"mouse Fart" loads for a .250 Savage

[6thtexas]

I've got a Ruger in 250/3000 and want to make some light loads for the boy to shoot. I have a Lyman 257420 mould (shoot them in a 25/20). How much Bullseye would work with that bullet, and would Green Dot work?

Thanks

[uscra112]

Mouse fart loads need small charges of fast powder. I use Red Dot, but Green Dot should work fine. As will Bullseye. Start with maybe 5 grains in the .250-3000 case. Use pistol primers to avoid shoulder setback. No fillers. You could go down another grain or two, but you're in territory where the powder may fail to light, leaving a boolit stuck in the bore. (The .250-3000 is too big a case to try for subsonic loads, IMHO. Cases from .25-20 and smaller do much better at that game. Tiny pistol cases like .32 S&W Short are best of all.)

[Larry Gibson]

I've been shooting "cat's sneeze" (is that louder than a "mouse fart"?) load with GCs for years in multiple cartridges. Never had a GC (slip on and crimp on) left in the bore. Had a couple bullets left in the bore when I got to low with the load. Bullseye is "the" powder to use for such in my experience. I also suggest starting at 3 gr and work up or down depending on the results. I also suggest a very soft alloy such as 40-1, 30-1 or 20-1. With the slip on GC (older Lyman's are hard to find or home made ones) just make sure the GC is not seated below the case neck.

My best cat's sneeze loads run down in the 800 - 1000 fps range with light for caliber cast bullets and down to 300+ fps with heavy for caliber cast bullets.

Larry Gibson

[6thtexas]

Appreciate the help!

[Eddie2002]

I've been playing around with light loads for a 30-06 and Arisakas. Bullseye is the best powder to use but Greendot will work fine, you just can't go as light with the powder charge. When I get down around 2.5 grains of either powder a little bit of cotton, maybe twice the size of a pencil eraser really helps with consistant grouping. I just gently push it in on top of the powder charge before seating the bullet. Neck tension gets critical with light loads, had a bullet that had a slightly loose neck keyhole about 5 inches lower than the rest of the test group at 20 yds. I'm shooting a 100 grain water dropped WW wth no gas check for all my plinkers and mouse loads.