cast boolit/gas check question (Range Report added)

[Rick Courtright]

Hi, CD

I missed which one of your rifles you're loading for--I assume one of the milsurp calibers?

I have an RCBS cast bullet book (out of print) in addition to an old Lyman cast bullet book, and between the two of 'em, a FEW loads such as you're looking for are listed.

I've also set up a page in my assortment of Excel spreadsheets to do the interpolation using Lee's equation for getting reduced cast bullet loads from jacketed data. It's worked well enough for me!

So... if you can post which cartridge, I'll take a look for you.

Rick C

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi, CD

RCBS shows nothing on the 7.62x54R, but has a couple of loads for the 8mm. Lyman has some stuff for both--the 7.62 loads don't use the powders you have, but show something "close" to your desired velocity using 2400.

The Lyman book should still be available--Midway had it last time I looked. The RCBS book is out of print, but for a while a few of 'em would show up on eBay. Dunno if any are left, but you can look.

I'll have to see what my spreadsheet tells me using Lee's formula.

Watch for a PM later today or tomorrow w/ details!

Rick C

 

[gregs45auto]

CD: The cases need to be belled slightly due to the lead bullets. I do this with a pair of needle nose pliars and twist. hth greg

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi, CD

I tried to send you a PM this morning w/ a question, but I don't know if you got it: seems to be stuck in my "outbox" instead of the "sentbox" where they usually end up.

So... if you didn't hear from me this a.m., please holler and I'll send the note again, ok?

Thanks!

Rick C

 

[DGW1949]

If I remember right, that 7.62X54r is perty-close to a 30-06.
Just going from my experience, the amount of H4895 that you're contemplating is less than 2/3 of what is normaly used for a case in that size class. Me thinks that is why you're not finding a published load that low, for that particular powder....'cause there aint none.

FWIW, I'm with Rick C on the 2400 thing. Once upon a time, I used it in cast bullet loads for a 30-06 Brazillian Mauser.

If you don't mind a suggestion.....
Get ahold of one of the Techs at Sierra Bullet Co, explain what you are wanting to do, and see if they can help.
Them guys are perty sharp....and you can bet that any suggestions they hand out have been tested. That's what they do.

Hope this helps.

DGW

 

[pvtschultz]

H4895 can be taken down to 60% of max charge safely and reliably per Hodgdon. The 7.62x54R has a max listed load of H4895 under a 180 gr bullet of 45.4C gr for 2,600 fps and 45,800 CUP. Using the 60% rule, you are down to 27.2 grains which isn't that far off of your 25 grain guess.

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Youth%20Loads.pdf

 

[Rick Courtright]

What do you all suggest for lube, or do you just ignore lube?

Hi, CD

I've had good luck lubing my cast rifle bullets w/ Lee Liquid Alox. As I mentioned in one of my notes, I use gas checks on all of them, and install them w/ a Lee sizer.

This means a two step lube process: lube lightly, then size and install the gas check. Since LLA is basically an "external" lube (poor choice of term, but used in opposition to the stick lubes that reside in the lube grooves), most of it's wiped off in the sizing process.

So after sizing, I relube the bullets. I've tried a light second coat, as well as a heavy one. Either way, the bullets will be a bit "gooey" and can become dust and crud magnets after they're loaded, so I wipe down the surfaces that aren't covered by the brass w/ some mineral spirits.

That way they stay clean, while the lube qualities remain...

Rick C

 

[okierugershooter]

"I had a bit of a problem with consistency with all these cast loads. I think it might stem from the crimping. Somehow, cast boolits seem to seat less precisely than jacketed bullets. So I messed around a bit to get the crimp consistent, and the rounds that weren't consistent are probably at fault for giving me the "way off" readings from my chronograph. These were usually about 125 fps different from the other rounds in the string, which varied by only about 25 fps, usually less. It turned out to be about one per four that gave me wide velocities.

Is wide variation normal with cast boolits? "

The 125FPS difference is comming from the 4895 not being held back against the primer.
4895 is a very good cast boolit powder but is position sensitive so a dacron fill is needed to fill the case.
Try the load with no crimp that could make a difference too because if the cases arn't the same lengh then the crimp is differant from case to case.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi, CD

The dacron filler that okierugershooter mentions is one possible solution. It seems the idea of using fillers enjoys some popularity, then it falls out of favor for a while, then there's a resurgence in interest. Dunno if it's old books being recyled or what? Regardless, some people swear by it, others poo poo the idea, which means "What the heck, give it a try" to me!

I've never tried it myself. But a simple test to see if it might help is to take a few "un-fillered" (some kinda word?) rounds and tip them upward before shooting each one to get the powder sitting back against the primer before shooting.

If your consistency improves w/ that simple test, then moving on to using a filler like dacron might prove helpful. If it doesn't, using a filler may or may not be a crapshoot.

Rick C