gas checked bullet velocities?

[Bobby Ironsights]

Hi, I'm looking towards getting into casting centerfire rifle bullets now, and am curious what kind of velocities I can load to with a gas check. I was thinking of loading .30 cal's for my mosin.

I've only been casting for blackpowder rifle, and my .45 auto, so far, but those jacketed pills seem to be getting more and more expensive, and the selection in .311 isn't as good as it could be either. I also like the fact I see no wear on the barrels I'm using the cast bullets with.

thanks for your time,
Bobby.

[Boerrancher]

Bobby,

First off welcome to the finest place on the web. My experience with my 30-30 and 30-06 and cast boolits has been very good. I can push my gas checked 50/50 WW and range recovery alloy(near pure) at 2,200 fps out of my 30-30, and 2,500 fps out of my 06. I am sure that I could inch them up a bit more, but both shoot really well right were they are. What I noticed over the last 30 some years of casting, is that a tough alloy if it fits the bore well is better oft times than a hard alloy that fits the bore. Plus I like the way the 50/50 alloy expands when it hits fur.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[pdawg_shooter]

You might try paper patching. Correctly done your cast bullet can equal the velocity and accuracy of jacketed.

[Gunslinger]

Boerrancher: What do you mean by tough alloy and hard alloy? In my ears that sounds like the same thing?!

[GrizzLeeBear]

Bobby, before you decide on what mold to start out with, slug your barrel. Do a search, lots of posts on how to do it, its easy. You really need to know what your actual bore/groove dimensions are so you can get a mold that will cast fat enough to fill the bore. Mosins can have a wide range of bore diameters. Jacketed bullets are a lot more forgiving than cast if your bullets are undersize for the bore.

[mag_01]

Yes interested in difference tough vrs. hard ??

[Larry Gibson]

Bobby

You can push GC'd cast bullets just about as fast as jacketed bullets in your Moisin Nagant. However accuracy with cast bullets at those velocities in your MN is going to be another story. The MN has a 10" twist which is going to have an adverse effect on accuracy of cast bullets much over 2000 fps. Most of us fine the best overall performance with medium to heavy cast bullets in the 1800-1950 fps range. The commercial moulds that are giving good performance are the lee C312-185 and Lyman's 314299. There have been a couple group buy moulds that work well but finding one of those moulds for sale is difficult (try on the WTB forum). The phot is of a test I recently conducted the GB 311291 in my M39 MN over 29 gr 4895 with a dacron filler. This bullet casts large at .315". Nine of the last ten shots is the cluster in the top of the X ring and the tenth shot is the one just below the 3 o'clock "10". The other shots are foulers and working the sights into the X ring. The second picture is 5 shots at 6 o'clock in the bull with C312-185 over 5744.

With softer, more maleable alloys for hunting you can push the velocity up to 2100 fps or so but good accuracy will only hold for 5-7 shots before the barrel should be cleaned. This is fine for hunting as if you've not got the deer in 5-7 shots you might as well go home and clean the barrel anyways;-)

If you decide to get into casting bullets for your MNs and their usual throat design I'll suggest you take 3-5 brass cases (not steel ones) that have been fired with full power service loads in your MN and mic the inside diameter of the fired case's mouth. That is the "size" of the cast bullet you will want to use in the MN for best accuracy.

Larry Gibson

[Boerrancher]

There is a huge difference between Tough and Hard. Antimony makes an alloy hard. Adding a small amount of Tin along with a small amount of copper will make an alloy tough. The reason WW make such a good bullet material is because they are low in antimony, and with 2% tin added to them they become very tough, but no harder. I have come to the conclusion that softness and leading are not my major enemies when it comes to how fast I can shoot a cast boolit, but the RPM of the boolit before it slings itself apart once it leaves the bore, and hard or soft doesn't seem to matter when it comes to not having a copper jacket to keep the centrifugal force from pulling it apart.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[1Shirt]

What Larry says! And in addition to add to Boreranchers info, I use about 1-2 lb. of mag shot to my alloys. All that said, what works for one may not always work for another. Have always said that rifles in particular were female, were tempermental, had their own personality. No two are the same, and loading for them varies appreciably from rifle to rifle.
1Shirt!:coffeecom