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Thread: *Best* all-purpose cast cartridge?

  1. #101
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    samari...I'm a little taken aback by your statement that you could not get better than 1.5 moa for a .308....on a bad day all of mine don't go over moa...and on a good day they are under .5 moa... That is all jacked bullets in the 165-168 range... All my friends with .308s do the same and are shooting 168-175 grain bullets... Were your guns 1/12 or 1/10. That was the problem with the older .308...they had 1/12 twist whereas the 06 had 1/10... All my guns are 1/10...

    I also have the same gun that the OP chose as do a couple of my friends. Have only shot it with factory 150 Federals but it will put 3 rounds in .8 moa. It is probably one of the best all-around hunting rifles I've ever had. Have not tried it with cast however...

    My pick would be the same basic rifle in .358 Winchester. Besides jacketed rifle bullets, there are TONS of jacketed and cast pistol bullets for use on small game... My one .358 is a Ruger Frontier that shoots a MP 220 cast HP at 1800 fps to the tune of .9 moa. The one deer I've killed with it was with the Speer 220 FP...ran 30 yards and dropped. For small game I would just use a cast FP or 160-180 grain jacketed pistol bullet with enough UNIQUE to make .22 Magnum velocities... I have killed several grouse and rabbits with a .350 Remington Magnum using 160 grain Hornady XTPs with little meat damage...

    Will be interesting to see if the OP has had success in his endeavor...

    Bob

  2. #102
    Boolit Buddy davidheart's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dverna View Post
    I wonder how the OP made out. The .308 was a poor choice if he could not get his .30/06 to shoot cast.... The "all round" rifle is never best at each task. Doing it with cast makes it tougher.
    I actually made out quite well and I love the rifle. I cut it to 19" and had the barrel threaded 1/2x28 so I could use my form1. In the past season I worked up a large number of both jacketed and cast loads and found most of them to be quite accurate even before the bedding job I did. I had the bolt fluted and placed a Leupold 2.5-8 on it. Last season the rifle claimed 9 (edit: 8 not 9) deer and countless small game. The 308 in cast boolits is also squirrels head accurate at 50 yards which is about all I need.

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    Edit: Miscounted my deer. 8, not 9. 6 during regular season in Georgia, 1 in Pennsylvania, and 1 during an agricultural hunt I'm a part of. Also, I'm not saying 308 is the ultimate cartridge. I would much prefer something more interesting like a 257 Roberts, 7x57, or 32 special, but because I'm not a wealthy man I chose the 308. What seemed more finicky than the caliber itself was choosing the platform. Sub 6lb is not an easy task when you're trying not to spend both an arm and a leg.
    Last edited by davidheart; 04-13-2020 at 09:26 AM.
    He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. -Psalm 91:1

  3. #103
    Boolit Master Rodfac's Avatar
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    For bunnies to black bear you're going to have to change loads obviously. A good .357 carbine like the Marlin would be a good choice, but a bit light for bear beyond say 50 yds. A better choice for the big game would be, again, one of the Marlins in .44 Magnum, but you're going to spread bunnies and squirrel parts clear to Idaho if you hit them. The bigger gun is a sound choice for deer and black bear out to 100 yds however and the ammunition is at least as available as .357's in most country gen'l stores. HTH's Rod
    Rod

  4. #104
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    Texas by God's Avatar
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    A couple of questions- isn't the 1/2" muzzle thread normally for 5.56? And why did you have the bolt fluted? I like the paint job and your success tracks perfectly with my use of the .308 in years past. It's as versatile as a cartridge gets.

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

  5. #105
    Boolit Buddy davidheart's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Texas by God View Post
    A couple of questions- isn't the 1/2" muzzle thread normally for 5.56? And why did you have the bolt fluted? I like the paint job and your success tracks perfectly with my use of the .308 in years past. It's as versatile as a cartridge gets.
    Yes, the 1/2x28 is normally used for 22 caliber rounds. The 22lr is also threaded 1/2x28. The profile barrel on the Model Seven is very thin. At the factory 20 inches the muzzle was about ~.5" if I remember. Cutting it back one inch gave use a ~.52" if I remember correctly. 5/8 thread is .625". It's possible but the threads would be short and possibly unsafe. I decided to have it threaded 1/2x28 to provide more purchase on the threads themselves and to give my suppressor enough shoulder to butt against when fully screwed in. I could also (and do) use a 1/2x28 to 5/8x24 adapter which is applied tightly with red loctite. Technically I could JB Weld a permanent 1/2-5/8 adapter but I choose not to.

    I had the bolt fluted mainly for looks. It only cost $25. I also reasoned that a fluted bolt (less contact area) with 1000 grit sandpaper followed by JB Bore Compound slathered all over the bolt worked back and forth for a couple hours while watching a movie with my patient wife would be slick as snot.... (it is)

    I also reworked the trigger and I'm getting ready to drop it into a Wildcat Composites stock.

    There is one big negative I would say about this rifle, which some may see as a negative and others not so much. The recoil impulse on this very light rifle is not bad at all in my opinion, suppressor on or off, but even with the suppressor on there's enough of a jolt in the rifle with full bore jacketed loads to cause a significant dent in the nose of soft point bullets. It even happens with AMAX bullets to a slightly lesser extent. Fine for <200 yard work but I would guess may cause problems at greater distance. This is almost a non-issue with flat nose cast boolits though.
    Last edited by davidheart; 04-15-2020 at 03:13 PM.
    He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. -Psalm 91:1

  6. #106
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    Quote Originally Posted by davidheart View Post
    Loaded question time! I'm saving up for a new rifle and I'd like it to be designated for cast boolits and handloads only. Problem is I can't decide what to get...

    I don't want a cartridge which would make significant gains from j-words. I'd like it to be powerful enough for deer and eastern black bear but not overpowered for squirrel and rabbit. Gun needs to be about 6-7lb and 16-18" barrel.

    I feel like I'm pigeon holing myself into the 30/30 but I'm hoping there's something better... What is y'all's favorite all-purpose?
    44 Magnum. You can load it light, or heavy in a wide range of weights more than suitable for taking game. One of my favorite hot loads is a 200gr LFN over a max charge of H110. Out of a 20" rifle, I'm getting about 2000 FPS. I don't know much about eastern black bear, but that round will penetrate pretty nicely, and it carries a lot of energy. I feel like it would probably get the job done on anything smaller than a grizzly. Fair warning, out of a light rifle like the M92, especially one with a steel crescent buttplate, it's gonna kick the tar out of you.

    For rabbit and squirrel? I am not sure how well it would do. Maybe a 44 special loaded really light would be sufficient enough to not blow your game up. I'd probably go for a 185gr boolit and see how light of a charge I could get away with.
    Last edited by am44mag; 04-15-2020 at 03:32 PM.
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  7. #107
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    Bore sizes: Small. Medium. Large.
    The medium-bore .357 caliber seems to make the most sense to me.
    R/Griff

  8. #108
    Boolit Grand Master bedbugbilly's Avatar
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    My choice would be 30-30- but that is me - lots of bullet weights out their from full size loads to reduced loads with light weight boolits.

    If you go with a 357 max - remember you can also shoot 38 colt, 38 colt long, 38 special and 357 mag in it. I had a 357 Handi and shot everything from 38 colt hart to 360 dan wesson because it had a deep throat - 360 dan wesson is between a 357 mag and 357 max. All shot well and all I used was my cast. A 38 colt with a 90 isn grain boolit does wonders on small critters.

  9. #109
    Boolit Buddy
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    .45-70 for one gun to do it all. There is little to be gained with jacketed bullets, heck even smokeless powder is unnecessary for deer and bear. You can load 'em hot for a 200 YD big game gun, or load round ball at subsonic speeds for ultra-quiet small game hunting with very good accuracy. There is such a variety of power levels and bullet weights, it's hard to find something the old war horse can't do.

  10. #110
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    In my very limited but still continuing usage , I think the .38 Special Or .357 Magnum will take The crown.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check