I've written before about using a flat-nose 150-grain bullet, designed for .30-30, in a number of rifles with good results. The one problem I've had is that some rifles that flat occasionally hangs up when chambering a round, so decided to try a pointed bullet. A while back I got two, both Lee: one 155-grain and one 160-grain tumble-lube, both actually for .303, 7.62x54r and 7.62x39. That very good article on cast bullets in military rifles had mentioned using both, including sizing the 155-grain to .309 or .310 for .30-06 and .308. And Midway had a sale at the time and they were actually in stock, so...
I tried the 155-grain with the 16.0 grains of 2400, sized .309" and lubed with Rooster Red, in a K31(7.5x55 Swiss) a .308 and .30-06. It shot well in all, fed with no problems(worth it for no jams alone), and gave good accuracy. One other thing: in the K31 and .308, at 100 yards, the flat-nose had hit about 4-5" to the right of point of aim(which I've heard is common in cast loads compared to jacketed bullets); with this bullet it was only 2-2.5" right.
I tried the 160-grain in a #4MkI Enfield, fed nicely, good accuracy and- again- just a touch to the right. This one was lubed with Lee Liquid Alox and sized in a Lee sizer, which barely touched the bullet but seated the gas check(both bullets were gas-checked). The Lee 185-grain bullet I tried before worked very well, I just wanted to try a lighter bullet, and this one worked well.
I tried one other thing: the gentleman mentioned that for general practice and small game he used bullets that had no gross defects but weren't quite up to spec lubed with Lee Alox without a gas check and with a light charge of fast-burning powder. I had some of the 160-grain that fit the description, so tried it out using a charge of Bullseye. At 50 yards gave about 2" groups(I think, I lost the target) with slight recoil and low noise. I need to load some more to try at 100, see how they do. For winter or just when there's no time to get to the outdoor range this would be a good practice load.
I do have to note, while the 155-grain mold works just fine, the 160-grain is a picky bastard. Finally found the trick to getting good bullets with it; temperature on the melter up a bit, and don't hold the mold more than about 3/8" below the nozzle, otherwise it either doesn't fill completely or has wrinkles. Lee molds can be picky, but this is the damndest one I've messed with.
3 comments:
The NRA Cast Bullet Handbook is a wealth of information, even about things that somebody tried that didn't work. As I recall, the A Ticket for light load full size .30 military cartridges is about 12 grains of Red Dot and a tuft of Dacron pillow stuffing.
try adding a teeny mite of tin to your alloy when casting with that recalcitrant mold. It might help the bullets to fill out more easily. I use an inch or so of 50-50 solder.
Gerry N.
I need to find a copy of that to look at. Though the last stuff I've heard says to stay away from the pillow stuffing; they found it can cause pressure spikes. There's some new buffering material made for the purpose that's supposed to be better for those loads that need buffer.
Tin. I need to add a dab. As I recall, that's the main reason for tin in the allow is it makes it melt at a bit lower temp and flow better. How the hell did I forget that?
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