Casting, Reloading, and/or Shooting This Week

[Full.lead.taco]

As weather is warming up (sort of) here in Utah, I'm going to hopefully be doing a bit more casting, loading, and shooting. I have a couple buckets of scrap I need to melt down and pour into ingots too. Last week, I picked up another new mold down at the NOE shop (I live 5 min from the NOE shop). I ended up getting a hollow point mold for my 50 Alaskan Encore--I need to break in and play around with.

What are you all going to be casting up, loading up, and shooting in these next couple weeks?

 

[RBHarter]

I have a couple of 6C Lee coming ...... I hate that I lost the first 358-200 .......

I will be rolling some light loads in paper patched for a 45-70 .
I've some heavies for the 7x6.8 to get going
I'll probably cast some more 257312 they are looking good in the 257 .

 

[Full.lead.taco]

...I will be rolling some light loads in paper patched for a 45-70.

What kind of light loads? Which bullets and how fast?

 

[RBHarter]

Probably some 452-255s . I'll see how it goes with Unique and decide if I want to go all out or not . I did some 350s with H322 and found that the fun to shoot factor was drying up pretty quickly as I crossed into the high 1700s . I shot a few 456-228s for the ROA and they were pleasant enough to shoot but didn't really do what I wanted them to do . This stupid rifle doesn't seem to care what bullet , powder , primer or range it shoots 2" at 50 , 2.5 at 100 and so on . I have a new 452-200 coming so if it goes 454 I might wrap it up too . I haven't got any idea what kind of speeds to expect . 2000 maybe ?

 

[fiver]

I went down to Pokie today to shoot some trap but nobody else showed up.
they were open, even had trap kids there to pull, but a light rain was keeping every one away.
I wasn't gonna make them open a house and pull just for me so I just come back home.

now it's snowing here again and will be doing that or raining through at least Saturday so I will be inside for the next few day's.
I'm debating on loading the 4-5,000 empty shot shell hulls I got sitting there, or getting after those 243's I have prepped or filling the box of star-line 45 colt cases that have been sitting on the floor for a year now.
I could probably get all of them done this week if I tried very hard.
the 300 243 cases would probably take the longest even though all I gotta do is put powder and a bullet in them.

 

[Ian]

I'm finishing the last room in the house and working full time. In my spare time I've been clearing a new range on my property, almost done with that, then I can get back to shooting and loading. I got another little project going on the side, been working on it a little here and there since the ATF gave me the go-ahead...mebbe another special project thread if I get time to take pictures.

 

[Wasalmonslayer]

Hey fiver I see you mentioned pokie
How close to Pocatello are you?
My dad was raised in Blackfoot and I still have several cousins there.

 

[fiver]

bout 65-70 miles.
it's the closest 'big town'.

Idaho falls is actually only 15-20 minutes longer [time wise] than Pocatello is, by going on the dirt road during the summer months.

Blackfoot is in-between the two.
I can get to it from dirt too, but it's just as fast going there on Pavement.

 

[Intheshop]

6mm Rem,mid 1980's 700V,Walnut.

Bedded,ejector removed,factory trigger breaks like glass @1 1/2#.95 g RCBS GC,nose bumped,seated with a lite-medium jam.20-20 1/2 g IMR 4198.

Got a basically N.I.B. Redfield 5star 6-18 with target turrets from a Remington collector guy off another site for a very reasonable deal.

150 yds,off heavy BR style rest/bags has been quite the eye opener in several key areas.Accuracy is amazing first off.And is good enough to send weekend warriors and their JB rigs "packing" with them mumbling under breath.

I've never been"that" wound up about the whole BR thing.Seems to be more of a test of machine shop resources,and an arms race of sorts?But,once past that....I do now see how bench etiquette and abilities to read conditions somewhat trumps spending cubic dollars,if that makes sense?

Just sayin,we have the machinery.We have the facility (private range)....money is subjective,as I'd rather make it....than spend it.But this doesn't make you a better shot.Quality practice is what I'm striving for these days.BW

 

[Tony]

As hobbyists we pay our money and make our choice. At a major BR match there will be 20 to 40 rifles capable of shooting in the .0's. The top finishers are those that can handle the conditions: wind and mirage. BR, more than any other shooting sport has led the way in building truly accurate rifles and loads. One need not compete in BR to learn from it.

 

[fiver]

stealing some of their loading techniques can help us cast boolit guy's out too.
unfortunately they don't just tell us why they do this or that or why the barrel is cut like it is.

 

[Tony]

BR shooters can be and often are very helpful to new shooters. Unfortunately, with the loss of Precision Shooting Magazine a great resource is gone. It contained match reports, equipment lists for the top 20 finishers at matches, interviews of top BR smiths and shooters, etc. I've heard that some BR guys hang out at Bench Rest Central, an online forum, but I can not vouch for it.

The central principle of an accurate rifle is this: get EVERYTHING absolutely concentric about the centerline of the bore axis. This will inform how the barrel is machined, chambered and threaded. Same for the action with particular emphasis on the bolt raceway, lug contact, etc. The info is out there. Going back in time, Warren Page, Glen Newick, Perry Morton and others have written excellent books on the subjects. Harold Vaughn's Rifle Accuracy Facts has been mentioned in this forum and I know of at least 3 members here that have read my copy.

 

[Will]

I got a vortex diamondback in the mailbox today I need to throw on the 336 35 Remington. Then it's off to do some more load testing.

Ordered a Rowell #2 ladle today, going to give ladle casting a go to see if I can get some better quality bullets. I'm having a hard time with my big 45-70 molds and with skinny rifle bullets. Seems I can't keep enough heat in the mold on the small bullets. The ladle should fix that.

Also have some new starline 308 brass to work up some more loads with for the howa.

If only I didn't have to work 6 or 7 days a week while trying to keep up with a farm in my spare time.

 

[Intheshop]

Tony...
assuming here,but it sounds a little like you know of what you speak?

Mirage....what I know about it could fill a sewing thimble.Is it a "reliable" indicator of cross wind?

I've gone back through a bunch of old books on BR here (book junky here,we have a stupid cool library,and seeing as I built it...uhh,it gets filled with all the classic shooting/gunsmithing/architecture stuff) and am revisiting techniques on reading conditions.

I understand the moisture,cool vs warm and how/why it appears in a target scope..

But is it reliable?Meaning,can I use it to say,or call a shot?

 

[Tony]

Intheshop,

In my experience it is far, far easier to dope wind conditions by learning to read wind flags and probes (not hand held meters). The flag closest to your shooting position will tell you the most. However, top competitors will spend time over the course of a match watching all of the flags, usually when they are not shooting a group. At a major match there will be dozens, if not a hundred or more flags set up at 100 yards, more at 200. IIRC, Warren Page in The Accurate Rifle described mirage as shooting (aiming) through a swimming pool. I have encountered mirage so heavy that I could not see my aim point at 100 yards. Mirage can be read as to subtle changes in wind conditions but it is not an easy task. Shooters that are good at reading it are in the BR Hall of Fame, or on their way to being inducted. Most active and former competitors, myself included, are delighted to make the top 20 at a major shoot. In my career that did not happen many times. I hope this helps.

 

[Intheshop]

Yes,it helps...thanks Tony.

Not interested in BR as a competition...I shoot 3D archery. But it is of interest in filling in a bit of info for wringing out the last 5% or so data/practical knowledge of rifle craft.

 

[fiver]

mirage is when you shoot that nice 1-1/2" 300 yd group with your hunting rifle only it's 3" left and an inch low of where you thought you were actually hitting. [actual embarrassing group off target by yours truly]
it's an optical illusion in your scope, where your looking one place and actually pointing at another.

 

[Ian]

Or when the wind is shifty and you just sit there with your rifle bedded down tight in the bags and wait for the bull to wander back to the crosshairs so you can pull the trigger.

 

[Rick]

Mirage isn't just a scope problem, get the same effect with open sights. Where you see the target just ain't where the target is, the sun heating the ground causes heated air on the ground to rise and moves the image up, and breeze blowing will also move it in the direction of the breeze.

 

[Full.lead.taco]

Did a little casting, loading, and shooting. Was playing around with some 45-70 subsonic loads for kicks. Trailboss is very quiet.