308 cast bullet

[fast1699]

cant find any load data on a 308cal 135gr rn/fp bullet what would be a good starting point and powder to use just pokeing holes in paper thanks

[tomme boy]

Do you have a manual?

[dverna]

Start at 10 gr of Red Dot (Promo) and work up to about 14 gr. max. I make no assurance to the safety of this information and it is only a best guess.

Don Verna

[robg]

i use 18g of 2400 in all my 308 cast loads 125-180g no fillers seems to work pretty well across the board. i always seat base of bullet in case neck seems to help accuracy

[Blammer]

if you have a manual start with 150gr jacketed data.

if you have the lyman cast book, look there should give something close to the bullet wt you have for cast.

[MtGun44]

UP TO 10 gr of Unique, UP TO 13 Gr of Red Dot, or 16 gr of 2400. Start 20% lower
and work up carefully. One or more of these will be accurate in most rifles.

Please say you have a manual. Or three. Of course, the only manuals to have this kind of data
are the Lyman manuals for cast boolits. Most rifle powders don't work well a very
low charges and the data is mostly intended for full power loads with jbullets.

Pistol powders work very well for plinking and fun loads in rifles. Of course, they
are extremely unsuitable for full power loads in rifles.

Bill

[fast1699]

i do have the lyman 64th edition and the lee manual couldnt find a load for the bullet i want to try so thats why i was asking for sum assistance so i guess im going to try 15.5gr 2400 to start i can buy the cast bullets for 18.00 for 500 already lubed not to bad for poking holes in paper

[Blammer]

Yea, that's pretty cheap!

If I had my book handy I'd toss out what I'd try first.

[fast1699]

loaded up 10 308 135gr bullit with 15.5 gr 2400 gun sighted in at 100 yrds with normal rounds, held 1 inch high of bullseyes at 50 yrds
1st shot 6 inches right at 3 oclock second shot 6 inches low 6 oclock the last 6 bulseye 5 oclock not bad going to load more and try at 100yrds any suggestions

[popper]

Dacron

[detox]

What type of rifle are you shooting. Light barreled hunting rifles are generally not as accurate as target rifles with heavier free floated barrel.

[Blammer]

What type of rifle are you shooting. Light barreled hunting rifles are generally not as accurate as target rifles with heavier free floated barrel.

Hahahahaha! that's funny! :D

I used to think that too.

[Love Life]

Hahahahaha! that's funny! :D

I used to think that too.

I still think that. Run a fast 30 shot string through your standard Blaster mcdeershooter and let us know how the group looks like.

[cbrick]

I still think that. Run a fast 30 shot string through your standard Blaster mcdeershooter and let us know how the group looks like.

:veryconfu I've been going to ranges since before I could see the top of the bench and in all that time I've only seen a few people shoot like that and none of them knew what a bench or a group was. The typical spray & pray crowd.

Anyone that would shoot their hunting rifle like that thinking they are getting ready for a hunting trip should very obviously not go hunting.

Rick

[fast1699]

i shot them in my t/c venture preditor and going to try them in my m77 gunsite scout

[fast1699]

heres the bullit100273

[Blammer]

nice bullet!

[fast1699]

i did try 15.5gr of 2400 at 50yards going for 100 yards tomarrow. only loaded 10 rounds came home loaded 30 more for tomarrow

[Love Life]

:veryconfu I've been going to ranges since before I could see the top of the bench and in all that time I've only seen a few people shoot like that and none of them knew what a bench or a group was. The typical spray & pray crowd.

Anyone that would shoot their hunting rifle like that thinking they are getting ready for a hunting trip should very obviously not go hunting.

Rick

Hehehe, or they are practicing for ninjee master shooting and smoke a barrel out in 3 months. Yes, it does happen. No, I don't hunt.

My 200 yd groups would be 100 yd wallet groups for most.

The statement was made that a skinny barrel will hang with a heavy. The preponderance of evidence does not support that. 30 shots, 5 minutes, heavy barrel vs pencil barrel.

However I am drifting again.

[mpmarty]

So in that line of reasoning a short barrel would be more accurate than a long one??

[MT Chambers]

What works for accuracy with J-word bullets doesn't always work for cast, the most accurate cast bullets are used in CBA benchrest matches and are always GC designs with the GC installed, great shooting is also done with plain base bullets but by breachseating, softer bullets, and lower velocities. For just doinking around, most any cast bullet can be fun!

[fast1699]

the m77 gunsite scout did not like that load at all not sure if it was rifleing or short barrel but i might as well had a shotgun they were all over the place.they seemed to shoot ak in my t/c venture ill have to try them again in it. anybody have any thoughts on why they didnt shoot will in the m77. any help would be appriciated. thanks jeff

[fatnhappy]

heres the bullit100273

Am I to assume you sir are shooting an unchecked boolit and have never loaded cast in a .308 before?

Use a small charge of pistol powder and a tuft of dacron. Something along the lines of 8 or 9 grains of Red Dot should suffice. Scrub all the copper fouling out of your barrel. I have a couple rifles that aren't picky about jacketed fouling, they're the exceptions that prove the rule. If you don't have a Lyman M die, RCBS tapered expander or some other such means of belling your case mouth, I suggest you search the forum for redneck mouth belling techniques. Those boolit bases will get torn up during seating unless they're perfectly straight and the case mouth is belled.
Using a larger diameter spitzer bullet with a light mallet rap will work, but you'll quickly tire of it.


Search the forum again, every 2 or 3 days someone asks if they can shoot plain base boolits or boolits without gas checks. There's lots of advice on the matter.


the m77 gunsite scout did not like that load at all not sure if it was rifleing or short barrel but i might as well had a shotgun they were all over the place.they seemed to shoot ak in my t/c venture ill have to try them again in it. anybody have any thoughts on why they didnt shoot will in the m77. any help would be appriciated. thanks jeff

You pushed plain based boolits way too hard.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Loading for Cast Rifle is a whole nuther game from jacketed.
Get a Lyman cast bullet handbook 4th Ed. and read it.

Yes your Scout may have a faster twist than the TC. That'll definately have a influence. Light/short boolits like a slower twist rate.

Boolit seating length is much more crucial,
you want the boolit to engrave into the lands.

We still don't know what caliber you're shooting,
you said 308 caliber...I can assume 308win
but since most american 30 caliber rifles use a 308 caliber bullet, maybe you are talking about another 30 caliber ? Maybe your Scout and TC are different 30 calibers ? it's tough to give specific advice without specific details.

AGAIN, loading for Cast Rifle is a whole nuther game from jacketed.
Get a Lyman cast bullet handbook 4th Ed. and read it.
That will give you a good base knowledge so you can offer better details to your questions so we may better answer them. ie: Measure your Twist rate.

Lastly, 16gr. of 2400 is known as "The Load" for standard weight cast boolits in 30 cal mil surps. Start low and work up through that charge. Also, when you get to the range, shoot a few 'foulers" to clean out any residual cleaning oil and season the bore with Lube. That should help tighten the group up. I like to stick with 5 shot groups myself. If you can get to 3" CTC 5 shot groups, you'll be ready to read some more and learn how to tighten things up even more.

[quilbilly]

What type of rifle are you shooting. Light barreled hunting rifles are generally not as accurate as target rifles with heavier free floated barrel.
Depends on the rifle. I recently bought a light barreled new 308 for cheap as a CB only rifle and have been very surprised. Using a Lee 160 RNGC pushed by 2400 at 1850 fps, it groups consistently just under an inch at 100 yards so on a whim I loaded a dozen old generic jacketed 150 gr 30/30 bullets in front of the same charge. The first 5 shot group was .4 inches and the second only slightly larger. The rifle has a horrible fuzzy factory installed scope too. You can't judge a book by its cover.

[fast1699]

fatnhappy you asume correct i have not loaded cast before and the bullet i bought does not use gc's its a flat base bullet. i am ordering a lyman cast manual and a lee universal neck expander going to cut back on charge and try again.ive always loaded hand gun rounds and rifle bullets but this is the first attemp at cast bullets in a rifle.

[fatnhappy]

Other than a few exceptions that I can think of off the top of my head, unchecked rifle boolits and pip squek loads go hand in hand. Starting loads are the watch word of the day. I like to use a tuft a dacron with such light loads. It helps keep the powder close to the primer for consistent ignition. Most pistol and shotgun powders can be used and they're extremely easy to ignite.

Since these appear to be commercial cast I'm curious what diameter you're working with (not as though you have any options). As such I also suggest you seat them so they firmly contact the rifling.