30-06 for $0.12/rd

[jhrosier]

I melted down some range scrap lead and mixed it with a little wheelweights and linotype to make some 175 grain .30 cal bullets today.
About 30 pounds of range scrap yielded 25 pounds of lead, the remainder being dirt and bullet jackets. This amount of lead will make a thousand 175 gr. bullets.
About 2 hours to make the mix and cast 300+ bullets.
Another half hour to lube and size 50 of them.
A couple of hours to handload 50 rounds with 20 grs of 2400.

Velocity should be a little more than 1700 fps.
This is a nice mild target load that has shot well in several guns.

Even at today's outrageous component prices, the cost was just under $6 for 50 rounds. Half of the cost was for the powder. Maybe it is time to look for a source of surplus powder.

I'm looking into getting a simple tool to make gas checks from aluminum beverage cans.

Beats watching TV.

Jack

 

[jamz]

Nice!!

 

[hikerlt]

Tell us more about "simple tool to make gas checks from aluminum beverage cans."

Is this commercially available ?

 

[jhrosier]

Tell us more about "simple tool to make gas checks from aluminum beverage cans."

Is this commercially available ?

An ebay vendor, Codarnall , makes these and they usually sell for just over $30.
The stand-alone set consists of a punch with a matching forming base and a hole punch.
A disk is cut from the side of a beverage can, about 1/8" larger than the gas check size. The blank is placed into the forming base and the check is formed and sized by striking the punch with a hammer.

The resulting gas checks are thinner than commercial gas checks but still work well, according to the tool maker.

There are other sources for material, while not free, are much less expensive than store bought checks.

I have some reservations about the thickness of the freechecks, but understand that the material can be doubled to increase the thickness if desired.

If it works to my satisfaction, the tool will cost about the same as a thousand gas checks, if not, it will serve as a model that I will use to design and build a better one. I would, in any case, prefer a unit that mounts in a standard loading press and will probably make one based on the one that Codarnall makes.

I've got my new mini-lathe and am just itching for a project to break it in.

Jack

 

[theGringo]

Now, if I could get the Missus to figure out how to knit bullets from steel wool ...

 

[jhrosier]

Now, if I could get the Missus to figure out how to knit bullets from steel wool ...

Well, you might not hit your target, but your bore would certainly be clean.

Jack

 

[gerrycaruso]

surplus powder

for surplus powder try <REDACTED> They have powder,bullets and primers.supplies have been low lately but it's worth a look. I used to use sr4759 for cast bullet rifle loads but switched to xmp5744 when it first came out.Works great.

 

[theGringo]

for surplus powder try <REDACTED> They have powder,bullets and primers.supplies have been low lately but it's worth a look. I used to use sr4759 for cast bullet rifle loads but switched to xmp5744 when it first came out.Works great.

<REDACTED> frequently has good deals and is great to do business with! I really love <REDACTED>.

 

[jhrosier]

...I used to use sr4759 for cast bullet rifle loads but switched to xmp5744 when it first came out.Works great.

I tried XMP5744 and found it to be very dirty. I did not get good accuracy at the power level that I needed and went back to Unique in the 8x58RD. I have had good results with 4198 in the .375 H&H.

In any case, the loads mention in the first post didn't give good results in the Eddystone 1917. It has a two groove barrel which, by all acoounts, should shoot cast bullets well. I am going to give it another try with the 4198 and see if there is any improvement.
It is noteworthy that the 2400 load shot very well in an '03 sporter and a Browning 1895. Well, that's the sort of thing that keeps handloading interesting, I suppose.

Jack

 

[Patriot]

I melted down some range scrap lead and mixed it with a little wheelweights and linotype to make some 175 grain .30 cal bullets today.
About 30 pounds of range scrap yielded 25 pounds of lead, the remainder being dirt and bullet jackets. This amount of lead will make a thousand 175 gr. bullets.
About 2 hours to make the mix and cast 300+ bullets.
Another half hour to lube and size 50 of them.
A couple of hours to handload 50 rounds with 20 grs of 2400.

Velocity should be a little more than 1700 fps.
This is a nice mild target load that has shot well in several guns.

Even at today's outrageous component prices, the cost was just under $6 for 50 rounds. Half of the cost was for the powder. Maybe it is time to look for a source of surplus powder.

I'm looking into getting a simple tool to make gas checks from aluminum beverage cans.

Beats watching TV.

Jack

Ever find the means to make gas checks out of soda cans?

 

[gerrycaruso]

I did the same thing about 20 years ago when my son wanted to shoot something bigger than a .22 and all I had was a Remington 700 in .30/06. I used 20 grains of SR4759 for about 1600 fps back then. Now I use 5744 for all my reduced rifle loads and for smokeless loads in blackpowder cartridges.If you're looking for material for gaschecks that's heavier than soda cans, how about aluminum coil stock? It comes in rolls from 8" to 24" wide X 50' long X .019 thick. You'll find it on any vinyl siding job site. The scraps are usually thrown in the dumpster. You could just buy a roll and probably make enough gaschecks to last you the rest of your life but finding it for free is nice.