Printable View
Cast data, experience, and anecdote is split showing that the best cast rifle loads use powders thought of as too fast or slow for the cartridge at hand with jacketed. There seems to be no clear winner between too slow or too fast, although the Lyman and RCBS manuals lean toward too fast.
I've mostly settled on too fast for substantially reduced loads and too slow for those that are just a bit reduced to keep cast happier.
Where do you lean too fast or too slow?
In the rifle cartridges, I go with very slow. I shoot the 30-30 Winchester (WC-852 & WC-860)), 308 Winchester (WC-860 & 5010-PD), and the 30-40 Krag (WC-860 & WC-872). Velocities are not blistering, but I am getting 1950 from the Krag and the N.O.E. 311-202-RN…
I do use fast powders in the straight-wall handgun cartridges. Just light loads…
I simply have never had good accuracy with fast burners in the rifle cartridges. Plus as is known and been repeated many times—I have no chance of double charge with the slow burners—I throw all charges…
Good-luck…BCB
Never have gained any advantage reloading at max charges, even with black powder
Call me mr Red Dot Fan Boi. I have had very good success with quite moderate to small loads of Red Dot.
I have also had good luck in 7.62x39 in my Mosin's with 20 grains of IMR 4895 under the Lee .312 185 gc leemented out to .314 and run through a .314 to seat gas check. Then 3 light coats of BLL. Same in my Yugo SKS.
My .444Marlin Handi rifle I have shot Red Dot from 6 grains under 220 gr cast to 13 grains under the Lee 310 gr RCBS clone with very very good accuracy out to 100.
My .357 Mag Handi rifle shoots cloverleafs at 50 with a Lee 158 gr .358 plain base round nose over 4.6 grains of Red Dot. It had 2 out of the 3 in a cloverleaf at 100 and I pulled the last one half an inch up and left. Still dang good for this ol farm boy. But not as pretty as it could have been. Operator error.
In fact that 4.6 grain load I have shot in every caliber I have tried between .223 rem and .357. They all shot good. The .30-30 was quite good. I think my 7.62x39 handi rifle barrel is just not yet broke in. I need to shoot it more. See if it tightens up.
The .223 I have run everything from 3 grains under the 55 grain bator without gas check up to some 7 grains and a hornady 55 gr FMJ. They all shot well. All easy minute of squirrel at reasonable ranges.
Start in the middle, work both ways. I prefer to shoot 3-5 for each charge weight and make notes of group size. When you find a good one make some more and test it out.
On the .357 load the 4 grain was good, the 4.5 was better, the 5 lost some ground.
So then I tested every 0.2 grains. 4.2, 4.4, 4.6 was the big winner.
I prefer the slower powders that perform good with jacketed bullets. I download the powder charge for the cast bullets. I want to avoid the risk of double charges. I once had a double charge of 20 grains of unique through a 30-30 win94. Plenty of velocity, but the action and chamber did not like it.
GhostHawk,
One day you're going to wake up a little sleepy still and pour Red Dot on your Cheerios, and have half of the bowl ate before you catch yourself -- then just keep eating.
It is very easy to like a powder that provides so much utility in so many rounds and lets you drain your powder can quite slowly, too.
I like to use some of the faster powders like unique or red dot for light target, or in some cases, short to medium range woods hunting.
Saves on burning more powder when you really don't need it.
For more speed while maintaining accuracy, i like to fill the case with a slow burning powder(like imr
4350) in my whelen and the .308 for full blown hunting and target loads.
The slower powders tend to give a softer send off to cast boolits, and is a good way to boost the speed and keep accuracy at near jacketed speeds.
Provided of course, you have the right fit and alloy in the boolit.
35 Shooter,
That's very like the way that I use Unique and 4831.
Those old IMR reloaders' guides, printed on what looked like shopping bag paper, were great for loads like these with 4831 and 4350.
Would have happened already, except.Quote:
Originally Posted by Landy88
A I used to milk cows, get up, milk, 2 hours after rising milking is done, go eat breakfast. My internal clock is set to this now.
B Red Dot is all in the basement, food is all upstairs. But otherwise, yeah it would happen.
C No cows to milk so I drink coffee for a couple hours and read forums. So I am wide awake by breakfast.
But yes you gots to love it.
if I'm going slow I use fast.
if I'm going fast I use slow.
LOL, that is so true.Quote:
Originally Posted by runfiverun
...
Myself, I have become a "middle of the road" type of guy.
When I first started casting and loading boolits, I fell into the "chasing the extremes" catagory (fast heavy boolits with slow powders and slow light boolits with fast powders...and some other extremes). But honestly, I didn't really know what I was doing. The more I tried different things, the more I seemed to find solace in the middle of the road.
He stole my answer LOL.Quote:
Originally Posted by runfiverun
I agree with runfiverun.Quote:
Originally Posted by runfiverun
Me three, this is what I do as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by runfiverun