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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Cast Bullets
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Scrumbag
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Reged: 19/01/13
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Loc: Geneva, Switzerland
Developing a Cast Bullet 404 Jeff Plinking / Practice Load
      #371727 - 22/11/22 11:24 PM

Hi folks,

I’m currently looking at ways of developing a low cost plinking load for my .404 Jeffery.

This probably means going with cast bullets. Unfortunately the chances of me ever having a location to cast my own are rather slim so it looks like resizing bullets is the way forward.

My current plan is to resize .430 commercially available cast lead bullets down to .424 and start with this 300gr which I have 100 on order:



I use .44 cal bullets from this maker for my 44 Mag lever action in 240gr RNFP and 255gr SWCGC with some decent success.

Anyway, I managed to get a .427” and a .424” for sizing down the .430” as cast bullets and I try with the 240gr and 255gr bullets. Sample of 1 so don’t so more experimentation needed but so far signs are good. These are 2 stage resized bullets:



Both seem to have some lube left, something of a crimping groove and lengthened a bit over 0.2mm (0.008”) so that bodes well (I think? Though I would welcome comments).

Next stage / decisions are:

1) decide whether to give a bit of extra lube with Liquid Alox or go the whole hog and try and home powder coat
2) See if the it is possible to get a gas check onto that 300gr Shell House Bullet

Thoughts and advice much appreciated.

Best wishes,

Scrummy

--------------------
98s: 9.3x62 & 7x64
.22s: Browning SA-22 & FN Trombone
Short-jobs: Sig P226 9mm, S&W25 .45 Colt, Colt Woodsman, S&W17

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lancaster
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Reged: 06/05/08
Posts: 9034
Loc: There's a lighthouse in the mi...
Re: Developing a Cast Bullet 404 Jeff Plinking / Practice Load [Re: Scrumbag]
      #371729 - 23/11/22 12:14 AM

I would say you are on the right path

--------------------
Norwegian hunter misses moose, shoots man on toilet
.
bringing civilisation to the barbarians

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DarylSModerator
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Reged: 10/08/05
Posts: 26994
Loc: Beautiful British Columbia, Ca...
Re: Developing a Cast Bullet 404 Jeff Plinking / Practice Load [Re: lancaster]
      #371732 - 23/11/22 04:09 AM

Yes- right path, but the 300gr. might need a GC as you thought. Not sure how that will happen unless you have a lathe to turn down the base.
If so, you can apply a .44 mag gas check before sizing down, just as with the pistol bullets.
I have sized down .375" 310gr. bullets to 9.3 with excellent results.
Of course, grooves (crimp) that are not filled with lube, get reduced in size.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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93x64mm
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Reged: 07/12/11
Posts: 4199
Loc: Nth QLD Australia
Re: Developing a Cast Bullet 404 Jeff Plinking / Practice Load [Re: DarylS]
      #371735 - 23/11/22 06:37 AM

Scrumbag
Where I have done a reloading page for the 404 Jeffery - including cast bullets
Hope it helps you out
http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat....true#Post367977

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eagle27
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Reged: 24/01/09
Posts: 1165
Loc: Rolleston, Christchurch, New Z...
Re: Developing a Cast Bullet 404 Jeff Plinking / Practice Load [Re: 93x64mm]
      #371736 - 23/11/22 08:40 AM

You may find that you will get acceptable accuracy with plain based bullets unlike me in my 404 where my cast plain based bullets sized to .424 and lubed with SPG or other soft type lubes, just will not shoot accurately no matter what I try. Using a small lathe I can turn down the bullet bases and apply a 44cal Hornady crimp on gas check and get superb accuracy from the same bullet.

Shooting plain base I notice lead splatters on the outside of the case neck, suspect the base is being affected by the hot gases and sloughing off some lead thereby affecting accuracy (my 404 has a lot of freebore for shooting mono bullets). My Hoch mould is a nose pour so has perfect bases but to no avail accuracy wise without gas checks.

I use my RCBS bullet pulling die and 44cal collet set up in the lathe 3 jaw with the bullet clamped nose first in the collet. The bullet spins perfectly true in this setup and I can run a slight shoulder on each base to allow a 44cal check to clip on by hand and then size in my lube/sizer. Can rattle off over a hundred bullets an hour using this method.

I did powder coat some of these plain base cast bullets but unfortunately used them for a 70th birthday fun shoot we had with my family shooting water melons so didn't get to gauge accuracy as such. The watermelons were all hit by everyone at 50m so was probably good enough for plinking.

Nose pour Hoch mould produces 400gr plain base bullets needing base turning down for 44cal gas checks.


RCBS bullet puller with 400gr cast bullet inserted in collet nose first (base of bullet in image turned down ready for gas check).

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DarylSModerator
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Re: Developing a Cast Bullet 404 Jeff Plinking / Practice Load [Re: eagle27]
      #371744 - 23/11/22 02:56 PM

Cool!

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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yamoon
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Reged: 19/06/22
Posts: 93
Loc: Kansas USA
Re: Developing a Cast Bullet 404 Jeff Plinking / Practice Load [Re: DarylS]
      #372094 - 07/12/22 05:40 AM

Interesting, I have fired many thousand plain base cast bullets down range from several German schuetzen rifles chambered for 8.15x46r, never experienced the lead splatter problem, but I am only pushing them about 1400 fps. I use 13-14 grains IMR4227.
Mike

--------------------
Mike

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eagle27
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Reged: 24/01/09
Posts: 1165
Loc: Rolleston, Christchurch, New Z...
Re: Developing a Cast Bullet 404 Jeff Plinking / Practice Load [Re: yamoon]
      #372097 - 07/12/22 10:20 AM

Quote:

Interesting, I have fired many thousand plain base cast bullets down range from several German schuetzen rifles chambered for 8.15x46r, never experienced the lead splatter problem, but I am only pushing them about 1400 fps. I use 13-14 grains IMR4227.
Mike



Agree it is an interesting phenomenon which occurs even with my squib load at about 1400fps with 20.0 to 22.0grs Red Dot or Vectan AS powder, a small amount of powder by any means in the big case.
I suspect that it is the large amount of leade my Mauser has that causes this phenomenon and contributes to the poor grouping of plain base cast bullets. Obviously gas checks protect the bullet base and help bite into the rifling despite the long leade.

I note some other posters on the subject of cast bullets in big bores also report poor grouping of plain based bullets while otherwise very good performance of same or other bullets with gas checks.

The magazine length on my Mauser prevents longer seating of cast bullets bringing the bullet closer to the rifling. It is not practical to single load cartridges with increased OAL, the Mauser is strictly controlled round feed.

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