In my new found addiction with PC bullets, I found some unsized and unlubed RCBS 180 gr FNGC cast slugs. These were water quenched WW bullets, my favorite for such guns going about 2200 fps. They had a BHN of about 20. After their PC bake at 400 degrees for 17 minutes, their BHN drops to 10. "They" say PC has a hardness of around 45 BHN, while a bullet jacket is around 60. The slugs were then pushed thru a LEE .311 sizing die and gas check crimped on. I gotta say, You don't need to put the GC totally on using these dies. I just place the GC on the bottom of slug, and send it up the pipe.There is no shaving of PC, and the GC's are square and tight. Anyway, I had some PC .30-30 bullets and couldn't wait to test them. My test rifle would be a '76, pre safety Marlin model 336 in .30-30, topped with a Bushnell 1.5-4.5X scope. I had 19 of the slugs to load, and seated them over 32 grs. of Winchester 748, a favorite load that is just shy of 2,200 fps.
Here is the RCBS slug in brown and a Lyman 311440 in white for comparison.
I fired one shot to foul the barrel and started on my groups. Distance would be 100 yds, for five shots. The first group, top left, was about what I was used to in the Marlin with traditional sized and lubed bullets. It was about 2-2 1/2", not bad for 5 shots in a lever gun. The second group, top right, was better. The first four clustered nicely, with the 5th going out. the third group was much like the second, 4 tightly clustered holes and a flyer on the last. the final group I had 3 rounds left. It grouped in about an inch. Overall, it was a good test, and my confidence continues to grow using these PC bullets. I have some .444 and .45-70 slugs I need to load and test. We'll see! If I were a betting man, I would say they will continue the trend and improve accuracy.
Here's the rifle and groups from todays shoot. The ol' Amish Assault Rifle held its own with the PC bullets.
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