads are as accurate as I could hope for. I sometimes bump the load to 42 grains for the 287 grain for serious purposes but it is marginally less accurate than the lighter load. I tried a couple other powders but they were not quite as consistent when pushed to the same level. Metal is W/W plus 2% tin and I don't harden them for hunting. Fed 215 primers for ignition.
Cast loads in 38-55, 9.3 and 41 Swiss?
- Thread starter Noel
- Start date
nrut: I couldn't quite fathom Noel's velocities with the heavy either. Whether it was a factor of light affecting the reading or perhaps the load was really a minimum for the case I'm not sure. I really expected him to be in the 1600-1800 fps range. I think when he bumps the load and retries it we'll get an answer. It seems odd but I don't have Quick Load to run a projection of expected velocity.
Noel...Did you shoot those cast after you shot your Norma jacketed loads? (bad dog if you did)....
*If that 267gr., 40gr H4895,1 1/2" load @ 1800fps + was shot at 100 meters I would say that you have your hunting load...That boolit is the best design for hunting as it has some meplat to it....
*There is something fishy with the 323gr., 38gr. H4895 load at 500 fps+...I say that because you are shooting a heavier boolit with one less gr. of powder than the 286gr. boolit load...they should be very close in vel.
*When you cleaned your rifle were there any lead streaks on your patches?
*You should try to lube a patch with boolit lube and patch your bore with it before you shoot it again....dry bores tend to lead with the first shot...Take some excess lube off the noses the of the other boolits if you don't have any lube....You "should" get better groups & less leading as your barrel seasons with lube...
*Question for you... are you able to seat these boolits out far enough so the base stays in the neck???
Stocker...the lite boolit is a RCBS 37-250-FN lubed and gas checked in a .382 lubra-sizing die then sized to .368...
The other two are NEI molds .366/260 & .366/304...NEI uses linotype to cast with and that is why their wt. and sizes come out smaller and lighter..
They said they cut the base for .35 cal gas checks but they would'nt stay on so I enlarged the bases with a scraping tool and use .375 GC's....One is a spire pt. with a small meplat and the other is a round nose...Not that great for hunting IMO unless you cast a soft nose or temper the noses...
What would you suggest for a .358 240-255 gr mold for a 35 Whelen...I have a Ruger#1 waiting on import papers is why I ask...
Indeed I did shoot it after the jacketed Norma's. Call it an absent minded newbie I guess.
When cleaning out the bore last night I put a wet patch of Barnes CR2 through and let it sit while I cleaned the rest of the rifle. No lead stripping at all, just dirty patches and a nice clean barrel after. I will try to lube it before the next session.All bases were well into the neck, 267@3.110". 286gr@ 3.286" and the 323 at 3.444". The last one was too long and I had to single load as it would not feed from the left side of the mag.
I was as shocked at the velocity as you are. However I was also shooting a proven load from my 7x57 and it read them fine. The 232 Orxy were going the usual speed as other sessions too.
I am going to push the 232 back in the case until it feeds, shouldn't need much and then work the load up.
Noel
nrut: yes, both are out of production. I got one 358009 from the States and the other in Sask. The 358018 I got from EE sction here from another BC member.
NEI makes a couple of good 358 moulds and they are very good quality. I have a heavy (270 gr) 348 from NEI and it is the best bullet of several moulds I have for that caliber.
Both Lyman's come up for sale occasionally if you are watching for them but their value approaches or exceeds new moulds from NEI.
Good luck in the search.
NEI makes a couple of good 358 moulds and they are very good quality. I have a heavy (270 gr) 348 from NEI and it is the best bullet of several moulds I have for that caliber.
Both Lyman's come up for sale occasionally if you are watching for them but their value approaches or exceeds new moulds from NEI.
Good luck in the search.
For your 41 Swiss, start by using bullets for the 44 Rem Mag. The 240 gr work well in mine. I had some 300 gr jacketed bullets, but prefer to only use cast in this old rifle.
You do know that for brass you must expand, form and trim either 348 Win or 8MM Lebel brass, and of course convert the bolt to centerfire. On mine I drilled the bolt and am using a cut off RCBS decapping pin held in place by a piece of nylon tie strap about 1/8" wide with a hole punched in for the new firing pin. I drilled a shallow hole under the buttplate to store the original rimfire striker.
You do know that for brass you must expand, form and trim either 348 Win or 8MM Lebel brass, and of course convert the bolt to centerfire. On mine I drilled the bolt and am using a cut off RCBS decapping pin held in place by a piece of nylon tie strap about 1/8" wide with a hole punched in for the new firing pin. I drilled a shallow hole under the buttplate to store the original rimfire striker.
Not to worry, Andy taught me a bunch and sold me a converted rifle taboot. I have some brass made albeit I trimmed to short on my first batch. Darned things last forever!
My 41 needs .430-.431" and 320+gr to be long enough to feed through the magazine.Haven't been playing with the 38-55 at all as the stock needs tlc.
By the way, welcome to CGN!
The 9.3 is no longer a x62 but a x57 with a 9 1/4" rate of twist. Be interesting to see how cast likes to be spun that fast. Should stabilize up to 400gr.
I will be adding 32-20 to the list now. I have a few of Ben's .310"s to try. I might get bold and make a hollow pointer too for those pesky coyotes that come close in deer season.
