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Military Firearm Restoration Corner

Cast Bullets And Converted Brass In The 300 Sav.


reloader762

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Finally had a Sat. a couple weeks ago that I could take the old Sav, 99 in 300 Sav. out and shoot some cast loads I have been wanting to test out for awhile.

Commercial brass is still available and I have a few hundred pieces of that but that's to easy. A friend last year give me around 100 pieces of Lake City 1991 7.62 x 51 mm NATO brass of which the parent case is the .308 Win. which was derived from the 300 Sav. original so it's a fairly easy conversion to take the X 51 NATO brass back to 300 Sav.

The good thing about converting the 7.62 NATO brass is that it's thicker and will last a long time as well as having slightly less case capacity using my moderate loads I gain about 100 extra fps. muzzle velocity with the same loads used in a standard .308 Win converted case or 300 Sav. case.

I basically run the NATO cases through a 30-06 FL resizing dies to resize the base first and not touch the shoulder or neck of the case at all. Next I run the case up through the 300 Sav. FL resizing die and reform the shoulder them trim the case neck to the correct length and finally I remove the primer pocket crimp with my little Hornady crimp remover tool.

X51to300Sav_zpse6ec50b3.jpg

I shot two different loads one was the Lee 150 gr. RNFP gas check bullet and the Lee 160 gr. RN tumble lube bullet I shoot in my Mosins and SKS rifle. Both bullets are gas checked and sized to .311" and loaded with the C.E. Harris Universal load of 16.0 grs. of Alliant 2400.

Here are the two 5 shot test groups I shot Sat. with the two loads. I shot guiet afew groups but they were all pretty much the same so I just posted one of each bulet weight.
scan0001_zpsf1e86e97.jpg
scan0002_zps1334e9e4.jpg

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I can't speak with any first hand knowledge of 300 Savage but I did put quite an effort into 308 Win in a Savage 99. The Savage 99 is notorious for a weak extractor. Make a special effort to keep the chamber clean and your handloads on the mild side. If you're creeping up slowly to max loads make sure your bring along a cleaning rod as you might have to poke an expended cartridge out. I had considerably less extraction problems after I started using a small base resizing die. Using to 06 die is a good idea, wish I'd though of it. Probably could have saved the cost of the small base die. I can't recall the numbers but I got the best shot to shot accuracy with 150 and 165gr jacketed bullets using Winchester 748 powder just a tad over 90% of published max. For casual plinking I used 30/30 powder data with a store-bought flat base cast bullets.

 

On loan to my former business partner he got a deer with my 99. He got it with one of my handloads loaded with a 170gr flat nose 30/30 bullet. I gave the 99 to my son several years ago. I miss the 99 and now wish I had given him my 30/30 instead. I'm surprised at the prices the 99's are getting now a days.

 

A now deceased member of my gun club, a retired Veterinarian had better than a dozen 99's and was always looking for more. He had a few high dollar oddball caliber collector pieces in near pristine condition. Unfortunately the collection was split up after he died. His son took the entire collection to a FFL that listed them individually on Gunbroker.

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AZ the rifle was bought in the early 70's and has probably less the 300 rds. some factory and some handloads through it but I haven't ever experienced any extractor issues with the rifle as they have all been positive and with authority but thanks for the tip,I will keep that in mine.

 

Honestly I doubt that I will ever load up any more jacketed rds. for this rifle I have around 50 150 gr. Hornady SST's and two boxes of Rem. Core-Lokt ammo a friend gave me when I let him borrow the rifle one deer season but that about it. For the ranges you can hunt around here 100 yds. is consider a long shot on deer size game and my 170 gr. cast bullet loads will cover that nicely.

 

100_1039_zpsa3f98756.jpg

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These are the guns I gave my sons apx 10 years ago. The 99 was among the batch. It was about the same time I started sporting Mausers and no longer needed the rifles. One of my twins took the 308 Modell 99 the other wanted the Remmy 270 pump. I also gave them Mossberg pumps with hunting and short slug barrels, SKS and an inline muzzle loader.




http://s2.photobucket.com/user/dnisbet/media/guns-1.jpg.html]guns-1.jpg

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That is an interesting read. I'm starting to get into this sort of process as I am putting together a 7x57 on a 93 action for a plinking gun. My first thought was to shoot cast bullets through it, but then I bought 200 "blemished" bullets from Midway. They are 162 grain accubonds. I will shoot them up then go to cast only.

 

I was only intrested in a 100 yard gun and remember reading about the " universal load ". I have a can of 2400 on hand, would 16 grains be a good safe starting point or should I drop back to 14 and work up? I've read a lot about reduced loads, and its very confusing to me as most people believe you will die if you get 2400 around something other than a pistol.

 

If nothing else I may start with IMR 4895 and drop back a bit around their youth loads ( 60% of a starting load)

 

Brenden

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Yes you can use the Universal load of 16.0 grs. of Alliant 2400 in the 7 x 57 with cast bullets equal for the caliber like in the 140 to 170 gr. range. You have probably read this article before http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?13425-Cast-Bullet-Loads-for-Military-Rifles-Article

 

I've read a lot about reduced loads, and its very confusing to me as most people believe you will die if you get 2400 around something other than a pistol.

I know what you mean,I get that a lot on a few forums where individuals never shoot cast loads in rifles let alone use fast burning pistol and shotgun powders. Of course you will only see those type loads if you have access to a Lyman reloading manual and it's even more detailed with many more options if you have a copy of one of the Lyman Cast Bullet reloading manuals.

 

The Universal Load I linked to above is by Ed Harris who wrote the NRA cast bullet manual as well as all the following supplements. He was also a Tech so to speak for Ruger for many year before retiring and is still alive and well as I have communicated with him on several occasion concerning some load date and info on some bullet molds.

 

2400 is a very useful powder to me not only do I use it in my 357 mag. cast loads but I shoot it in my cast loads in my SKS rifles my Mosins and the 300 Sav. I also use Bullseye in all the above rifle cartridges as well including my 30-30 shooting a little Lee 90 gr. tumble lube SWC for sub-sonic plinker/small game loads.

 

30-30Plinker90gr_zpse1b26dbc.jpg

 

In my Sav. 30-30 pump gun I either shoot the Bullseye plinker load or I shoot a Lee 170 gr. RNFP with the gas check left off and use a midrange load of 7.0 grs. of Alliant Red Dot @1200+ fps. For full house loads I gas check the same bullet and use 30 grs. of H-335 which give me around the same velocity of a standard 170 gr. RNFP jacketed bullet.

 

Lyman didn't start listing the 7 x 57 in there cast bullet loadings until I think it was the #48 manual The only bullet Lyman list is #287641 160 gr. bullet. Most accurate load is with 20.0 grs. of AA-5744 the starting load but I think you will find the 16.0 grs. of 2400 to be just as good and at around the same MV @ 1600+ fps. Of course there are other powders that will get that velocity higher if you like close to the 2K range or slightly over. The AA powder would do that as well as IMR-3031.

 

Here are a few other mold choices for the 7mm.

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=29&osCsid=j355m0fog0lgmeqm88ti49bro2

 

http://www.precisionreloading.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PRE&Product_Code=LE90360&Category_Code=RIFLE_MOLDS

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Thank you Reloader. You have put my mind at ease. Now I just need to cut the chamber on the 7x57 and load some ammo.

 

I want to cast ammo, and cannot wait until I'm able to. Finding time is the hard part.

 

Building a gun and loading ammo for it to hunt is what drives me. I think it would be very neat to harvest an animal with a gun you built and a bullet you cast. That's taking it to another level.

 

Thanks for sharing your recipes and knowledge. This is an interesting read.

 

Brenden

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