Round ball in .308

[Bob Krack]

I've been out of the loading/casting arena for over 30 years and am ready to try to develop a .30 plinking load. I want to use a .311 cast ball, near buck #0 size.

I don't know the weight, haven't received the mould yet but assume it will be in the 40 to 50 grain area. I will be using straight wheel weight alloy and spray lube. I Will be casting the same ball with pure lead for 12 gauge shotshells.

Any suggestions on a starting powder charge would be appreciated. I am leaning toward Hodgdon's Trail Boss but am totally ignorant there. I am reading 7 to 11 grains of Trail Boss in a .308 at 150 grain.

The rifle is a Ruger 77 Mark II, .308. I'm not a novice by any means, just forgot so much over the years. Two of us used to load and shoot several thousand rounds per week - .257 Wheatherby Mag, .303 British, 30-06, .38, .357, .44 special and mag, .45 Long Colt, and .45 ACP.

Thanks,
Vic

[mooman76]

It should be about 43g. bullet. I'd use a faster burning powder like 3g of Red dot or Unique.

[Leftoverdj]

It's straightforward proposition. I use 0 buck 'cause I have a lifetime supply. No need to size brass, just prime, charge, thumbpress shot into place. I seat the shot flush and rub a little lube over it. I've used whatever fast pistol powder was to hand with charges in the 2.5 to 3.0 grain range, mostly from a Lee dipper. Unique is not the best of choices because it measures very erratically in such small charges. WW 231 is much easier to work with and does well. Trail Boss looks good since it is about the rate of Red Dot, but bulkier. I don't have any and don't do enough of these real light loads to bother to buy any. Mostly I've just used whatever I had left in too small an amount for other uses.

Accuracy has run minute of squirrel head at 25 yards from a long series of .308s. Some rifles and load combinations will stretch that to 35 yards. but I've never gotten the RB to shoot worth a whoop at 50 yards or more.

If you are going to cast your own buckshot, you might as well cast them from WW, too. The only advantage to casting your own is to get harder buckshot that don't deform as much in firing. I've piddled with buckshot loads off and on for decades, but the truth is that I would have been better off buying the little bit of buckshot I use. It's very difficult to beat factory loads on either cost or performance.

[Bob Krack]

I don't have alzheimers, but sometimes I must have somezheimers...

I forgot reading and even replying to the "30-06 roundball" thread. In any event I think your answers reinforce what I already knew but had forgotten.

As for ww for shot, I had thought of and will probably do that, but had spent enough time on line at the time that I did not want to edit my post.

Thanks to all.

Vic

[Larry Gibson]

Better off casting the Lee TL314-90-SWC. Over 2.8 gr Bullseye it runs around 825 fps. Is very accurate to 100 yards and a joy to shoot. Also feeds from magazines. much more accurate than the RB. If yyou don't want to cast get the hornady .32 swaged lead SWC pistol bullet.

Larry Gibson

[Bob Krack]

Better off casting the Lee TL314-90-SWC. Over 2.8 gr Bullseye it runs around 825 fps. Is very accurate to 100 yards and a joy to shoot. Also feeds from magazines. much more accurate than the RB. If yyou don't want to cast get the hornady .32 swaged lead SWC pistol bullet.

Larry Gibson

Thanks Larry,
I was going to order the lee 314-90 but just din't get to it yet. The loading information is much appreciated.

Vic

[beleg2]

Hi,
What about loading two balls?
A defencive load for charging squirrels.LOL
Have anyone try this?
Thanks
Martin

[MT Gianni]

Martin, several articles have been written here in the States about doing so in pistol calibers and a friend would shoot 2 round balls occasionally in his muzzleloader. Impact was usually about 6" away at 100 yards. I would be concerned about one falling below the neck on a bottleneck cartridge. Gianni

[Bob Krack]

Martin, several articles have been written here in the States about doing so in pistol calibers and a friend would shoot 2 round balls occasionally in his muzzleloader. Impact was usually about 6" away at 100 yards. I would be concerned about one falling below the neck on a bottleneck cartridge. Gianni

I have no real interest in making a two shot cartridge, but how big of a concern would it be if ya did load 2 balls and one fell below the neck (seems very likely to me). I assume it would be blown out the cartridge also, but I wonder what kinda rattling around it would do before finding the hole.

Vic

[SlowLeadBullets]

Larry, do you size these bullets for use in a 308, or just shoot as cast?

Thanks
Rob

[Larry Gibson]

Larry, do you size these bullets for use in a 308, or just shoot as cast?

Thanks
Rob

Depends. On many cartridges like .308/'06 or the .31 milsurps there is enough case neck expansion to use them as is (.314). Many times with the .30 bores resizing the neck is not even needed. I use a .31 M die intially BTW. With some others (my 21" Contender 30-30 for example) I just size them in a Lee .311 sizer. I place them nose down on the ram and push them through base first, this keeps the base square. No need to relube, the beeswax/mica lube is pressed into the bullet and sitll works fine when fired in a rifle.


Larry Gibson

[.30-06 fan]

this is an old thread which i find fascinating.

the idea of a round ball for my 30-06 for small game has a big appeal. if anyone have more information on the above subject, i would be grateful if they could share it.

thanks

[Geezer in NH]

It should be about 43g. bullet. I'd use a faster burning powder like 3g of Red dot or Unique.I agree and try using Bens LL

[ditchtiger]

Thanks Larry,
I was going to order the lee 314-90 but just din't get to it yet. The loading information is much appreciated.

Vic

I was just looking at the lee 314-90 only 10 minutes ago for this very purpose.

[NavyVet1959]

I keep a spare jar for powder that I've spilled. Most of it is Alliant Promo (Red Dot), but some is slower powder. I mix it up and use it in rifle brass for these types of plinking loads with round balls in single-shot rifles. That way, I don't fell so bad about spilling powder.

Since Promo is the powder I use the most, whatever mix that it comes up with is going to be slightly slower than Promo, so I still consider it safe. Besides, we're not talking large amounts of powder with these Red Dot / Promo loads anyway since you usually don't even have to resize your brass afterwards.

[wquiles]

Good thread on the subject of using the lightweight pistol bullet:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?172940-win-94-loves-Lee-TL314-90-swc-and-trail-boss

[1Shirt]

Agree (as usual with Larry) RB's are fun to shoot, but a pain to load, and IMO, accurate to only about 25 yds. Little plain base 30 cals from 90 to 110 will do you well with Red Dot, unique, and maybe bullseye. Be very careful however, with the small charges, as double charges are bad news to say the least.
1Shirt!

[ballistim]

I've run oversized round balls thru a size die and tumble coated or smeared lube on the nose after seating with light BE loads, big fun in old guns for the young kids... old kids too!

[Shiloh]

I've done it with .30-06 only. .311 ball. Accuracy falls off after 25 yards. When primers were cheap was when I played with it.

Shiloh

[.30-06 fan]

thanks for the replies

sounds very encouraging for minute of grouse applications

much lead fouling?

[Shiloh]

No fouling for me. I don't remember the velocity, but my guess would be less than 700 fps. These are pipsqueak loads. When primers were a LOT less than they are now, was when I was trying this novelty idea.

Shiloh

[BrianL]

Better off casting the Lee TL314-90-SWC. Over 2.8 gr Bullseye it runs around 825 fps. Is very accurate to 100 yards and a joy to shoot. Also feeds from magazines. much more accurate than the RB. If yyou don't want to cast get the hornady .32 swaged lead SWC pistol bullet.

Larry Gibson

Would a 32 cal pistol full wadcutter be safe to shoot in the 30's? Just wondering about the shape.

[ballistim]

deleted

[ballistim]

I've shot the 32 SWC Larry mentioned in my T/C 32-20 (.308) barrel with no problems and shot well IIRC.

I forgot to mention, I have a 32-20 die set I ordered from CH and had both size expanders to enable use of both 30 and 32 caliber bullets.

[MT Chambers]

Cast boolits for the .30 cal. are so cheap to make esp. plain base ones, why not just go with that and light loads, better accuracy out a little further. Maybe I'm missing something here.

[BrianL]

I just received a box of molds and one of them was RCBS 32-084-WC. I don't have it in hand but I believe that it is a full flat nosed wad cutter