Maven
08-23-2006, 08:13 PM
I've been meaning to try WC 820 in my .45-70 Marlin Mod. 1895 (Microgroove)* since I use it in everything else. Today was the day and I wasn't disappointed at all. It burned clean, was very accurate, didn't leave any lead in my bbl. and gave no signs excess pressure (primers were nicely rounded; cases extracted with ease). I had previously been using Frank Marshall Jr.'s (of the Cast Bullet Assoc.) load of 13gr. Unique with Lee 340gr. & 405gr. HB's for accuracy and comfort, but WC 820 was tempting me. I tested 16gr. with the aforementioned CB's Lee CB's and a slightly undersized (.458") commercial CB that a friend gave me. With the exception of the latter, all CB's were sized to .459" and seated to 2.55". Since I was loading them into the chamber directly, no crimp was used. All shooting was done at 50yds. (from a rest) as it was windy and the 100 yd. berm was in deep shade. As you might expect, the commercial CB's gave the the widest dispersion with 15 going into a 2 1/2" x 1 3/4" group. Discounting a high shot would have closed the group to 2" x 1 3/4". The 405gr. Lee HB's were predictable, with 7 going into 1 1/4" x 1 1/4", but lack of concentration on my part opened the group to 2" x 1 1/4". (I only had 10 of these and used 2 to readjust the elevation on my 'scope). The 10 340gr. Lee CB's shot well, but frankly after firing 50 rounds from a light rifle, I wasn't at my best. Nonetheless, they grouped well enough (smaller than the commercial CB's , but not as well as the 405HB's) to retest them at a later date.
I also tested a 460gr. LBT design with 17gr. WC 820 and was rewarded with some of the best results I've ever obtained with said rifle. 10 shots from the front cavity went into a 1" x 1" group. The rear cavity** did even better with all 10 going into 11/16" x 1". I was thrilled! 17gr. also left the cases very clean.
It was too windy and I was too lazy to set up the chrono., so I don't know how fast any of my loads were moving. (The LBT's certainly let my shoulder know they'd left in a hurry.) I do think that 17gr. will burn a bit cleaner with the lighter CB's I mentioned and is just about at the top of my "abuse threshhold" for a light rifle fired from a rest.
*Rifle wears a 4x Tasco scope: Much easier to adjust than the Williams receiver sight I used to use.
**Veral Smith originally cut the mold with a PB front cav. and a GC for the rear. I quickly discovered that loads pushing a 460gr. GC'ed bullet from a 7.5lb. rifle were punishing (both shoulder and lever bow's smacking of my fingers). I then returned the mold to him for removal of the GC shank, which he did. I also suspected that CB's from each cavity performed a bit differently. Today I was able to prove it. Btw, rear cav. CB's grouped ~3/4" higher (and a bit tighter) than those from the front.
I also tested a 460gr. LBT design with 17gr. WC 820 and was rewarded with some of the best results I've ever obtained with said rifle. 10 shots from the front cavity went into a 1" x 1" group. The rear cavity** did even better with all 10 going into 11/16" x 1". I was thrilled! 17gr. also left the cases very clean.
It was too windy and I was too lazy to set up the chrono., so I don't know how fast any of my loads were moving. (The LBT's certainly let my shoulder know they'd left in a hurry.) I do think that 17gr. will burn a bit cleaner with the lighter CB's I mentioned and is just about at the top of my "abuse threshhold" for a light rifle fired from a rest.
*Rifle wears a 4x Tasco scope: Much easier to adjust than the Williams receiver sight I used to use.
**Veral Smith originally cut the mold with a PB front cav. and a GC for the rear. I quickly discovered that loads pushing a 460gr. GC'ed bullet from a 7.5lb. rifle were punishing (both shoulder and lever bow's smacking of my fingers). I then returned the mold to him for removal of the GC shank, which he did. I also suspected that CB's from each cavity performed a bit differently. Today I was able to prove it. Btw, rear cav. CB's grouped ~3/4" higher (and a bit tighter) than those from the front.