BLTsandwedge1
06-18-2005, 07:48 PM
Just this past Friday I joined this honorable fraternity of milsurp bullet casters. If you don't mind I'll set a while because my rifle casting experience is all of about 120 rounds. I do have some observations though- that need verification and perhaps a recommendation or two from you all.
The first round out of my newly purchased A303 was a 311041, water dropped and allox (not liquid) lubed via lyman's press and .309 sizing die. The load was 14 grains of Unique. I got a group about the size of a half-dollar with 10 rounds- I consider it pretty good considering my eyesight and lack of rifle shooting (I did 20 years of pistol stuff).
As I increased the velocity- moving to 24 or so grains of IMR 3031 and the same bullet- the groups opened up significantly. With relatively heavy loads of IMR 4350 the bullets scattered. So, I need some help getting the 311041 (or a different design for that matter- heavier?) to around 2,000fps and maintain target accuracy at 100 yards. My uneducated guess is that the lube is failing at anything past 1,600-1,800 fps mark. Could this be the case? The alloy I'm using is about 1/10 ww/Sn and the water drop seems to make 'em pretty damn hard.
BTW, the rifle loves 220grain Hornady JSPs with 50grains of IMR 4350. Is this a clue to something?
Thanks for letting me in fellas, casting for rifle- especially milsurp- is truly the test of all the skills a reloader can muster.
Regards.........
The first round out of my newly purchased A303 was a 311041, water dropped and allox (not liquid) lubed via lyman's press and .309 sizing die. The load was 14 grains of Unique. I got a group about the size of a half-dollar with 10 rounds- I consider it pretty good considering my eyesight and lack of rifle shooting (I did 20 years of pistol stuff).
As I increased the velocity- moving to 24 or so grains of IMR 3031 and the same bullet- the groups opened up significantly. With relatively heavy loads of IMR 4350 the bullets scattered. So, I need some help getting the 311041 (or a different design for that matter- heavier?) to around 2,000fps and maintain target accuracy at 100 yards. My uneducated guess is that the lube is failing at anything past 1,600-1,800 fps mark. Could this be the case? The alloy I'm using is about 1/10 ww/Sn and the water drop seems to make 'em pretty damn hard.
BTW, the rifle loves 220grain Hornady JSPs with 50grains of IMR 4350. Is this a clue to something?
Thanks for letting me in fellas, casting for rifle- especially milsurp- is truly the test of all the skills a reloader can muster.
Regards.........