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It would have been nice to not have the roll crimp groove, but with full auto and beltfed ita just insurance against bullet setback or having the projectile remain in the barrel when clearing a malfunction.
One i make some, ill give you some at next years NES ahoot if you stop by.
No lube groove. im going to copper plate them, or they could be coated aswell.
No gas check, it shouldn't need it. Im hoping to eleminatate some of the accuracy by dispersion only because i am going for range, for the .223 they are designed to be used with a gascheck but i dont because their primary use is cars and pumpkins at 25 feet.
Sealing shouldnt be an issue, thats where size comes in.
As far as speed for the .308, i dont know yet. Im thinking max will be around 2400-2600fps.
But i will have to experiment....ill find out what the minimum load is to cycle. Might be as low as 1800-2000fps. Onces i find these extremes ill find an accurate load and go to town.
As far as alloy. Probably air cooled wheel weight or maybe a tad softer.. casting those .223s isnt easy especially for consistant accuracy, avoiding flyier is hard. They are hard to visually inspect, hard to hold.
.308 is going to be a cakewalk in comparison.
Ive never heard of anyone casting boattails before. For the majority of shooters plain base or for pistols bevel base is the way to go IMO.
Hope that you do not overlook the critical speed limits on powder for the M1, and M1A. Whether you are loading M1 (30-06) or M1A (308 Win), both rifles have an "operating rod" that is on the right side of the receiver, when viewed from the top. If you choose a powder that burns too fast, you WILL RISK bending the operating rod. Once bent, the cyclic rate of the gun will suffer.
IMR 4064 and IMR 4895 are the two powders (both stick powders) that are perfect for use in the M1 Garand, and M1A.
For the record, H4895 is NOT the same as IMR 4895