anyone use bluedot in cast loads?

[singleshotbuff]

Gentlemen,

I have a pound of bluedot powder left over from a shotgun loading project. I was wondering if it has any application for cast loads in rifles? I'm playing with 8X57mm & 7.62X54R at the moment.

Thanks

SSB

[Wildcat]

Haven't tried it in rifles but have been using a lot of it in my .475 Linebaugh with excellent results.

[Boz330]

I've had very good results with a .310 Cadet but that is a very small capacity case. I don't know how it will work in the bigger cases.

Bob

[sundog]

Yes, 8.5-9.0/BD in .222 Rem with a 55ish gr boolit and a pistol primer. I got that load from Felix. sundog

[Johnch]

I have used Blue dot for both cast and jacketed for years in rifles and pistol .

Here is a Link (http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2511043/m/3771008?r=3661018#3661018) to some 45/70 load data on Accurate Reloading with J bullets .
There is a guy there that has posted a lot of different cal. loads with Blue dot , all jacketed .
But I reduce the loads some and go from there .

Do a search at accuratere loading , Reloading (http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/2511043) for blue dot .

I shoot a fair amount of Blue dot/dirt in rifles .

Johnch

[drinks]

Paul 5288 is a blue dot freak, I believe he has a blue dot load for everything.
I am not sure, but I believe he takes 30% of the useable case capacity and calls that the max load with blue dot.
Check him out on Handloads forum.

[Calamity Jake]

18.0 and 311291 @ .309 in the K31 with a LR primer, the only load i'v got this swiss to shoot so far.
Haven't tried it in any other rifle loads, but I'm going to.
I will have to try sundog's load in my 788 222.

[Newtire]

I use BlueDot in .30 carbine (the M-1 carbine gun ), 30-30 & .444 Marlin. I have not given it a try in .30-06 size cartridges. I'll bet it does great though. I have heard it is temperature sensitive. Don't have the details.

Thanks Johnch. I knew it was something like that.
I looked up my .30-30 BlueDot Loads and they are just three plinkers:
10.5gr. BlueDot with either RCBS 32-98, Lee 113gr. Soupcan, or Lyman 311316 hollowpoint. They all shot inside 1-1 1/2" @50 yds.

[Johnch]

Blue dot is slightly temperature sensitive , less than 20 degrees from my experances .
At least in shot gun loads .
It tends to be harder to ignite and dosn't burn as well .
Resulting in lower velositys , and crud in the barrel .

Johnch

[JSH]

I found BD to be very position sensitive in the 30-30.
Jeff

[Lloyd Smale]

never liked bluedot its one of those powders that seem to go from mild to wild with only a small increase in charge weight.

[plasma]

I use it in the 357 but have never tried it in rifle loads.

[mparks]

Anyone got a good start Ruger level load for .45 Colt using Blue Dot with a 280gr LBT?

Saw a load on handloads.com showing 13.5gr with a 260gr Keith so I would think 12gr would be a safe starting load.

[felix]

Start at 13.5 with the 280 LBT, the version having a 70 percent meplat, LFN shape, in the Ruger, and then work DOWN if the load appears too hot for you. Use your 12 grain load if the meplat is the 80 percent version, called WFN, I think. ... felix

[felix]

Lloyd, you are correct. BlueDot does not like to be crowded in pressure terms. It actually prefers light-for-caliber boolits for this reason. By the way, your package arrived. ... felix

[mparks]

Start at 13.5 with the 280 LBT, the version having a 70 percent meplat, LFN shape, in the Ruger, and then work DOWN if the load appears too hot for you. Use your 12 grain load if the meplat is the 80 percent version, called WFN, I think. ... felix

Thanks. It is the WFN version.

[MikeSSS]

I use Blue Dot in the .223. The BD loads are a lot quieter, move the rifle a bit less, don't heat the barrel as fast and the 50 Vmax's still blow things up very well. Accuracy is almost as good as full BLC2, etc. loads. The slower BD loads are a bit more wind sensitive.

They give the performance of a Hornet with better accuracy and none of the hornet's problems.

Have not tried them with milsurps.

[Lloyd Smale]

hope you can make some use out of it.
Lloyd, you are correct. BlueDot does not like to be crowded in pressure terms. It actually prefers light-for-caliber boolits for this reason. By the way, your package arrived. ... felix

[C A Plater]

Anyone got a good start Ruger level load for .45 Colt using Blue Dot with a 280gr LBT?

Saw a load on handloads.com showing 13.5gr with a 260gr Keith so I would think 12gr would be a safe starting load.

I use 14.0 under a 310 WFN, Starline brass and Remington 2-1/2 primers in my Ruger Bisley. It is a pretty stiff load but shows no pressure signs in my gun with the current batch of BD I've got. Your's may differ. I use 13.0 with a 270 grain Keith in my Mountain Gun and is about as much recoil as I want to take in the lighter Smith. The Ruger did not seem to like this bullet but the Mtn just loves it.

[fecmech]

I found Blue Dot quite by accident. The progressive press that I use did not like the ball powders (110,296, wc820) that I used for magnum pistols, the powder measure would bind. So I went looking for a substitute that would give me the velocity I wanted and was not fine grained like 296. Blue Dot seemed to fit the bill and as it turns out works quite well. In the .357 10.0/BD/358429 give 1200+fps out of a GP 100 with excellent accuracy. In the .44 mag 18.0 grs behind the Lyman 429421 gave 1393 fps out of a 7.5" Ruger SBH and 2 1/2" avg 6 shot 50 yd groups. Another place it works very well is in the 9mm for max velocity with cast. Using the Lee 121 tc bullet and 7.5 grs of BD you can get 1300+ fps with decent accuracy and very little leading. Thats 1/2 gr below the Alliant max and less than 29k psi! With the 147gr 5.6 gives an honest 1000 fps with very good accuracy. I think it's a great handgun powder. Nick

[Newtire]

44 mag. Used 12 gr. with 240 gr. Moly-Coated storebought years ago for most accurate cast load in my old Ruger 3-screw. Bevel base and all.

Current best customer for BlueDot is my .444 Marlin. With a 250 gr. Gaschecked SWC and 20.5 gr., it's about as good accuracy as that gun gets and real nice on the shoulder.

[Mohillbilly]

I have had good results with blue dot in .30 carbine pistol and rifle loads.I was useing under weight cast lee semi wadcut .32s sized down.Pressures do jump quickly near top loads beware..

[Paul5388]

It seems that I heard my name mentioned, Don.

I have loaded Blue Dot from .22 Hornet to .45-70 and don't have a complaint with its performance. In fact, I tout its wonderful reduced load qualities every chance I get. Many times, I use jacketed bullets in those reduced loads, but cast work well too.

I use the "formula" Seafire, on the Accurate Reloading forum, promotes of 40% of case capacity as a starting load. It may need to go up from there or down, depending on how it performs. 40% is calculated from a case full of Blue Dot stricken level with the case mouth.

In the .45-70 brass I use, that figures to be over 20.0 gr as a starting load. I've shot up to 23.5 gr with a 300 gr Rem JHP, but actually load 20.0 gr for better accuracy, 1" at 100 yards at 1450 fps. 20.0 gr should also work with a 405 gr cast.

[TCLouis]

Are you shooting that load out of a Marlin?

Any idea of pressures?

It seems like it might work with 300 RCBS (325 with check and lube in my alloy)
for the Contender and Rolling Block.

BD is the ONLY powder that I have used that met or exceeded the book listed velocities in my loading tests.

I have followed Seafires loading regime in a lot of cases and it has performed well. I liked the results enough to buy a jug of it!

Worked well enough so that a friend of mine son could harvest his first deer. He was extremely worried about recoil ans so I loaded some starter loads with the soupcan and then the Remington 110 grain coated bullet that someone on one of the boards recommended. Soupcan would probably work just as well on the broad side shot. That loading is about 2100 fps!

[Paul5388]

I'm kinda like Drinks, I have other guns, but use Handi rifles a lot. So, the load I was shooting was out of a 22" Handi rifle, which is still a Marlin type barrel. My experience with Marlin barrels concurs with the Lyman 48th Edition, in the need for keeping plain based cast under 1600 fps and probably closer to 1200 fps for good accuracy.

The 405 gr cast I shoot is loaded with 12.0 gr of Green Dot and shoots close to 1" at 100 yards, but it's about 6" high at 50 yards with a 100 yards zero. I haven't taken the time to figure out where to aim for longer ranges, but Drinks can hit a 185 yard gong pretty regularly with his faster loads out of a Handi rifle. He may have been using a GC bullet, but that was a year ago and my memory doesn't function that long! :mrgreen:

No idea on the pressure. The 20.0 gr of Blue Dot load with 300 gr bullet extracts easily and recoil is about like a .30-30 (about 12 ft pounds). With a 325 gr plain base, you could use 20.0 gr, but may need to go down on the load a little for better accuracy.

[Paul5388]

I just happened to have shot some of the 20.0 gr .45-70s today at 100 yards. I use a 300 gr Rem JHP, but I may try some 405 gr cast with the same load, or close to it. After exploding a few diet Dr. Peppers, I shot this target.

http://forums.handloads.com/uploads/Paul5388/2006-10-08_190457_Elk_target_45-70.jpg

The first shot hit the antlers, but the Handi is sighted in for 405 gr cast moving 400 fps slower. So, I aimed 4" lower and you can see where the second shot hit.

The 2 little holes are from a .243 loaded with 18.0 gr of Blue Dot my #1 grandson was shooting. Uses a 100 gr Rem PSP in an old Savage M110 and will do as well out of my Handi.

Drinks sent me some 215 gr .358" cast I will try next in my .35 Whelen with about 20.0 gr of Blue Dot. They didn't do well today with 28.0 gr AA 5744.