Rifle bullet hardness...

[lead-1]

Until I can start finding these answers by searching the forum, can someone tell me what hardness of lead I should shoot for for rifle bullets? Mainly .30 cal bullets for .308 and .30-06, are straight WW with gas checks OK for this?

[mpmarty]

Yes, and no. It all depends..... What velocity? What powder? How well do your rifles handle cast boolits? What do you want them to do? Target? Plinking? Hunting?

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Hullo Lead-1, and welcome, the first thing that comes to mind is how fast do you intend to push them??? Yes WW is hard enough for most 30 cal loading , I like to water drop mine, this boosts the hardness up to where I want it. I don't push mine to hard , 1700-2100fps, if you expect to shoot up to say 2400fps 50/50 wheel weight/Linotype works for some, pure Linotype for others. You can also heat treat your boolits and make them as hard as you need, it's just more work.

If you want better information, put a little more info in your questions and folks can be of more help. I suggest you visit the Lasc site[google it] for more info on alloy hardness and what is normally considered acceptable by a lot of caster/shooters.[smilie=1:
Good Luck:drinks:

[lead-1]

Being new I'm not sure of the velocity but what I do have experience with so far is 170 grain cast bullets with checks in a 30-06 being pushed with 12.5 grains of Red Dot and 15 grains of Unique. Both leaded the barrel pretty bad but I got in a hurry and didn't lube the bullets. I would like to plink with them out to at least 100 yards and have a fair amount of accuracy. If I sell some scuba gear that is no longer used I plan on buying a hardness tester so I will know a little more what I am working with.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

OK, first order of business, lube the boolit. You used GC but did not lube, :confused:strange. The boolit needs lube, no matter what alloy you use, needs to be lubed if you don't want to spend all your time cleaning your rifle your choice. invest in a Lyman cast bullet hand book, or RCBS Cast bullet manual, they have a lot of info on cast loads.[smilie=1:

This game is for relaxing, not being in a hurry, IMHO. The hardness tester will not teach you what you need to know.......relax and do some reading, keep asking questions, spending money usually don't fix whut ailes ya.[smilie=1:
If a hardness tester trips your trigger , buy one. You can get an idea of how hard your alloy is , if you are mixing your own. Then you can test each new batch of alloy when you start using a new batch.

The load range you have tried so far is fine with WW and as I stated earlier you can water drop these for a BHN of +-18-20 for most WW alloy.

Have you slugged your bores yet to determine what size boolits your guns will like ? I like to make chamber cast of mine also to determine what the throat of the rifle looks like, if accuracy is a factor.

22" barrel 30/06 170-180gr boolit with GC
13.0 gr red dot +-1500fps up to 15.0gr for +-1600fps
15.0gr Unique +-1600fps up to 17.0 for 1700fps

308 whinnie
22" bbl 170-180gr boolit w/GC
12.5gr red dot +- 1500fps up to 13.5gr for 1600fps

Have Fun

[lead-1]

Those remaining bullets are now coated with Alox and I was willing to bet at the time I tried the 10 rounds that were not lubed, were lubed. I based my decision on the fact that they had the same look as the Hornady bullets that I have for my .38. Live and learn the hard way. The Lyman cast book, is it like a reloading manual that changes every year. This is going to be fun to do as I learn more.


[smilie=s::redneck:[smilie=s:

[Larry Gibson]

lead-1

The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook is what you should consider as a necessity. It is the "primer" for casting bullets and loading them. It has a wealth of information on how to cast bullets, basic equipment to use and loading data. The loading data changes very little from edition to edition, mostly with new cartridges or new powders added. If you pick up a Third Edition or newer you will be well served. Suggest you read the LCBH thoroughly and then return with questions as there are alternate ways and more refined techniques to casting bullets, loading them and shooting them. However it is best you get some basic knowledge first, the LCBH will give you that basic knowledge and will always be a continuous and available reference to use.

Larry Gibson

[runfiverun]

now that you got lube on them re-try your loads.
the lyman book is definately going to help your education on whats going on.
it's also a good place to find loads for your caliber.

[303Guy]

This is going to be fun to do as I learn moreOh yes! And a big part of the fun are the great guys on the forum (and at the the range)!:drinks: