just curious how many guys buy a rifle fully intending to use just cast bullets

grumpyvette

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just curious how many guys buy a rifle fully intending to use just cast bullets

several of my hunting buddies have become almost exclusively dependent on or at least vastly prefer use of rifles they purchase solely for use with cast projectiles, one guy purchased a ruger #1 in 458 win hes used for over 8 years now with several 400-450 gas check bullet designs for elk, ones got a 416 remington, he picked up cheaply at a gunshop, he shoots only with 400 grain cast bullets and several guys in my elk club hunt with 45/70 marlins using 350-405 grain cast bullets.
theres ZERO debate these rifles work very effectively, all have collected elk in the past decade, but I wonder if this is just a local fad of sorts?I know my marlin 1894 44 mag carbine is rarely fed anything but a 310 grain lee over 21 grains of H110 and its collected its share of deer and hogs without a second thought to it working well.
http://www.ruggedbuddy.com/Rugged-Buddy-Sawhorse.html
I used a 21 grain charge of H110 under a LEE 310 grain hard cast 44 cal. bullet seated out to the lower crimp groove

https://www.buffaloarms.com/bullet-moulds/buffalo-arms-bullet-moulds

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/5...cf-430-diameter-310-grain-flat-nose-gas-check
MOLD DC C 430-310-RF
90858-01.jpg

if you really want to maximize any large bore revolvers lethality you'll most likely want to order a custom bullet mold, to produce an exceptionally effective hard cast gas check bullet design, luckily mountain molds will work with you to produce most of the bullet molds you might want if you can,t find a commercially available design you like, the key is maximizing penetration and having a 80%-85% wide melplat (flat nose) to maximize the tissue destruction,in a gas check design, that keeps the bore clean, in a weight that you can push to at least 1300 fps, the bullet below is decent in a 44 mag , where 1370 fps is not hard to reach, and almost perfect for hunting ammo in a 445 DWSP where it can easily be pushed to over 1570 fps in a 10" barrel revolver, using max safe charges of H110 powder.
now I got asked why I would spend $100 on a custom mold to cast these and what the advantage would be over a $30 LEE 310 grain mold, and truthfully the difference is not huge, but the mountain mold does seem to be consistently a bit more accurate.

the most consistently accurate load I found for my marlin 45/70
was the nei bullet below sized .459
cast from 95% ww alloy and 5% tin
Winchester or federal standard rifle primers
45 grains of imr4198
easy 1"-1.2" 100 yard ,three shot groups of a good bench rest at 100 yards

its was consistently accurate , if the barrel was anywhere close to clean,
and it was deadly on deer and elk.



http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html
458-355-gc.jpg

saco makes a similar mold
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...58-459-diameter-350-grain-flat-nose-gas-check

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/0000690858/double-cavity-mold-c430-310-rf

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=43-300B-D.png

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply....llet-mould-number-429650-44-caliber-300-grain
 
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http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/new-reloading-manuals.2379/#post-56752

wow thats about 50 cents each or $500.00 a thousand

a mold and gas checks sets you back about $110
lube sizer $180 lead melter $70

sizer die $26
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/0000690947/Pro-4-20lb-Melter-110-Volt-

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.c...00-Lube-SizerLubricator-With-Heater-115-volt-

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.c...05-RN-45-Caliber-point458-405-Grain-Flat-Nose

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.c...nt451-point458-Diameter-Gas-Checks-1000-Count

yeah, for about the same cost as the first 1000 commercial bullets you could be set up to produce your own in a good deal less time than you might think, and be knocking them out with a better alloy of 95% wheel weights and 5% pure tin at less than 1/4 of the cost per bullet from then on

heres a link to rather interesting info on the use of heavy cast bullets in the 444 marlin

personally I think both the 45/70 and 450 marlin a superior choices

http://beartoothbullets.com/tech_notes/archive_tech_notes.htm/28
 
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ineresting... ive never really thought about casting my own bullets but i have been grateful for custom precision ammo ive got from buddies before.
 
I bought a couple of Marlins before I started casting. Since then and 15+ Marlins and 03A3 later I have only thought about shooting cast bullets. I like the whole process, economy and challenge of shooting cast bullets.
 
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