Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Well, it worked for one

and not for the other. Cast bullet load report.

With the cost of things, I finally decided to get a mold for a bullet that'll work for .303 and 7.62x54r. Found this one at Grafs, and since I already had a .311 Lee sizer, decided to try it first. Used a .30 caliber Hornady gas check and ran a batch through.

Test rifles were a #1 MkIII Enfield for .303 and the Finn M39 for 7.62x54. Results, as the title says. The Enfield shot bloody lousy with it, the Finn liked it. As in 1.5" group at 30 yards(indoor range; no time to go to the outdoor range, and it's cold and windy outside). Recoil in both was very light.

After I got home I slugged the bores. The Enfield, which groups pretty well with ball, came out about .312, which explains the lousy groups; the bullet just wouldn't fit the bore. The Finn came out about .309 to .310, so the bullet fit it pretty well.

I know where I can get the use of a #4 MkI Enfield that has a tighter bore, and a Mosin Nagant 91/30(bore unknown) to try these bullets in. The next larger sizer Lee shows is .314, which'd be too much for the M39(I think) but about right for the #1.

Dad has a Lyman luber-sizer, which we put a heater on a few years back so we could use some of the hard lubes, and it's great and we use it a bunch; but you have to get a sizer die(about $22) for each size and the proper top punch(about $9 now) to fit the bullet; different bullet profile, probably need another top punch. The Lee has to be used(yeah, you can get around that but lets keep it simple) with their Liquid Alox lube, but the whole setup costs $15, which includes a bottle of lube, and it mounts on your single-stage loading press; no top punch needed. If it turns out need the larger size I'll get one of the .314 sets and try it.

2 comments:

vlad said...

Drop bullets from hot mould
into water to harden them.
It is best to rig a mesh bag in a 5gal bucket. Drop bullets into water.
Remove bag of bulllets from water. Hang it up overnight to dry. Be sure bullets are completely dry before you apply lube to them.

Load some bullets without sizing them. See if that tightens groups.

My best group with cast RCBS 30-180-FN in 300HH is three in 1-3/8" at 100.
That bullet in 3006 1917 original barrel
groups 1.75" at 100 yard.

Firehand said...

I've done that on handgun bullets to harden them a bit. This being a bullet with a heeled base for a gas check, I've heard that it won't work as well; gas tends to eat at the base a bit.

'Course, this would be an excuse- er, reason to get another mold with a plain base to try...