[MikeG]

Among other projects that may bubble to the surface one day, I have some of Marshall's cast bullets in .338 caliber and would like to try them out in my Ruger 77. This may be a bit of a challenge as the gun has quite a long throat.... although it shoots very well with jacketed.

Powders on hand that may be useful are Varget, and H4350. Bullets are 250gr. LFNGCs, sized .340." I don't have a Lee Factory Crimp die but will likely order one, and made an "M" - type expander for the .338 a while back.

Suggestions?

 

[Tang]

You ever noticed, there are several of us here with Ruger 77's in .338 Win Mag ?

 

[MikeG]

I'm not sure if that makes us the knowledgeable group, or ignorant????

 

[Tang]

I think that means we have an appreciation for a well build American product.

 

[jodum]

I too have a bunch of .338 220 gr bullets casted up. I want to try them in my 338 Win mag and 338 Marlin Exp. They should make some fun rounds without the standard 338 recoil.

 

[BarkBuster20]

I like my ruger M77 .338 WM, be interesting to see how the cast bullets do, when i start reloading i would like to eventually do cast bullet loads, would be great practice shooting, and be very decisive on these scrappy Blacktails.

 

[nimrod375]

Cast bullets should go well in a .338, they work good in .375 H&H which in reality is close enough to draw a comparison. Use smaller charges of a faster burning powder than you would with your hunting loads, otherwise you'll end up with a lot of unburnt down the tube.

 

[nimrod375]

AR2207 works well with cast bullet loads. It's sold as a Hodgdon powder over there, I'm not sure of the designation but if you goodle ADI powders you'll be able to pull up a chart with comparitive burning rates. Hope this helps.

 

[MikeG]

H4198, if I got the right chart. Thanks for the tip!

 

[unclenick]

Mike,

I have that bullet in my work-in-progress BTB QuickLOAD file. What are your objectives? Velocity, pressure limit, etc.? 54 grains of Varget looks like about 80% case fill, 42,000 psi and over 2200 fps from a 24" tube. Ballistic efficiency is close to Hatcher's promised land of 30% for high power rifles. Should be a good combination. You'll probably want to work it up with magnum primers to pressurize the big case well.

 

[MikeG]

I'll start with that Nick, thanks. No specific goals other than just to have a little fun with it. Also I'd like to see if cast bullets in the .338 work on pigs (should, I would imagine). You know, nothing beats gaining knowledge through a good autopsy!

May try both standard and magnum primers as I have both (Winchester). But I have more standard primers and would prefer to use them.

I did find some interesting data in the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook for a couple of powders that I have, Green Dot and Unique. Interesting that I ran the numbers through Quickload and it agreed with the Lyman data very closely, amazing what that program can do. These were loads in the 1,500fps range which might be fun for varmits, if they group (the loads not the varmits).

Appreciate it.

 

[MikeG]

I bracketed your load suggestion, Nick - 52, 54, and 56 grains of Varget. Along with a few at 16 grains of Green Dot just to be different, that load from the Lyman cast bullet manual.

Stayed with standard primers for the first go-around (they're Winchester and I've used them for full house .338 and .458 loads) and also the bullets are seated to touch the throat, so that should help.

We'll see how it goes! Probably too much snow at the deer camp to get out this weekend but maybe.

 

[MikeG]

Some preliminary testing -

52grains / Varget shows promise. Low and left.

54grains / Varget sprayed all over the target. High, and left-right spray was pretty bad.

I didn't bother to shoot the 56 grain loads.

However, good news, a 'control' load with Green Dot looks great. Low, but almost no left-right variation. The vertical stringing may be cured with a tuft of Dacron. I'll try that with a grain up and a grain down and see how it goes.

Also may go a bit lighter on the Varget loads, with a tiny bit of filler, and see. Also bought a Lee factory crimp die and will start using that.