Snidely70431
Member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2018
- Messages
- 420
While looking for a solution to a problem I have with my paper patched bullets keyholing I came across an interesting post about using cast bullets in surplus military rifles. The author seems to have done a lot of shooting with them.
CAST BULLET LOADS FOR MILITARY RIFLES
http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/Classics/Cast Bullet loads for Military rifles.pdf
One thing I found particularly interesting is that he references an earlier work by the author J. R. Mattern written in 1926 (or 1932), Handloading Ammunition, of whom I had not heard. It is apparently the seminal work on handloading, and is still available.
From the article:
Four load classifications from Mattern (1932) cover all uses for the cast bullet military rifle. I worked up equivalent chargesto obtain the desired velocity ranges with modern powders, which provide a sound basis for loading cast bullets in anypost-1898 military rifle from 7mm to 8mm:
1. 125 grain plain based "small game/gallery" 900-1000 f.p.s., 5 grains of Bullseye or equivalent.
2. 150 grain plain based "100-yard target/small game", 1050-1250 f.p.s., 7 grains of Bullseye or equivalent.
3. 170-180 grain gas checked "200 yard target", 1500-1600 f.p.s., 16 grains of Hercules #2400 or equivalent.
4. 180-200 grain gas-checked "deer/600 yard target", 1750-1850 f.p.s., 26 grains of RL-7 or equivalent.
None of these loads are maximum when used in full-sized rifle cases such as the 30-40 Krag, .303 British, 7.65Argentine, 7.7 Jap, 7.62x54R Russian , or 30-06. They can be used as basic load data in most modern military rifles of7mm or larger, with a standard weight cast bullet for the caliber, such as 140-170 grains in the 7x57, 150-180 grains in the .30 calibers, and 150-190 grains in the 8mm. For bores smaller than 7mm, consult published data.
CAST BULLET LOADS FOR MILITARY RIFLES
http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/Classics/Cast Bullet loads for Military rifles.pdf
One thing I found particularly interesting is that he references an earlier work by the author J. R. Mattern written in 1926 (or 1932), Handloading Ammunition, of whom I had not heard. It is apparently the seminal work on handloading, and is still available.
From the article:
Four load classifications from Mattern (1932) cover all uses for the cast bullet military rifle. I worked up equivalent chargesto obtain the desired velocity ranges with modern powders, which provide a sound basis for loading cast bullets in anypost-1898 military rifle from 7mm to 8mm:
1. 125 grain plain based "small game/gallery" 900-1000 f.p.s., 5 grains of Bullseye or equivalent.
2. 150 grain plain based "100-yard target/small game", 1050-1250 f.p.s., 7 grains of Bullseye or equivalent.
3. 170-180 grain gas checked "200 yard target", 1500-1600 f.p.s., 16 grains of Hercules #2400 or equivalent.
4. 180-200 grain gas-checked "deer/600 yard target", 1750-1850 f.p.s., 26 grains of RL-7 or equivalent.
None of these loads are maximum when used in full-sized rifle cases such as the 30-40 Krag, .303 British, 7.65Argentine, 7.7 Jap, 7.62x54R Russian , or 30-06. They can be used as basic load data in most modern military rifles of7mm or larger, with a standard weight cast bullet for the caliber, such as 140-170 grains in the 7x57, 150-180 grains in the .30 calibers, and 150-190 grains in the 8mm. For bores smaller than 7mm, consult published data.
