Cast Bullets in .308 with Swedish Surplus Powder
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- Trying out some cast bullets (RCBS 30-165-SIL) in the Rem 700 5-R .308 rifle using the powder from pulled down 1940's era Swedish 8x63mm ammo. The targets are at 100 yards.
Sorry for the wind noise, my camera does not deal well with it. Note that this footage is from 2019, I did not make it into a video back then because of the wind noise but decided now that I might as well do something with it.
Excellent video. May I ask what alloy and lube you are using ?
That is a good question and I should have included that info in the video. The alloy is water quenched wheel weight metal. The bullet lube is home brew and consists mostly of beeswax & white lithium grease, with some old Lyman lube mixed in. Bullets were sized .309" with Hornady gas checks attached. Normally I would size larger but the RCBS mold drops bullets that are only .309" with that alloy.
This was so good to watch, especially no leading 👍👍
Thanks. With good bullet fit and a good smooth barrel and a hard strong cast bullet one should be able to avoid leading until velocity and pressures get quite high.
Was wondering if you are a big game hunter? This is a great hunting round. Good video as usual , thanks.
I have gone after deer, but that is about it.
The cold may affect it as well? Some powders are sensitive. Gd video none less. Was -17 here last evening no wind
Cold could be a factor, also it is 70+ year old powder. I think the big issue is that the powder is quite slow burning so it might be difficult to get it to a decent working pressure while not exceeding the velocity limits of the cast bullet.
@@314299 so be similar to the 4831. You did in 3030 cast loads? I thought was 4831. In 308 cast ive done a few when i had my savage 110S .i used 2400, and tried 4895...both were promising with accuracy.
@@rodsvintagesxschannel.3095 From my testing and use the 8mm Swedish powder is very close in behavior to IMR4350. I did do some loads up for 30/30 with IMR4831 and it shot consistently.
A couple more groups with 39 grains are in order.
Those ladder tests are so great, it is very satisfying to turn a gun that is shooting ok... into a tack driver by finding out what it likes.
I recently glassed the action and floated the barrel of a Winchester model 70, .270 and just by ladder testing various factory ammo
turned it into a sub moa rifle. It was a cheap gun show find and now you can shoot fleas with it. Great video and good shooting : )
Yes it might be worth trying a few more with larger charges.
Was your model 70 one that had been fired a lot before you got it?
Pretty good. I see people weekly on range with much more expensive gear and match ammo shooting even worst groups then this. For plinking this is for sure a cheap option. Guess also for going Subsonic route
Nice to see the process produce at least an adequate group.
Though the extreme spreads in velocity are concerning. Wonder if it wants magnum primers.
@@GunFunZS Experience with this powder leads me to believe it is close to IMR4350 in burn rate, so it might not get to it's "happy" pressure zone until velocity is in excess of what I want for cast bullets. Magnum primers might help, if I ever try this again I have a some old Magnum primers I could try.
Hi, hope you guys are well. Im new in casting bullets but need to get more info on lead hardness. I have purchased a block of lead which I don't know the harness off. What can happen if I cast bullets with too soft lead on .308 . I want to quench with cast and powdercoat afterwards. Does this increase the strength enough of the bullet? Will a soft lead powder coated bullet be safe too shoot in 308?
Thank you
You should be fine if you water quench your cast bullets. You'll get the necessary hardness you are looking for. Powder coating will help greatly with barrel fouling and also add to the hardness of the bullets you cast.
Great video, thanks for sharing, powder is getting very scarce in my neck of the woods. May have to start reclaiming in order to shoot this summer. Take care.
It's both scarce and extremely expensive when found. The old Swedish ammo has close to seven pounds of powder in a case of ammo,
@@314299 I just scored on five lb of H4350 and eight lb of 4198. Each cost about 600$. I should be good for this summer.
Alloy? Lube? Sizing?
Alloy is water quenched wheel weight metal. The bullet lube is home brew and consists mostly of beeswax & white lithium grease, with some old Lyman lube mixed in. Bullets were sized .309" with Hornady gas checks attached. Normally I would size larger but the RCBS mold drops bullets that are only .309" with that alloy.
In your experience do extreme velocity spreads increase as powder ages?
Yes, when powder gets quite old it will generally not burn as consistent as fresher stuff will.
Or it can become more powerful and somewhat dangerous. I used some powder that was about 10 years old for one of my .58 cal muzzleloaders. I was shooting a 785 Grain Shiloh Wadcutter Minnie Bullet. When I cooked off a round I nearly lost my shoulder. I'd say the recoil of my .58 went from the recoil of say a .300 WBY Mag to the recoil of a 600 Nitro. The older powder had become substantially more powerful. It gave me instant rotator cup and it took me 2 years to heal.
Watch that old powder you store. Like TNT, it ages, and becomes either less effective, or vastly more effective. You can never tell which route it will take when it's aging. Load up gradually, working powder levels up like this channel is doing. Going right into a 120 grain charge of powder, that I had no idea of how it aged, was counter productive. I now start with just 60 grains in that muzzleloader, and work up with any powder I have stored for any period of time. I do the same thing with centrefire ammo I reload. Especially stuff I also cast the bullets and made the lube for myself. In firearms, always be overly careful. Baby steps with all things reloading and casting keep all your digits where they are supposed to be, and keeps you above ground.
How did you figure out your load data?
I started off using the Swedish 8mm powder in 7.62x57 Mauser, and got an idea of burning rate from that use. With a good idea of the burning rate I came up with a start load and went from there. So this is not a case of having published load data to work from, and is not something that everyone would be comfortable in doing.
@@314299 okay, very interesting. Did you just estimate the original burn rate based off of the velocity and powder charge? I'm planning to do the same with 7.62x54r bullets and powder into a .308.
@@Geep918 With my 7.92x57 work I started quite low and only loaded single rounds with progressively larger charges, running the whole string over the crono to get an idea of where to start when I loaded strings of five to test. Basically the initial single rounds loaded started with a "guesstimate" .
I observed (Maybe an optical allusion) however, one of you closer camera shots at the muzzle, you are getting a nice star of flashing from the groves on the crown, They say to look for that as that is a good sign that you have sized your bullets within the starting dia. of the bore. (bore slugging is always the best way in all cases) however, it can be a chore of labors that can lead to a frustrating afternoon. Once again as I mentioned before and you also agree, Cast bullet loading, shooting and evaluation is about fun (More in rifle than pistol) to see what a 2 cent bullet will do that you made in your garage and I enjoy watching a video that has some challenge results. Btw, I'm suffering recovery from a accident that happened at work and will be off for a few months. It involved my right shoulder rotator cuff (had to be rebuilt with pins and metal reinforcement) Because my humorous bone was shattered. So, as I am right handed, cast bullet loads that are reduced drastically in recoil is probably the way I will have to shoot from now on. So, Great Video, Keep up the excellent content. -Dave
Hi Dave - for some reason UA-cam puts your comments in to the "held for review" section so I'm sometimes late in seeing them and in replying. So sorry for the late reply.
Yes, the rifle did indeed show a "lube star" at the muzzle, which I also understand means the lube was sufficuent and held up all the way to the muzzle. I've yet to have any load with the RCBS 30-18-SP or 30-165-SIL give any leading in this Remington.
Sorry to hear you had an accident, hope you recover fully.
Have you tried this powder with faster jacketed loads? Can't recall.
I have but I don't think I've posted video on the results. I've used it with jackted bullets in in 7.92x57mm Mauser and also in 7.62x51/.308.
@@314299 Similar accuracy results?
Interesting video and I’m glad you posted it!
Thanks, glad to hear you found it useful.
Very Nice Loading ! 👍
The results were not terrible but were a long way from the best the rifle and bullet could achieve.
Are you measuring each charge?
Yes, they were individually weighed.