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Not an ideal caliber for shooting cast but when I decided to try cast shooting it was the only caliber I felt appropriate for cast. Shot a personal best 10 shot group at yesterday's CBA match which was also smallest 10 shot group among the 9 competitors - .882" @ 100yds. Boolits are deep seated Lyman 266469 using #2 alloy.
Rifle is bone stock 12FV in a Bobby Hart LRT topped with a vintage B&L 24x, was my 3rd or 4th match.
https://i.ibb.co/K084j8K/group.jpg
Very good!
We have been working up cast loads for most our chamberings "Just in case"
22 cal to 338. 45's already worked out.
Nicely done. Looks like you aren't new to casting either. ;)
Thanks guys. Am pretty new to casting, maybe 18mos or so, double checked my score records, it was my 3rd match.
Try out the Cast Boolit forum. Lots of good folks over there too.
For a 'noob' you are doing extremely well!!!
Don't ya just hate fliers, :)
Thank you for your kind remarks, and yes, fliers do give me fits.
Am a member on Cast Boolits, don't post much but read a lot. Shuz at Cast Boolits (also here) shot from the bench next to me Saturday. He got me into casting and I consider him my mentor.
OUTSTANDING , are your boolits PC or conventionally lubed ? The only bit of advice I might offer is to try and NOT go down the slippery slope of casting and end up like me, an entire shelf in the safe for molds, two pots & two lubsizers, ect,ect.
Again, DAMN FINE SHOOTING
Those -469s are gas checked and conventionally lubed with WLL Xlox 2500+.
The whole barrel 'seasoning' or 'conditioning' thing is a mystery to me, but think I'm figuring it out. Even though I shot some wide groups (my first 10 shot gp was over 2"), I also had two 5 shot groups that measured .955" & 1.055" so things are coming together. Going from 16x to a fixed 24x target scope certainly helped.
What is your velocity? Are you using any case fillers? Orienting the powder once the cartridge is chambered?
1600fps and no case fillers. Rounds are vertically stored in Berry's 50rd boxes, lifted one round at a time and feed direct to chamber.Quote:
Originally Posted by RCE1
Nice shooting. I might have missed it but what powder are you using? I really enjoy cast bullets.
IMR4198. Made some minor changes to neck tension and hope to test next week prior to match on the 20th.
Good luck at the shoot. I used 4198 with my .308 as well. Same loading technique.
Which mould are you using? Lyman twin cavity? Alloy?
Lyman 266469 2-cavity and #2.Quote:
Originally Posted by RCE1
Shot decent Saturday, 5 shot agg - 1.55"; 10 shot agg - 1.56" (first target was 1.075" and tightest 10 shot group of the match); score 183 1-x. I find score the most difficult to master, those dots are tiny at 100yds.
1st in my class and I wasn't the lone shooter in heavy this time. :thumb:
Nice work.
And, yeah, those dots are tiny :) I am glad if all my shots are within the 9 ring.
Shooting for 'score' is what I like to try to do. I just accomplish it in a different way since I am shooting for fun. I have a 6" round plate I place at 500yd. Soda cans at 300yd. This exercise really tests my ability to adjust for wind. Hit or miss. Personal best so far is 8 of 10 (at both ranges).
When shooting jacketed the soda cans are at 600yd. Milk jug at 1000yd. :) Personal best with the milk jug was a 3 out of 5 (.308Win, 155 Hornady ELD match). Last time out with the 6BR the wind was doing weird things, only 5 of 10 on the cans.
One thing that has been frustrating me is the all purpose "bag" on my rest (Sinclair heavy varmint w/windage top). I can't squeeze the sides in tight enough to keep the bottom part of the bag from flattening out. I frequently have to reset windage, elevation, and/or level shot to shot in the same string on the same bull.
Made a point to check front bags other competitors were using, none are like mine, and for those shooting rounded 3" forearms, they had front bags with a matching countour. Time to source something similar.
I have the same problem with my cheap rest (Caldwell Rock). Just have not gone to the trouble to do anything about it.
You might find this interesting. I am exploring the upper velocity limits for cast in my rifle. Previously 2200fps was where things went bad. After some advice went to a slower powder and shot these at 500yd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHZxFLsDLlE
Short story, found the limit is right around 2400fps. Above that and the rotational speed throws the bullets off path. A couple of the higher speed shots you can see a bit of spiral motion in the bullet path (and some don't go anywhere near the aim point). I was shocked at the first three rounds at 2350fps, especially with the wind that day. Also found out that 210gn bullets at 2300 and 2400fps recoil a bit :) FWIW, 2400fps is near max for a 210gn jacketed bullet in the .308.
Saw your video a day or two prior to your post here must have been on CastBoolits. Amazing work and fine shooting in the wind no less!
Our matches are shot at 100yd only, there is a separate 200yd range but only has 2 or 3 lanes. With that limitation there's really no need to increase velocity.
My 7BR build is finished, now working on case prep and will start load development soon.
Thanks Phil. Yes, it was over on Castboolits. Larry Gibson and I have had several conversations about spin rates and what makes a difference in bullet trajectory/stability. I did some work with military stuff many years ago as it pertains to artillery shells and rockets so I was trying to use the same analytics with long bullets. That morphed into my wanting to see if long nose bullets deform or not during combustion. His pressure traces and experiences in this have helped a bit.
Yeah, when I started casting again I figured 200yd would be a long shot. Velocities in the 1700fps range. I migrated to powder coating cause I always disliked the issues with bullet lube.
The 7BR will be running around 1900 - 2000fps with either an RCBS 168SP or Saeco 073. Made a pound cast of the chamber yesterday, pretty cool process and a lot simpler than it sounded. Undecided whether I will PC or lube, will start a separate topic for it soon.
Phil I'm following your exploits with the 6.5 with some interest . I have what is basically a single shot 110 action set up as a Palma rifle. It is chambered in 260 Remington. The barrel is a Criterion and has a match chamber. Due to aging and a relationship with arthritis I don't shoot it or my 308 much anymore. My only experience with cast rifle bullets is in my 300H&H project which has been discussed already. Reading this thread has given me the idea I may be able to shoot both these rifles more often without a barrel change to something with less recoil. I don't know of any matches to shoot cast anywhere near here but I'm starting to get interested in developing something for both rifles. I may ask some questions about the 6.5 as it is pretty close to the 260. At this point I have no molds in 6.5 or .308. I'm using purchased bullets in the .300.
Welcome to the club. First I'd suggest you visit the cast boolits forum. A huge wealth of information.
If interested in cast shoots try the Cast Bullet Association. They have match schedules for a lot of clubs around the country.
https://castbulletassoc.org/default.aspx
I shoot all cast in my .308 these days.
I'm on Cast Boolits on a regular basis and get a lot of info there. matches in my state are only up near D.C. which is close to 3 hours from here so I doubt I'll be attending any of those. I suspect most of my shooting will be on my range here at home or at my gun club. I was a competitive skeet shooter for a good number of years and sort of out of the mood for competition these days. being retired and having a backyard range keeps me plenty busy. I appreciate you comments and look forward to more
You are on the right track then.
If you decide to start casting there are a lot of good molds out there. Heck, even the Lee molds are pretty good and is what I started with.
I tried some store bought before jumping in. Montana Bullet Works is not cheap, but, they use common molds so you can try a design before you buy it.
I recently acquired a whole set up from a friend getting out of it. Mostly Lyman/Ideal molds. I have cast some pistol bullets and am getting the hang of it. many years ago when I was buckskinning I cast quite a few round balls. So another part of the adventure is off and running.
Sounds good. Let us know how it goes.