If you could only have one rifle to cast for, what caliber would it be, and why?
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If you could only have one rifle to cast for, what caliber would it be, and why?
45-70 Marlin. Because I couldn't afford to shoot it if I had to buy jacketed.
The Old Man's duffle cut 1942 98k, it was the first rifle I carried deer hunting.
7x57 cuz it was the first caliber I ever shot in a centerfire rifle and it just seems to get the job done. Super-versatile and just one of those great calibers that BEGS one to handload due to the "low-pressure" ballistics of most factory ammo.
So, a little versatility, a little nostalgia and a little bit of just plain fun!!
PSP
RNH -
HOwdy !
.35 Rem for me. Amazingly accurate & flexible. Can shoot .358" cal rifle or .357" cal handgun lead boolits. And even shoots well w/ J-words.
Heck... I've shot .35 Rem in my Marlin M-336 XLR w/ the case necks cut clean off ! Used Dead Center Duplex .35" calibre 195 SPBTs, "patched " w/ Dymo label tape. The shoulder on the rebated boat tail sealed against the flat opening of the case " mouth", and was held there by boolit being engaged into the rifling @ the other end. Got it to group half-way decent @ 100yd ( this was w/ a reduced load of IMR4759.
All great fun !
With regards,
357Mag
338/06. Medium large bore that has the ability to take groundhogs up to elk, a decently made 225 - 230 gr. boolet does nicely. Can be made up on any Mauser, Springfield or U.S. Enfield action besides any `06 sport length action.Robert
.35 something.
Thanks for your input, but I meant more for a casting point of view. Neck length, case capacity, etc..
30-30 Winchester Marlin. Good variety of moulds. Lots of case neck. Decent case capacity for cast. Max pressure and velocity is very accessible to cast.
If there was ever a cartridge that screamed to be shot with cast it is a 30-30.
Tough one! Toss up between 30-30 and 308, with druthers on the two going to 30-30 because of savings on powder with smaller charges. Now to add to this thread, I would say if you had only the one, what mold would you choose and why. For me, it would be the 170gr. Ranch Dog-------How about the rest of you?
1Shirt!
.30-30 or .45-70 Marlins.
I had an answer all prepared and then I read the others.
I really think I enjoy shooting cast in my 22 calibers the most.
if I had to make do with just one caliber for everything I shoot it would be my 358 Winchester.
I can do from p-dogs through elk with it.
Being new to boolit casting, right now it'd be the 300blackout. Versatility of subs, supers, bullet weights, and across numerous platforms make it ideal for a new caster.
9.3x62 with a 285 grain GC will take down the biggest critter I am likely to run in to and have horse power to spare, with light loads will take rabbits cleanly,
Robert.
.30-'06. Most versatile cartridge on the planet. It's not only capable of but excels at more different things than any other I can think of.
And that's just with cast boolits.
Gear
I have to agree with geargnasher on this one, 30-06 in a bolt gun. With all the various 30cal cast bullets and powders that are suitable for it. The options are pretty much endless everything from mouse-fart to moose killers to long distance it will do it with cast boolits.
45/70 I can load it down or even load shot in it if I needed to.
First choice would be a heavy barreled .32/40 on a single shot platform for strictly cast bullet experimentation at 100 and 200 yards. Please let it have a tight chamber and throated for breech seating, and if cost were no object a false muzzle too. Two different stock sets: one for off -hand work and one for bench work. Windgauge tang sight and globe front, with a 15x Unertl as backup.
One can dream, can't one?!
.30-06 here too. But I'm torn between the Garand and the Smith-Corona 03. Second would be the .45 colt 94 Winchester due to the fact that I can use the same ammo in my Blackhawk.
Considering we are talking one CAST BULLET rifle here, and at best expansion with a cast bullet is iffy and unrelyable, depending greatly on alloy, distance and velocity, the most relyable cast bullet will be one on which your results do not need to rely on expansion.
You may have come up with the best expanding cast bullet alloy in the world at 1800fps and 100yds, but be faced with blow up at 50yd and penciling through at 150 - 200yds.
So, for those reasons alone, I say the BEST cast bullets with a good WFN -meplat - begin at .35cal and get better as the bullet dia. increases.
With my 45/70, 465gr an .460 dia WFN, I not only don't need expansion, but simply do not desire that unrelyable situation to occur.
So for me, I'd hang on to my RUGER #1S - 45/70.
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
My vote would be 30-06 too since there is sooooo much variety available in boolit weight, shape and velocity. 93 grainers from 900 fps to 3000. 220 grainers up to 2000 fps. And everything in between. Hard to find a niche not being filled there.
And brass is very abundant, boolits dont consume that much lead, 30 cal gas checks are probably the most common ones. Powder choices (with published data) are... three dozen or more?
Rifles chambered in 30-06 are very plentiful, from $300 beginner savage models to $8000 dakota rifles. And of course all the military surplus.
30 cal moulds are big enough to be easy to work with, every mould maker has a bunch to choose from. Spitzer, flat point, round nose, hollow point, what do you like?
Mine would be 30-40 Krag. Factory ballistics easily reached, nice long neck, and will kill most things on the North American continent.
My second choices would also be .30 caliber as well, either ,30-30, .30-06 or .308 simply because of mold and brass availability.
35 whelen
I really like my 30-06's. Very accurate with cast and versatile too. 30 cal mold selection is great and 30-06 brass is plentiful and reasonably priced. One other thing, every sporting goods store that I've been in within the last few months has always had factory 30-06 ammo in stock.
I think I'd probably have to select .35 Whelen for this. With cat sneeze loads, you can replicate the performance of .38 Special economy plinking loads (think .360 round ball or 90 grain .380 type bullet and a couple grains of Bullseye -- the big case takes a little more powder than the .38 Special to give the same velocity), but you can go all the way up to full bore hunting loads (what, 250 grain?) that will take almost any animal on Earth -- and with paper patch and slow powders, shoot them at jacketed velocity. The sheer versatility of this round is astonishing...
Right now I'm only casting for my .45 auto and .223. Don't have a lot of rifle casting experience and the reason I posted this question. I want to build a dedicated cast bullet bolt gun. I am leaning towards '06. I also like the idea of 30-30 or .35 Rem in a lever gun. I'm am also a huge fan of the Marlin .44 mag lever guns(although I don't own one yet). Probably end up with a custom 22" barreled M700 chambered in '06.
You guys will probably laugh, but if I had to live out my days with one rifle.(and knew it in time) I would have to go shopping.
It would have to be lever action, and suitable for everything from grouse to grizzly, so I'm thinking I would have to find a model 99 in 358 win., 45/70 or 50 alaskan would be my next choices.
Make mine a 30-30. Either a Winchester 94 or a H&R single shot. Probably the single shot, I've got a nice 20 gauge barrel for it. It loves the Lyman 3118 over five grains of Red Dot or the Lyman 31141 over a full charge of AA 2230 for full power.
Cat
Isn't the ability for us to have so much VARIETY in our shooting pursuit just awesome!!
This is actually one of the more FUN threads I've seen in a while. Some great reasons for choosing what we would choose and all really valid reasons based on our personal needs, preferences, experiences and biases. Cool!
While you are certainly not wrong in what you say and do have some valid reasons for your choice, I still disagree. It isn't all that difficult or exacting to find an alloy that will deliver optimum performance reliably on game with ANY boolit style in a given rifle across the entire effective distance of the load. WFN's also have their own set of challenges.
But isn't it great that the cast lead boolit enables us to take two totally different, yet equally effective approaches to the sport?
Gear
I have two rifles I load only cast for.
45/70 Marlin GG, (Ranch Dog 425s) would be my chioce between the two, unless I was on walk-about, then Id take:
1949 Winchester 1894 in 30 WCF (Ranch Dog 165). Because Im old, and the Winnie is way lighter.
I currently cast for all of my rifles. If I had to pick one????? Wow, like asking which was your favorite wife. I like the 50-70 because it is accurate and hits with the authority a 45-70 wishes it had. The 45-70 is versatile but used less and less since I got the 405 WCF. I guess if limited to one, it would be the Winchester 1895 in 405 WCF. Plenty of oomph, less lead than the others and still can reach out and touch. Not really a varmit rifle but I'd figure something out.
35 rem in my marlin with a big flat nose, just cause I love to shoot it and deer hate it. If I could only have one it would probably be desperate times, hope it dont come to that.
44 mag
Winchester 32 special first and if I had a second it would be 45 colt
Doc.
Well, I guess I'm gonna have to stray off the beaten path, you know "two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by and it has made all the difference." I'd have to say I'd cast .490 round ball for my flintlock; blacks still available and I can vary the charge depending on what I'd be shootin'. Full charge for takin' deer and lessen up the charge for smaller critters. Been done for a while now. BC
for me, the 45 Colt would be ideal because it can be used in both rifle and pistol.
30-40 Krag hands down.
Tons of great molds available... RCBS 30 180 FN on top of 29 grains of A2230 is a great all around shooter. Very long case neck so you can shoot even long 220 grain bullets and keep the base above the sholder. Case headspaces on a big old rim, perfect for reloading and infinate case life . Most 30.cal bullets in the 180 grain range at less than 2000 FPS have little recoil and are economical on powder use.
You can get a hillbilly dear rifle on gunbroker or at a gunshow pretty cheap. Use this as the basis for a good cast boolit test gun.
about 50 used .30 cal molds on ebay at any given moment.
I will post some pics of the bull barreled Krags I have built over the years. ebay parts and Midway barrels. Great shooters and I am seldom into one more than $300.
Quote:
OF ALL TYRANNIES, A TYRANNY SINCERELY EXERCISED FOR THE GOOD OF ITS VICTIMS MAY BE THE MOST OPPRESSIVE. IT WOULD BE BETTER TO LIVE UNDER ROBBER BARONS THAN UNDER OMNIPOTENT MORAL BUSYBODIES. THE ROBBER BARON'S CRUELTY MAY SOMETIMES SLEEP, HIS CUPIDITY MAY AT SOME POINT BE SATIATED; BUT THOSE WHO TORMENT US FOR OUR OWN GOOD WILL TORMENT US WITHOUT END FOR THEY DO SO WITH THE APPROVAL OF THEIR OWN CONSCIENCE.
-- C. S. LEWIS17
Attachment 66110
The Krag is my .30 test rifle. I have used about every cast bullet powder combination you can think of