Quick bullet casting question - 8mm Mauser

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Rob62

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I plan on casting for a VZ24 8mm Mauser. I slugged the bore and came up with a bore diameter of .326.

I want to use cast bullets made of scrap wheel weight alloy.

I plan on getting the Lee 8mm mold that shows a bullet diameter of .323. My thoughts are to water quench the bullets as they drop out of the mold and then tumble lubing them with Lee Liquid Alox. I don't have a re-sizer and would really like to shoot the bullets as is.

However, IIRC cast bullets should be 1/1000 or 2/1000 over the diameter of the bore. Hence I should be casting bullets that are either .327 or .328 diameter. What I want to know is what does everyone think of just shooting the bullets out of the Lee .323 mold using the technique I just described?

I plan on using these bullets for general plinking and keeping the muzzle velocity well below 1,000 FPS. Probably in the 750-850 FPS range. I'll probably start with around 5 grains of Unique and a synthetic case filler.

Thanks in Advance,

Rob
 
It might work. It might not. If I had to guess, not. The target will tell you more.

If you're that far under bore diameter you may wish to consider skipping the heat treat; a softer alloy will probably be more beneficial in this case.
 
My main concern was that of gas cutting the base of an undersized bullet and creating leading.

I was not planning on using a gas check, so with no gas check and a bullet being .003 inches under bore I suspect I can will get some major lead fouling.

What I want to know is should I even bother getting the Lee mold or would I be waisting my $$ by getting it. I know the best thing to do is just get the mold and shoot the bullets to see what happens. But if someone already went down this road I want to learn from their experience and not throw money at a mold that I will not be able to use.

Regards,
Rob
 
8mm mauser

I cast using a lee mold .308 . I use the Lee sizer and the tumble lube. All are very reasonably priced and work like a charm. Lee molds are well made, and will last for years if you follow the instructions. I always put gas checks on, as I had leading with ww metal , and the checks eliminated that problem. I don't mess with the water quenching. Like someone said, you will just have to try them in your gun. Casting is a very interesting operation, I think the Lee tools are a bargain. have fun.

mothernatureson
 
You have described the "perfect storm" of barrel leading.

Neither the manufacturer of your molds nor the composition of your alloy can change the fact that your barrel will be severly leaded if you try to fire 0.003" undersisized bullets. This will be exacerbated by your attempt to lower velocity. A gas check won't help you here either.

The worst leading is caused by the gases getting around the sides of the bullet; causing it to melt and deposit lead onto the barrel. This in turn is caused by undersized bullets and/or low pressures that don't provide the "sack" necessary to force the bottom of the bullet to expand enough to seal. If you load the way you've described, you'll do both.

Even if you were to load it hotter, it is doubtful that you'll get the bullet to compress enough to get a sufficient gas seal. You're better off finding a mold that will produce a .327 bullet, then loading it hot enough to get it to seal.

That's my $0.02 worth, YRMV. Good luck.
 
EddieCoyle,

I guess I knew that all along, but just needed some outside confirmation :)

Looks like I will not waste my $$ on the Lee .323 mold. I'll check around to see if anyone makes a .326/7/8 mold but suspect they do not. This seems like a really odd caliber. I do not want to get a custom made mold for this project which I know could be made. Its just not worth it to me in this instance.

I don't plan on shooting this particular rifle that much so will most likely just stick to loading FMJ bullets for plinking and practice. In the long run this is probably the best thing all around.

Thanks all for your comments.

Regards,
Rob
 
There is nothing wrong with Lee molds, I have a few. The problem is that bullet is way too small for decent accuracy. Thats the problem with some Milsurps, some have wide ranging tolerances.
 
Is this wild idea a possibility? Cast some bullets in the mold and use tham as laps with added abrasive to lap the mold up to the size you need.
 
If it seems like I am knocking Lee molds, that is not the case. I LOVE Lee molds, and use them to cast all my pistol and rifle bullets.

What I am trying to say is that I just don't want to spend $$ on *any* mold that will not work for my needs. It is clear now clear that a .323 size mold of any manufacturer will not work well with a barrel that is .326 in size.

I am not going to mess around with trying to modify any mold, I'd probably screw it up any way and then be pretty mad at myself.

Nope, at this point I am sure that I will just stick with loading jacketed bullets for this particular rifle.

Again, Thanks for all the suggestions.

Rob
 
Wooo Hoooo Hooo Spook :D :D

THAT is exactly the mold I think I need. I'm ordering one. I wonder why it was not listed on the Lee home page. Maybe its something they make specifically for Midsouth?!

Midsouth lists it as a "Special Order Reproduction Mold". That's gotta be the reason its not shown on the Lee page.

Anyway Big Thanks for the tip.

Rob
 
There you go, THR come through again. Gotta slug a couple of my bores, now.

A bit OT (for your situatation) My buddy and I found some reloading data for 170 grn cast bullets @ about 2000 fps. So we ordered some "hard-cast" bullets w/ gas checks, and loaded some up. Gun had been shooting 1"-1 1/2" groups with factory ammo.

BANG! can't find hole in target at 50 yards. BANG! Still no hole. BANG! Hole is about 18" from POA. BANG! no more holes....Moved in to 25 yards. BANG! On the 24x24 backer board, but funny looking hole (through spotting scope)..Several more shots, some hits some not (one the 24" square backer!) Hung up a piece of paper, 36x48...MOST of them hit the paper at 25 yards, but several were obviously "sideways".

Long story short, appears that pushing cast bullets that fast is a BAD idea. My SHOTGUN patterns better at 25 yards!

P.S. Any one want some 8mm cast bullets w/ gas checks?:D
 
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