Reduced loads in your Big Game rifles for small game.

[black mamba]

My parents' house had a long, unobstructed stretch in the basement, and I set up a bullet trap at one end. I used to make gallery loads for my No. 1 .375 H&H to practice offhand shooting down there. WLR primer and 6 gr. of Red Dot, then I thumb seated a .375 round ball. I didn't need any neck tension, so I had a tool made to hand decap the brass without using the press.

[15meter]

Mouse fart loads are too much fun not to do.

Reduced cost, reduced recoil, REDUCED WEAR.

I have loaded reduced loads in 60+ calibers from 22 Hornet to 470 N.E.

Most of the loads have been in either vintage military rifles or very high quality English hunting rifles.

Beating up these fine old rifles is silly. Beating up my and my buddies shoulder is silly. Beating up my wallet is silly.

Buddy and I will take out a half a dozen + rifles with light plinking loads and go through several hundred rounds just ringing dingers.

It's a blast, minimal cost, minimal wear on the gun, minimal wear on our bodies.

And we are better shooters, building muscle memory is a big part of off-hand accuracy.

Know a guy who absolutely insisted on full house loads. 338 Win Mag kind of loads. Now has a detached retina that limits him to 30 carbine loads.

I shoot a reasonable number of true big game cartridges, closer to 2 dozen if I counted them. If I had shot full house loads for 15% of the rounds I shoot, the flinch would be so bad I probably couldn't pick up a rifle.

470 N.E. factory loads is good for 4 rounds in a day. Can't stand any more fun. My cast loads is more like 40 rounds and limiting factor is barrel heating. And 4 rounds will set you back $40-80.

40 rounds light cast loads, just a little cheaper. About $11 using the cost basis of the components I currently have on the shelf.

It's your gun have fun, shoot what you want. More shooting is always better.

[richhodg66]

A bit more than a gallery load, but ten grains of 700X (did it with then grains of Green Dot til I used that up) and that soup can 7mm bullet is a great practice round. Dirt cheap and plenty good enough accuracy for practice.

About three years ago, an impulse buy of a small ring Mauser sporter from a pawn shop was made. I quickly fell in love with that little rifle, got that soup can bullet and cast up 60 pounds of them. I shot that rifle almost every day most of that first year with that load, once zeroed, I never used a bench. Targets were 6" black paper plates at 100 yards from modified sitting positions mostly like I'd use from a blind or tree stand. Didn't take long before I could hit that 6" circle 100% of the time and 95% of the time off hand. A switch to my hunting load simply required 14 clicks up on the old Weaver K4 and nothing else changed.

Anybody who tells you there's no value in these reduced loads is an idiot.

[chutesnreloads]

Have an old 30-06 inherited from dad. With full house loads I wouldn't really call it a bruiser but it ain't very fun to shoot more than a few rounds either. Some time ago I got a Lee 170 gr. FP mold designed for the 30-30 and tried these boolits with "THE LOAD" of 13 grains Red Dot. Wow,..
it's as accurate as the full house loads at reasonable distances and what a JOY to shoot. I don't really hunt with it per se but do carry it as a walk around rifle and often as not sits very close by in camp for varmints and such. And of course it gets shot just for fun a lot. Bet I've not fired more than 50 rounds of .22LR in the last 3 years

[greywuuf]

Any idea what size boolits you might need ?

Talking to me in particular? ...then no ... rifle won't arrive for a couple days yet. So I'd ont know optimal diameter or throat or bore dimensions yet.

[JSnover]

I've done it with an O/U 9.3x74r; 158 gr LSWC over Unique. Made it a LOT easier to practice mounting and firing, as I don't care for dry-fire or snap-caps. The purpose was just to get competent with the rifle.

[Grayone]

At one time long ago If you didn't have a gallery or 'practice' round for your rifle that was reduced from full power it was considered incomplete. You can download a 'cat sneeze load' with your heavy bullets with quick burning powder like Bullseye or 700X and much has been posted on doing so or you can use a lighter bullet and adjust your sights. I like a scope with Mill Dots for same usage. Using these loads will mean 'much' more usage of your firearm which will mean more familiarly with it and lead to you being a much better shot. Once you are able to hit small game or small targets with your firearm deer are really hard to miss without a dose of 'buck fever'.

[15meter]

And practice with a particular rifle IS important.

I was shooting my 30-40 Krag yesterday, because I shoot more Mauser style actions, when it came time to reload, first instinct was to load from the top. On a hunt that probably wouldn't be a good thing.

In your case, fumbling to reload with a single shot rifle with a caribou in front of you would make for a bad day.

I was also shooting a Savage 99, an open sighted Ruger in 416 Rigby, a Whitworth Mauser action in 375 H&H, and a true Rigby in 300 H&H. Plus a Winchester Model 67 that I was shooting 22 shorts out of just for the grins of it.

The only ones that load the same were the two ouch and ouch's. The Ruger is finicky to load the magazine because of the size of the cartridges.

Hope your having fun with the new rifle, I've got a RB in 43 Spanish, it's a hoot to shoot.

And it loads a little differently than anything thing else I shoot

[barrabruce]

Do a chamber cast and a couple of inches of rifling.
That will be you best bet to see what you actually have to see what bullet will fit.
After that the rest will probably be a lot easier.

This is my 30-30 wallet group I shot the other day in gusty raining conditions.
It is not a benchrest rifle either.
It’s my new shoot-zen load.

I don’t usually shoot nearly as well but I can live with that.
At 50 yards maybe on a good day but not at 100 yards.
I find it fun and think I could probably hit a rabbit or something with it at reasonable distance.
I sort of Zen out and load one case at a time.
Crazy I know but I find it a relaxing day out at the range plinking or banging away a target or distant gong
Sometimes I might even clean my one case as well at the end of the day.
Still have to cast your bullets before hand thou.
If you use a powder thrower you can fine tune your load at the bench.
Saves all that extra mucking around with labels and separating cases etc.
Just load as you go and have fun.
Once you have it sorted then you can go into production but if you change one variable it can change everything else.
Like the lead hardness or primers.
Seating and such.