Bumping Cast Bullets 02/25/04
About 15 years ago, I bought a Hanned Company (different name then) 308 bumping die and I still have it.
The nose section of the bullet is bumped to a particular shape so as to become a bore riding type. You put a bullet in the die and with a nose punch and you tap it with a mallet. This process seemed to me to be a Mickey Mouse way of doing it. If the die would fit in a press, you could set the amount of pressure with the throw of the handle. With a hammer, it is guess and guess again if it is equal to the last shot.
I wanted the bullet to have more bearing surface. The bullet I used was from an RCBS 150-grain gas checked cast bullet. I tired it with different percentages of wheel weights, tin and linotype to find a proper medium.
After all was done, the bumped bullet did not group as well as the un-bumped ones. The mold cast a bullet that was just at 308 caliber and it did not shoot as well either way as the Saeco #316 150-grain cast bullet.
The results did not justify the effort and time consuming process.
If you want a great cast bullet for 30-30: Saeco #316 150 grain 308.
For other 308 uses, the #316 Saeco 173 grainer will shoot under an inch in most any 30-caliber gun. I use it in a Remington Semi-Auto model 742 in 30-06 and it shoots under an inch. I cast the bullets with wheel weights and 2% tin, or 3 pounds of ww + 1 pound of linotype. The gun doesn't care. With the #315 Saeco Bullet, it chronographs at 1811 fps. No leading and I cleaned it for the first time after 1400 plus rounds of cast bullets.
I used to use a Saeco #310 (210 grains) bore riding bullet (dog dick) in the 30-06 and it chronographed at 2012 fps and 2179 fps with different loads. I settled on the 2012 fps load with 25 grains Reloader 7 with that bullet and then I went to the #316 'cause I have a 4 cavity mould for it. I shoot this load out to 547 yards with great accuracy.
I used the 316 bullet in the 30-30 Marlin micro grooved. Shoots like a champ with 1.5" groups at 100 yards. I also, use that bullet in my 10" Thompson Center Contender and it will shoot under an inch.
Well, I got off the subject there. Since I used the bumping die in 308, I went there. I'm sure it won't hurt.
Harold Clark