A good caliber for cast bullets?

[randyrat]

What's a good rifle caliber for cast bullets thats common. ie. 30-30. Also can you cast bullets for the Marlin micro groove. I've been casting for my pistols and am ready to buy a lever rifle soon but would like a rifle i can cast bullets for...I kinda like the 30-30 because brass is so common. Don't let brass be your judge...I'm leaning toward easiest,economical, most accurate,killing power for a bear or deer. What are your favorites with these points in mind? Thanks

[BigSlick]

Not to hijack you here RR, but how'd you come out on the 175 .401 mold ?
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[Glen]

30-30 is an excellent cast bullet round, and yes you can get cast bullets to shoot just fine in microgroove barrels. So is the .35 Remington (my personal favorite).

[Sundogg1911]

I cast for 30-30. not sure the mold number, but it's a 173 gr. FP GC. fired it twice at deer. neither made it more than 10 yards before dropping. very accurate too!

[Dale53]

I'm afraid that I might be in the minority here, but I strongly favor the Marlin 1895 (new issue) in 45/70. Others might do, but this baby does it best with Cast Boolits! Am I prejudiced? I am shocked to hear such a claim....:-D :-D

Dale53

[mooman76]

I haven't had allot of luck yet with rifle and cast but the three I did were, 30 carbine, 30-30 which I no longer have and 45-70. It seems to me the ones that work best or are easier to do are the calibers that were slow shooters to begin with such as but not limited to 30-30, 30c & 45-70.

[boommer]

45-70 load her up load her down she's got you covered easy to play with! but then again too I bow hunt too I have learned how to get in tight hav'nt shot a deer over 100 yards in a long time. want a thumper but thats me!

[Marlin Junky]

30WCF or .35REM are both excellent but I'd lean toward the latter if I was already set up for a .357 handgun. What I mean is... get both. With a 30-30 and .35 Remington in your gun rack, you'll be able to shoot boolits ranging in size from single aught buck shot to .32 peestol boolits to 250 grain moose mashers. You'll need both in rifle and carbine forms too.

MJ

[Bullshop]

Guess that would be about every straight wall case ever designed.
BIC/BS

[Buckshot]

Guess that would be about every straight wall case ever designed.
BIC/BS

...........So right. One of my fav's is the 38-55. Not only is it a fine cartridge ballisticly, it's also a very well balanced round in it's dimensions. If you look at it so, it's a baby 45-90. Kinda like the 222 is a baby 30-06. The 38-55 to me is just an appealing artifact :-)

...............Buckshot

[Bass Ackward]

Randy,

Try another method. Don't bias the outcome.

Think of a gun, handgun or rifle, as a cast bullet launching system. The system may turn out to be more important and it may dictate caliber. Try this and see what YOU think.

Answer each question with a list of cartridges. As you go, some cartridge choices will drop off and others will be added. See which ones appear on the most lists.

What do you want that cast bullet to do? How much bullet weight and meplat size would you need to do that and at what velocity? How long will your shots be? How fast will follow up shots need to be? How heavy do I want the gun to be? If they are close shots, do I need to shoot with both hands or can I just use one? Do my eyes dictate that I need a scope?

Then add any other requirements that you feel are important. Say as an example, all grease grooves must be covered. Straight cartridges are all neck. Or recoil is an issue over ......... Or I want multiple factory mold choices. Whatever is on your mind.

Then screen your list. IF the launching system is more important, you will rapidly know. If a caliber appears on more lists you will have your answer. Your answer will be more about where you head is at (at this point in time)


A buddy took this path and ended up with a 44 handgun when he thought he wanted something else. He will buy that later. :grin:

[randyrat]

Not to hijack you here RR, but how'd you come out on the 175 .401 mold ? I got another mold and they cast better. But i'm still going to size them. I found a sizer from a friend of a friend and am waiting for the weather to break before i mold some more and size them. Then the big day of shooting.... Just wait i'm sure i'll have lots of question....... Thanks for all the replies so far on the choice of rifles keep em coming.

[Char-Gar]

Your first choice of a Marlin 30-30 will do just fine for your intended purposes. Go for it!

[Newtire]

It would seem the .30-30 is one of the best but then you get bored and find other ones interesting and so start in shooting them in every caliber you have if you're not careful.

[45nut]

What's a good rifle caliber for cast bullets thats common. ie. 30-30. Also can you cast bullets for the Marlin micro groove. I've been casting for my pistols and am ready to buy a lever rifle soon but would like a rifle i can cast bullets for...I kinda like the 30-30 because brass is so common. Don't let brass be your judge...I'm leaning toward easiest,economical, most accurate,killing power for a bear or deer. What are your favorites with these points in mind? Thanks

no doubt the marlin & 30-30 combination will work. If you are set on the levergun the 45-70 is another viable choice, esp factoring in the power and "killing power" inherent in the 45 caliber offering.

Accuracy is a funny thing for some people. What one shooter considers "good nuf" can be shrugged aside by another as a starting load needing further work.

Both times I won best rifle group at the Nevada CB shoots I was shooting borrowed rifles with randomly selected ammo of the owners. 308 and 30-06,one mauser and a 1903 springfield, both shot off the bench for 100 yard 5 round groups .
Both of the winning groups were under 1",,13/16ths and 7/8ths I think,, and the 7/8ths group I had actually squeezed in 6 rounds. Obviously no fliers to contend with.
Now certainly there are rifles that can't shoot, and shooters that are challenged with bench shooting as well as those times everything just swings right into place and the galena gods smile upon us and make it appear we are gifted shooters.

The worst thing about shooting for scores and groups that do not cluster and hit x's is the fact you will need further work,,and that isn't really such a bad thing anyway. :cbpour:

[Larry Gibson]

Guess that would be about every straight wall case ever designed.
BIC/BS

And I've not had any problems with any bottlenecked cartridges shooting cast either.

Larry Gibson

[Marlin Junky]

Buckshot is absolutely correct about the 38-55 and I am still looking for a good, affordable one, which is why I stand by my two choices earlier... they are much easier to come by. I guess I should have bought a Marlin Cowboy when they were briefly available in 38-55 but there was so much scuttle butt in the wind about tight chambers that I passed.

MJ

[corvette8n]

I cast the Lee .309 150FNGC for use in 2- .30-30 Winchesters a pre and post 64
plus 2- 336 Marlins one microgrove and one ballard.

I have yet to try it but also have a .308 Savage 110, .300 Savage 99, and .30-06 to feed.

The pre-64 Win 94 shoots a plinking load of 7.5gr of Unique accurately all day long.:Fire:

[Sundogg1911]

I only suggested the 30-30 because it's the only rifle boolit that I currently cast. :-D A Buddy of mine cast's for 45-70 and that's another rifle that loves to eat cast.
im in the process of picking up some used casting equipment. One of the molds for the Master Caster is the Win 38-55 245 gr. (mold is brand new) I'm either going to sell the mould or i'll have to get a rifle that will shoot'em! [smilie=1:
what shall I do? :roll:

[Buckshot]

One of the molds for the Master Caster is the Win 38-55 245 gr. (mold is brand new) I'm either going to sell the mould or i'll have to get a rifle that will shoot'em! [smilie=1:
what shall I do? :roll:

.............Oh come ON! You didn't ask that here for some mature response that your wife might give, didja!

.............Buckshot

[BigSlick]

One of the molds for the Master Caster is the Win 38-55 245 gr. (mold is brand new) I'm either going to sell the mould or i'll have to get a rifle that will shoot'em! [smilie=1:
what shall I do? :roll:

:groner:

I guess ya could just hold on to it and not use it.

But I think that breaks some sort of ancient, secret, he-man rule.

Better buy another gun instead.
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[Leftoverdj]

I'm less than fond of two piece stocks when shooting for accuracy. That severely limits the available .30-30s. I have nothing against the cartridge and would scoop a bolt gun in that caliber if I found a deal. Same goes for .35 Rem.

My current favorite cast boolit launcher is a CZ 527 in 7.62x39. The small case capacity seems to be about ideal for cast bullets. I doubt you can find anything better readymade in current production.

I also have nothing but good to say about the .357 Max case for cast bullets. My rechambered Handi leaves a little to be desired as a rifle, but the cartridge seems about ideal.