Favorite no gas check alloy for milsurp plinking?

[pastorcurtis]

I want to load up plinking rounds for my K31 and Mosin-Nagants in the neighborhood of 10-12 gr Unique. No gas checks. What is your favorite no-leading alloy for this application. I had pretty disastrous results today with air cooled wheel weights but have some linotype on hand to mix up harder stuff.

Thanks!
pastorcurtis

[Larry Gibson]

Alloy doesn't much matter because to get better than "disaterous" results with a GC'd bullet sans the GC most often the velocity needs to be under 1150 fps. I also prefer Bullseye for such loads running from 6 - 8 gr depending on the milsurp cartridge and bullet weight. Unique doesn't work as well with 160 gr or lighter cast in most .30 - 8mm milsurp cartridges at those velocities, Bullseye does. Most any alloy works and I'd mix 2% tin with your WWs and then add 50% lead to stretch it out. My best accuracy with such comes in the 1050 - 1150 fps range. I tumble lube with straight LLA.

BTW; I've learned not to expect the same level of accuracy w/o the GC as with, sometimes you get lucky though.

Larry Gibson

[pastorcurtis]

It was the bad leading in the bore rather than accuracy that was especially disastrous. I tried both LLA and a beeswax-vegetable oil pan lube. I don't need exceptional groups for the plinking I want to do - but the leading I could definitely do without!

[Larry Gibson]

What milsurp rifle?

What bullet?

What sizing?

Larry Gibson

[pastorcurtis]

K31, Lee 312-160 TL, sized to 309. It actually drops at 310 so the TL grooves are still quite good.

[Larry Gibson]

K31, Lee 312-160 TL, sized to 309. It actually drops at 310 so the TL grooves are still quite good.

Suggest a good coat of LLA and load over 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5 and 7 gr Bullseye. No wad or filler. Best to use well fire formed and just NS'd cases. I'd test in minimum of 5 shot (preferably 7 - 10 shot) groups at 50 or 100 yards.

Larry Gibson

[35 Whelen]

In my K-31 I use 6.7 grs. of B'Eye under a plain-base 155 gr. flat point for about 1050 fps. Very accurate with 1 1/2" - 1 3/4" 10 shot, 100 yd groups not uncommon. Another really good one is 8.0 grs. of Red Dot with the same bullet for about 1100 fps or a shade more. Also very accurate. Bullets cast of air-colled WW's. With both loads I've fired 90+ rounds in a single High Power match with ZERO leading.
Good luck,
35W

[HARRYMPOPE]

TrailBoss actually works very well in 10g charges in most "30" and 8mm milsurp cases.No better than Bulls-eye but it does shoot equal.

I agree with Larry about the velocity range for GC bullets bare bottom and the number of shots to evaluate accuracy.

I have run montype to backstop 10-12 bhn alloy with no change in accuracy in the 1200 and below range.Lee Alox works as good as anything if a bit under 2MOA is all you are looking for.

Getting good plainbase groups at 50 yard in much easier than 100 yard shooting.Wind and barrel time are magnified quite lot when you double the range with the powder puff loads.But a good 100 yard load seems to hold to 200 pretty well.When shooting a pointy 190g plainbase at 1200 i was holding off on the same scoring ring as the guys shooting GC's at 16-1700.
I have shot them sized and unsized. Sometimes the sized ones shot better in a particular beacuse sized it fit the leade better.All were sized nose first in a lee die.

If trying for under 1.5" consistently then i have found lube can matter a bit.I shot Military Class with plainbase a whole year in CBA matches.Two times a change in lube due to shooting in a dry to wet environment was a huge difference.Other times not.One time i shot them with none at all and accuracy was actually better!It baffles me.

George

[Ben]

I've been shooting ACWW's in my .30 cal. rifles with plain based bullets. The loads I'm using ( see below ) allow you to shoot all afternoon and push a couple of clean cotton patches through the bore and put the rifle back in the safe. The bore is spotless after several hundred rounds.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=116150

[excess650]

Try shooting "as cast" instead of sizing. All of my K31 boolits have been GCed, but sized and lubed in a .311" die.

Ben's results with the (modified to plainbase) Saeco #315 are spectacular, and goes to show what can be achieved with proper fit and load development.:holysheep