Lyman 245496 6mm 84 Grain RN-GC

popper

Well-Known Member
OK JW so the cat is running from the rabbit? Like the ingots on the stand - I use a 5# barbell weight on the single leg of mine. Friend made his with 3 layer plywood top, angled pipe fittings and used threaded steel pipe for legs so he can disassemble.
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
You caught that:) My cat ranch!
My original I made many years ago had pipe flanges and 1 inch pipe legs However it had too much vibrations
 

Ian

Notorious member
Firecracking can be smoothed up with lapping bullets. Get a full-length neck bushing die and partial-size the brass, leaving the shoulder where it is fireformed to the chamber and a little bit of unsized brass at the base of the neck. Select a bushing which gives just enough tension to hold the biggest bullet that will fit into the throat. Use a universal expander to slightly bell the case mouth, and don't crimp (or only use enough crimp to make sure the cartridges will go in the chamber without scraping the neck too hard).

For even better results, turn the necks for uniformity after firing, just take enough off the high spots to get under .0002-3" thickness variance. Use Forster Benchrest seating die to reduce cartridge runout, though with oversized cast bullets the neck portion of the sliding sleeve will need to be enlarged slightly.
 
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Wallyl

Active Member
Before I go to such elaborate methods I plan on shooting a no. of loads in the new Savage Axis...maybe, just maybe I'll get good results.
 

John

Active Member
I had an old 243 ER Shaw bbl on a 98 Mauser and saw Al and Duke shooting cast in theirs at Winnemucca. I used both the RCBS and the Lyman 496 interchangeably with 12 gr 2400 with good results. I sold that gun in an effort to reduce calibers. [My goal was to shoot 22, 7 30 and 35 cal rifles]. I bought an Encore in 243 on a screaming deal with the goal of making it a 358. I made the mistake of shooting it and it has stayed a 243. It does well with the same loads the Mauser did, right at an inch if I do my part. IIRC, there is a 37 click elevation adjustment between cast and jacketed.
 

Wallyl

Active Member
Rec'd the mold today. It casts out at 87 grains and .246"....sizes up nicely and my homemade aluminum GCs fit tightly on its' base. Next month I will shoot it; I am very optimistic it will do very well.
 

Maven

Well-Known Member
Wally, That design has worked quite well in my .243Win. Ruger #1 (26" bbl.) and is even more accurate than its [quite rare] HP cousin. I size mine to .244" and use 14gr. IMR 4198 or something similar, but lately have had excellent results with 9 - 10gr. Unique.
 

Wallyl

Active Member
Maven,m

Thank you for sharing your experience. I will be trying Promo/Unique/Universal with the 245496. I find when I do comparisons, that I shoot better because I try harder.
 

richhodg66

Well-Known Member
This has been a very interesting thread. I have that Lyman mold and a bunch of gas checks, just have not tried cast in my 6mm yet. Mine is an old 788 which is very accurate with jacketed bullets though I haven't shot it in a while.

I have wanted one of the old slow twist 722s in .244 Remington for a while now. Seems like the slow twist would be more conducive to good cast accuracy.

I need to get busy and cast a pot of these up and try them.
 

Wallyl

Active Member
I've been shooting a Rem 700 .243 Win with the RCBS 95 SP-GC for many years using 9.0 Red Dot or 10.0 Unique. I like shooting at empty aerosol cans at out to 250 yards. J-bullets will punch through and not make it obvious that you even hit them. For such shooting, cast bullets are far more effective and cost a lot less, When I am doing this type of shooting, I shoot quite a few shots. With J-bullets I'd burn out the barrel pretty quickly.
 
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Wallyl

Active Member
I did (finally) get out to shoot the new Savage Axis .243 Win rifle using the RCBS 95-SP-GC and the 245496 using Universal, Unique, & Red Dot powders. Both bullets were very accurate out to 200 yards. My 1977 Rem 700 .243 Win was less accurate with them; I am getting it rebarrelled. On a sand hill I set up 2.4" wide targets and proceeded to shoot at them using a rest. With the cast loads I could readily see the impacts which helps me gauge their "field accuracy". I was not disappointed; the new Savage was accurate with the 3 loads I was testing. The 245496 was more accurate than the RCBS; however it also shot a "flatter" trajectory. I had an enjoyable time plinking at 200 yards with it.
 

johnnyjr

Well-Known Member
It works pretty well in my Circa 1980 Thumb Safety Ruger 77 V But I mostly shoot light target loads However I remember some where there is an article call "Cast Bullets for the sixes" The author I Believe found a most accurate load with this bullet and 2400 powder with the bullet seated really deep in the case....he mentioned it broke all the cast bullet rules but was his choice for varmints.... I tried it and he was right!
I will see if I can didg it up for you!
Jim
Great article. Thanks for sharing it. I will be trying my loads with the bullets seated deeper, even though I don't like the idea of the gas checks being that deep..
 

johnnyjr

Well-Known Member
I love reading all the post. Have picked up some great information. My biggest issue is not being able to find different powders. And I hate using up my unique 2400.and red dot. I have been getting some good groups with some 700 x I was able to get from another shooter. I think I'm making progress with the Lyman Lovering 86 gr. Keep your stories coming.. Thanks.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Medical %^$#& has conspired to keep my 243 info in the "History Lesson" category. I have acquired another 243 rifle a year or so ago--a Tikka T3i with a 4x-14x Swarovski on top of it. Yeah, I spoiled myself that time, and got a killer deal on the new items. I will likely miss this varmint season--rifle shooting is OUT due to catheters placed into my right shoulder for dialysis (Who the ^&^$ dreamed up THAT idea?). I'm transitioning to fistula dialysis currently, and hope to be in shape to hunt deer and birds locally this coming Fall.
 

johnnyjr

Well-Known Member
My son went through all that. He's had 2 kidney transplants and 1 pancreas. He's now 51 years old. Still works and is now in Disney world..All he does if fish when not working. He used to shoot F class but we both got away from it. Good luck to you. Prayers for you as well..