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View Full Version : Cast Boolits in .30-06



tinhorn97062
07-16-2015, 04:20 PM
To start, I did try using the search function but was unable to find what I was looking for.

I have my trusty '75 vintage Winchester M70 and would like to start shooting cast lead in it. Powders on hand are Power Pistol, H414, H4198, IMR-3031, and Trailboss. Boolits soon to be on hand are some Hi-Tek coated gas checked 200gr RNFP (thanks to a forum member for the sampling). Can somebody point me to a good starting place, or point me somewhere that has some good reference material? I'm kind of in the dark on this one.

s mac
07-16-2015, 05:49 PM
Go to the very bottom of the main forum page and click on CastPics.

tinhorn97062
07-16-2015, 05:51 PM
Thank you s mac!

Scharfschuetze
07-16-2015, 08:03 PM
You should also consider Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook. The current tome is Volume 4, but if you can find Volume 3 it is worth getting with lots of loads currently missing in Volume 4.

The 30/06 is one of the best cast boolit cases and you should enjoy quick results with either the slower flake pistol powders or the faster rifle powders. I load cast boolits extensively for the old Ought-Six in Springfields, 1917 Enfields and the M1 Garand as well as Model 70 Winchesters.

Lots of info here at this site as well as all over the web. Of the powders you list, 4198 and 3031 would be the powders I'd start with for velocities between 1,800 and 2,000 fps for your 200 grain boolits.

Blammer
07-16-2015, 10:50 PM
30 gr of IMR 3031 and a 200gr bullet in a 3006 should be the ticket to start.

tinhorn97062
07-17-2015, 12:33 AM
I really appreciate all of the replies. I'm going to go the 3031 route, since it's a little more available for me.

tinhorn97062
07-21-2015, 12:40 AM
I have standard issue RCBS .30-06 dies. I see that Buffalo Arms makes a custom sized expander for Lyman and RCBS dies...does anybody have any feedback on that item? My boolits measure .310.

Wayne Smith
07-21-2015, 08:57 AM
If you have or are planning to get multiple guns/calibers for cast use you will be better off in the long run to invest in a Lyman M die body, one long and one short if you will be shooting pistols/revolvers, and then invest in the appropriate inserts as needed. It will likely be cheaper in the long run.

tinhorn97062
07-21-2015, 10:16 AM
If you have or are planning to get multiple guns/calibers for cast use you will be better off in the long run to invest in a Lyman M die body, one long and one short if you will be shooting pistols/revolvers, and then invest in the appropriate inserts as needed. It will likely be cheaper in the long run.

Great advice!

WALLNUTT
07-22-2015, 06:58 PM
Cheaper and more versitile to get a LEE universal expander and and M type plugs from NOE. You can get assorted calibers and sizes within a caliber.

Scharfschuetze
07-22-2015, 09:10 PM
The Lyman M Die as Wayne suggests is a good addition to the loading bench. I also use the RCBS version of it and prefer its more belled design of expander, but it's really six of one and six of the other. Either way, you are on the right track in expanding and belling your necks to accept your larger and softer cast boolits.

I use the Lee Universal expander to just bell a case slightly when I neck size the neck to proper internal diameter for cast boolits. In its stock form, The Lee does only that. I didn't realize that NOE made expander plugs for it and that certainly increases its usability.