What are your cast bullets groups like?

BJung · November 8, 2020, 10:03 PM

What do your Lee scrap lead groups look like? I want to know what I might expect from range lead I cast straight from a Lee mold and pc'd.

Geezerbiker · November 8, 2020, 10:27 PM

MY groups with cast bullets are every bit as tight as with jacketed. I think the group size is more about the gun than the cast or jacket bullets.

I have a .300 blackout that shoots clover leaves at 30 yards with a cast .32 revolver bullet from a Lee mold with 3.5g of Red Dot.

My revolvers also shoot tight groups with cast bullets.

Tony

74A95 · November 9, 2020, 12:33 AM

What someone else's lead bullets do in their gun with their alloy, shape, velocity and powder charge are completely independent from what your's will do.

BJung · November 9, 2020, 09:37 AM

I know lead is another variable in the cartridge but I recently started casting and want to know what others get to have a standard of what I could get than let's say that of teacup plate.

reddog81 · November 9, 2020, 09:46 AM

Rifle or handgun loads? With your typical handgun load you should be able to match factory ammo accuracy if not better. Rifle loads with lead bullets are a little more tricky and require an alloy better than range scrap for good shooting.

74A95 · November 9, 2020, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burbank_jung

I know lead is another variable in the cartridge but I recently started casting and want to know what others get to have a standard of what I could get than let's say that of teacup plate.

What will you do if your cast loads shoot worse than other people's. Will you blame the gun? The bullets? Your powder choice? The mold design? Some combination of these?

Like it or not, the answer to your question is in post #3.

Your gun will tell you what it likes, or doesn't like.

Cast them, load them, shoot them, and tell us what you got.

reddog81 · November 9, 2020, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 74A95

What will you do if your cast loads shoot worse than other people's. Will you blame the gun? The bullets? Your powder choice? The mold design? Some combination of these?

Like it or not, the answer to your question is in post #3.

Your gun will tell you what it likes, or doesn't like.

Cast them, load them, shoot them, and tell us what you got.

Asking what kind of results you'll get is highly variable on the items mentioned. However, It's not a bad idea to ask what sort of results are possible.

My goal for cast bullets is accuracy on par or better than factory ammo. Often times it takes a variety of trial and error before getting those results. Bullet size is very important with cast bullets. This means having the correct bullet sizing die, the correct expander dies and making sure your reloading practices don't squeeze that bullet back down once loaded.

BJung · November 9, 2020, 10:23 PM

I have only one decent test load to report. It's a Lee .45-200 SWC PC'd, sized to .452" and loaded with 3.6gr N310. Distance is about 30 feet. The other test loads grouped worse. This one load grouped at best 4" group. I made another test set to see if it will group better. Another testload using .45-200 SWC Dardas at 3.6gr Bullesye grouped at 2" at the same distance. A tesload using .45-230 RN Dardas with 5gr Bullseye was 1-2". I just made testloads of .45-225gr Lee Cast bullets with 5gr Bullseye.

November 8, 2020, 10:03 PM	#1
BJung Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2019 Posts: 773	What are your cast bullets groups like? What do your Lee scrap lead groups look like? I want to know what I might expect from range lead I cast straight from a Lee mold and pc'd.

November 8, 2020, 10:27 PM	#2
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	MY groups with cast bullets are every bit as tight as with jacketed. I think the group size is more about the gun than the cast or jacket bullets. I have a .300 blackout that shoots clover leaves at 30 yards with a cast .32 revolver bullet from a Lee mold with 3.5g of Red Dot. My revolvers also shoot tight groups with cast bullets. Tony

November 9, 2020, 12:33 AM	#3
74A95 Senior Member Join Date: November 26, 2016 Posts: 1,570	What someone else's lead bullets do in their gun with their alloy, shape, velocity and powder charge are completely independent from what your's will do.

November 9, 2020, 09:37 AM	#4
BJung Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2019 Posts: 773	I know lead is another variable in the cartridge but I recently started casting and want to know what others get to have a standard of what I could get than let's say that of teacup plate.

November 9, 2020, 09:46 AM	#5
reddog81 Senior Member Join Date: October 16, 2014 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,635	Rifle or handgun loads? With your typical handgun load you should be able to match factory ammo accuracy if not better. Rifle loads with lead bullets are a little more tricky and require an alloy better than range scrap for good shooting.

November 9, 2020, 10:23 PM	#8
BJung Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2019 Posts: 773	I have only one decent test load to report. It's a Lee .45-200 SWC PC'd, sized to .452" and loaded with 3.6gr N310. Distance is about 30 feet. The other test loads grouped worse. This one load grouped at best 4" group. I made another test set to see if it will group better. Another testload using .45-200 SWC Dardas at 3.6gr Bullesye grouped at 2" at the same distance. A tesload using .45-230 RN Dardas with 5gr Bullseye was 1-2". I just made testloads of .45-225gr Lee Cast bullets with 5gr Bullseye.