For sure - 44 Special.
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I voted for the 38, but there are many more cal.
380, 38, 357, 35, 44, 45, and that's just pistol rd.:Fire:
No question; The 30-40 Krag is the perfect cast boolit cartridge. There are probably more boolit molds types in .30 caliber than any other. The Krag cartridge has a long neck that keeps the cast boolit up above the case shoulder where it belongs and will keep the grease grooves covered on most ( Louvern excepted) bullet types. The case head spaces on a very generous rim and has a tapered body that facilitates easy chambering and extraction. There are still a lot of inexpensive Krag rifles around that are the perfect rifle to experiment with. If you want to spend the money get a Winchester Hi-wall or Hi-wall clone and have yourself a real tack driver. Brass is once again available from Hornady. One of our cast boolit brothers suggested a load of 18.5 grains of Reloader 7 under the venerable Lyman 311284, gas checked and loaded to an over all length of 2.950. This load shoots MOA consistently. Attachment 221981
35 for me. 35 Rem, 35 Whelen, 350 Rem mag., 358 Win., 358 MGP, 380, 38, 357 mag, 357 Max.and 9mm.
I’m going to go with the humble 38 Special. I have loaded and shot cast out of almost every gun I’ve ever owned. Lots of good cast boolit calibers out there, but sometimes it takes carful loading or paper patching to really get the performance of a jacketed bullet. I’ve probably shot over 60 firearms in 38/357 with cast boolits in 38 special brass and they have all shot equal to or better than jacketed. For that reason I’m going with the 38 Special as the best overall cast boolit performer.
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38 & 44. I seem to cast & use a lot of them and they drop out of the mold easy.
hmm I like casting both the 35 and 45 cal's. To me its really a tie between these two so I am picking the one I have more molds of. The only issue with that is I love the first 45 mold I bought so I never bought any more. Al at NOE made a wonderful 45 cal powder coat mold that I fell in love with it rains hollow point bullets and is such a joy to work with. It also shoots a nice tight group out of a competition style 45. I am voting 35 cal as I have over half a dozen molds for that cal and shot it in several pistols and rifles.
I cant be the only .270 Win caster.... At least i am not the only 6.5mm caster. Lol we are the 1% of the 1%.
Having worked with over 100 cartridges, just about any of them from 30 cal. up in a rifle. In a rifle a nice long neck is desirable, I believe. Handguns, anything shooting a .357 dia. bullet and up. When it comes to firearms I don't believe there is a "best" anything. I could easily pick a half dozen cartridges from the list that gave excellent results with cast bullets....or jacketed bullets.
Best at what?
My personal low end is the .257 bores for cast but lots of folks are doing the 22 CF cartridges these days and a good many members are swearing by the 6mm family in cast.
It is well known that as a physical matter of fact that cast works better and easier as the bore size grows. The big bores also kill like Thor’s hammer!
So is that the “best”?
Or are smaller bores better? Less recoil and lead goes much farther?
Are 30 calibers better because the weapons and their sheer numbers are overwhelming?
Is it that calibers just on either side of the marvelous 30 bore still better?
Or is it the 35 caliber range best? You have an intersection of handgun cartridges and numerous rifle cartridges of considerable note.
Well, I am “like Jesus”, I love them all!
Picking one is impossible for me.
Best regards
Three44s
35 is one of the best! Love 358 win. 250 gr. GC RN! Got a LYMAN mold from a gent on here for a song!
For me it’s 45, it covers acp and colt, my two favorite calibers. But I cast a lot of 38/357 also.
If and it's a big if, pistol cartridges are easier to shoot, shot more often with cast and shot by more reloaders than there are casters 38 wins by a nose over 32. 44 has throat sizing issues resulting in leading with many non casting shooters. 45 Colt has case issues due to chamber sizes being tapered and most dies being straight wall. It also has throat issues in the most commonly used manufacturers.
Even with the growth of bottom feeders over revolvers I believe the 38/357 is one of the most reloaded cartridges ever and the majority with cast.
.45 cal for me. From mice to moose and everything in between. If you reload and are aware of the relationship between chamber size, bullet diameter, and barrel groove/land dimensions you can eliminate most problems encountered with cast bullets in revolvers.
Whatzit... 45-70 necked to .375? Guessin that No3 is marked 375 Win ???? Pretty cool!
For me it is the .35’s. I have a .358win built on a Savage action and a .356win in the Marlin 336 ER.
They both shoot the RCBS 35-200-FN very well.
I would say , and voted 45.
The 45s and 458s will handle just about anything. 2 or 4 legged.
Nice heavyweight cast boolits.
Since the 45 Colt was developed with lead boolits. It's just natural to stay with cast boolits in them. And a 300 + gr 45 bullet at 1200 fps plus is just a really nice hammer.
I voted for a favorite of mine since I first fired the caliber, the 44wcf. If you shoot the cartridge you can't help falling in love with it, it's the cartridge that was used in the Winchester rifle that won the West.