help a newbe

[leadchucker62]

good day all:
well,my progression with firearms has brought me to your site,and hopefully you very wise people here can help me.
i,ve been reloading for rifle and pistol for quite sometime now,and have progressed to making my own boolits.
i have a 1909 winchester m94,.30-30,26"oct,takedown in very good condition with a pristine bore.
i also have a rem 1912 rem m14 .30 rem,with a watson rear tang sight and a marbles #6 goldbead front,with a very good bore.
i would like to cast boolits for both of these guns just for the fun of it.
i have puchased all the usual stuff,ie brass,primers ect..
yesterday,i picked up some drg 165gr .308 cast real cheap.
i still have to purchase some molds and a melting pot.
so i thought i'd get started with the drg's.
first off,these boolits have no gaschecks or a place to install them,so,what do i do there?
i would like to load these for just plinking and such around the homestead and of course for experimentation.
what powder would be good to start with?
for the .30 rem i only have a 2 die set,do i really need to expand the case mouth to seat these boolits or will the case mouth strip off to much lead when seat/crimping.
can anyone give me info on these drg boolits.

thanks Z

[462]

Howdy and welcome.

Yes, you will need to expand the case mouth. Lyman's caliber specific M dies work wonders, or Lee has a universal expander.

Never heard of drg. Generally, plain base boolits should be kept under 1400 fps. However, I shoot only gas checked boolits, in my rifles, so others will offer differing advise based on their experiences.


Any of Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook or their Reloading Handbook are go-to sources for cast boolit load information, though the later editions have broader powder selections.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Welcome to the best cast boolit website on the net...you found the right place.

You will need to expand the case mouth,
If you don't, shaved lead at best...crushed case at worst.

When I first started loading 22 hornet with cast.
I didn't have a case mouth expander.
I used the FL size die from my Lee 257 rob set.
newer Lee FL size dies have a very gentle expander plug.
set the die to just flare the case mouth a little.

I have since got the Lee universal rifle case mouth expander die,
But I actually like using the next caliber size die better, as I just mentioned.

Others here rave about the Lyman M die...I've never tried one.
Jon

PS.... 16 gr. of 2400 is a goto load for most cast plain base boolits in 30 cal. rifles.
I use it successfully in a 30-40 Krag. BUT please do some research first, don't just trust
someone like me typing in a internet forum. the "Lyman cast bullet handbook" is the best source out there, they just released the 4th edition

[patsher]

Welcome, leadchucker62! This is indeed a great place to come. There is a huge a mount of information available here! Here are a few things which may be of help to you:

1. It's very seldom that anyone will give you a direct answer regarding load information, for a very good reason -- shooting lead bullets is different from shooting jacketed, in that lead bullets (to be successfully used) require a diameter and powder load unique to each gun. Jacketed bullets are much more "one size fits all".

What's so satisfying about shooting boolits we make ourselves is working out that unique fit so that when we go to the range and meet guys who say they "don't shoot lead bullets because they aren't accurate and they lead up the barrels" -- and then they see US shoot more accurately than they do, and then show them our CLEAN barrels -- well, you get hooked! It's just that it takes a lot of work to get to that point, but the journey is half the fun!

2. Another source of good information for cast boolits s Richard Lee's "Modern Reloading 2nd Edition", now on sale at Midwayusa.com for $11.99.

3. Slug your bores. To be really successful with shooting cast boolits, you will need to slug the bores of your guns (both ends: chamber and bore, and maybe one all the way through, too) to determine bore diameters at those locations. Use a very soft lead round ball or fishing weight (make SURE it is very soft lead), carefully drive it in using a soft mallet or piece of wood, tap it back out with a length of wood dowel, then measure with a micrometer, and keep the resulting measurements written down somewhere. As you progress with this great hobby you will undoubtedly come up with questions, and for anyone to help you, that will be one of the first things they will ask you.

4. Read the forums here. You'll spend a lot of time doing so, but you'll learn A LOT!

5. Use the "search" function to find threads on topics of interest to you. The search button is found near the top of the main page.

Again, welcome! And-- by the way -- what does "drg" mean?

Pat

[waksupi]

Welcome aboard. Follow the bore slugging advise. I would bet your .308 boolits will be too small. You would probably need .309 or .310