Shooting cast rifle boolits.

[zanemoseley]

I've done a bit of searching but I was wondering what the best source of info is for casting rifle boolits. I don't have a centerfire rifle right now but am really getting into .22 prone shooting with a sling. At some point I'd like to get a centerfire to try long range shooting. I was thinking of a 308 but if a particular caliber lets say a 223 cast better or performed much better with cast boolits I could be convinced to change.

[rsrocket1]

IMO .308 is much easier for a beginner to cast and shoot successfully. The easiest would be 45 ACP, but for rifle, as you get thinner and narrower, the mold fillout becomes more challenging. On top of that, .308 is one of the more accurate calibers "straight out of the box". My $120 35 year old Remington 788 shoots 1" groups at 100 yards with factory ammo and I can almost match that with cast so long as I don't try to go overboard with velocity. On top of that, you can cast/load anywhere from 100 grain bullets to 200+ grain bullets and load from subsonic to over 2000 fps pretty easily. Then you can neck size the cases (for a bolt action rifle) and they last a very long time (10's of reloads).

[pworley1]

You have found the best place on the net for learning about using cast bullets. There thousands of years of combined experience to draw from here.

[kenyerian]

http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm Try this link. Lots of info on it.

[MGnoob]

Don't let the small size of the .223 intimatade you away from casting them.It has been some of my most rewarding casting.

They be a few more rejects, they are hard to handle,and while culling the rejects it is difficult to see then compared to 9mm or .45.

The worst part is you feel like it's taking forever to cast them....it's not it just doesn't give you the instant gratification of a Hugh pile quickly.
But your casting them just as fast.. it's like an optical illusion. Atleast to me

Go with the bator mold or the saeco #221. I've liked what i seen on this sight about the bator, I am thrilled with my saeco #221 molds

[williamwaco]

I find that the larger the diameter, the easier it to get accuracy.

I have never been able to get acceptable accuracy with anything smaller the 30 caliber.

It IS possible, I just gave up on it many years ago and have no desire to go back.

[Wayne S]

As stated above, the 308 will be easier for a beginner to get good results bath casting & shooting. IMHO when searching for a rifle keep in mind that 30 cal. bullets will favor a 1-12 twist over a 1-10, and .225 bullets will favor a 1-12 twist over a 1-9. BUT you will be limited to about 60 gn bullets with the 1-12, while the 1-9 will handle the three heavy .225 by NOE, ACE & MeHic

[zanemoseley]

I've been casting 45 acp and have been pleased with the results cosmetically anyway, haven't shot any yet. Since I was thinking of 308 anyway perhaps I should just stay the course with that. Are gas checks or powder coating better? What kind of range and accuracy can I expect?

[Scharfschuetze]

If you're shooting small bore prone or position shooting with a sling, then you will probably really like National Match shooting. The reduced range courses of fire at 100 and 200 yards are easily shot with cast boolits.

While I like shooting the M16/AR15 over the NM course, I haven't tried it with cast boolits, but I can report that the 30/06 and the 308 in gas guns or bolt guns both do well out to 200 yards in matches.

I was just practicing today with cast loads in 30/06. They are easy on the barrel, the shoulder and most importantly for me, the ears.

[JWFilips]

I'm not new to casting & shooting ( pistol boolits) But I am new to casting & shooting rifle boolits ( only this past year)....much has been in the 8mm & 30 cal range.
Recently Just on a fluke I decided to try my remington bolt action with .224 Remington cast boolits ( Got them from Bullshop on our forum)
Well to my amazement First time out ... I have shot my tightest cast boolit groups using these .224 sized boolits in my .223 remington. Like a 10 shot .75" group at 50 yds ! Cast boolit shooting is amazing. Try anything you may like ...you will enjoy it!
When you get to a place & have questions let us know & we will help you
Jim

[runfiverun]

long range and cast is generally best performed with stuff like the 45-90/120/70 type rifles.
they do pretty darn well at 1,000 yds.
if 300 yds is more your style a 165gr 30 cal boolit at 2400 fps carry's plenty of oomph and you can just turn the knobs on your scope to sight it in, it still has an arcing trajectory to it though.
you need 2600 fps to flatten the trajectory out.
the 22 cals seem a bit easier to get to 2800 fps with, but they slow down quickly and drift in the wind a lot more.
weight is your friend, it also leads to more recoil when it's sped up.

I'd go with something like a 180 at 1900 fps and read the wind out to 300yds or so.
the rcbs 30-165 silhouette boolit does right well for me I have shot several [dozen] sub 1/2" 5 shot groups at 100 yds with it, and the drop to 300 is easily compensated for.
plus the wife casts them for me [shrug] so that's a big bonus.

[waco]

^^^
Listen to this guy. He won't steer you in the wrong direction.

[zanemoseley]

Good to hear positive feedback on the 300-165-SIL mold, it was one of the ones I was looking hard at. I like to shoot a lot so it would be nice finding a good 100-200 yard boolit to get some volume paper punching in at $.03 a boolit versus $.35 for a decent FMJ bullet.

[runfiverun]

cheap?
primers cost about 3 cents each, we are being jacked...

anyway I use an alloy of 4/6/90 and 17-18 grs of 2400, tipping the rear of the case into the magazine before each shot.
and large Rifle primers, if you use pistol primers you have to use a little more powder to get things to settle back down.
water dropped ww alloy works pretty well, but the 4/6 alloy is a better fit [ meaning the nose engraves evenly and consistently and the body [drive band] scuffs the ball seat area helping align things even better]
using this alloy gives me a nose diameter slightly over 300 and the body is right at 3105 I size to 310 and use gator checks.
the 3105 gives me just enough resistance that I can square up the gas checks evenly when sizing-lubing in the push through sizer.
a 308-3085 expander ball in the neck sizer provides enough neck tension to hold everything in place [upon round extraction too] and gives good ignition resistance.

simple and easy to make and shoot really.