Thanks for the heads up. I was planning to cast a bunch of bullets this winter for various calibers but wasn't thinking of the Garand. Got plenty of brass to load up for it!
It is awesome seeing fellow cast boolit shooters. I've played with casting full power, reduced velocity and gallery loads for 30-06, 308, and 30-40 Krag. Excellent work Sir.
Thank you. I'm fairly new to the whole cast bullet thing in rifle cartridges, but now that I've been playing around with them for a couple of years now I certainly regret not getting in to it sooner!
I went with .311" for a few reasons: that is what was suggested in the magazine article, the barrel on this rifle is a bit tired and worn, and I've found that this diameter seems to work well with just about all US .30 rifles. You could maybe size to .310" if the barrel on your rifle is in really good shape, but I wouldn't go any smaller than that. Glad you liked the video - thank you for watching!
@@SinginShooter True - for a brand spanking new, high quality barrel like one of those, .309" will probably work. Older military surplus barrels will probably want something a little fatter.
@SinginShooter The rule with cast is actually: Use the largest diameter bullet that will easily chamber. The last stage of sizing a cast bullet is performed in the barrel of the gun from which it is fired.
Not an expert in cast, I've always heart 0.001" over groove to groove for jacketed bullets. If you slug a ".308 bore", it's(usually, or supposed to be) 0.307" groove to groove, .223 Rem = .224 pill, ect... Cast, I've always heard 0.002" over groove to groove. I have hear an argument for sizing them to the chamber throat diameter. My only concerns with that are pressure and bullet deformation killing precision. I could see pressure not being an issue in that case if you start low enough and go slow enough. Still seems like if the bullet is throat size, then the excess deformation is going to cause precision to take a poop. Soooo.... slug the bore, then do a "sizing test"??🤷♂ like a seating depth test, but with diameter??
I assume you're using a SLED? Any thoughts on avoiding slamfires when letting the bolt slam home? Or is it not really an issue as long as the round isn't placed directly in the chamber? Also do you find the point of impact to be similar between these loads and standard ball or do you have to re-zero for competition?
Yes, I use a SLED. I think the chance of a slam fire when using the SLED is nearly non-existent, since it is pretty much working the same way as when it strips a round from a loaded clip. I know - since I have experienced it - that there is a FAR greater chance of a slam fire when loading directly without a SLED. The point of impact between the cast load and a regular jacketed bullet load is significant - even at only 100 yards. So if you switch between the two, you will definitely need to know what your zero is for each load. That is why I use the rifle in the video as my "beater" rifle, and only use it for practice and cast bullets, and use a different rifle for actual competition.
Ballistic coefficient? What's that? Lol. What was the weight on those pills? Did they seem to have a lower point of impact compared to a Spitzer bullet?
These bullets have the B.C. of a pumpkin - .202 according to the Lyman manual. As cast, mine are about 173 grains. With the powder and charge I am using, these are going only about 1800 fps or so. So yes, even at 100 yards, I really have to crank up the elevation to get on target compared to a jacketed bullet.
@johnzx6r dang, I was thinking about casting some of these, and drilling deep hollowpoints in them, (down to 140 grains or so) and loading them hot in a 300blk. And seeing what happens in some gel. My guess is they would explode. I would be firing remotely with a string for the first 50 rounds to be safe
@@TheGrimFoot I don't have any experience at all with 300blk. I really don't know how fast you can push a cast bullet in that caliber, but my understanding is that you really don't need a lot of velocity to make a cast lead hollowpoint expand. Depending on the hardness of the lead you are using, they will open up at a much lower velocity than a typical jacketed bullet will.
@johnzx6r 150 grain 300blk typically pushes around 1800fps out of a 10.5 inch barrel which is right where you're at with the 173's that's what gave me the idea in the first place.
So the mighty one is one of my favorite. Also the rifle my dad served with.
Good video
I revealed my most recent acquisition today.
Mountain man
Thank you.
Interesting project you are working on, there.
Thanks for the heads up. I was planning to cast a bunch of bullets this winter for various calibers but wasn't thinking of the Garand. Got plenty of brass to load up for it!
You should certainly try it - it works better than you would think!
It is awesome seeing fellow cast boolit shooters. I've played with casting full power, reduced velocity and gallery loads for 30-06, 308, and 30-40 Krag. Excellent work Sir.
Thank you. I'm fairly new to the whole cast bullet thing in rifle cartridges, but now that I've been playing around with them for a couple of years now I certainly regret not getting in to it sooner!
That's awesome! Can i ask why you decided to go with .311 sizing?
Thanks for the vid, that was some good shooting.
I went with .311" for a few reasons: that is what was suggested in the magazine article, the barrel on this rifle is a bit tired and worn, and I've found that this diameter seems to work well with just about all US .30 rifles. You could maybe size to .310" if the barrel on your rifle is in really good shape, but I wouldn't go any smaller than that.
Glad you liked the video - thank you for watching!
Rule of thumb is 0.001" over the bore slug diameter. So 0.309" for a fresh Criterion or Krieger barrel.
@@SinginShooter True - for a brand spanking new, high quality barrel like one of those, .309" will probably work. Older military surplus barrels will probably want something a little fatter.
@SinginShooter The rule with cast is actually: Use the largest diameter bullet that will easily chamber.
The last stage of sizing a cast bullet is performed in the barrel of the gun from which it is fired.
Not an expert in cast, I've always heart 0.001" over groove to groove for jacketed bullets. If you slug a ".308 bore", it's(usually, or supposed to be) 0.307" groove to groove, .223 Rem = .224 pill, ect... Cast, I've always heard 0.002" over groove to groove. I have hear an argument for sizing them to the chamber throat diameter. My only concerns with that are pressure and bullet deformation killing precision. I could see pressure not being an issue in that case if you start low enough and go slow enough. Still seems like if the bullet is throat size, then the excess deformation is going to cause precision to take a poop. Soooo.... slug the bore, then do a "sizing test"??🤷♂ like a seating depth test, but with diameter??
7:09 - Parts are getting easier to get by? Are you referring to originals or the large number of reproduction parts?
Perhaps I didn't speak as clearly as I should have. I said that parts are not getting easier to come by.
I assume you're using a SLED? Any thoughts on avoiding slamfires when letting the bolt slam home? Or is it not really an issue as long as the round isn't placed directly in the chamber? Also do you find the point of impact to be similar between these loads and standard ball or do you have to re-zero for competition?
Yes, I use a SLED. I think the chance of a slam fire when using the SLED is nearly non-existent, since it is pretty much working the same way as when it strips a round from a loaded clip. I know - since I have experienced it - that there is a FAR greater chance of a slam fire when loading directly without a SLED.
The point of impact between the cast load and a regular jacketed bullet load is significant - even at only 100 yards. So if you switch between the two, you will definitely need to know what your zero is for each load.
That is why I use the rifle in the video as my "beater" rifle, and only use it for practice and cast bullets, and use a different rifle for actual competition.
@@johnzx6r Thank you
Ballistic coefficient? What's that? Lol. What was the weight on those pills? Did they seem to have a lower point of impact compared to a Spitzer bullet?
These bullets have the B.C. of a pumpkin - .202 according to the Lyman manual. As cast, mine are about 173 grains. With the powder and charge I am using, these are going only about 1800 fps or so. So yes, even at 100 yards, I really have to crank up the elevation to get on target compared to a jacketed bullet.
@johnzx6r dang, I was thinking about casting some of these, and drilling deep hollowpoints in them, (down to 140 grains or so) and loading them hot in a 300blk. And seeing what happens in some gel. My guess is they would explode. I would be firing remotely with a string for the first 50 rounds to be safe
@@TheGrimFoot I don't have any experience at all with 300blk. I really don't know how fast you can push a cast bullet in that caliber, but my understanding is that you really don't need a lot of velocity to make a cast lead hollowpoint expand. Depending on the hardness of the lead you are using, they will open up at a much lower velocity than a typical jacketed bullet will.
@johnzx6r 150 grain 300blk typically pushes around 1800fps out of a 10.5 inch barrel which is right where you're at with the 173's that's what gave me the idea in the first place.