My babies....(first cast bullets loaded)

[SSN Vet]

Finally...here they are....

WW cast in a Lee 312-155. Both left and center were pan lubed with 50/50, center was tumbled in LLA afterward. On the right is one of my bulk FMJ reloads for comparison.

Hornady gas checks were applied and then crimped and the bullet sized to .311 with the Lee sizing die.

CB were loaded into new Win. x39 brass with a CCI 200 primer. Cases were FL sized and then the necks belled just enough to drop the bullet in to the top of the GC w/ the Lee Unniversal Expanding Die.

Loaded over Herc. 2400..... five of each bullet loaded at 14.5 gr, 15 gr. and 15.5 gr and a pair of each loaded at 16 gr (which is a recommended max. load). All loads individually trickled on the scale.

Bullets were seated well below the "min. oal" of 2.20" published for 150 gr. jacketed, in order to put the rim at the crimp groove on the bullet. They wound up being 2.15" long and a light crimp was applied with the LFCD to take the bell out of the case neck. A slight amount of lube "squeezed out" of the neck (especially on the LLA coated bullets). I hope I didn't size down the bullets by crimping them. The crimp marks are well above the level of the driving bands on the bullet....so I think I'm O.K.

All catridges dropped right into the chamber on my converted Saiga x39 (with the bolt carrier removed)

I loaded a dummy round to test stripping from the mag. and chambering.....

Only a small scuff was observed on this round, as it impacted the pseudo feed ramp.

Though there is some good data out there about shooting this bullet from an SKS, I found zippo info. for Kalashnikov action rifles. So perhaps I can make a meaningfull deposit into the tribal knowledge bank.

The only problem is that we're taking the kiddies on an outing over Memorial day weekend, so I won't be able to test these out untill next Saturday at the earliest.
Will post results and hopefully determine...

1. does the LLA improve performance?
2. what's the best 2400 load for my 16" Saiga.

Follow up testing will be done with 1680.

I don't have a chrony, but I'm hoping to get upwards of 1,800 to 2,000 fps.

and OBTW....Though I made up the dummy round from a culled bullet, I will definately turn up the heat on my next casting session

 

[armoredman]

Excellent! When I get my SKS back, I'll be trying the similar bullet, the Lee .312 160gr tumble lube bullet, as well! Please let me know how yours liked it.

 

[SSN Vet]

Notice how the Ogive on the cast bullet differs from that of the FMJ.

Shooting cast is definately a different critter all together, and though there is load data for jacketed 150 gr. bullets. It can't be reliably translated over to cast for at least two reasons.

1. lead deforms to the rifling contour easier than copper cladding. Hence, lower pressures are expected.

2. the ogive of the cast bullet puts more surface area in contact with the rifling. Hence higher pressures are expected.

Modern Reloading tabulates a max load of 14.8 gr. for a generic 150 gr jacketed bullet.

Ed Harris published an article in which he recommends 14.5 gr. to 15.5 gr. (whti 16 being the max.) for this specific bullet mold.

Unfortunately, the range of my scale won't allow weighing these bullets. So I don't know the total weight of the bullet, lube and GC (Yet another item for the wish list.)

I'll definately be checking the initial shot of each load for overpresssure signs.

 

[Bear41mag]

This is a great cast bullet. I size the down to .310 and shoot them out of my .308's, my 'o6 and 30-30 contender. Both my sks and AK get them lubed but shot as casted.

C.E. Harris designed this one and did a heck of a job. In fact I just got in on a 6 cavity mold by over on Cast Bollits web site for this very same bullet, only with a little bit of a flat point.

Its going to be a long 6 month wait for this one to get done. But I think it will be work it.

 

[CBS220]

Excellent! When I get my SKS back, I'll be trying the similar bullet, the Lee .312 160gr tumble lube bullet, as well! Please let me know how yours liked it.

The SKS murders brass. You may want to stick with wolf for the time being...

 

[riomedinamike]

I'm new to casting, ordered the hardware & parts, but haven't cast a bullet yet. So the questions:

- What exactly is "pan lubed"? I'm guessing, but do you place the bullets upright in the pan in melted lube and wait till it hardens and then pluck the bullets out?

- How much do you melt the lube - just soft enough to put them in, or liquid like soup? What do you do with the left over lube? Keep it in the pan until the next lubing?

- What is "LLA" and what is the reason for a "tumble lube" if you have already lubed the grooves - belt and suspenders theory because of the higher velocity of a rifle cartridge?

- Also, how do you "tumble lube" a bullet - do you actually put it in a brass tumbler with a mixture of LLA and media, or do you just roll it around in this LLA stuff?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to learn.

Have a great Memorial Day, and remember to honor our Veterans today - but I'm preaching to the choir on this forum.

 

[SSN Vet]

I'm a new caster myself, but will take a crack at your questions....

- What exactly is "pan lubed"? I'm guessing, but do you place the bullets upright in the pan in melted lube and wait till it hardens and then pluck the bullets out?

That's the idea....put bullets in pan, poor melted lube into pan up to the level you want, then stick in oven, as the bond is greater when the bullet is also hot. Then you can either whack them out or cut the head of a case to make a cookie cutter. There are some really good instructions here...http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php

- How much do you melt the lube - just soft enough to put them in, or liquid like soup? What do you do with the left over lube? Keep it in the pan until the next lubing?

untill it's a free flowing liquid. save the "lube cake" and put new cast bullets in the holes left from the last batch, then put it all in the oven to melt the lube and heat the bullets.

- What is "LLA" and what is the reason for a "tumble lube" if you have already lubed the grooves - belt and suspenders theory because of the higher velocity of a rifle cartridge?

That's what I'm thinking. But I'm just getting started and am experimenting with a couple different lube techniques. I wish I could afford to pick up a lube sizer. But it aint gonna happen any time soon.

- Also, how do you "tumble lube" a bullet - do you actually put it in a brass tumbler with a mixture of LLA and media, or do you just roll it around in this LLA stuff?

Lee Liquid Alox. To tumble lube you put your bullets in a old Cool Whip container, squirt in the LLA and swirl them around untill coated. Then dump them out onto wax paper to dry.