.223 vs .243 vs .270

[charlie b]

I would not take anyone's word with cast in .223 unless they have a proven record with those small bullets. Same for 6mm. Larger dia is easier. Many will just blame the rifle when it is their casting/processing techniques that are at fault.

I tried cast .22 a long time ago. Never had luck with them. 30cal was where I found a sweet spot for cast rifle bullets.

[arlon]

Last time I cast for .22 I cast about 200 bullets and threw away about 190 of them.. They can be a real pain. Same session I cast a bunch of 30 cal. LEE "soup cans" and didn't have to throw any of them away. My favorite cast bullet gun right now is an old sporterized 30-06 I got for $150.. I have a lot of rifles, some real expensive ones but the one I always seem to go to the range with is the old Model 1917.

[BHuij]

I’ll bite. It’s a little more expensive but not insanely so. What does the 1500 get me that the others don’t?

[Ianagos]

I’ll bite. It’s a little more expensive but not insanely so. What does the 1500 get me that the others don’t?

Quality.

They are nice rifles with very well made hammer forged barrels. A good flat bottom receiver with integral recoil lug like a win 70. The bolt has an m16 style extractor and is very easy to break down with 0 tools for cleaning. Stock trigger is very good. I’m a fan of 2 stage triggers so even better for me in that sense. It’s also adjustable. They are available in featherweight models to heavy barrel. All kinds of stock choices although they get much more expensive. Recently I saw a heavy barrel scopes package for $369 I think it was. Also saw a standard no scope for $289 but that was in 22-250. I bought all 3 of mine as barreled receivers for $250 for two of them and $380 for the heavy barrel cerakote then I added my own stock but it is much cheaper to buy as a full rifle.
They use the same 2 piece scope mounts as rem 700 single piece mounts won’t fit.
The blueing on the two blued ones I own was very nice and smooth bolts right out of the box

I was into the long range shooting so I have a .308 and a .243 along with another one waiting to go into a manners and a pacnor 6.5 creed barrel.
I have no experience shooting cast in any of them. But I will say of all my stock barrels they are by far the smoothest looking and best made. The Savage axis in .223 that my stepbrother has is like a toy in comparison (but boy does that thing shoot. Sub 1moa all day). The .243 howa will hold .75 moa and I’ve gotten much smaller. The .308 does similar.

[dverna]

I bought a Howa in .223. It will be my fiancé’s rifle and will keep it ready to go in the family room if a coyote wanders into the area.

Once you handle it, you will see the difference between it and the econo models.

I have no need to turn it into a .22 Mag by trying to shoot cast out if it so it will only see jacketed bullets.

Like the previous poster said, it may not shoot any better but it feels better.

[Bigslug]

Gotta second Popper in post #7. You can manage distance with velocity or with momentum, and the .223, .243, and .270 were all engineered to do it with velocity you don't get with cast.

I'd suggest a .30-06 in the best rifle you can afford - the round has a relatively longer neck to contain multile grease grooves. NOE's copy of the (200 grain) 311299 gas checked mold at a launch speed somewhere in the ballpark of 2000-2100 fps will serve you well. That will put you in the ballistic neighborhood of the pre-1910 .303 British loadings.

[Texas by God]

On the Howa/Weatherby Vanguard- add a wood Boyd's stock and you have a beautiful rifle. Still can't quite say that with a Compass, Axis, or 783 IMO.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Ianagos]

On the Howa/Weatherby Vanguard- add a wood Boyd's stock and you have a beautiful rifle. Still can't quite say that with a Compass, Axis, or 783 IMO.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

That is true got two laminate stocks on mine and they look great

[quilbilly]

You should get what you want. If you are getting good results with 223 cast, that is an accomplishment in itself.

Definitely!

[popper]

Howa/Weatherby Vanguard GKs both have them in 243 - I zero'd the scopes on them. Dang they are accurate shooters, even with factory stuff. They do have different chambers - HS. Had to reload for the shorter so the longer wouldn't jam. The safety is different on them. Saw a guy at the range take his brand new 308W out of the box and cloverleaf at 100 without zeroing the scope.

[crankycalico]

770 is a great rifle. The only actual problem ive ever had is that NEW magazines can take a lot of round cycleing before feed issues stop.

What comes with REAL iron sights circa military around 1930?

[Bill*B]

The SAECO 243 GC mold (drops at 80 grains with linotype) averages 1.5" five shot groups at 100 yards, loaded over 12.3 grains of #2400 (what my Little Dandy rotor #15 throws) in my little .243 carbine. This is the best accuracy that I have found with cast, clocked at 1650 fps. Ballistics of a .25-20, so for hunting it is small game only, but nice for targets as you can bang away 10 shots before the barrel even gets warm. Frankly I was not expecting this level of accuracy, it is likely rifle dependent, and your results may differ.

My .223 will lay them in there with jackets, but opens up to 3 or 4 MOA + with cast. I could never get a Hornet to shoot any better than that, either.