Plain base boolits in Marlin leverguns

[45r]

Been experimenting with RL-7 in my Marlin CB's and looks to be shooting well with it.I've read about others using it and wondered if it would work.Seems to be accurate enough and the accuracy doesn't fall off after a lot of shots.Doesn't lead at all either.I thought it would be way too slow for 357mag and 45 colt.

[6pt-sika]

I have yet to load any RL7 in a cast load .

However...............

I do load the 1895CB with the plain base Lyman 330 grain HP bullet with SR4759 and it does well .

Also load my old Marlin 1894 in 38-40 with the RCBS 40-180 PB bullet and Unique which it seems to liek just fine .

Most others I am GC only or at least I prefer GC's if I have a choice .

[MakeMineA10mm]

Well, I'm just theorizing here, but I'm betting that the RL-7 is burning pretty cool and under low pressures in those loads, which allows it to deform and erode those plain bases very little, if any... That could explain the good accuracy.

RL-7 does have a reputation for performance with cast boolits. My only concern in this application would be consistent ignition. Did you use magnum primers? How was the ignition? Was it this time of year (warm/hot)? (I bet in the winter, those loads would be like a flintlock - trigger, hammer falls, wait, wait, wait, ka = WHOOSH! :mrgreen:

[45r]

I used mag or rifle primers and the Win mag pistol primer seemed plenty hot enough,it gave higher velocity than the Rem rifle primer.CCI-550 gave good accuracy with heavier charges that filled the case and with slightly compressed charges.Most of the powder burns within the first few inchs of boolit travel,RL-7 is double based and has 20% nitroglycerine and would work well in hot or cold weather as most stick powders aren't affected much by cold weather.I would use the Win mag pistol primers in cold weather and not worry about ignition,the powder burned well and gave low ES with the groups that are shown.I was getting consistant one inch groups and sometimes better.What is interesting to me is that all three styles of boolits(Secant,Tan,and bore-rider) all shot just as well as the other.The 200 grain Tan has equal length bands and grooves with not that long of a base-band but shot very well and proves to me that you don't need a large base-band.The 330 Gould doesn't have a large base-band is one of the most accurate PB boolits out there.I read that if your gun won't shoot that boolit well it probably won't shoot well with anything.I think that you don't need a gas-check unless you are going for Max velocity.I will use RL-7 in my 357,but my 45 colt will shoot almost as accurate with Power Pistol and use one third the powder.I clean my bore with JB's and clean with Hoppe's # 9,then run a patch with LLA down the bore around 5 to 10 passes,then wipe out excess with clean patch.That way I don't run the first boolit down a naked bore.With Lar's 2500 lube on my boolits there is no leading.I'll still use Gas-checked boolits but I don't think they are needed to get good accuracy.The black powder shooters don't need gas-checks or large base bands and now I can see why.If the boolit is well balanced and has good lube capacity with a sharpe,flat and square base it will shoot as well as any gas-check boolit.I don't miss putting on expensive gas-checks.That alone makes it worth it to me.

[felix]

The old stock of RL7 had 5 percent NitroGlycerin, where the stocks after say, 1980, has 10 percent. Only 5744-XMR has 20 percent, whereas the earlier production of 5744 had only 10 percent. These are circa amounts, not exactly exact because of the component qualities used. ... felix

[MakeMineA10mm]

Ah, I bet your ignition was also helped by the very heavy boolits you were using. (I can't hardly read the targets in the pics... Too bad we can't post just slightly bigger pics here.)

Those are some good results. Don't you hate it when they ALL shoot so good!?!? :mrgreen:

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Sometimes a posted picture can be saved to your picture file, then expanded enough to be data friendly even though degradation occurs. BvT

[chaos]

I use a plain based keith bullet which weighs 255 out of straight WW's over a charge of 12 gr of Unique of all things in my 1894. Makes pretty little groups like you have pictured. I cleaned it after close to 1500 rounds last sunday. I got ONE tiny sliver of lead out of the barrel. Using Javelina 50/50 lube. I size my slugs at .430 . Maybe my rifle has a tighter bore than others. I keep reading that bullets should be sized bigger for a marlin. MAybe I just got lucky....... All 4 of my Superblackhawks love this load as well.
I am brand new to casting bullets and handloading cast. I think I just got lucky

[schreibwy]

I shoot Lee's 340 grain plain base in my TC Contender with RL 7 and get groups in the 3/4 inch range at 50 yards. Not bad for pistol that kicks so hard. I lube with Lee's Liquid Alox and shoot 39 grains of RL 7. Leading is never a problem.

[timkelley]

MM10mm, hope this will work for you. This only works if you have a mouse with the wheel in the center. Get a picture on your screen you want to look at. Hold down a control key on your keyboard, rt. or lft. doesn't matter, and roll the wheel on your mouse. The picture should change size for you.

Hope this makes sense, as I read it back to myself, I'm not sure.

[MakeMineA10mm]

Thanks noclue, but it doesn't work for me. I tried it both with the mouse's pointer over the picture imbedded in the thread, and with the picture pulled up in a separate screen. Either way, it's still about the same size... Oh well.:drinks: