Cast Boolit too Long?

[fishnbob]

I am using an Accurate mold, 36-175R and when I reload and seat the boolits and crimp them in the crimp groove, they are hard to chamber and you can see rifling grooves on the lead. If I seat them deeper to chamber, then the GC is below the neck slightly and either way my groups are not good ( 5 to 7 in @ 100 yds). This is a Marlin 336 lever in a 35 Rem. cartridge. The J-word bullets are less than 2". The load is 35 grs of 3031 and avg. around 2100 fps. What advice can you offer on this situation? I'm kinda stumped and ain't sure which way to turn.:confused:

[hornsurgeon]

as long as the check is snug on the boolit, i don't worry about it. you could also use a slower powder that needs slight compression if you are worried about the check coming off.

or do what most of us have, and use either a ranch dog design, or the rcbs boolit.

[fishnbob]

as long as the check is snug on the boolit, i don't worry about it. you could also use a slower powder that needs slight compression if you are worried about the check coming off.

or do what most of us have, and use either a ranch dog design, or the rcbs boolit.

Are those 2 boolits shorter in length?

I'm not worried about the check coming off as much as defeating the usefulness of the check by ........hell, in that nanosecond, what could happen to go wrong?

[hornsurgeon]

not sure what your boolit looks like, but both the rcbs and ranch dog are 190-200 gr boolits that were designed for the marilns. base of the bullet is even with the base of the neck, nose sized just right for a marlin chamber.

[fishnbob]

not sure what your boolit looks like, but both the rcbs and ranch dog are 190-200 gr boolits that were designed for the marilns. base of the bullet is even with the base of the neck, nose sized just right for a marlin chamber.

http://accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=36-175R-D.png

hornsurgeon, the above is the boolit I have. You may have to copy & paste to see it. Do you think the nose is not designed for a Marlin chamber? I advised Tom that I would be using it in a Marlin 336.
It came out so all you have to do is click on it.

[hornsurgeon]

that doesnlt show the nose diameter, but from what you are saying, the nose is too large for your rifle.

[rond]

Try trimming the case a little shorter, I do that for my 30-30.

[fishnbob]

Try trimming the case a little shorter, I do that for my 30-30.

I would have to trim it around .070" to make it chamber easily, would that be too much? What do ya think, rond?:!:

[rond]

That is a lot to take off, are you sure you need that much? I would trim to 1.90 and see if it chambers. Reduce your powder as the bullet is going deeper into the case. If needed you can shorten the case until the round chambers, .1 at a time, reducing powder as you go. I would reduce powder by 2 grains per .1 inch until the round chambers, then work up the load. I had to trim 30-30 cases .2 inch shorter to chamber with a 175 gr. fp bullet.

[jtaylor1960]

I agree with rond.I have trimmed brass in my 32 spl. to get the bullet to chamber with just thr right amount of pressure.I like my cast bullets to engage the rifiling when shutting the lever.It doesn't take much.If you can chamber them even with difficulty then you won't have to trim a lot to get just the right length.

[fishnbob]

That is a lot to take off, are you sure you need that much? I would trim to 1.90 and see if it chambers. Reduce your powder as the bullet is going deeper into the case. If needed you can shorten the case until the round chambers, .1 at a time, reducing powder as you go. I would reduce powder by 2 grains per .1 inch until the round chambers, then work up the load. I had to trim 30-30 cases .2 inch shorter to chamber with a 175 gr. fp bullet.
The crimp groove has a band in front that is .070" wide and I'm crimping in front of that band instead of in the groove behind it. Therefore I would have to trim the brass .070" to shorten the case & crimp in the groove. That band is where I am engaging the rifling. It mics .3583" and a 200gr PSP is micing .343 at the same point or length. I think you meant to put a .02 in your example, didn't you?


I agree with rond.I have trimmed brass in my 32 spl. to get the bullet to chamber with just thr right amount of pressure.I like my cast bullets to engage the rifiling when shutting the lever.It doesn't take much.If you can chamber them even with difficulty then you won't have to trim a lot to get just the right length.
You don't get pressure if you force it a little?

[rond]

.2 inch shorter is what I trimmed for my 30-30. Rereading your post I see that I mistook .070 to mean 0.7, which is a lot to trim off, however .07 is nothing to worry about.

[fishnbob]

.2 inch shorter is what I trimmed for my 30-30. Rereading your post I see that I mistook .070 to mean 0.7, which is a lot to trim off, however .07 is nothing to worry about.

I trimmed 2 cases down to 1.840" which was 0.70" off a standard maximum trim to length of 1.910" and seated my cast boolits right in the crimp ring and they chambered fine. No forcing and no marks on the boolits. It does move the GC a tad below the neck line but I think the top of the GC is very close to the neck line. I will shoot a few of these and see what happens other than a BOOM.[smilie=l:

[405]

Well,
1.910-1.840=.07
And, .07 isn't too bad. For leverguns, the best place to crimp the mouth is in the groove and up against the rear face of the front band. And, it doesn't require a lot of crimp.... which is usually better for a few reasons.

[bearcove]

What dia are you sizing?

[fishnbob]

What dia are you sizing?

bearcove, I am sizing .358. I slugged the bore @ 0.357. The bore was tight on the beginning and at the chamber end but it had a little loose feeling in the middle of the barrel.

I could size down to .357", think that would help with the chambering?

[bearcove]

As far as accuracy You might size bigger. As far as chambering I would seat deeper crimp lightly on front band. Are they for target or hunting? If you are shooting paper you don't need a crimp just load one at a time.

I have loaded mine with no crimp, good case neck tension, one in chamber one in tube for hunting. If you try it shoot one then check the one in the tube to see if the boolit is seated deeper.

[fishnbob]

[QUOTE=bearcove;1493388]As far as accuracy You might size bigger. As far as chambering I would seat deeper crimp lightly on front band. Are they for target or hunting? If you are shooting paper you don't need a crimp just load one at a time.

I did seat deeper at first, to get it to chamber, I crimped lightly on the front side of the band. I don't have a leading problem, yet. If I size larger that front band may create more difficulty in chambering. I wish I could size the front band 0.357 and the rest @ .358 or .359. I have berms behind my targets and I can recover the boolits and see how deep the rifling grooves are, if it will quit raining. I think my answer to accuracy lies in my alloy. I have weighed some of the casts and it is kinda all over the place. I have selected a few that are +/_ 0.5 grs. and like I said, if it will quit raining and the range ain't under water from my pond, I'll burn a few. I may have to go to the IWLL range and suffer the wrath of Shooterg.[smilie=l:

[popper]

I have the same problem with my newer 336 30-30. The RD design is evidently for older marlins, newer ones won't take the big nose. I've crimped over the ogive, recommendations have been to trim 0.05. That is a lot of work. I've heard of a nose swaging die to reduce the nose size, I suspect the easiest way is just get a different mould. RD is making a new die for new 30-30 marlins, maybe he can make one for your cal.

[fishnbob]

I have the same problem with my newer 336 30-30. The RD design is evidently for older marlins, newer ones won't take the big nose. I've crimped over the ogive, recommendations have been to trim 0.05. That is a lot of work. I've heard of a nose swaging die to reduce the nose size, I suspect the easiest way is just get a different mould. RD is making a new die for new 30-30 marlins, maybe he can make one for your cal.

I wanted to get one from NOE but he was sold out. I contacted Al and he said he might run another batch this winter. Where I live, it is winter now. How 'bout it Al, you snoopin' around?;-)

[popper]

I haven't started casting yet but started seriously shooting commercial cast in 30-30. I suspect I will have to do a chamber cast and check to see what CB will fit before purchasing any more. I haven't heard of any reports on the new RD design, like to hear about it before spending $$.