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Thread: FWIW Lee Soupcan Gas Check Accuracy Comparison Hornady vs. Checkmaker Aluminum

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Metro-Detroit
    Posts
    375

    FWIW Lee Soupcan Gas Check Accuracy Comparison Hornady vs. Checkmaker Aluminum

    I've been messing around with 2 of my .30-30s trying to find their respective Loads. A couple weeks ago I found the reduced velocity Lee Soupcan load for my 24F: CCI 200's, Winchester brass, 2 tumble coats of PC and 9 grains of Unique for 1563fps. Grouping right around an inch at 50 yards for 5 shots. Seemed like a perfect varmint/small game load. I then went to make up some more loads for some 100 yard practice thinking if the accuracy held, it would a good woods coyote/bobcat calling load with this on top and 3" Lead BB's in the smoothbore barrel. Anyhow, I casted up some more soupcans and when I went to check them realized my "last" box of .30 caliber gas checks was an empty, leaving me with 28 checks and none in stock at the stores around home. After thinking about ordering some, I decided to give my "purchased years ago but never used" .30 PatMarlin's Checkmaker a try. I hadn't used it because I had several thousand Hornady's on the shelf when I bought it. I dusted off the box, and after reading the instructions and after a couple false starts, I made 100 checks out of .014" Amerimax flashing. I loaded 25 loads of each with Hornady checks, Checkmakers installed nose first with a .311 Lee push through, and Checkmakers installed base first.

    I fired 3 - 5 shot groups at 50 yards and 2 - 5 shot groups at 100 yards with each load. The base-first installed Checkmaker Checks scored best with 2 - 1" groups and 1- 1 1/8" group at 50 yards, and 2 - 1 1/4" groups at 100. Except for one 50 yard group that was just over 2" (probably a flaw in the nut behind the trigger), the nose first Checkmaker checks took second: 2- 1" groups at 50 yards and and 2 - 2" groups at 100. The Hornady Checks ran just over 1" at 50 yards and 2 1/4" at 100. One thing I'll say for the Hornady checks is the groups were very consistent. Looking at the Hornady groups for the different ranges, it would be hard without measuring to determine which one was better than the other.

    Needless to say I'll be trying my Checkmaker checks on my other .30 cast boolit loads.- installed base first! And I'll be test firing another 50 soupcans with base-first aluminum checks. If they keep shooting the way they did during this little test, I'll be volume loading them for practice and small game hunting. There wasn't a ton of difference, but I'll take what I can get- squirrel heads and coyote hearts are kinda small.....

    Be safe out there!

    John
    Last edited by Beaverhunter2; 01-20-2020 at 12:19 AM. Reason: typo

  2. #2
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    North central Ohio/Roane County, W.Va.
    Posts
    1,426
    Good information. Thanks for the write up.
    “Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”
    ― Mark Twain
    W8SOB

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Metro-Detroit
    Posts
    375
    I just realized one thing I left out- the Hornady and base first aluminum checks shot to the same POI. The nose first were about 3/4" - 1" higher.

    Be safe out there!

    John

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    2,794
    Great write up, and thanks for putting in the effort to get good data. Two questions, 3/4 to an inch higher?? Was that at 100 or 50 yards? And what alloy and as cast size? Thanks
    “You don’t practice until you get it right. You practice until you can’t get it wrong.” Jason Elam, All-Pro kicker, Denver Broncos

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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