The Ideal Cast Bullet Rifle

Rockydoc

Well-Known Member
Let’s build the Ideal Cast Bullet Rifle.
What would be your concept for a one gun ideal rifle/cartridge/twist rate combo for unrestricted general all round CB use.

UNRESTRICTED:

It should not be picky about handloading. It loves a lot of powders, and bullets of different weights.

It can be custom made or off the shelf (with or without modifications) It could be a wildcat or exhisting SAAMI cartridge.

I’d bet that many of you already have that rifle.

What action, lock, stock and barrel would you choose? What do you shoot at most?
 
Last edited:

Spindrift

Well-Known Member
This is what I did:
- rem 700 long action reciever
- GRS Berserk stock
- original trigger, tuned
- lapped lugs, squared bolt face
- threaded sleeve in the front reciever ring, converts rifle to switch-barrel
- hinged floorplate
- 10moa tilt rail, to make sure adjustments are adequate for low power loads @100m, and to get more clicks for long range
- 1:14 ROT .35 Whelen (I have 3 other barrels, but they don’t meet your game-getting standards with cast, maybe)
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
That sounds like a winner. What's your favorite load? What do you shoot at the most?
I have three loads: a 200 grain plain base that Mountain Molds made to my design, a SAECO #352 245 grain fngc, and Lyman #358008 at 300 grains. The 200 is the plinker with 12 grains of Unique (or other fast shotgun powder) and is subsonic. The SAECO is the most accurate and I use it for paper punching and long range plinking, normally about 18 grains of A2400 gives me 1400 f/s. The Lyman is a hunting load, but I have not ever shot any game with it. At 300 grains and my alloy with 42 grains of H4895 I am confident it will kill anything I would likely shoot at.

Mostly paper targets, rocks and varmints and vermin are my targets as I am too old to do much big game hunting.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
A Marlin 1895 45-70. Mild to wild, it does it all with cast. So easy to get good accuracy that it isnt funny. Alloy is not a big deal and any of a dozen or more powders do fine.

Only other rifle I could see is a Marlin 30-30 for about the same reasons.
 

waco

Springfield, Oregon
My Savage 340 bolt rifle in 30-30 is not much to look at. It has decent receiver sights and shoots pretty well with several different molds. Lots of powders are 30-30 friendly. Other than that, for me it might have to be my Bergara in 30-06. Hard to beat that caliber in cast also.
 

popper

Well-Known Member
Marlin 30-30 . First rifle and it can do whatevery I need. No it's not a long ranger but I did see vid of an old crusty guy hitting steel buffalo @ 1200 with 150 corelock factory - TOOK A FEW BOXES TO GET IT RIGHT. If I needed more range, AR10 cast. Fun one is 300 BO. Cast for ALL of mine. And they all work better than me.
 

Rick H

Well-Known Member
I was on a guided hunt in Montana....(where I shot the antelope in my profile pic). There was a veterinarian from Oregon there at the same time to shoot birds over his pointers. The only way he could bird hunt was to also hunt antelope so he brought the only rifle he owned, his father's commemorative Winchester 94 in 30/30, bone stock with original iron sights and a box of Winchester Silver Tip 150gr. ammo.
He went out the first day and shot a dandy antelope buck at 250 yds.....dropped it with one shot, and happily spent the rest of his week shooting ringnecks, huns, sharptails, and even a prairie chicken over his dogs. He was a happy camper. He impressed everyone in camp.
A 30/30 has an awful lot going for it.
 

Ian

Notorious member
This one for everything, and Arthur Savage says "THPTTHTHTTHPT!!!" to your levergun restriction. So does John Browning.

20190616_165556.jpg

.30 WCF, will do nearly any job you ask if you do your part.
 
Last edited:

Ian

Notorious member
Ok, now to the dreaming part. Browning 1885 in 30-40 Krag.

But the best? FN Model 70 Featherweight Deluxe, CRF, stress-free pillar bedded, .30-'06 Springfield with a high-end Leopold 3-9x40 on top of lapped, double-dovetail rings.
 

RBHarter

West Central AR
I have to say that a 340 in 222 is pretty darn good . I've ranged one from a few flakes of Red Dot to full jacketed potential and MOA groups .

The 325 30-30 within "normal" weights I was unable to find a really bad load even with me behind the White peep sight . Most everything from a 93 gr cast mouse sneeze to 168 gr SST shot into 1.5" or less I shot a lot 150 , 155 , 165 pointy , flat , RD bullets and even some 301-618 paper patched @172 gr .

The 6.8 SPCII chamber in a 20' AR Precision 5R 1-10" H-Bar rifle gas is very nice readily reaching jacketed speeds with both a 27-130 FP @141 gr and 279-124 @ 130 gr dressed . Weight kinda sucks but my mentor was a fan of "if you have to haul a heavy rifle it may as have all the weight in the barrel" and this one did .

The cream de la cream though I think would be if the Santa Barbara 98' M were in a 9×57 AI instead of 358 Win , if for no other reason to use up some of the 3.25 inches in the mag well . The longer neck would be nice I think . I don't recall what the 0000B weighs but I do have a 358-90 on up to that 300 gr Lyman RN with stops for assorted 125 , 148,158 pistol bullets 200,228,230,250 gr bullets from pufftt to full jacketed potential 5 touching and over lapping on Red Dot , Unique , H322 , H4198 , and IMR 4350 . No call for coating , paper patch , exotic lubes , no real gains for jacketed in terminal performance or speeds maybe a little BC gain . Probably not the first choice for cottontail but plenty good enough for moose and Roosevelt Elk if you're within 200 yd or so . Good trades for weight and recoil damping and of course the classic 98' , Weaver fixed , White line Fajin walking varminter styled lines . The 1-14" twist handles everything I might ever want to feed it ...... Is there a 325 or 350 ?
The 358 Win , or 9×57 gets my vote in a bolt gun for apex cast choices .

Having also worked 45 cal rifles while they certainly have the sledgehammer effect down , they have zero long range simplicity , without going into the realms of the Weatherby and Barrett .
45-70 is nice and I'm enjoying the quest . The 1895 Marlin is kind of a handicap due to loading lengths .......
 

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
A Marlin 1895 45-70. Mild to wild, it does it all with cast. So easy to get good accuracy that it isnt funny. Alloy is not a big deal and any of a dozen or more powders do fine.

Only other rifle I could see is a Marlin 30-30 for about the same reasons.

Well... as usual, late to the party/Brad trumped me! I would flip this to 30-30 first (cheaper than 45-70; AND include the Win 94). Then 45-70. And the 35 Remington in a Marlin niche's in too. THE one requirement for me would be Skinner peep sights on all of them ('cept the 94, assuming it is a pre-64, then Williams - so I don't have to d&t the top strap on a pre-64).

PS: JUST before hitting 'post,' I had an epiphany! Not built yet, but a Marlin/Win lever in 38-55 (it is in my safe waiting to meet JES)! And also, an old 32-40 lever gun I am led to believe... maybe some day...

PSS: AND THEN, of COURSE, there are all the old Win Levers and Remington Rolling Blocks in all odd/old (supposedly) obsolete calibers ( I have 3 RBs - custom 45-70, Original 43 Spanish and original Mexican 7x57)!

Yeah, I am not that picky about "perfect!" Any old rifle with cast and I am a happy camper. Jackets just don't thrill me at all!
 

oscarflytyer

Well-Known Member
I don’t have. 38-55 but do have a 375 Win. It too is a fine cast bullet rifle.

I am quite partial to leverguns.

My 38-55 is "in waiting!" And I am also VERY partial to Levers, and the RBs are growing on me HARD! 3x so far!