[Walstr]

Greetings;
I've got a life time supply of IMR4198, and looking for "go to" loads with my custom 45-70-405 mold. All the groups seem equally poor from 30gr-40gr @ 100yds. They're tumble lubed in Xlox, unfilled, (although I tried cotton filler to no avail.), forearm supported at bench, slow fired.

I just removed forearm, & magazine tube today, to eliminate possible influence. Plan next test Friday with this setup. I read Newberry's OCW paper, so will emulate his approach as best I can; e.g. setup multiple targets & fire 1 rnd each in sequence, from as many 'bags' of different loadings. This 'shares' barrel heat/deflection, wind, etc. amongst all, hopefully equally.

--Anyone experience mag tube/forearm ill effects?
--What accuracy can I hope for, with these 73% Meplat home-brew rnds of mine? Thanks.

 

[bryan alder]

Do they shoot alright with another powder? Have you shot cast before? Have you cast for other guns? Or are you a newbie in the cast game?

 

[elkhunter76]

Try RL7. I shoot 42 gr under a 400 gr cast and have good luck with it. Under an inch at 50 yds with open sights.

 

[kah64]

I had "shotgun" patterns with my Remington GBL regardless of powder or bullet. It turned out the rifling had chatter from Ilion. I sent it back, they installed a North Haven barrel and the problem was solved!

Good Luck!

Keith

 

[DeadLead]

My worst loads with 4198 were about 4.5"-5" @100yards.....my best were just a hair under 2" @ 100yds......that's for 5 shots.
I found the more gas I poured in the case....the better the accuracy got !
1895GS JM Ported....never did find a cloverleaf group for it.
Its a Bear Gun and carried daily when in AK for the summer.....3" accuracy at 100 is fine for me.
Go dump 41+ grains in there and work up....You just might be surprised !

Of course we all want to see pics of this bullet....and also want to know what its sized to ?

 

[DeoVindice]

Bullet sizing could be your culprit, as could overly soft alloy. What kind of alloy are you using, and have you slugged your barrel to match your bullets to it?

 

[Walstr]

My bbl slugs .459"-.4595", cast are sized to .461", made with COWW+2% Tin, water quenched, aged several weeks.

I'm determined to obtain the best results with my supply of IMR 4198, in the Marlin GS & no longer purchase factory, as I'm also committed to casting my own. I also cast & shoot .44 Mag, .45 Colt, 45ACP. It's suspicious to me that all these groups are equally poor. Tonight I also "cleaned" excess Xlox from my next batch to be loaded & easier to inspect evenly field lube grooves.

I've used 3031 a few years ago & groups were OK, now I don't have to spend $$ for powder, so continuing the experiments, with this forum's assistance. Thanks.

Here's a new batch My bbl slug, notice the bore riding nose.

 

[DeoVindice]

Very interesting...if you're using water-quenched wheel weights, your alloy is not the problem. What sort of sights do you have on her?

 

[Walstr]

Sights? For this load development it's a Vortex 6-20 x 54 (i think)...then a med. ladder sight for "real" shooting, eh.

 

[Stevo]

When I have a gun that does that the first thing I look for is dings in the crown. If it is a new Rifle have you broke in the Barrel? A powder should not throw a bunch of rounds around like that. IMR4198 and H4198 are very good powders for most Rifles. I don't know anything about Casting Bullets so I cannot comment on that. Those groups look like a bad crown for sure. Gas is released from a ding before the Bullet has actually left the barrel and will throw the Bullet randomly around the target. My old eyes would never be able to see one but if yours are good a magnifying glass will show it. Many fellers clean their Rifles from the Muzzle instead of the Chamber and if they hit it with a steel rod it's shot and needs a re crown. On a good note it is relatively cheap to have it done by a good smith.

That is text book Crown damage groups. Or maybe too much Coffee LOL.

Steve

 

[tbilly]

Try weighing your bullets, and seperating them into groups that weigh within 1gr of each other, if you haven't already.

 

[biggog]

What increments are you using for powder weights? Maybe you went bye the sweet spot and didn't know it. I had the same problem with 425 gr. Pile driver Jrs.. I'm going to try some H335 this summer and see if I can get better groups. The rifle shoots good with jacketed bullets with Rx 7 but it knocks the hell out of you at the bench.

 

[Gearhounds]

How does it group with jacketed pills? Are your crimps consistent? I had a little difficulty when I took up reloading .44 mag because my crimps were not consistent and uniform. Also, are you positive your barrel is not leaded up?

 

[kingstrider]

If you rule out the barrel then I suspect bullet sizing is wrong. Have you slugged the barrel and compared it to your cast bullets?

 

[bryan alder]

There is a coincidence that is going on if you can't get four different guns to shoot well. How fast are you pushing them? I would clean your barrel really good making sure there is no fouling in there. Also I would change to a different lube. BLL (Bens liquid lube) is my favorite and I've used it up to 2200 fps so far with no fouling. Are you belling your case mouths? Sorting them by weight should help but I don't do that and have never gotten spreads like that.

 

[ballistics04]

Have you loaded and shot any jacketed bullets? I don't shoot cast, but my 1895 loves jacketed REM 405gr bullets with H4198. If jacket bullets shoot as poorly as your cast loads, or better than your cast loads, you can go from there.

 

[JBledsoe]

.

Some of your targets indicate that your bullets are beginning to tip ( some bullet holes are out of round)....which in turn says that your bullets are too small. Try a thousandth or two larger bullet.

 

[Officer29]

Some good info here for ya. And like JBledsoe said it appears like they are starting sideways a little which is clearly undersized. Also if you have ruled that out weighing each bullet is a must. If some are off 5to 10 gr you will never achieve the accuracy you want. I mold my own and weigh each as they come out of the mold. With my 405gr I also use IMR4198 and achieve 1/2 inch groups at 100yds. Play with it a little and you'll find the answer your looking for. Let us know how your coming along.

 

[Walstr]

Stevo; Never thought of looking at Crown. Thanks.

 

[94win30wcf]

Try RL7. I shoot 42 gr under a 400 gr cast and have good luck with it. Under an inch at 50 yds with open sights.

:dito: