First cast loads in the 308

[Josh]

I tested 4 loads in the 308 today, all 4 were hornady brass, cci primers and 17.5 gr 2400. Groups were 10 shots at 65 yds, why 10 shots? Because that info is more statistically relevant that 3's or 5's. Bullets were the 311440, 31-155W, 311466 and 31-255G. So I will say the last bullet I shot was "just because", there is nothing practical about launching a 255 gr cast bullet from a 308. In fact there are signs of instability with that load. Only going for groups and not velocity I didn't look at anything but the target.

The clear winner today was the 31-155W, followed by the 311440. Group size for all loads shot today (cast and jacketed) are in the last photo, I'll refrain from bothering you with the details about the jacketed stuff.



Next up are the 311466 and 31-255G, the 255 gr definitely shows signs of flubbering around and general instability, that would account for the abysmal group it put together. The 311466 is ho-hum, decent and needing work but not great either.

Now onto the data, this rifle with 150 gr jacketed tends to be a 2.9" rifle, nothing wrong with that, but that's where we're at with the loads tested and a 7x scope. With cast it's a 2.1" rifle at 65 yds, doing the math that gets us close to a 3.6" rifle at 100 with cast. The rifle hated the 175 gr jacketed bullets with tac, but came into its own with the 168 gr MK. I'll not bore you with the jacketed stuff, but I wanted to paint a whole picture.

All in all it's very serviceable, the 31-155W bullet needs playing with, that was stacking bullets. I'll have to revisit the 311440 as well, and cast up some 311041.

 

[richhodg66]

The 311266 was one of Dad's favorite. I have just about shot up all the ones he had cast up and haven't really found it to be a winner in either my .308 target rifle or my .30-06 target rifle.

Good stuff. I also shoot ten shot strings for things like this.

Keep 'em coming, I really like threads like this.

 

[richhodg66]

Yesterday at the gun show, I impulse bought baggie of 311413s a guy was selling cheap, but looked decently cast. I had a stash of these from somewhere else and they showed promise in my .308, so I want to play around some more with it. This past Fall, I got a good deal on an old Lachmiller three cavity mold of a clone of this bullet, but weather hasn't really come together with enough time for me to cast a bunch of them up. Hopefully, these will tide me over until then.

Ben had a good thread on the 311413 a while back. Seems to be a good bullet when pushed slow.

This shooting paper for groups with .30 caliber cast is fun.

 

[Spindrift]

You've got some excellent results, right of the bat! Fun, isn't it?

By the way, it seems your bullet seater is hurting some of your cast bullet noses. Might be worth breaking the inside edge a bit.

 

[BBerguson]

Nice write up about your testing Josh.

If I shoot a 3 shot group that’s scattered all over the place, I take those loads home and pull the components. If they start out well I’ll shoot groups of 5 or more. A lot depends on my mood, the weather, what gun I’m shooting, where the sun is, am I shooting over the chronograph, am I alone or shooting with someone and have the stars aligned properly for the weight of the bullet, it’s diameter, the powder type and volume, the primer, case brand, when did I anneal it last, am I using poly fill and is the bullet gas checked with copper, aluminum or not.

 

[richhodg66]

I'm not shooting as much as I was a couple of years ago for various reasons, but one of the reasons I shoot ten shot strings is I don't have to go to much trouble to do it. The range is at the house and shooting bench less than a minute's walk from the loading bench. If I had to go to a lot of trouble to load test such things, I'd probably be more careful with what worked and what didn't.

I also have quite a bit of pistol/shotgun powders to use, between the Unique and 700X I have on hand, I can shoot things like this for a very long time before I need to worry. Primers are beginning to worry me.

This is the kind of shooting that has really sparked my interest the past few years and I have two rifles now specifically for this and nothing else. Niether is likely to ever shoot anything but paper at 100 yards, but that's OK.

 

[Josh]

You've got some excellent results, right of the bat! Fun, isn't it?

By the way, it seems your bullet seater is hurting some of your cast bullet noses. Might be worth breaking the inside edge a bit.

I've already done so, I cleaned it up, and may order an 8mm seating stem to get the nose up in the cone a tick more. I'll try again after softening the edge and if it continues to be an issue, will get the larger one.

 

[MW65]

Big fan of more data when analyzing targets at distance... curious, did you alternate cast & jkt'd or just shoot cast, then finish with the jkt'd rounds?

311466 might be worth a retry... appears to be a nice 5 shot group, but then it shifted... and yup that 155gr looks to be money!

 

[popper]

I used the 31-165C in my AR10, very accurate PCd & GCd with 4895.
I've posted the target @ 200 before, Near MOA 3 shot - I pulled one. 2400 fps.

 

[Rick]

I use the RCBS 30 180 SP with 18 to 19 gr SR 4759, 1900 fps and good accuracy to 200 meters.

 

[quicksylver]

great start, how are you seating your gas checks,sizing and lubing the bullets?, to me they show way too much distortion from seating, thats a lot of pressure being put on them, they will show that damage when checks are seated to hard and using the wrong nose punch or lube/ sizing base first or having the gas check seating stop in when lubing,and again pushing too hard

 

[quicksylver]

P.S. Please check each stage and report back when the damage occurs, ther are plenty of people here who will be glad to help you aleviate the situation and have your cast bullet loads look as clean as your jacketed ones, onwards my friend !

 

[Josh]

Big fan of more data when analyzing targets at distance... curious, did you alternate cast & jkt'd or just shoot cast, then finish with the jkt'd rounds?

311466 might be worth a retry... appears to be a nice 5 shot group, but then it shifted... and yup that 155gr looks to be money!

I agree, I'll retry the 311466, probably with the same charge, it was getting later in the day and I was just wanting to get things moved along. I shot 100 rounds within 1.5 hrs, so I also didn't let things completely normalize between strings.

I shot all the jacketed rounds first, gave the barrel a quick clean, ran a lubed patch down the bore to season it and shot my cast.

 

[Josh]

I use the RCBS 30 180 SP with 18 to 19 gr SR 4759, 1900 fps and good accuracy to 200 meters.

Is the 30-180 similar to the 180 gr Silhouette from Mihec? I know @Ian has done a lot of testing with the nose shape of the 31-155W, I expected that to be the best shooter honestly. The 31-155W is a scaled down version of the 180, built for the 7.62x40WT specifically.

I'd like to bump up to a 180 gr class bullet and get a better BC for shooting at 200ish.

 

[Josh]

P.S. Please check each stage and report back when the damage occurs, ther are plenty of people here who will be glad to help you aleviate the situation and have your cast bullet loads look as clean as your jacketed ones, onwards my friend !

It was the seating stem of the Lee seater I was using. It had a sharp edge on it that I've dressed and beveled already. I'll see if that fixed the issue next time around, if it didn't, I'll order an 8mm stem for that die.

I was sizing on a Lyman 4500, no damage was done then, my checks were placed using my regular press with a process to seat them straight. I've got a few junk cases, I'll seat a few bullets and see if the problem persists.

 

[richhodg66]

Josh, what are you shooting these from? Guess I'm slow, but just noticed the 255 grain weight of the one bullet. I'm surprised they didn't tumble miserably.

 

[Josh]

Josh, what are you shooting these from? Guess I'm slow, but just noticed the 255 grain weight of the one bullet. I'm surprised they didn't tumble miserably.

My Ruger Gunsite Scout, 16" barrel 1-10 twist. I decided to use the 255 just because I designed it to work in the 30-06 with a 1-10 twist, but at max velocity of 2200 fps. The 308 probably was getting only 1300 tops. To be safe I shot it without a suppressor.

 

[Rick]

Is the 30-180 similar to the 180 gr Silhouette from Mihec? I know @Ian has done a lot of testing with the nose shape of the 31-155W, I expected that to be the best shooter honestly. The 31-155W is a scaled down version of the 180, built for the 7.62x40WT specifically.

I'd like to bump up to a 180 gr class bullet and get a better BC for shooting at 200ish.

Not familiar with Miha's silhouette bullet, can't say. Here is the RCBS 180.



I also used SAECO #307, RCBS 150 gr and NOE # 311365 197 gr SP.

 

[Michael]

Good start! As you become more familiar with the rifle and how it likes what, you should be able to get the Sierras to drop into an inch if not better and cast loads around 1.5" or less. Enjoy the journey, it's fun.

 

[Josh]

Good start! As you become more familiar with the rifle and how it likes what, you should be able to get the Sierras to drop into an inch if not better and cast loads around 1.5" or less. Enjoy the journey, it's fun.

I doubt it, with 10 shot groups and a 7x scope it's probably going to be a 2" gun no matter what. That's ok, it's a hunting and plinking rifle.