Cast bullet shooters

[dragoondrake]

How many of us are using cast bullets to shoot IHMSA.

I so far have only used cast. I shoot 357 max, 44 mag, 7tcu, 7-08, and 22 hornet. My scores may show that I use cast, but I feel good about them. Best scores to date are a 34 with the 7-08 and a 29 with the 44 mag.

[Madmark]

I use cast in my 7TCU BB Production gun. It hasn't affected my scores noticeably, but I'll use that for an excuse if I can!! I think I am not cleaning enough, as it seems like my accuracy deteriorates after 100 rounds or so.  I'm going to try cast in my BB Revolver, I don't have much to lose there, either!

[Nobade]

I have never used anything but cast for IHMSA. I will admit jacketed is easier for high power rifle to 500M, but 200M and under you don't give up anything. And you can afford to shoot more, so your scores should go up!

[dragoondrake]

Hey NObade,

What calibers are you shooting for IHMSA?

[Nobade]

32 H&R and 22 Hornet in field pistol, 7mm TCU in big bore. A while back I used to use the 32 for big bore standing too, with a 220gr. bullet. Works well, but the trajectory is kind of steep out at the ram line.

The 32 gets Ideal #3118, the Hornet gets RCBS 55gr. FN, and the TCU gets SAECO 160 bore riders. All shoot better than I can see.

[19 Turkeys]

I shoot cast in Production (MOA in 7BR) & Revolver (FA in .41 Mag with Leadhead's 270 grain bullet).  In fact, I shot my first 40 with the MOA.  We have several cast bullet shooters here in Oregon & they can routinely beat the jacketed bullet guys.  I do not feel that cast takes a second seat to jacketed in any fashion.


Steve W.

[dragoondrake]

19 Turkeys,

I only meant that as a joke. I don't feel I give up anything to jacketed shooters either. I don't shoot as much as I like, but that is a time constraint. I go through the same motions when I shoot cast as people do jacketed (except the lube and size bullets step). I sort out blemishes, I watch how the bullet looks after loading. I even weight sort the same as I do for my long range rifles.

[19 Turkeys]

I cheat & buy mine from Leadhead's!   


Steve W.

[ihmsakiwi]

I agree, you give up nothing using cast bullets for IHMSA or NRA silhouette.
I shoot 32H&R Mag for BB standing with a 165 gr bullet, a 145gr RCBS bore-rider and a NOE 145 boolit in 7mm TCU and 7mmBR. I use the RCBS 200gr in my 357 F.A. revolver. I got to International Grade in revolver with these bullets and have shot so many 39/40 with my 7BR with cast that I am sure using copper would not get me the 40.
The only gun I shoot with copper is my BF 7mm Supermag because I cannot get a cast bullet to seat without having the gas-check well below the neck junction due to the extrememly short neck on this round.
I will keep looking though.

[parisite]

I shoot cast bullets almost exclusively in my 10" Freedom Arms 44 Mag and would love to compete but don't know where to go to do it. I live in northeast TX.
Plain flat based based bullets perform much better for me than bevel based bullets.

[19 Turkeys]

Send an email to headquarters@ihmsa.org & request contact information for TX ranges & match directors.


Steve W.

[sigbbred]

I shoot cast in 44 mag, 357 mag, and soon .30 Herrett and 7 mm tcu. Rcbs sil in the last.

[19 Turkeys]

The RCBS silhouette bore rider bullet is great.  I shot my first 40x40 with it in 1997 using my Production MOA in 7BR.  You will be very happy with it!


Steve W.

[35ISIT]

I use a RCBS 200 and a LBT 180 in a .357 magnum for field pistol and uas. They both weigh about 195 out of wheelweights.

[Graybeard]

Let's bring this one back up and see if folks might want to talk more about it.

[gypsyman]

Shot myself into International class revolver with a 10'' DW, ,357mag. using 210gr LBT bullet. 12.5grs of W296. Sold that gun, needed the money because of a divorce. Hope to get to a match here in Ohio this year, either an 8'' DW, or a 10'' in .44mag., probably try a 285gr Lyman with gas check. Been a few years, not even sure I can get into the creed more position, Wish me luck!

[Ranger99]

Didn't know anybody even thought
about this anymore.
There used to be quite a bunch of
this going on in the area, and it just
kind of faded away overnight

[Graybeard]

We never had IHMSA around here, there was one club in B'ham about 50 miles away that shot it. But by the time I found out they had stopped.

Around here we shot a lot of NRA silhouette and I shot both handgun and rifle matches. I used a lot of cast bullets for the handgun but only shot rimfire rifle. Just not enough ranges for centerfire rifle matches around here. I think they had one on Redstone Arsenal but not aware of any others in those days.

[gypsyman]

I think the biggest reason IHMSA has fallen off so much is the age of the shooters, and truthfully, the practicality of the sport. Nobody lays down on their back, rests their pistol on the side of their leg and shoots a deer at 300-500 yds. Except Elmer Keith, and it took him 6-8 shots to do it.  Still, makes 'ya feel good smacking a target at that distance and watching it fall. The club I shoot at now, has a 500 yd range. So I'm thinking, of building a Know your limit target. A 12''-10''-8''-6''-4'' round steel target rack for 500 yd shooting. Try it out with my AR-10 in .308 with jacketed first, but then try my Savage 110 with some Saeco 175 gr.

[Ranger99]

Hmmmmmm
Just gandering at some of the
web stuff ( and not wanting to
download any PDF'S) it looks like
the classifications have changed
up since I was interested decades
ago.  The man that taught me about
handgun hunting and reloading
shot several of the different classes
they had in IMHSA, and I don't know
what these are that I see people
discussing on the net. The man I
knew shot Hunter Pistol and whatever
22 rimfire was called and the big
peestollas that he used XP100's
for.  I eventually put together a
Contender with a match 22 barrel
and Leupold and got pretty fair
with it, but by that time it kinda
faded into oblivion in this area.
Shot a bunch of squirrels and
a few coyotes out the truck window
with it. A Ruger MK II with a bull
barrel replaced it for truck window
duty

I used to have an official rule book
here somewhere, but I'm now thinking
that it's obsolete

[Lloyd Smale]

yup it was big here once but now theres not a single match i know of. That said back when i shot it i used a 44 mag and nothing but cast.

I think the biggest reason IHMSA has fallen off so much is the age of the shooters, and truthfully, the practicality of the sport. Nobody lays down on their back, rests their pistol on the side of their leg and shoots a deer at 300-500 yds. Except Elmer Keith, and it took him 6-8 shots to do it.  Still, makes 'ya feel good smacking a target at that distance and watching it fall. The club I shoot at now, has a 500 yd range. So I'm thinking, of building a Know your limit target. A 12''-10''-8''-6''-4'' round steel target rack for 500 yd shooting. Try it out with my AR-10 in .308 with jacketed first, but then try my Savage 110 with some Saeco 175 gr.

[Graybeard]

Since I never shot IHMSA I don't know that much about classifications but Hunter Pistol is what centerfire NRA silhouette was called and rimfire was called small bore hunter pistol.

Both were shot standing on your hind legs like a man holding the handgun out in both hands with no support other than what your own body provided. We shot chickens at 40 meters, pigs at 50 meters, turkeys at 77 meters and rams at 100 meters.

Most places only offered a single classification either HP or SBHP and you could shoot iron sights or scoped. Some few places had a separate class for iron sights.

For hunter pistol iron sights I had a S&W Model 29 with 10-5/8" barrel that had a 4 position front sight. I shot a bunch of iron sight matches with that gun and even used it against folks using scopes quite successfully. One summer I won ever match they held over in B'ham using that gun.

For scoped gun I used a 10" TC Contender in .32 H&R Magnum and a Leupold 6x42 rifle scope.

I shot a similar TC in .22LR for the rimfire scoped gun matches and for iron sight only matches a S&W Model 17 with 8-3/8" barrel.

I brought a huge assortment of trophies and wall plaques home using those guns.