Accurate 30 cal. Brass Mold.

[Ben]

I bought this mold from Dean Winchester several months ago. The 182 gr. plain base bullet sizes out well at .311 ". It has always been a very accurate plain base bullet out of my many .30 cal. rifles.

The 182 gr. plain base , 30 cal. was shot today out of a 30-06 Springfield 1903 with a pristine 2 groove barrel.

Load was 8.5 grs. of Herco and the Accurate 182 gr. plain base, bullets were sized .311" . I fired this 5 shot group at 50 yards. ( That aiming square is 1.25 inches X 1.25 inches for size comparison )

Some feel that shooting plain based rifle bullets is a waste of time. I'm NOT one of those who holds that idea ! ! !

[legend]

Ben, if i could shoot like that.....well, i guess i would be YOU. nice shooting!

[Ben]

legend

What a nice comment, You're good to give an old man the benefit of the doubt.

Thanks,
Ben

[williamwaco]

Ben, I agree completely.

There is no reason you can't shoot small groups with plain base bullets.
I do it all the time ( But rarely that small ).
Nice shooting.

PS: Herco is one of my favorite cast bullet powders.


PPS: That is a VERY interesting mold. I have never seen anything like it.

[texassako]

That is some nice shooting, and you don't have to buy any checks. Which design is it, 31-180E?

[Ben]

Here is a look at the bullets that come from the mold :
( The 45 cal. cavity throws bullets that weigh 240 grs. , the 38 / 357 Mag. is 130 grs. )

[Ben]

texassako

I went back and looked through my photos, and yes it is the Accurate 311180 E



Ben

[texassako]

Thanks, I have a rifle with a 2 groove Springfield barrel used as a replacement. I have been looking at plain base molds since it is usually used for paper punching.

[Shooter6br]

I have an Accurate clone of the Lyman 314299 for my "American Enfield" Original 1918 5 grove barrel Sized to .312.

[Lefty SRH]

I loike that 180E, I wonder how it would do in one of my .308s.

[smoked turkey]

Ben: Fantastic! I'm speaking of the photos, the gleaming cast boolits, and the proof in the puddin' with the one hole target. And since I have a good supply of Herco it is one of my go to powders for many different loads. I just used it with my 16 ga to fill two turkey tags! Very versatile powder.

[btroj]

A great example of what happens when a guy who knows what he is doing uses a fine mould.

Ben, ever think that the reason people don't have success with plain base rifle bullets is because they don't take time to learn?

[Ben]

btroj

A great example of what happens when a guy who knows what he is doing uses a fine mould.

Ben, ever think that the reason people don't have success with plain base rifle bullets is because they don't take time to learn?

______________________________

You're pretty close to being " dead on it ".
You can't take your run of the mill cast bullet load data and apply it to plain base .30 cal. bullets, you'll end up with velocities in the 1,600- 1,900 fps. range. You'll not be a happy camper with your 1st plain base cast bullet experience.

I'm not the " sharpest knife in the drawer ", so if I can do it, I'd think just about any reloader / caster could do it.

Once you get it clear in your head that you can't " hot rod " plain base bullets, you have about 80% of it whipped.

My friend Bryan and I have shot probably 1,500 rounds of plain base .30 cal. cast loads in 308 Win. and 30-06 rifles in the past 6 months.

We use relatively fast burning powders ( Bullseye - Herco in burn rate speeds ). We will often start with about 7.5 grs. of a fast burning propellant and stop around 8.5 in an 06' case.

It has been fun.

Ben

[btroj]

A 30 cal bullet that goes where it is supposed to is always fun. The loads you are shooting are great for plinking clays, or bits of clays, at 100 yards. Good chance of hitting what you shoot at.

A bullet need not be a speed demon to get the job done.

I shoot mostly checked bullets but usually in the 1700 fps range, I rarely shoot much faster.

[geargnasher]

I wouldn't be a bit skeered to hunt deer with one of those loads, either. Good job again, Ben.

Gear

[Ben]

Many thanks Gear,

No, I wouldn't hesitate to put one of those Accurate 182's in the boiler room of a white-tail either.

The way this rifle is shooting, if you had a decent rest, you could put it in the side of his head if you wanted to.

Ben

[Ben]

After you shoot a group like this :



It only seems like the prudent thing to do would be to get the mold out and cast more, right ?



That is exactly what I did this morning ,



Going to be trying this puppy out in more of my .30 cal. rifles.

This photo is blurry , but you can get some idea of the shape of the bullet. They weigh 182 grs. as they fall from the mold.



Ben

[Low Budget Shooter]

Wow---wow.

[guicksylver]

Do I feel a group buy starting here Ben/ Gear ?

[Green Lizzard]

ben does your headspace increase (cases get shorter) with each firing? if so how did you remedy it?