New convert

[tahoe2]

My last post was a few months ago, as my last outing with cast boolits was dismal at best. (6"-8" groups @ 50 yds)

(a little background)

I built a faux Argentine Cavalry carbine last spring out of a scrubbed Brazilan 1908 (non matching bolt) action and an Argentine "FMAP"
carbine barrel in 7.65x53 Mauser. It shoots J-bullets great (2" @ 100); one of our great members sent me some .314" boolits which didn't
pan out, as stated above. But I found some .313" 200 grn RN gas checked boolits at a gun show recently and decided to give them another go.

All I can say is WOW! two different loads with IMR 4227 & 4198; 1" @ 50 yds and 2"-3" @ 100; I'm impressed to say the least, I only loaded
10 of each because I wasn't expecting good results. Now I have a new mission, the rifle in question is in fact scoped and will be my hunting
companion this fall. My loads are lumbering along @ 1900-2100 fps, according to published data in Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook and will be
good out to 150-175 yds, most of my shots will come @ 250 yds or less.

The Brinnell hardness is stated to be 17-18 by the boolit caster I purchased these from, is that soft enough for deer type game ??

[Bzcraig]

I'm not a hunter so can't answer your hardness question, sorry. But finding the right boolit for your rifle starts with slugging the bore. Then if you move on to a pound cast (use that in search and you will find Goodsteel's excellent write up with pics in a 'how to') you will be able to significantly cut down the time spent in the learning curve. As you found out you can get good results with multiple powders (and visa versa) then working up loads may even get you to moa or close to it. Good luck, glad you stuck with it. If you stick around you will be surrounded by like minded addicts and enablers.

[tahoe2]

Thanks BZ, I in fact slugged the bores a year ago when I started (2 rifles) a 1909 Argentine Carbine and the Hybrid
Brazilian/Argentine Carbine, a fellow member sent me some 314299/200 grn boolits that didn't fare well, so I all but
gave up until that gun show find. I have yet to go "All In" purchasing equipment / molds, etc... but I may start leaning
in that direction soon. wheel weights have been outlawed in my area years ago, so locating lead/alloy is the next step.

[quilbilly]

Congratulations on your find of those 313 boolits. That will save a lot of work. That hardness is just fine for deer and you could even go softer if carbine barrel allows. I understand your not being able to find wheel weights which is why have been making my own alloys for years (never did trust the uniformity of WW anyway). Luckily in the Seattle area you can usually turn up some old roofing lead from older houses. That lead is usually very pure once you clean it and melt it into ingots. Just add about 30% hard chilled birdshot (also often found at scrap dealers) plus a little tin and you will have a good alloy that can be tweaked as necessary. Make friends with a roofing contractor!

[leadman]

There are usually some ingots of various alloys available in Selling & Swapping here.
You can slug just the beginning of the rifling to find out if you could go larger on the boolit. Check the inside diameter of your fired cases and record this figure. This will tell you how large you can go with a boolit and still have it release safely from the cartridge.
The Argentine Mausers have a long leade in front of the case. My 4 Arg. rifles vary from .313" to .315" in the throat area.

It is hard to argue with the success of the loads you tried. you may improve on them, or not.