newbie questions, just starting out.

[water666]

so ill go back story first, i wanted to get into reloading but primers are dead here and ive always liked the idea of blackpowder and what not so i got a night flintlock rifle and a percussion long range match rifle, sweet right? so then i wanted to cast my own bullets and such which i will havto as my gibbs rifle bore is well undersize, i sized down premade bullets i had coming to .443, paper patched up with 001 paper to come out around 446, nice snug fit, beautiful! gotta test em, now this time through the process ive been sporadically reading the paper patch.

so throughout this time i shought what if i could cast my own bullets for my match centrefire and my old military rifles for kicks, found 22reloader got some primer makers n stuff to play with and the gas check maker coz why not. so i was toying with the idea of paper patching for 308 and the like, but ive heard it said you can push a hardened lead cast bullet harder with a gas check, upto jacketed velocities or just shy, 2400 or so and paper patch info seems less available.

do i want to play with paper patching or have a crack with gas checks and hardened lead to push the speed? can i achieve decent accuracy? alot of my research has been youtube and people have had varying results in both accuracy and velocity, my pedersoli gibbs with the oversized bullets i had to jam in shot lights out, hole in hole at 100 so just for that im thinking of sticking with grease grooves rather than patching but i get less oily with patching. im ranting now, i havnt slept.

tl;dr how do i get the most accuracy out of a cast bullet, is gas check or paper patch, one better than the other, for accuracy, speed, ease of learning, i know everyone will have a different opinion and i was tempted to just pick a mold and go nuts but id rather seek some long forgotten words or ancient memories before i dip my toes to deep in and get em chomped by a croc.

i will note i have been browsing the forums and havnt exactly found any of the answers yet so forgive me im sure its all been asked before.

Jo.

[BLAHUT]

You will try them all and see what works for you and your rifles ?? Keep in mind; black powder usually uses pure lead bullets; if you start them out at about 1200FPS they do not destabilize breaking the sound Baier going up and coming down in speed; I shoot a 45/70 .500 gr bullet at 1200FPS, another .515 bullet at 1200FPS, greasers, and they are very accurate out past 1000 yds. JIMHO... People use gas checks and hard bullets so they can get the speed up? What distance do you want accuracy at ?? Do you want very accurate or very fast bullets ?? The further out you push them the more accurate you want them to be. I practice at 400 yds.........

[water666]

You will try them all and see what works for you and your rifles ?? Keep in mind; black powder usually uses pure lead bullets; if you start them out at about 1200FPS they do not destabilize breaking the sound Baier going up and coming down in speed; I shoot a 45/70 .500 gr bullet at 1200FPS, another .515 bullet at 1200FPS, greasers, and they are very accurate out past 1000 yds. JIMHO... People use gas checks and hard bullets so they can get the speed up? What distance do you want accuracy at ?? Do you want very accurate or very fast bullets ?? The further out you push them the more accurate you want them to be. I practice at 400 yds.........

so my bp loads i was pushing hot, 100gr 3f, im estimating close to 1400 fps on that ill do that same thing and run the resized patched bullets as a test run.

both with my bp match rifle and my smokeless guns id like the capability to be accurate at 800 to 1000 but im not sure how possible that is in a 308 shooting over 2000fps or under even, im thinking to start on gas checks, push a heavy bullet, 180 to 200 at 1400 to 1800 and see how i feel. i really am not sure.

these would be what im looking at running at the moment, looking similar profile to my bp cast bullets:

https://www.castbulletengineering.co.../779-313-215gc
https://www.castbulletengineering.co.../740-309-190gc

and gas check bullets seem to be more common and im not sure how theys go with pp with no checks, i dont suppose anyones cracked the recipe though.

jo.

[water666]

You will try them all and see what works for you and your rifles ?? Keep in mind; black powder usually uses pure lead bullets; if you start them out at about 1200FPS they do not destabilize breaking the sound Baier going up and coming down in speed; I shoot a 45/70 .500 gr bullet at 1200FPS, another .515 bullet at 1200FPS, greasers, and they are very accurate out past 1000 yds. JIMHO... People use gas checks and hard bullets so they can get the speed up? What distance do you want accuracy at ?? Do you want very accurate or very fast bullets ?? The further out you push them the more accurate you want them to be. I practice at 400 yds.........

perhaps just starting with a 311 or 314 299 mold would be the go? but this is why i ask before i spend money on somthing i will never use again

[Dusty Bannister]

Pick one firearm and learn what it likes. Do not pick a firearm and a velocity and miss out working up to the most accurate load just to reach some velocity. For BP, the lube needs are not the same as smokeless powders. And the velocities/pressures are less than you will work with in the 308. Keep the .308 simple, slug the barrel and see what the minimum diameter is, then go with a larger diameter to get a good tight seal to prevent leading. You will need a harder alloy than pure lead, which is not really pure any more anyway. Clip on WW or similar, cast and quenched will provide a hard enough alloy. Your problem is being consistent in your casting and heat treating of the bullets for the .308. Up to 1,500 to 1,600 fps with a moderately slow rifle powder will give you accurate and simple potential, but not for extended ranges. With the same alloys and tools, you can add the gas check and then move up in pressures and velocities.

[littlejack]

water666:
Welcome to the CastBoolits sir.

[water666]

Pick one firearm and learn what it likes. Do not pick a firearm and a velocity and miss out working up to the most accurate load just to reach some velocity. For BP, the lube needs are not the same as smokeless powders. And the velocities/pressures are less than you will work with in the 308. Keep the .308 simple, slug the barrel and see what the minimum diameter is, then go with a larger diameter to get a good tight seal to prevent leading. You will need a harder alloy than pure lead, which is not really pure any more anyway. Clip on WW or similar, cast and quenched will provide a hard enough alloy. Your problem is being consistent in your casting and heat treating of the bullets for the .308. Up to 1,500 to 1,600 fps with a moderately slow rifle powder will give you accurate and simple potential, but not for extended ranges. With the same alloys and tools, you can add the gas check and then move up in pressures and velocities.

i will venture out and do some slugging and go from there and find appropriate sizing dies also i think would be important unless i get the perfect mould

[water666]

water666:
Welcome to the CastBoolits sir.

thank you