good commercial cast bullet for 30-06?

[nockhunter]

I am kinda looking for a good commercial cast bullet for the 30-06. I have just refinished a Savage 110 (1968 era) walnut stock rifle. I installed a williams peep and plan on shooting some cast. I would like to shoot something that would also be good for hunting deer to about 200y. I have some Shooters world Buffalo powder, R7 and a few others, (maybe some Red dot loads also).
So what do recommend? I don't cast.

Thanks
Mike

[chriskendziora]

Try Missouri cast bullets or Gt Bullets.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[dverna]

Not what you asked for but food for thought. Getting an accurate cast bullet is not always a "walk in the park":

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?457436-Thanks-to-larry-gibson-and-many-others

In my attempt at cast bullets for rifles I got very frustrated. BTW, you will be paying about $50/250 for commercial cast .30 cal. bullets and the ones I tired did not shoot better than the ones I cast. $20/100 a bullet for a bullet that is not very accurate is not cheap practice.

I buy bulk bullets from these folks:
https://www.armorally.com/

But I decided it made more sense for me to "plink" with jacketed .22 when I wanted to shoot CF. These are the bullets I use in .223:

https://www.armorally.com/shop/hornady-22-caliber-55gr-spire-point/?attribute_select-quantity=6000ct

Available in bulk from 500 to 6000 packs. I buy them in 6000 round cases. Very accurate and cost is less than $12/100 delivered. No way a cast bullet will beat them for accuracy.

They have bulk .30 cal bullets too. These might be of interest and are $13/100 delivered in 1000 bullet packs. I have not used them, but I bet they are more accurate than cast bullets.

https://www.armorally.com/shop/berrys-308-cal-30-30-win-150gr-rs/

Good luck!

[tejano]

I have had decent luck with Lyman #311299 purchased from Western Bullet Co.

[nockhunter]

WOW, those Berry's plated bullets are very inexpensive. I don't think they would be good for hunting though. I wonder if I can press in a hollow point?

thanks for the info

Mike

[clearwater]

l have good luck with Lasercast 30 CAL. 170G RNFP .310 - 400 COUNT, bout 12 cents a piece now. Order direct. A couple of years ago they were half that. I also like their 375 cal for my magnum.

I install my own gas check, size em to .309 with a lee, then tumble lube. Powder is Alliant 2400.

2 MOA in my 30-40 and my springfield 06. No leading if I start with a copper free barrel.

[charlie b]

When I was considering casting for my .308 I went to these guys to see what kind of mold to buy.

https://www.montanabulletworks.com/product-category/rifle/?filter_caliber=308

Note that they are not cheaper than some jacketed bullets. But, if shopping for a mold they let you try some out before you buy a mold. They were also very accurate, close to MOA.

When I ran cast for my .30-30 I bought these.

https://www.meisterbullets.com/AWSProducts/417-C-22-P-0/3030-165GR-RNFP

They were as accurate as jacketed in the Win94.

If you just want cheaper bullets to shoot, then Verna is right, find some bulk jacketed to mess with. Sometimes you can find a good deal on pulled military bullets.

[nockhunter]

I thought an iron sighted bolt gun would be fun to shoot and hunt with cast bullets. I may look into the laser cast, that style bullet seems to get good reviews for accuracy and deer killing.

Mike

[scattershot]

Hunters Supply makes good bullets.

[dverna]

I thought an iron sighted bolt gun would be fun to shoot and hunt with cast bullets. I may look into the laser cast, that style bullet seems to get good reviews for accuracy and deer killing.

Mike

Why do you need cast bullets for a gun to be fun to shoot?

IMO most folks shooting cast in something like a .30/06 are looking for something cheap to shoot. But there are far less expensive ways to get cheap trigger time.

Some poeple love to cast and will shoot cast bullets even if there are better options. You do not cast, so that make shooting cast tougher to understand.

Give some thought to what "turns your crank". For me it is shooting. If I never had to cast or reload another round, I would be happy. But I am too cheap to buy factory ammunition for the amount of shooting I wish to do. In hindsight I would have been better off buying factory hunting loads than "wasting my time" reloading for my .308. I go through less than half a box a year of ammunition for it.

What is important is to address YOUR needs.

[charlie b]

It doesn't have to make sense to anyone but the shooter.

I do get it. He has a 'classic' gun without a scope and wants to shoot cast. Cast will do the job for his situation just fine. I did the same thing when I was shooting my father-in-law's Win94 (1920's mfg). Just 'felt' better to me. And, no, I was not casting at that time so I bought the bullets.

[scattershot]

Well, I like cast bullets in my 30/30 Marlin, just for plinking. Recoil like a .22, amd fun to shoot. 165 grain cast over 5.5 Red Dot.315160

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I've used Matt's Bullets in my .308, .300 Savage, and .32 Special with excellent accuracy. I use the .310 185 grain spire point gas check for most of my .308 and .300 Savage shooting, getting 1 1/2 or smaller groups at 100 yards with a couple of Savage 99's. I shoot in the .323 185 grain flat point gas check in my .32 Special's(scoped) with 1.5 or less groups common. He has a .310 180 grain flat point gas check that should work well on game, I have the .310 150 grain and 180 grain flat points with excellent accuracy in a .303 Savage and .30-30 Marlin but have not shot any critters with them. I did shoot an antelope doe with .32Special and the 185 flat point, about 90 yards, she took 3-4 steps and fell. Mostly I use 18 grains 5744 with the 185's in the .308 and .300 Savage, though I have used 20-25 grains of Reloder 7 with excellent results. Any of the .310 bullets shoul work in the '06.

[nockhunter]

With 18-20 grains of powder and cast bullets, it would be almost as cheap shooting my handguns. With red dot, it would as cheap as handgun loads.

Mike

[kaiser]

Once the brass is collected (fired or unfired) and the bullet cast, the most expensive component is the primer. Utilizing a bullet you have cast yourself is immensely satisfying whether plinking or hunting, and enables you to become more familiar with a firearm you would normally only take out one season a year.