Shooting an M305 On The Cheap
- Thread starter gvanzeggelaar
- Start date
For lead I have just been using range scrap. It works quite well. Powder is from Highinsons powder. I use WC735 at about 20ish a lb.
As for OP rod impact, this can pretty much be determined by how far it throws brass. It usually only throws brass about 2-3 ft. Do not use this as an indicator for chamber pressure.
As for OP rod impact, this can pretty much be determined by how far it throws brass. It usually only throws brass about 2-3 ft. Do not use this as an indicator for chamber pressure.
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
guys have been saying lead can foul up the gas system my sks has not had one issue i use wheel weight lead thats been water droped and gas checked you will not get leading with a proper casting practice
Finally got a cast bullet load to work with my M305.
Lee .312 185gr gas checked bullets, wheel weights, water dropped, sized to .311
35gr H4895
CCI large rifle primers
I managed to group a little under 1" at 50 yards with 1 flyer that increased the group to 2-1/2". Group was 10 shots. Was just a test to make sure it cycled. Loaded up 50 more for testing at 100 yards this Saturday.
For my load the cost per round is (including tax):
$0.03 for the gas check ($30 and change for 1000)
$0.04 for the primer ($40 and change for 1000)
$0.13 for the powder ($25/lbs for H4895)
$0.00 for the cases (range collected; have almost 1000 .308 now)
$0.00 for the lead (wheel weights I got for free but am running out and my source is gone)
-------------
$0.22/round
If I had to pay for lead at $50/25lbs for target load:
+ $0.05 for the lead
-------------
$0.27/round
Factoring in the fractions of pennies from the components, bullet lube, case lube to resize, how much life it reduces my tumbling media by, and other little things it's probably easy to round the two numbers to 25 cents and 30 cents respectively.
Can knock a penny off each round though since my new source for gas checks (haven`t started punching my own yet) is only 2 cents each instead of 3.
Almost twice the price of gvanzeggelaar's loads though
I couldn't get H4831 to work at all even with 40 grains. I was having short strokes that cocked the hammer but didn't chamber a round and also had unburnt powder in the chamber preventing the next round from seating properly.
The recipe from castboolits for a Springfield M1A was:
180gr gas checked bullet sized to .309
35gr H4831
large rifle primer
Does the M305 have a looser gas system that needs more pressure to operate? Wouldn't surprise me since it is a Chinese made rifle.
Lee .312 185gr gas checked bullets, wheel weights, water dropped, sized to .311
35gr H4895
CCI large rifle primers
I managed to group a little under 1" at 50 yards with 1 flyer that increased the group to 2-1/2". Group was 10 shots. Was just a test to make sure it cycled. Loaded up 50 more for testing at 100 yards this Saturday.
For my load the cost per round is (including tax):
$0.03 for the gas check ($30 and change for 1000)
$0.04 for the primer ($40 and change for 1000)
$0.13 for the powder ($25/lbs for H4895)
$0.00 for the cases (range collected; have almost 1000 .308 now)
$0.00 for the lead (wheel weights I got for free but am running out and my source is gone)
-------------
$0.22/round
If I had to pay for lead at $50/25lbs for target load:
+ $0.05 for the lead
-------------
$0.27/round
Factoring in the fractions of pennies from the components, bullet lube, case lube to resize, how much life it reduces my tumbling media by, and other little things it's probably easy to round the two numbers to 25 cents and 30 cents respectively.
Can knock a penny off each round though since my new source for gas checks (haven`t started punching my own yet) is only 2 cents each instead of 3.
Almost twice the price of gvanzeggelaar's loads though
I couldn't get H4831 to work at all even with 40 grains. I was having short strokes that cocked the hammer but didn't chamber a round and also had unburnt powder in the chamber preventing the next round from seating properly.
The recipe from castboolits for a Springfield M1A was:
180gr gas checked bullet sized to .309
35gr H4831
large rifle primer
Does the M305 have a looser gas system that needs more pressure to operate? Wouldn't surprise me since it is a Chinese made rifle.
antiqueguy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- windsor ontario
go to the range and collect your cast bullets back this why you keep your alloy
ive seid it before on this forum ive made a catch box that has a 3'x3' face and is about
4' long in this i now have 3 dividers witch makes 4 sections 1' long 3 of them are filled and packed tightly with rubber playground mulch and 1 is filled with gravel. it sits on a cheap dolly cart but im in the process of making a set of legs that fold for it (this way it fits in the truck and i can still use the dolly cart to move it around) i made it so i dont waste lead i can collect it and reuse it
ive seid it before on this forum ive made a catch box that has a 3'x3' face and is about
4' long in this i now have 3 dividers witch makes 4 sections 1' long 3 of them are filled and packed tightly with rubber playground mulch and 1 is filled with gravel. it sits on a cheap dolly cart but im in the process of making a set of legs that fold for it (this way it fits in the truck and i can still use the dolly cart to move it around) i made it so i dont waste lead i can collect it and reuse it
Well I have had some luck with IMR 4198 with a Linotype 311299 @ 50 yards.
24gr - Cycled, did not lock back on last round. 1" group
25gr - Full function 3/4" group
26gr - Full function 1/2" group
These were 5 shot groups that I used as a test.
I waited about 30 seconds between each shot. I used regular commercial brass and no filler.
Using WC7235 proved to be erratic and I couldn't get consistent groups. I also was a lot more picky when sorting the bullets by weight. Any bullet with a defect went back into the pot.
24gr - Cycled, did not lock back on last round. 1" group
25gr - Full function 3/4" group
26gr - Full function 1/2" group
These were 5 shot groups that I used as a test.
I waited about 30 seconds between each shot. I used regular commercial brass and no filler.
Using WC7235 proved to be erratic and I couldn't get consistent groups. I also was a lot more picky when sorting the bullets by weight. Any bullet with a defect went back into the pot.
