Just about ready for next week'd opening day.

Muir

Well-Known Member
As some of you are aware, I have been working with the 8x57 cartridge in a Husqvarna Model 648 over the last few months, developing a cast bullet load. I finished my work this past week. The load is 52 grains of IMR-4350 under a 206 grain heat treated lead alloy bullet. The speed is 2340 fps. This target was shot at 60M with my forehand resting on a sand bag and the butt against my shoulder using the original open sights. As you can see it hits about 1" high at that range which translates to about 2" high at 100... which is about as far as I can can shoot with these particular sights.

8x57 60 M forehand rest.jpg

I finished the afternoon by shooting bowling pins off of a wooden rail at 100M. A very pleasing end to a load development project. I'm hoping to find a sweet young doe in my sights sometime over the next month. I'll post a pic if I do. ~Muir
 
Hi Muir, Do you hunt Deer with a cast .30 cal of any sort if so what bullet do you use? I have Lymans 311332 180gr I don't hunt much anymore but I sell the bullets to those that do, don't get much feed back on how they perform my customers are probably poachers the only load data they ask for is for subsonic loads,
I am really interested in how much expansion you get with cast bullets and what velocity you need to get it, I use a air cooled WW/Lino mix shoots ok up to 1800fps in my .308 so far no one has sent me any recovered bullets,
Your thoughs would be most helpfull.
Robert.
 
Robert,
I do hunt deer with cast bullets and have used a plain 9:1 WW/Lino mix at 1800 fps with the #311-284 as well as my favorite, RCBS 30-180-SP driven at jacketed speeds from my .308 Winchester. These are heat-treated. I have found that a 30 caliber (.301" nose) will expand to about 42 caliber on a good day. With those heat-treated bullets I seldom recover a bullet from a lung shot but the exit hole is 1"+ and there is copious blood loss. I have never lost a deer yet to a 30 caliber cast bullet. I would like to try some even softer bullets, such as diluted WW alloy and launch them at 32-40 speeds. Probably going with the 210 grain #311-284 or the #311-467 @ 190 grains. Some friends in Minnesota swear by this type of load for whitetails under 100 yards.

I also get requests for cast bullets and subsonic deer loads. I don't sell bullets but I will give them to the curious. For data, I tell them they have the wrong twist (which they usually do) and point them to the Lyman manual for standard cast bullet loads.

That's a good bullet, that #311-332....~Muir
 
Crikey Muir, to see those pencil lines at 100 yards is possibly more impressive than hitting them. Good results from the casting so far then.
 
That would be good shooting but the target was shot at 60M. ;) I just put on the pencil lines so that I can get an idea of relative point of impact with regards to the aiming point: which is the center of a white sheet of card stock. It shows the sights in high relief when I use this kind of target VS a traditional "bulls eye". I can't see the pencil lines until I pull the target.~Muir
 
I know the ones you mean, well you won't miss they ain't the smallest deer in the world:eek:

Good luck

John
 
Impressive stuff Muir, and nice looking pills you've made there. Do you know roughly how much pressure you're getting there? That load's pretty respectable, even for a jacketed pill surely? It is gas checked though right? I was under the impression you couldn't drive cast bullets at those pressures... So which is it:
1 - People have jumped to conclusions and the pressure rule is off
2 - 52gr 4350 is low pressure in an 8x57
3 - You have magical powers when it comes to casting and can drive bullets harder than other mortals ;)

I'm guessing it's a mix of 1 and 3 - am I close?

If I can get that sort of grouping with my casting, I'll be absolutely stoked
 
I do have magical powers that allows me to drive cast bullets faster than any other human being alive.:fib:

But in this case, I can tell you that my alloy is 9:1 wheel weights and linotype which I heat treated to a Brinnell Hardness Scale level of about 31 BHn. This will take a 44K kick in the rear end before going plastic on me. Forty-nine grains of 4350 will give 2200 fps at 35 K, the top load is 54 grains at 44K. (and a whopping 2500 fps according to Hodgdons) So while I am uncertain as to the exact chamber pressure -tho I could find out by using my Pressure Trace unit and if I wanted to spend the $87 for the sensor I'd need to glue to the barrel above the shoulder-I do know that it is under the level at which chamber pressure overcomes the strength of the alloy. Good enough for me. Velocity isn't a limiting factor in cast bullets as long as issues of bullet fit, form, and loading technique are adhered to. It is all a matter of pressure and making sure that it isn't more than the poor wee bullet can stand.

I routinely shoot 58 grain cast bullets from my .222 at 2750 fps. Nothing magical :scared: about it!~Muir
 
Ah I see, I'd heard the harder the more pressure it can take, I just didn't know it extended that far! I'll have to look into alloys a bit later...
 
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