.30 XCB wildcat, from scratch.

[detox]

I would like to have a rifle built around a BAT fixed lug receiver and five different quick change barrels. Can you do this? Will I be at the top of the list? Just kidding

[tomme boy]

Gear, I have had 2 of Mike's barrels. Both have been 0.308x0.300 barrels. I never knew they were a gain twist. Where did you find out that they were all gain twist? I have talked to Mike a couple of times and he never has mentioned this before. I have never heard of it on any other forum??? Please let me know.

[MBTcustom]

I remember the 7mm barrel there.
I got a ruger 25-06 and a win push feed 270 as well as another Mauser action here
i also have a 7x57 ackley finish reamer here.
its getting everything together in the right order.
that's My problem

I'll be home in a couple of days and give you a call about putting something together

Im here for you when you need me Lamar. Just holler.

[MBTcustom]

I would like to have a rifle built around a BAT fixed lug receiver and five different quick change barrels. Can you do this? Will I be at the top of the list? Just kidding

Yes I can.
However, the guy that got here first gets on the top of the list.
Again, if you need something special just holler at me.

[tomme boy]

It was over two years ago that I talked to him. Never knew the barrels were like that.

[mfraser264]

Here are my results with a .308 and the .30 XCB mold of NOE...

Was looking around for a inexpensive .308 heavy barrel rifle strictly for lead alloy bullets and purchased a Savage Axis. Was surprised to learn Savage had a 22' heavy barrel. Installed an after market trigger spring to reduce the trigger pull, changed the stock over to a Boyd's and then fired lapped the barrel. It had a $50 rebate also.

Stumbled upon the .30 XCB Project and after reading all the posts I thought I would try a NOE .30 XCB 4 cavity brass mold. Mold is first class, money well spent. Check NOE out when you have a chance. Weight in LT alloy running 158.7 grains.

Here are the details: Casting with Linotype alloy, sizing to .310", Hornady gas check, BAC Lube Special Blend, Winchester large rifle primers, AA2230 powder, and 1974 wooden bullet blank brass form Cheaper Than Dirt 20 + years ago.

I have set the sizing die to just touch the shoulder and seat the bullet to just cover the lube grooves. Also using the Lyman "M" die. Velocity is est. at 1,800 fps.

Best 5 shot group at 100 yards measuring 1.117". Weight sorting the bullets is a must. 50 yard groups more than once can be covered with a quarter.

Twist note - 1 in 10 not creating an issue. .30 XCB group was concerned about the spin. Lower velocity so far is great. Optics are a Leupold VX1 4x12.

This will be the subject of shooting the rest of the summer. The low cost of investment is great, very accurate, low cost ammo. Isn't this what it is all about? Opps, already had the scope.

Hope this is useful.

[MBTcustom]

Glad you're having fun with it Fraser! That's what it's all about! I love the XCB bullets. Easy accuracy.
However, you really aught to try House alloy in that situation, and maybe give 2500+ a try?
You said you size .310? If you're not already, use a push through sizer, but make sure the GCs are seated square before you push them through.
If you can do it, clean those necks up with a neck turner.

Not harping on you, it's just that these are a few things that don't take much work and pay off big when you get to where you are right now and want to pull it together a little bit tighter. Also, don't worry about your twist rate. You're using the bullet exactly like it's supposed to be used, and if I had your rifle, I would be shooting for precisely the same speed you are.

Those Savages are a hoot aren't they? If you want a little tip on how to bed one up solid as the Rock of Gibraltar, shoot me a PM and I'll share some pictures of my fixturing with you. You have to mud them in just right, but once you've got it, you're in like flynn with a very solid action!

[waco]

Forgive my ignorance Tim. What is "house alloy"???

[MBTcustom]

Forgive my ignorance Tim. What is "house alloy"???

No, forgive me. It's my pet name for COWW with perfectly balanced tin and antimony giving about 2.2-2.5% on both. Basically Lyman #2 cut 50/50-60/40 with pure lead.
I discovered that in large batches, tin is almost non existent in the alloy, and antimony is 2.33% average across the board for virtually any COWWs from anywhere in the country (yes I tested COWWs from all over the USA. I traded solder to forum members for it in 2011 at a rate of 1-5.)

This makes an exceedingly versatile alloy that I use for darn near everything now (which is why I call it "House" alloy).
I've been playing with various alloys for the last 5 years or so, picking up where my father left off. He was of the opinion that an alloy of about 3% tin and 5% antimony was about perfect for everything, but my interests extend to HV rifle shooting and his did not. I found that sometimes "less is more" and an alloy of about 95.6/2.2/2.2 will air cool at 12BHN and rise to 14BHN in a couple weeks and is perfect for 44Mag, 45ACP, 30-30, 45-70, etc etc etc, but water quenched, this alloy rises to a staggering 27BHN in a matter of one week and I have driven it to 2700FPS with accuracy in the XCB rifles.
Foe me, that's perfect!

[oldblinddog]

I have used one part hardball to two parts 30-1, which is not quite the same as your house alloy but is close, and it works very well. If I remember correctly it is ~95.7/2.3/2.

[Hannibal]

Hmmmm. Pretty good advice.

[MBTcustom]

Unfortunately, trolls seem to be a guarantee on an internet forum. Constant input from those doing the hard work is not. It is the option of the administrators how uncomfortable to make those doing the trolling, just as it is the option of those conducting experiments and learning, whether to share their experiences here or not.
Just an observation.

[Bjornb]

I used to care about the trolls. Visited their sites, read their drivel, even sometimes engaged them in conversation. Then I realized that not a single one of them had anything PROVABLE to show me in the disciplines that I was pursuing, so I left them to waste their time and just continued on with my experiments. If some people are interested in reading my stuff then fine, and if not it doesn't hurt my feelings anymore.

Just got back from a few weeks on the Kenai River, now I have about 6 weeks of shooting in the Florida heat before moose and Silver salmon seasons calls me north again.

Before I left I had time to do a little shooting with a rifle sent to me by Goodsteel: He shipped down Felix, his 1909 Mauser target rifle in his hand made stock, with 3 different barrels. I described the calibers over in the 35XCB thread, and just before leaving town I did some shooting with the 26" Shilen barrel in 30-06. I had to go through the same ritual as always: Turn necks (all the way to .0109 this time), trim, flash hole deburr, VLD chamfer blah blah...... made 200 cases, 100 each of LC Match and R-P.

It does look to me like we are finally starting to bump up against the terminal speed for cast bullets using the XCB platform. I shot some series with the XCB bullet and LeveRevolution powder, and could barely duplicate the speeds that Larry Gibson is routinely attaining with his just shorter 30X60, using his longer-barreled rifle.

It was a short range session, and I'll just post 3 targets here for you to peruse. On the "ladder" series the low shot was NOT the fastest, it came somewhere in the middle. I made a mistake when shooting this series: I re-loaded the same case for all 7 shots, and after the 7th shot I could barely lift the bolt. The case was stretched badly. Another lesson learned.
The 2 first groups were shot with fixed ammo:

No clue where the fliers came from, since the majority of shot seemed to cluster ok. Had some doozies in ES also.

Then I shot the escalating series; an experiment that I'll be repeating in the near future: This was done with the Goodsteel breech loader:


And just to show what you guys have been missing out on:


So let the trolls troll, that's what they do to feel important. The day they start posting groups with data is the day I'll start reading their drivel.

[MBTcustom]

Man, that is one big fish!

[1johnlb]

Thanks for posting Bjornb and nice fish. I've been trying to get a chance to shoot but between heat and work it just hasn't worked out.

What twist is Tim's, 30/06 ? 17?

[Bjornb]

Yeah it got late last night. It's a 1:17 twist Shilen Select. Complete with a genius Goodsteel tool that turns the rifle into a switch barrel:

[Larry Gibson]

I'd bet the flyers with the 49 gr load are from the GCs coming off. Your group looks as many of mine do at that velocity range where I lose GCs. If you run that test again track the shots location on target and see if the flyers also cause the larger ES, mine do.

Larry Gibson

[taco650]

Man, that is one big fish!

Wonder what it weighed?

I think the record for the Kenai is 86lbs or something like that.

[Bjornb]

Wonder what it weighed?

I think the record for the Kenai is 86lbs or something like that.

This was a 45 lbs King Salmon, the first of 2 (the yearly limit) I caught this year. The record King was caught in 1985 and weighed 97 lbs. 4 oz.

[taco650]

This was a 45 lbs King Salmon, the first of 2 (the yearly limit) I caught this year. The record King was caught in 1985 and weighed 97 lbs. 4 oz.

97-4, ok my bad for not going big enough LOL!

I was up there in Aug 2003 with my brother & father (dad paid for the trip!). No kings in the boat but some nice silvers. Man that was the best salmon ever!

My problem, if you can call it that, is that all I have to do is buy plane tickets and licenses. My aunt & uncle live in Soldotna and their youngest daughter lives in Anchorage and can pick me up at the airport. Man my life sucks LOL!

Sorry for the diversion, back to the 30XCB please! Has anybody shot game with it yet?