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Thirty Caliber Cast Bullets For Hunting By Charles Graff A few days ago, I posted a few short lines on The Campfire (Sixguns.com) about hunting deer with thirty caliber cast bullets and thought nothing more about it. Since that time I have received several dozen emails from folks wanting more information. Perhaps the best way to do this is write a short article and ask our esteemed webmaster, to post this on either Sixguns.com or Sixgunner.com or both. First, a plea for understanding and forgiveness. This little missive will be, as they say, quick and dirty. I won’t take the time to hone and polish the language and create something worthy to be placed in the annals of firearms literature. This is a note between friends. I do know how to write and write well, but I don’t feel like putting out that kind of effort to answer some emails from fellow shooters. Next, let me give you a reason why I present the material in this way. One of the most interesting persons I have ever meet and certainly one of the best teachers around is Fred Picker of Zone VI fame. Not only is he one of this nation’s premier photographers, he is also the best teachers of photography to come down the pike. I had the pleasure of spending a week with him in Ecuador when I lived in that part of the world. His teaching theory goes something like this: I have made just about every mistake that can be made and at long last learned what works. Now let me save you the same mistakes and tell you what works. Just do it and don’t argue. Sure there are others ways to do it, but I know this works. After you have learned how to do it, then you can experiment around, but only change one of the variables at a time, or else you are not learning, you are just chasing your tail. I am not so "full of myself" as to think my way is the only way. I know there are other ways to do things, but let’s start with what I know works. Step 1: You must know some of the basic dimension of your rifle. You will need to know the diameter of the chamber throat. Get some chamber casting material from Brownells, follow the directions and get a cast of your chamber and the first inch or so of the barrel. The directions will give you information about time shrinkage and everything you need to know. Get the chamber cast and measure the throat chamber with a micrometer. Write it down. Next slug the barrel and measure the slug with a micrometer to know the groove diameter of your barrel. Write it down. You will want to know the bore diameter of your barrel. This is the distance between the tops of the lands. The best way I know to do this is use a machinist small hole gauge as made by Starrett or some other quality maker. This is a little round ball on a stem that is inserted in the muzzle an inch or so and expanded so you can remove it with just the slightest drag. Measure this gauge with your micrometer and write it down. The next thing you need to know is the twist of the rifling in your barrel. This is very important as it determines the maximum and minimum length of bullets your barrel will stabilize with accuracy. Velocity also plays a big part in this. There is a formula to determine this called the Greenhill formula and there is a web site with a handy calculator to give you all of this information. But not worry, as a little farther down, I will tell you which bullet to use. This bullet will work fine is most common thirty caliber barrel with a 1-10 or 1-12 twist. . It will also be helpful to know to know the number of grooves and lands in your barrel and the ratio of there widths to each other. The style, depth, width of the lands and grooves and the ration thereof is an important part of selecting a bullet that will be accurate in an individual barrel. We will talk a little about this when I get to bullet design. But again, not to worry. I will tell you which bullet to use. This bullet will work fine is most types of rifling. Step 2: Select a bullet of proper design. Cast bullets come in bewildering number of styles. The best (for starters) are the two diameter designs. The bullets have a rear portion, which should be an exact fit to the chamber throat (you measured this and wrote it down...right?), and a smaller diameter nose-riding portion, that should be a snug fit to ride on top of the rifling (you also measured this and wrote it down…right?). If the nose riding part is too small, it will not be supported as it travels down the barrel, and the accuracy will not be optimum. If the nose riding part is to big, the bullet can be pushed back into the case when the round is chambered. The number and type of lands and grooves will determine the ratio of the length of the shank to the length of nose riding part. Whew!!! That sounds complex and it. But again, not to worry! Either by genius or chance Mr. Barlow over a century ago designed a bullet that seems to have the right ratio to work in just about any barrel. That bullet is the Ideal (now Lyman) number 311291. To ice the cake, this bullet has a very blunt round nose that is effective on game. Therefore, use 311291. Are their others that will work as well in individual rifles? Yes. Are their others that will be better in individual rifles? Maybe. But 311291 will work in just about any standard thirty-caliber rifle with a 1-10 or 1-12 twist. If even does well in a Springfield 1903 sporter with a 1-14 Phiefer barrel that I own. A little father down, I will tell you something about obtaining the optimum 311291 for your rifle. They have been made for a very long time and vary quite a bit. Step 3: Get a mould. For best results, a cast bullet should be sized not at all or as little as possible. Too much sizing will destroy their accuracy potential. Remember now, for best results, we have to worry about two diameters. The diameter of the shank should fit the throat of the chamber and the diameter of the nose riding part should be a snug but not tight fit on the top of the lands. How do we get a bullet that does this? Well a good prayer life helps. The guys who are deep into cast bullet bench rest shooting have all sorts of special dies to bump up and/or size down the difference parts of the bullets to have the exact diameter of both portions. If you are that deep into this stuff, you don’t need my advice on anything. For most of us there are a couple of ways to go about this. First you can buy a new Lyman 311291 and size the shank to fit the chamber throat of your rifle (remember you wrote that down) and hope for the best. Second you can watch ebay.com, auctionarms.com, and gunbroker.com for good used moulds. I have six 311291 moulds that give me a variety of shank and nose diameters to choose from. If you are real serious and plan to keep your rifle for a long time, you can have a custom mould maker make you a clone of this mould that will cast a bullet of your chosen alloy (more on this later) that will give you the proper shank diameter and nose diameter as cast. I have had several moulds made by Hoch and I have been pleased with them all. Hock (David Farmer) lathe bores the moulds and produces nose pour moulds. If I had a choice I would always take a nose pour mould over a base pour mould. Rob Applegate of the Sixgunner.com family is also a custom mould maker. Rob reams moulds using the traditional cherry method. Maybe you could talk him into making what you want. "For a price, Senor..Always for a price"…The Searchers. Step 4: Now that you have your mould, you need an alloy. This is simple. Use Lyman #2. You can mix this at home, or buy it from a commercial source. It is hard enough to be pushed at 2,000 fps and still not be brittle. I am a lead scrounger from way back, but spend the bucks and buy or mix this alloy from virgin components. Step 5: Size the bullet. In the best of all worlds, the bullet will fall from the mould, with the shank a perfect fit for your chamber throat and the nose diameter a perfect fit to ride on top of the lands. In that case, buy a sizing die .001" larger than the shank. It will lube the bullet and crimp the gas check. In a less than perfect world, size the shank to the size of your chamber throat, but make certain it is at least .001" larger than the groove diameter of your barrel. Unless you have a really funky barrel, this should not be a problem. If the available sizing dies are not the size you want, RCBS will make what you want. "For a price, Senor..Always for a price: op cit Step 6: Use the NRA formula beeswax and alox lubricant. Other formulas may work just as well, but I know this stuff works. Gas checks? If you have some Lyman checks hanging around, use them. If you have to buy some, buy the Hornady crimp on checks. Step 7: Select a powder. When I started shooting, Dupont, Hercules and Hodgdon were the only powders around. I have figured out most of the quirks in the Dupont (now IMR) and Hercules (now Alliant) lines of powders, and so that is what I use. For thirty caliber hunting loads in the 1,900 to 2,100 fps range, I use IMR3031 and 4895. Some folks report good results with slower powders, but I know these work. Step 8: Load and shoot. A 311291 style bullet, cast of No. 2 alloy, sized to fit the chamber throat (and hopefully the nose riding portion is a correct fit), lubed with NRA beeswax/Alox lube, and over a charge of 3031 or 4895 sufficient to produce a velocity of 1,900 to 2,100 fps, will kill a deer cleanly if placed in the proper spot. There are many folks who will offer other ideas on the matter at hand, but I know the above works. Do it this way and it will work for you. After you have done it this way, and learned the basics, then experiment to your hearts content. But remember to change only one of the variables at a time, or you won’t know what caused the change. Always remember to put the bullet in the right spot. If you are not 100% you can put the bullet in the right spot, then wait for another day. Don’t shoot at them! Shoot them in the right spot! Good shooting and hunting.
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