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View Full Version : Laser Cast 158Gr .357 Mag W296 loads help Please. :)



JesterGrin_1
04-14-2008, 12:36 AM
Today for the first time I took this Marlin with the Micro Groove barrel on it with some Laser Cast 158Gr RNFP's with 15.8Gr of W296 and Winchester Mag primer and it was worse than a shot gun at 100 yards. Sooooooooo bad infact I thought my scope was broken inside lol.

Any help with W296 or TightGroup since that is what I have on hand sure would be nice. I am going to use it for hunting so it will not be a plinking load. :)

Thank You everyone in advance for all of the help from this great forum. :drinks:

Old Ironsights
04-14-2008, 09:31 AM
Those Laser Cast bullets are likely too small for your bore.

Have you slugged it?

Scrounger
04-14-2008, 09:52 AM
Not to mention too hard and the lube they use is also so hard as to be worthless. Melt them down 50/50 with wheel weights, cast some bullets and size them .359. H110/WW296 is a good powder choice.

Throckmorton
04-14-2008, 10:19 AM
Is there a chance you've been shooting jacketed bullets in this rifle,or any one has?

I know...I know...'we' would not do such a thing and say it out loud on this board.lol

I have a marlin 30-30 that would not hit the broadside of a barn until I REALLY cleaned the bore with brushes and copper cutter.It may look clean but they'll fool ya !!

clean it up,then load and shoot some light loads with the Tightgroup and see what happens,then work up from there with the Tightgroup.

don't reduce-load the 296,bad juju.

James C. Snodgrass
04-14-2008, 10:25 AM
I think they are to hard and small also, But if you are like me you have em so shoot em in a plinker . I have tried them in the past in half a dozen differant pistols with 3 or 4 in @ 25yds. Good luck James:castmine:

JesterGrin_1
04-14-2008, 12:20 PM
Not to mention too hard and the lube they use is also so hard as to be worthless. Melt them down 50/50 with wheel weights, cast some bullets and size them .359. H110/WW296 is a good powder choice.

Do not have any WW lead but I do have pure lead. :) So I would think maybe 3/4 laser cast with a 1/3 rd of pure should do it. But now to find a mold lol.

JesterGrin_1
04-14-2008, 12:24 PM
I think they are to hard and small also, But if you are like me you have em so shoot em in a plinker . I have tried them in the past in half a dozen differant pistols with 3 or 4 in @ 25yds. Good luck James:castmine:

3 and 4 in groups at 25yrds :killingpc I can do that with a darn sling shot lol. This is not what I wanted to hear lol.

But I am going to mention the dreaded J word here as I am going to try some Hornady 180 Gr bullets with 13 Gr of W296 and a CCI-550 mag primer. I need to find a decent load for it for some hunting this weekend so I am short on time to do so. But I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON CAST. :)

JesterGrin_1
04-14-2008, 09:12 PM
Okay my report for the load above. Even though it is not cast since I did post the info I felt I needed to follow it up. SOOOOOOOOOOOOo

With the Hornady 180Gr XP with 13 Gr of W296 and the CCI-550 mag primer in a Winchester case I got a group of 1.200 by 1/2 inch at 100 yards due to the fact I did not hold the rifle steady enough. Two went in the same hole as well as the other two and one almost dead center of the Center Bull.

But do not loose heart I am going to work with the 180 TCFP PB some more. I think I just need to push them harder to make them fill out the bore better or is it butter lol. :)

EDK
04-15-2008, 03:41 AM
Go yell out the window to RANCH DOG! He is at Cuero and specializes in MARLIN boolits.

RANCH DOG has a Tumble Lube (LEE Liquid Alox) Gas Check boolit 359 190 grain that he will have moulds for in a couple months. There was a previous group buy of 180 grainers. 6 Pt Sika has been doing some field testing on them both. The reports sound good and RD has drawings, etc on his web site...bottom of the page.

I just got some boolits out of the TLC 432 265 cast and ran a few through my STAR, but the St Louis monsoon has turned my range into a mudhole...finally starting to dry out, but more rain coming later this week. What little I've done has impressed me with this boolit....the 359 in my little MARLIN Cowboy ought to be great also; I'm on the list to get a 6 cavity version of it

There's also a group buy going on now here for 360 180s, plain base and gas check. Go look and see if you like them.

There's a lot of information here and over at marlinowners. Spend a little time looking and save yourself from having to "re-invent the wheel.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire: Fort Sam Houston, 1969

Junior1942
04-15-2008, 09:36 AM
That bullet with an added coat of LLA shoots great in my Rossi 357 M92. Powder is .88cc WC820 for 1620 fps.

45r
04-16-2008, 02:25 PM
Buy a gas check mold around 180 grains and your marlin will shoot with 296.I'm getting 2 inch groups at 100 yards with my 185GC Mtn Mold.My plain base 180 and 200 grainers are very fussy about what charge powder weight to use and shoot best if oven heated and water-quenched.13.5 grains H-110 shoots best with my plain base molds and 14.0 does best with my gas check mold. H-110 and 296 are the same powder with a different designation according to an article I read from Shooting Times magazine.I get 3 inch groups at 100 yards with the plain base molds.

jdhenry
04-17-2008, 12:55 AM
JesterGrin_1............I have a 180gr RF Group buy mould and am going to cast up a bunch more this weekend, if you would like I will send you a bunch to try out:) Let me know............

JesterGrin_1
04-17-2008, 03:03 AM
That would be great. :)