Concidering Casting for rifle

[ReAX222]

I have shot and enjoyed a few thousand cast pistol bullets and I am thinking about expanding into rifle. I have a H&K G3/91 clone in .308 win that I'd like some cheap blowup ammo for. Ideally though, it would be nice to be able to cast more "Match quality" bullets for my Remington 700 too.

I am browsing midway's catalog and it appears that most of the molds are for gas checks. Do I want to use them? Initially I am just for blow ups and keeping my cost down. So for more questions, can I still use my wheel weights ( for 160-170 grain bullets at around 2600fps) and can will my BAC lube work for it?

[Char-Gar]

What is "blow up" ammo?

[Scrounger]

What is "blow up" ammo?

I think he means "blow-off", plinking ammo.

[Joel Chavez]

I think he means plinkers or at least I'm hoping that's what he means.

[454PB]

I've used cast rifle boolits up to 2400 fps., but they were gas checked and usually cast of straight linotype. I don't think a plain based boolit can be fired over about 1500 fps if cast of WW alloy, but I've not tried it.

My opinion.....buy a gas check design if you want to use velocities over 1500 fps.

[Char-Gar]

I am not familiar with that rifle, but isn't is a gas operated military type rifle. I am not into such things, but I don't think it would be a good candidate for cheapo, thrown together cast bullets loads. I don't think cast will get him where he wants to go...sure won't go 2.6K fps.

I should think that loading cast for such a rifle would require attention to detail and some high quality loading. But what do I know... I am not into auto-loading rifles (except the Garand) and blow up or blow off ammo.

I guess I am an outdated fossel, but I think every round should be as good as it can be made, and every shot fired should be taken with the care and skill, as it your life depended on that one shot. If I want to make noise, I will buy some firecrackers.

[rr4406pak]

What does everybody use to press the gas checks on the base of the rifle bullets?

[Ricochet]

Fingers. If that won't work they're too tight. Happens.

[rr4406pak]

Gotcha.
Thought they had to be pressed on for some reason...

[Ricochet]

They are crimped on by running through a sizing die.

[ReAX222]

Ok, blow off ammo then. It is a mil style delayed blow back. It was just a thought and hoping for really cheap bullets because this gun dents brass badly.

[Brian Job]

Check out LBT for info on fast rifle boolits. Veral Smith's book " Jacketed Performance with cast Bullets " is a must read.

lbtmoulds.com

[wmitty]

I'm shooting the group buy 31141 boolet in a couple of Win model 100's and a Rem model 74 (.308 and .30-06, respectively) and have had great success using surplus 4895. The biggest problem is chasing the brass in the grass. (stuff dissappears before your eyes!) Now accuracy is not great; probably 4 m.o.a. or so, but it sure is cheap and fun shooting the autoloaders. I have my doubts about being able to obtain 2600 fps with accuracy, but I could be wrong. I have seen what the H&K 91 does to brass, It's not pretty! Why not shoot tracer instead of boolets? Hi-Tech sells the .30 cal for the '06 for $40 / 1000 and the scratches are easily smoothed by a trip thru the Lee push thru die. If you have a safe place to shoot these they're more fun than getting dirty!

[handyrandyrc]

You can do it. I'd just keep the velocity down, get it to where you find it will still cycle, yet drop brass at your feet. I love shooting semi-auto rifles, and have done fun stuff in an SKS, AK, and M1 Carbine -- all with cast bullets.

Lowering the velocity/pressure will also help you with brass life in that HK. Fluted chamber, correct? Well, lowering that pressure will certainly help on the brass damage. Get it to where it will still cycle, and save some powder in the process.

[Leftoverdj]

I see no real barrier to using cast bullets in your H&K. It's possible that the rifle will require more pressure to cycle than cast bullets will tolerate, but that's easily checked. Just load up a batch of whatever bullets you happen to have around to about 2000 fps. If they will function the action, so will the same load with cast bullets of about the same weight. Lee #2 has plenty of data in Chapter 10.

Lee's C312-155-2R would be a good bullet choice waterquenched and sized to .310. I'm reasonably sure that you will have to use gas checked bullets to get functioning and any semblance of accuracy.