Been casting pistol , now going for rifle ...

[Digger]

Have in the collection the usual categories .... coww , soww , range lead and about 70 lbs of reclaimed solder from a radiator shop .. and starting to set up for .308 with gas checks.
I do not have a hardness tester available , so would taking the ww and water dropping or heating in a small oven be the way to start out ?
In the past , my range lead is all I have used for the hand guns and it's worked out fine while conserving the other types .... , any input would be appreciated , thanks

digger

[zomby woof]

I've used 50/50 WW/RS and water quenched to get about the same hardness as air cooled WW, maybe a little harder. I was stretching my WW supplies. I also add a little tin. It worked great for me in 30.06 around 1900 fps.

[357shooter]

What caliber / loads are you talking about?

Depending upon caliber, there are loads like Red Dot 13 grn (Ed Harris - The Load) that shoot well. 10 gr of Unique and 16 gr of 2400 do too. Cast for these loads, and lighter ones, isn't all the different than handgun. Gas checks do simplify things. In one gun I shoot 145 GC range lead air cooled cast at 1,850 with excellent results.

I think things change when going over 2,000FPS, or in that general area of velocity. Caliber may matter too.

I don't use plain base much except for light loads. 1,100 - 1,300 FPS in a rifle.

[Digger]

.. .308 in my garand , will start work up loads with 4895 ... maybe air cooled ww 's to start out with ?

[runfiverun]

water drop the ww's for the rifle.

[357shooter]

For lower velocity I would air cool. It's easy enogh to give both a try with your loads.

[Lizard333]

I water drop my COWW with a little Lino for my Garand. I'm using 42 grains of 4895 in my Garand with a 311299 boolit. You might be able to a little less on the powder, that was the point my Garand began to function reliably.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Defcon-One]

I'm with Lizard333, get some Linotype. It is great stuff to have around and you have everything else that you'd ever need to make almost any alloy. The Linotype metal will complete your inventory and allow you to harden your alloy without the hassle of water dropping, something that I never do and have always doubted as a viable option.

I use Lyman #2 alloy, really (5, 5, 90), for all of my rifle bullets. I gas check my bullets, most of the time, since my rifle volumes are low enough that it is not a big deal to do.