Lead Cast bullets - rifle

[elkhuntingfool]

Sorry if there's another thread on this subject - did a search - couldn't find anything.

Anyhow - I'm new to the whole lead cast bullets - shoot them out of my 45acp with no issues, but now that my boy and I are shooting more, lead cast for our rifles are much more attractive for range sessions.

Does anyone have any experience with shooting and handloading lead cast bullets?

Thanks!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I shoot cast bullets from my .30-06s, my .35 Brown-Whelen and my .30-30.

I like Lee moulds and wheel weights. For rifles, drop them from the mould into a bucket of water. Use a gas check design. I shoot them unsized from the Lee moulds, and lube with liquid Alox. I get 2-3" groups with most of my rifles.

 

[lordgroom]

What information are you looking for?

I have shot lead from my 45-70. I just finished a casting session for 7.5 x 55 Schmidt Ruben. I just received casting molds for 8mm Mauser and I plan to buy casting molds for .308.

I also shoot cast exclusively in .45 ACP, .357 Magnum, and .38 Special. I plan to start casting for 9mm soon.

 

[elkhuntingfool]

What information are you looking for?

Will they change accuracy? I'm pretty dialed in with jacketed bullets and I don't want to change anything - just want to be able to shoot a lot more without breaking the bank -

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Cast bullets will have their own accuracy parameters. And the point of impact will definitely be different from full-charge jacketed loads.

Typically, expect to use your 400-yard zero to center your groups at 100 yards.

 

[greyling22]

ditto to vern humpfrey and
*** keep your velocities down. ***

I try to stay under 1100fps without a gas check. (other people will differ on that number) run the velocities up too high and your bullets will begin to disentigrate and you will have excessive leading.

and not all lead is created equal. pure wheel weights are really too soft. I like to add a harder lead like linotype or something.

depending on how much you shoot and the caliber you might be happier just buying a cheap fmj bullet and reloading with that.

 

[elkhuntingfool]

depending on how much you shoot and the caliber you might be happier just buying a cheap fmj bullet and reloading with that

Yeah - just talked to the source and the bullets can't have much powder behind them - top FPS were less than 2000 so that's an issue.

I did some searches on Midway and did find some cheaper FMJs so I think I'll stick with jacketed for rifle and continue to plink lead cast for my 45acp.

Thanks!!

 

[lgbloader]

Hey Elk HF,

If you have a 30-30, you can shoot 160 - 170 gr FP's with Trail Boss. I like it.

Cheers...

 

[dagger dog]

Elk, try the castboolits site there's a whole world of info just on casting!

 

[454PB]

Shooting cast bullets is a whole different exercise than jacketed bullets. 90% of my shooting, both in handguns and rifles, is with cast boolits. Us Elk hunters like large caliber, heavy boolits for hunting. It looks like you might use a 7mm magnum for Elk hunting, it can be used successfully with cast, but you'll have to sacrifice some velocity.

Another thing to consider is that ALL copper fouling must be removed before shooting cast boolits accurately. I use normal cleaning methods, then some JB bore compound on my rifles.

 

[BruceB]

There are more myths, errors and mis-information circulating concerning cast bullets than almost any other subject in handloading.

You will definitely have a different point of impact, but the same applies to different jacketed loads. Re-zeroing is not difficult. You will have severe difficulty in trying to duplicate factory jacketed ballistics with any kind of accuracy with most modern cartridges like the 7 Mag. I say "most modern rounds" because with the rarer large-caliber rounds like the .404, .416s of any flavor, and .458s etc., cast loads easily duplicate or exceed factory speeds. Mild rounds like the .30-30 can also at least approach factory speeds without undue complications.

Wheelweights are NOT too soft. Cast bullets do NOT "start coming apart" above a certain speed. Leading is NOT a certainty at any particular speed.

I have fired a long string of PURE LEAD bullets from my .416 Rigby at 2000 fps without leading and with a 2" group at 100 yards. I have fired the same 360-grain RCBS .416 bullet, cast from wheelweights, at over 2600 fps without leading. This speed is far too painful for me in the recoil department, and I have no intention of trying it again.

My hunting load for the .416 is a two-alloy softpoint with a pure-lead nose and wheelweight-metal shank. At 2100 fps, the load will consistently group TEN rounds in 1.5-2" at 100 yards, and is a practical 200-yard hunting proposition. Strings of over 500 cast rounds without cleaning have been fired in my M1A, and it was still functioning just fine.

Apart from the larger calibers, I believe that creating cast hunting loads that work as well as our great jacketed game bullets is impractical, if not actually impossible. However, for fun and practice, cast bullets are great! I'm casting for about 12 different rifle calibers, plus five or six handgun cartridges, and I'd be lost without this extension to the hobby. Forty years' casting under my belt now, and I still have a whole lot to learn and study in bullet-casting.

Come over to www.cb.gunloads.com (this is the "Cast Boolits" site) and meet over 6,000 fine folks who cast their own.

 

[lordgroom]

I agree with the last post. It is an extension of the hobby that is fun in its own right. Firing FMJ is different than firing cast but that is also part of the fun and challenge. We are all trying to do some variant of shooting for fun, accuracy, low cost etc and casting fills all these roles. Is it as accurate? Who cares? I am not entering a bench rest competition with a cast bullet against a copper jacketed round but I might be able to get a bolt action Militarty rifle to fire cast at sub MOA.