T c 1
Handloader The Journal of Ammunition Reloading Sept.-Oct. 1976 Vol. 11 - No. 5 Box 30-30, Prescott, Arizona 86301 NEAL KNOX Editor and Publisher RALPH TANNER, JR. Director of Sales RICK JAMISON Associate Editor DAVE LeGATE Art Director BOBBIE ROACH Editorial Assistant RICHARD L. ALDIS Staff Photographer JOYCE BUETER Circulation Manager TERRY BU ETER Circulation WANDA HALL Accounting BARBARA PlCKERlNG Production Supervisor JANA KOSCO Executive Secretary FEATURES: Primer Efficiency and Variation..... Bob Hagel 20 Omark Adds RCBS........ Rick Jamison 24 Slow-Burners in the 6MM and 25-06... Clay Harvey 26 Pet Loads:.38 Special.... Ken Waters 30 Casting Techniques........AI Miller 34 High Density Shotshell Loads... DonZutz 36.30-30 Cast Bullet Loads...... Wayne Blackwell 38 Nosler Manual No. 1.......Clay Harvey 47 Lyman Shotshell Handbook.... Wallace Labisky 57 DEPARTMENTS: Editorial.....6 Answers, Please.... 14 Reader Bylines......8 Loading The Old Ones..... 18 Lock, Stock and Barrel.....IO ProducTests......63 Tip to Tip.... 12 Propellant Profiles.....66 TECHNICAL EDITORS BOB HAGEL CLAY HARVEY WALLACE LABISKY BOB MILEK AL MILLER MAJ. GEORGE C. NONTE, JR. HOMER POWLEY KEN WATERS JOHN WOOTTERS EDWARD M. YARD. DON ZUTZ g b L "f(o The HANDLOADER, Copyright 1976. is published bi-monthiy by the Wolfe Publishing Company, Inc.. P.O. Box 3030, Prescott, Arizona 86301. (Also publisher of Rifle Magazine.) Telephone (6021445-7810. Second Class Postage paid at Prescott, Arizona, and additional mailing offices. Single copy price of current issue $1.25. Subscription price: six issues $6.50; 12 issues $11.50; 18 issues $15.50. Outside U.S. possessions and Canada - $7.50, $13.50 and $18.50. Rccommended foreign single copy price, $1.50. Advertising rates furnished on request Publisher of The HANDLOADER is not responsible for mishaps of any nature which might occur from use of published loading data, or from recommendations by any member of The Staff. No part of this publication may 5 fl 1 p be reproduced without written permission from the editor. Manuscripts from 5 fret? lance writers must be accompanied by stamped self-addressed envelope Tr%E " I 0' and the publisher cannot accept responsibility for lost or mutilated manuscripts. Change of address. Please give six week's notice. Send both old and new address, plus mailing label if possible, to Circulation Dept.. The HANDLOADER Mayxine. P.0.Box 3030, Prescott, Arizona 86301 YOUR SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER COVER Published by Wolfe Publishing Co., Inc. Dave Wolfe. President This horseback hunter's fine Colt Python is protected by a full-flap Bianchi leather outfit hand-tooled by Richard D. E. Nichols. The chaparral visible above the horse blanket grows head high in much of the West, and will quickly cut away the finish of exposed wood and metal of guns carried in open holsters or scabbards - in fact, it will cut away the wood itself. as the skinny buttstocks of much-carried cowboy guns will attest The,357 ammo is a potent combination of Hercules 2400 and 125-grain Sierra hollow cavity bullets. Photo by Richard Aldis. 4 HANDLOADER Magazine
By Maj. George Nonte FAVORITE! 4831 Newly manufactured 4831. A new batch of the original 4831, the most popular of all powders. Use same loading data as our original surplus powder. Outstanding performance with medium and heavy bullets in the 6mm's, 25/06,270 and magnum calibers. 1 k can..... $ 5.95 8 Ib. keg..... $43.95 OLD STAND-BY! H380 This old "stand-by" is one of our most popular powders for Benchrest, varment or big game hunting loads. This spherical powder fills a gap between 4320 and 4350. It is excellent in 221250, 220 Swift, the 6mm's, 257 and 30106. 1 Ib. can... $ 4.95 8 Ib. keg..... $35.75 ECONOMY! H335 H335 Spherical powder. Popular w1benchrest shooters. Gives top accuracy in small capacity cartridges. Great performance for hunters in medium capacity cases. Lowest priced powder on today's market. 1 Ib. can..... $ 2.95 8 Ib. keg..... $19.95 NEW! H205 A specialized extruded powder which gives outstanding performance in medium to large capacity.30 caliber cartridges. It will give good results in most medium to large capacity cases. Use our data only with this powder. 1 Ib.can... $ 6.60 8 Ib. keg... $48.95 HODGDON POWDER CO. SHAWNEE MISSION, KANSAS 66202 12 LIKE shooting the old-timers - I not just muzzle loaders, but the arly breech loaders with bores that will wallow your thumb to the first knuckle nd chambered for cases that hold a iandful of powder. One of the older, big calibers for which ;uns are fairly plentiful is the SO-70. It lates back to the middle 1860's and, scording to the stories, made its combat lebut against the Sioux at the Wagonbox :ight right after the Fetterman massacre. The first guns were the Allin conversion )fcivil War rifled muskets - the daddy )f the '73 Trapdoor Springfield, which ucceeded it. Lots of Sharps sidehammer,itles were also chambered for the.s0-70, is were a good number of Remington tolling Blocks and assorted lesser makes ind models. There's lots of those guns iround, and while they aren't dirt cheap, hey aren't priced out ofsight either. The iristine guns go to collectors for big noney, but the average-to-beatup ones ire low-priced enough for shooting. Bores hat are a bit rough can be lapped and ;ive tair accuracy with oversize bullets;.ea1 bad ones can be relined economically. o ne\\. Or, if you're real serious, pick up me of Navy Arms Rolling Block or vlartini actions and have a new SO barrel itted. OLD The.50-70 cartridge hasn't been made for many years. and even serviceable, old brass is hard to tind. But that's no problem now - Turner Kirkland, blackpowder impresario of Dixie Gun Works, has tine, nw,.so-70 cases. Headstamped "DGW 50-70". they are of modern, solid-head construction, far stronger than even the latest of the original, balloon-head brass. They have a good, deep neck anneal and the primer pockets are for standard, Large Rifle primers. Because of the solid head and thicker walls near it, these DGW cases don't hold quite as much powder as the originals. Seating the bullet to standard depth leaves room for 60 grains of FFg black without compression. Seating the bullet out a bit allows the full 70 grains to be loaded easily - and I've never seen a SO-70 chamber that wouldn't accept bullets seated 1/8-inch or so long. Used with black powder and standard, 450-grain bullets, these cases will go many firings without resizing. In fact, so long as you wash out the fouling soon (hours, not days) after each firing, and don't dent the mouths, the cases can be loaded many times without tools. Decapping and repriming can be done with a nail and dowel - and DGW offers a low-cost, The SAECO Model 24 Electric Melting Furnace has been the "valued friend" of cast-bullet shooters for many years. For good reason: workmanship and reliability of the Model 24 is unexcelled. The thermostat holds melt temperature to 20". plus or minus, in the 450"-850" range. Fiberglass-insulated 1,000 watt element melts 11 pounds of alloy in 20 minutes. Popular bottom-pour spout operated Also: by a long valve lever that stays cool. 110-115 Powder Measures Reloading Presses volt AC-DC. (Also 220V AC-DC available.) But Dies Bullet Moulds above all - SAECO QUALITY Price of $59.50 Bullet Lubri-sizers Lubricants includes 4-cavity ingot mould SAECO Reloading Inc. P 0 Box 778 Dept HL Carpinteria, California 93013 HANDLOADER Magazine
companion mould for a shoot-as-cast bullet. Wash andbry the fired case, decap and reprime, then simply pour in powder to the base of the bullet. Smear lube in the bullet grooves by hand, then finger-seat in the case - and the cartridge is ready to shoot. You ll get your hands dirty with this kind of shooting, and you won t win any trophies at the Super Shoot - but it s one hell of a lot of fun. * * * While the loading tool makers have held back inflation better than some other industries, prices are still getting steeper. It s nice to have a complete die set in every caliber - but do you really need it? There are ways to save a fair amount of change. For example, if you re loading.308 Winchester and.30-06, a single 308 seating die will serve for both if properly adjusted. You ll need sizing die bodies in both calibers, but one expander/decapper unit will do for both. The.30-40 and.30-30 can be added by simply obtaining sizing die bodies. There are similar possibilities in other caliber families - like a.38 Special sizing die will do for.380 ACP and.357 Magnum as well. The possibilities are too extensive to list here, but a bit of homework will show you how to spread your bread further. * * * It s repetitious perhaps, but a comment or two on die care might also save you a few bucks. Sizing dies are easily scratched and just as easily pick up grit which becomes imbedded in the cavity surface. Sure, you wash or wipe cases, but it still happens somehow. After that the die mars cases and you re tempted. to throw it in the junk box and buy a replacement. Don t - it can usually be salvaged. You can send it off to the maker for polishing, but that takes time and money. It s better to do it yourself, If it isn t too bad, steel wool may do the job. Chuck a piece of dowel in an electric drill, then twist a wad of fine, 4-0 wool on it. Make it thick enough to be tight in the die, then run it in spinning - in and out a few times, then clean the die and try a case. Keep at it - even a hundred passes won t make the die any worse, and it may smooth out the rough spots. If steel wool won t do the job, do the same thing with a tight wad of cloth charged with oil and the finest polishing grit you can find. Don t use the usual coarse valve-grinding compound available at the hardware store; get something finer. The die may be slightly enlarged by the time you have it smoothed out, but usually not enough to prevent its further use. Look around a bit and you ll probably sce other ways to save a few bucks. 1 The value of accuracy is the only precise measure of Norma price. How do you measure the worth of your ammunition? By accuracy and effective performance... or by price? Norma ammunition costs more because we believe in only making the best. Each Norma cartridge is precision-manufactured and quality-inspected to the strictest standards in the industry. Our brass is renowned as Second only to gold for its quality, consistency, and color. Every cartridge is a blend of superior brass case, bullet, powder, and primer... meticulously matched to give you constant accuracy and optimum, performance... to make every shot count. Exceptional accuracy has made Norma ammunition the choice of leading arms manufacturers for factory testing. It is available in many popular domestic and hard-to-get foreign calibers. The price you pay for Norma pays off in superior accuracy and Derformance. I Lansing, New York 14882 September-October 1976 13
Cas@ 'Fsullet with a Bolt-Action @30=30 A S IT NEARS its 81st birthday, the.30 Winchester (now usually referred to as the 3-30 Winchester), is still going strong and its vital signs look good enough to carry it forward for many more years. During this same life span many cartridges were born, lived a brief glorious life, and expired, never to be heard of again. The venerable old 30-30, however, just keeps on trucking, providing game for the dinner table each year and keeping the coyotes away from the chicken coop. History books describe the 30-30 as the first American sporting cartridge to use smokeless powder. Its nickname comes from the bullet diameter and the original 30-grain load of smokeless powder. This cartridge was first produced for the Winchester Model 94 lever action but since that time rifles in this calliber have been chambered by most of the firearms manufacturers, and the.30-30 can be found just about anywhere on the globe. It is probably one of the few cartridges likely to be found on the shelves of trading posts from the African desert to the steamy rainforests of South America. Because this caliber has primarily been chambered in lever action rifles and used mainly for hunting purposes, its accuracy potential is seldom discussed. However, recent chambering in a sturdy bolt action rifle, the Remington 788, has proved that with a little careful handloading, the 3-30 can be surprisingly accurate. The Model 788 has an extremely fast lock time plus the multiple locking lugs on the bolt to give it fine accuracy and strength. To top it off, this rifle sold for a reasonable price. Unfortunately Remington no longer chambers the 788 for the 3-30 but sometimes a used rifle can be found at a good price. Although my rifle had been abused somewhat before I bought it, the action was still good and tight and the stock was sound. The factory barrel was replaced with a 22-inch Shilen, tapered from 1 1/8 inches at the breech to 3/4-inch at the muzzle. The action and new barrel were carefully fitted to the old stock. Weight I 4; Blackwell modified the M-788's trigger housing to allow a reduced sear engagement. The housing was drilled and tapped and an Alien screw was Inserted. The sear spring was also shortened and rests on top of the Allen screw, between the screw and sear. This allowed the sear engagement to be reduced to give a crisp two-pound pull. Anyone attempting to modify a trigger should fully understand the mechanics, otherwise It could be made unsafe by careless tinkering. of the completed rifle with 20X Lyman scope was just under 10 pounds. My only gripe with the Model 788 rifle is the heavy trigger pull. I corrected this by a slight modification of the trigger housing. The housing was drilled and tapped and an Allen screw was inserted and adjusted until the sear engagement was reduced to give a crisp two-pound pull. The sear spring was also shortened and rests on top of the Allen screw, between the screw and sear. A similar but more elaborate method of trigger adjustment for the 788 appeared in Rijle 37, page 35. The completed rifle was first tested with a variety of handloads using various weights of jacketed bullets. Since the bolt action has a clip feed, it doesn't have the problem of bullet shape encountered with the tube-fed lever action. The lever action must be given a diet of round or blunt-nose bullets to prevent an accident I 1 These are typical cast bullet groups fired by Blackwell In his.30-30 M-788 Remington rifle. The techniques described In the article were used to produce this sort of accuracy. HANDLOADER Magazine
Blackwell is shown recording data at the range. The M-788 Remington used for the load development carries a 20X Lyman scope giving a total weight of just under ten pounds. with the pointed nose of one bullet setting off the primer of the cartridge ahead of it as the rifle recoils. My modified 788 performed very well with the jacketed bullet loads and I lost no time in setting it up for tests with cast bullets. Cast bullets can be made to perform about 90 percent of our shooting needs at a fraction of the cost and with less wear and tear on the shooter and rifle. The.30-30 with its long, thin, elastic neck and moderate case capacity seems to be ideal for cast bullets. The cast bullet handloader will find idb By WAYNE BLACKWELL many of the same problems that plague the person loading jacketed bullets. For maximum accuracy, cartridge cases should be sorted, trimmed, neck reamed and miked. Powder charges must be weighed accurately and the cartridges assembled, with care. However, the handloader who loads only jacketed bullets can purchase a well-known brand and expect good accuracy with little or no problem. The cast bullet shooter, on the other hand, must exercise complete and careful control over his bullets from start to finish. This includes mixing the bullet Most of today's successful rifle cartridges, it seems, were developed primarily for their belt-busting power and high velocity. This is accomplished 'by alloy for casting through sizing and using large capacity cases which consume lubricating. A single slip along the way considerable amounts of powder to produce large volumes of hot gases which in turn push heavy jacketed bullets down the barrel at increasing velocity. I admit that these high performance cartridges have their place, but for many of us who like to spend a pleasant afternoon at the range or shoot an occasional deer, these blockbusters are not always necessary, nor desired. and the work is for naught. However, it's a fine feeling to see those bullet holes bunch up close on the target when you have taken the time and effort to do things right. Since the projectile plays the vital role in cast bullet shooting, a few techniques that have helped me may be helpful to you. These can be listed under alloys, moulds, casting, inspection, sizing and lubrication. BULLET ALLOYS After years of casting bullets for both rifle and pistol, I have standardized on one alloy - linotype. Although softer alloys work fairly well in most pistol loads and a few rifle loads, I find the best and most consistent bullet performance is with straight linotype. Of course, linotype is somewhat more expensive than wheel weights or lead-tin alloys, but its cost is still far below that of jacketed bullets. Commercial linotype composition is consistent and each lot of bullets cast with this metal shows little weight or size variation. BULLET MOULDS Five different cast bullets were tried in these 3-30 tests. They were the Lyman No. 311299, 311291, 311413, 311466 and Lachmiller No. 311175FN. All are gas check bullets and weigh from 141 to 188- grains, ready to load and shoot. Moulds which produce a bullet requiring little or nb sizing are preferred. Unfortunately the suppliers of good quality rifle moulds are limited at the present time. In my experience the best accuracy is obtained by using single cavity moulds. These are slower, but produce bullets Greg Blackwell is shown loading lor his H&R Topper M-158 break action single shot.30-30 rifle with hand tools. Cast bullet groups with this rifle often ran under a half-inch lor five shots at 50 yards. The 22- inch barrel rifle weighs only seven pounds. September-October 1976 39
The cast bullets at left illustrate whiskers - a result of alloy off-center sprue. Blackwell swings the sprue plate to the edge of the composition, mould and alloy temperature, and the force with which mould cavity prior to filling, making the sprue cutoff smaller. the alloy is introduced into the mould. However, they do no harm Although the sprue is not centered, Blackwell says that the accuracy according to Blackwell, and do indicate a well filled out bullet. advantage of the small sprue outweigh the disadvantage of the They re removed simply by rolling the bullet gently on a towel or cloth off-center sprue. alter they ve cooled. In the photo at right, the bullets illustrate the more consistent both in weight and size. Multicavity moulds can produce bullets of different weights and size, but this condition is dependent on the quality of the mould. For maximum accuracy each bullet produced must be as identical as possible in every respect. CASTING I cast all my bullets with an electric furnace which provides good temperature control during the entire casting period, yet gives a comfortable atmosphere for the fella working the mould. My Lyman furnace has a bottom pour spout and I hold the mould tight against the spout while filling the mould. The molten metal forces all air from the mould and produces sharp, well-filled-out bullets. Metal under such pressure, or high tin content alloys can produce whiskers from entering the air vent grooves of the mould. These are easily removed by rolling the bullets gently on a towel or cloth after they ve cooled. One little trick that has worked for me, which gives a good sharp bullet base every time, is to move the sprue plate off-center so that the hole in the plate is over the edge of the bullet cavity during the pouring operation. This produces a bullet with a very small and clean sprue mark along one edge of the bullet. This almost always produces a bullet with a flat, uniform base and is probably the single technique that has greatly improved my cast bullet accuracy over the past few years. Stirring the molten metal and fluxing at frequent intervals will keep the metal composition consistent and helps assure uniform bullets. New smokeless, odorless fluxes now on the market are a big help. Each pot of metal is used to exhaustion without the addition of new metal. Only sprue lead and rejected bullets accumulating during the casting period are returned to the pot. All bullets cast and processed from one pot of metal are boxed and loaded together. BULLET INSPECTION Bullet inspection is one of the most important steps in obtaining top notch accuracy but is probably one of the most overlooked. All bullets I cast are carefully inspected for flaws and the ones that pass inspection are then weighed. Any bullet showing the smallest imperfection, or varies more than 0.3 grains in weight from the average is tossed in the scrap pile. Even after careful casting I can expect to reject at least 15 percent of all cast bullets. LUBRICATION AND SIZING All bullets which pass inspection are sized and lubricated. And since the bullets used for these tests with the.30-30 are of the gas check type, the gas check is carefully seated by hand before the bullet is sized. It is my feeling that crimp-on type gas checks give more consistent accuracy than other types. This also seems to be the findings of Carl Johnson, another cast bullet shooter (see Handloader 55, page 26, Cast Bullet Loads for the.22-250 ). Although the gas check has done its job once the bullet has left the rifle barrel, the shedding of the gas check and particularly the manner in which it is shed seems to have a bearing on the bullet s point of impact. All my bullets were sized in the Lyman 450 lubricator and sizer. The bullets for the.30-30 tests were sized to.309-inch although a particular gun may show a preference to slightly smaller or larger bullets. The old rule of slugging the barrel and sizing the bullet.001-inch larger usually works pretty well, but it s still a good idea to try bullet sizes a few thousandths over and under this to be sure of the best fit for your rifle. Some rifles will shoot bullets sized from.308 inches to.311 inches with little difference in noticeable accuracy. Most reloaders have their own pet bullet lub. I have found that the standard Alox-beeswax lubricant hard to beat. I 40 This illustrates the components of the load that fired the group in the photo. filler is Kapok. The HANDLOADER Magazine
have no leading problems, even when only The long elastic neck of the.30-30 the rifling when the cartridge was filling one or two grease grooves near the proved ideal for cast bullet loading and chambered. bullet base. the standard expander plug (used for Bench tools consisted of a Lee neck jacketed bullets) in the resizing die sizing die and an L.E. Wilson Three brands Of cartridge cases were worked great for cast bullets. Bullets straight-line seater for cast bullet seating. used for these tests: Remington-Peters, seated and then pulled with an inertia Primers were seated with the Lee tool. Winchester-Western, and Norma. With puller showed no deformation. All lube The Lee knock-out rod was modified by the bullets seated to the base Of the neck9 grooves in the pulled bullets were clean drilling a small hole in the end and press each brand had the following average and sharp and there was no evidence of fitting a standard decapping pin into it. water capacity: R-P - 36.8 grains, W-W lead shavings. Cases driven from the Lee die with the - 36.0 grains and Norma - 34.7. Even modified rod were also decapped at the though the R-P cases had slightly more After shooting some 700 loads in the Same time. A custom arbor press made capacity, for cast bullet loads with Remington 788, the most promising were bullet seating at the bench a snap. reduced powder charges no difference tested for accuracy by loading with hand could be detected in overall performance tools. Loading variables were kept to an A small tuft (about one grain) of Kapok between brands. absolute minimum. One case could be was used in each load to hold the powder loaded 75 times or more before the neck charge near the bottom of the case. All cases used for accuracy were split. All bullets were seated to just touch Although the medium-burning powders segregated according to brand and all necks were checked for variation in wall thickness. Case necks showine a Cast Bullet Load Data for the.30-30 Winchester 0 Bullet No. 311299 G.C. Weight - 188.4 grains Charge, Velocity, Powder Grains [fpsi Remarks' SR-4759 15.0 1,505 good load IMR-4198 18.0 1,665 poor load RL-7 17.5-18.0 1,614-1,631 good load IMR-4895 24.0 1,820 good load IMR-4064 23.0 1,644 target load IMR-4320 23.0-24.0 1,602-1,698 target load EL-c (2) 22.0 1,574 good load H-380 25.0 1,751 good load 0 Bullet No. 311175 F.N.G.C. Weight - 164.3 grains SR-4759 17.0 1,747 good load IMR-4198 18.0 1,720 fair load RL-7 18.0 1,705 fair load IM R-4895 24.0 1,896 good load IMR-4064 24.0 1,766 accurate load IMR-4320 23.0 1,647 accurate load BL-C (2) 23.0 1,698 target load H-380 27.0 1,883 accurate load 0 Bullet No. 311291 G.C. Weight - 160.7 grains SR-4759 18.0 1,814 good load IM R-4198 17.5 1,728 good load RL-7 18.0 1,747 fair load IMR-4895 22.0 1,667 target load I M R-4064 24.0 1,743 target load IMR-4320 24.0 1,742 fair load BL-C (2) 22.0 1,674 target load 0 Bullet No. 311413 G.C. Weight - 159 grains Charge, Velocity, Powder Grains VPSI Remarks' SR-4759 16.0 1,723 fair load IMR-4198 18.0 1,762 fair load RL-7 18.0 1,717 poor load IMR-4895 23.0 1,729 fair load IMR-4064 24.0 1,756 good load IMR-4320 23.0 1,734 poor load EL-c (2) 23.0-25.0 1,707-1,784 fair load 0 Bullet No. SR-4759 IMR-4198 RL-7 IMR-4895 IMR-4064 IMR-4320 EL-c (2) 311466 G.C. 14.0 17.0 17.5 24.0 24.5 26.0 23.0 Weight - 141.5 grains 1,590 fair load 1,682 fair load 1,711 fair load 1,907 good load 1,810 good load ' 1,941 good load 1,693 good load 0 Harrington & Richardson.30-30 Charge, Velocity, Bullet Powder Grains VPSI Remarks' 311175 IMR-4064 24.0 1,818 fair load 311175 EL-C (2) 21.o 1,618 good load 311299 EL-C (2) 20.3 1,534 target load *Accuracy: Velocities are instrumental, five feet from muzzle to midpoint of screens, Temperature - 65-80 degrees F. Chronographs used were Model 200 Chronograph Specialists and Model 21 Oehler. Primer used was CCI No. 200. All bullets cast of linotype metal. Actual bullet weight given is sized, lubed and with gas check. Poor - 2-inch + groups Fair- 1 114-1 112 inches Good - I-inch Accurate - less than I-inch Target load - often less than 112-inch SeDtember-October 1976 41
used for these tests filled the case much A clean, dry patch pushed through the better than pistol powders, more bore about every 15 to 20 shots restored consistent accuracy was obtainzd by use the barrel to top condtion. The Alox of the wad with all powder charges tried. lubricant always did its job and no trace A fiber filler also tends to protect the base of leading was found at any time. of the bullet from hot gases. Dacron may also be substituted as a filler with equally Du Pont IMR-4064 seemed to give the best overall accuracy with the five bullets good results but is somewhat more difficult to acquire. tested, but was followed closely by Hodedon BL-C (2). Du Pont s IMR-4320 The first cast bullet loads tried were and-imr-4198 also performed well. A with powders that had proved successful maximum velocity of 1,941 fps was with the.308 Winchester (see Cast Bullet obtained with IMR-4320 and Lyman Loads in the.308 Winchester, Hand- bullet 311466. Most of the top accuracy loader 60). These medium-burning loads fell in the 1,600 to 1,700 fps range, powders including IMR-4198 through although there were a few exceptions. H-380, proved to perform equally in the IMR-4198 and RL-7, in loadings with all.30-30. bullet weights, showed the least velocity fluctuation from shot to shot (usually less medium powders are than 15 fps). Recently reintroduced Du often overlooked when searching for Pant SR-4759 and Hercules Reloder 7 suitable powders for cast bullets. The gave good groups but didn t Seem to Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook didn t list give quite the accuracy that they had in any powders slower than SR-4756 for the the.308 Winchester..30-30. Du Pont s SR-4756 is usually The ball powders are a,so often listed with the fast-burning group Of overlooked when searching for a good cast powders and is used primarily for pistol bullet load. They usually have a and shotshell loads. Granted, the slower reputation for poor burning characterispowders didn t burn as as pistol powders but accuracy certainly wasn t affected. m38/45m 1 CONVERSlON UNITS We now have long barreled units for this interesting auto pistol cartridge - in premium stainless steel or chromemoly. Unit includes barrel, link, pin, bushing and recoil spring: 7% SS - $72.50; 7Yz CM - $67.50; 6 SS - $67.50; 6 CM - $62.50; 5 standard length ss. $47.50; Colt Commander to 38/45 - $47.50; Colt MK IV to 38/45 - $52.50. 38/45 Case Form Die Set - $18.50; 38/45 Reload Die Set -$15.00. Send 350 for brochure on these and other long standard caliber barrels. Dealers send FFL. Whitney Sales, P.O. Box 875. Reseda. California 91335 7933 Gloria Ave. Van Nuys, Calif. 91406 tics in reduced loads and are sometimes noted for producing a gummy type bore fouling that is hard to remove. Hodgdon BL-C (2) and H-380 performed very well, with the cast bullet loads and no undue fouling was noted. These two ball powders proved so encouraging that I plan to do further work with thesc and other ball powders in the near future. Undoubtedly there are other powders than those shown in the loading table that will give good groups in your rifle with a little work* Jim Carmichel was to obtain good cast bullet accuracy with approximately 20 grains of IMR-3031 (see Handloader 20, page 22). My son Greg has a Harrington & Richardson Topper Model 158 single shot in.30-30 caliber. This little rifle weighs seven pounds with a 4X scope and has a 22-inch barrel. Cast bullet groups with this gun often ran under a half-inch for five shots at 50 yards with the No. 311299 Lyman bullet and BL-C (2) powder. I considered this exceptional for this light rifle, especially with its eight-pound trigger pull. The best cast bullet performance in my rifle was obtained with Lyman No. 311291 and Lachmiller No. 311175FN as expected. These two bullets are well known for their outstanding accuracy in almost all.30 caliber rifles. Actually Lyman 311299 did about as well as these two. The H&R Topper performed better with this bullet than either the 311291 or 311175FN. Lyman 311466 didn t quite deliver the accuracy I had expected; usually it does very well in the.30 caliber rifles. The Lyman 311413 was the least accurate of the five bullet types tested. This was somewhat expected since sharp-nosed cast bullets rarely deliver the accuracy that blunt or round nose types do at normal cast bullet velocities. What kind of accuracy can you expect with cast bullets in your.30-30? With a rifle that groups within one minute of angle with jacketed bullets you can expect comparable groups with cast bullets if a little extra effort is put forth. Depending upon the type rifling used and barrel conditions, cast bullets can shoot more accurately than jacketed bullets. Rifles, with Micro-Groove rifling don t normally shoot as well with cast bullets; however, what ii will do. The only sure way is to try it out. One word of caution; clean the rifle barrel of all jacket metal fouling before trying cast bullets. The least bit of metal fouling tends to affect cast bullet accuracy. So - dust off your ole.30-30, scrub down the barrel and try some cast bullets. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised at the results. 0 42 HANDLOADER Magazine