Cast bullets in the Max

[mag41vance]

Did some more shooting at DJ's with some of the Gascheck 185gr lead flat point bullets he produced, and I am very happy with the loads tested.
 

[marv]

Vance, Looks like both are good groups, Do you one is better than the other?  :-D  I think you should Try another Couple groups  of each
 load see if it is repeatable as good. I see I am going to have to try
 some of your loads to see if I can do as well. Keep us posted Thanks
 Good luck  Marv.

[Leftoverdj]

Marv, those groups are not just repeatable, that bullet just does not seem to care what powder you push it with. I have been shooting 19 grains of H-110 and 19 grains of WC 820 with the same results. Push that bullet around 1900 fps, give or take a hundred and that's what the groups look like.

I shoot five shot groups and get off all five shots within maybe 3 minutes and my groups stay within an inch. Vance cools his barrel several minutes between shots and gets the results you see.

For those of you who wanna try this at home, those bullets were waterquenched on casting and gas checked in a .360 size. Oversized very hard bullets are the way to go in a Handi.

[mag41vance]

Vance, Looks like both are good groups, Do you one is better than the other?  :-D  I think you should Try another Couple groups  of each
 load see if it is repeatable as good. I see I am going to have to try
 some of your loads to see if I can do as well. Keep us posted Thanks
 Good luck  Marv.

  Those two targets were a total of six shots. When I overlaid the two targets on my drawing table and lined up the points of aim. The 6 shots together measured .875" at 50 yards;  not bad for two different powders.
  That bullet is a real shooter.
           Regards,
                     vance

[handirifle]

Have any of you .357 owners ever shot the shotshell rounds from these barrels?

Was wondering how they are out to 10 yds or so.  Here is So Cal the quail season overlaps the deer season and sometimes it would be nice to have a way to switch to shotgun mode real fast.

[mag41vance]

Have any of you .357 owners ever shot the shotshell rounds from these barrels?

Was wondering how they are out to 10 yds or so.  Here is So Cal the quail season overlaps the deer season and sometimes it would be nice to have a way to switch to shotgun mode real fast.

 I have not and would not. I would simply grab my 20ga barrel out of my pack, and slam that on for quail.
 These NEF's are so temperamental, I'd be afraid that it would foul the rifling to very quickly.

[Paul5388]

Handi,

I think the .410/45 LC might be a better direction to go, if you want the ability to bag some quail.

Vance,

I don't think you have any .360 DW's, but try some .357's with that bullet.  It looks like it has a lot of promise and I might want to try some in my Handi.

DJ,

It seems like you may be verifying the Handi has a .358" barrel instead of a .357" barrel.  I have been using some Beartooth cast bullets that are sized to .359" and they are shooting pretty good compared to .358" cast bullets.

[Leftoverdj]

Paul, I dunno just what I am verifying. We have three variables here, new bullet design, .360 sizing, and water quenching to make those bullets hard as Chinese arithmatic. Could be any one, could be a combination of all.

The water quenching is dead easy. Just drop the bullets into a bucket of water as you cast. Some birdshot in your alloy helps. I add a cat food can full to 20 lbs of WW. You want to crimp your GCs on within a few hours and you don't wanna size the bullets any more than you can help in doing it.

Lyman has a .360 sizer for those with lubrisizers. Lee does not, but you can lap a Lee out by coating some cull bullets with fine valve grinding compound and shucking them through until they start coming out the right size.

The bullets came from a limited run custom mould. They are all gone and I seriously doubt that anyone who got one will part with it.

[Paul5388]

DJ,

I tried to slug my barrel with some Hornady swaged HBWC's , but couldn't get them to go more than 1/8".  Don't really know what diameter they are, since they are out of round to a degree that prevents any sort of accurate measurement.  It was the only thing I had that should be soft lead.

[Leftoverdj]

I use .375 RBs for a .36 cap and ball. Other folks use 3/8" sinkers from any tackle shop. 000 Buck works. Those you tap a bit to very slightly flatten them before you drive them through flat down. You get really stuck, email me a snail mail address and I'll send you a few RBs.

If you wanna have another try with those HBWC, just drop them in from the breech and drive them through with a rod and mallet. Brass rod is the best, steel will do if you get the end into that hollow base. Solid aluminum of 1/4" or 5/16" will do fine but you'll only ruin an aluminum cleaning rod. Some folks who are braver than I just load them up over a grain of fast pistol powder and shoot them into a pile of soft rags.

Imho, slugging the barrel ain't absolutely necessary. Cast bullets have to be oversized. .002" is about ideal, but .003 won't hurt nothing as long as the loaded cartridge chambers easily. This means that .360 oughta work in anything from NEF or Marlin. If you are gonna push them hard, you need a gas checked bullet and a hard alloy.

[jeff223]

looks like you have a winner there RV&leftover.good shooting :grin:

[Paul5388]

DJ,

Thanks for the offer.  I'm not too concerned about cast size, it's which jacketed bullet to use.  I have used pistol bullets and I have used rifle bullets, but I think the barrel is just now getting to the stage of being broke in.  Of course, diameter may be of importance like OAL in the long throats.  I have found the long OAL importance to be non-existant, .38 Specials shoot as good as .360 DW's.

I would imagine an M16 cleaning rod would be sufficient to drive a RB through?

[Leftoverdj]

I would imagine an M16 cleaning rod would be sufficient to drive a RB through?

Should be. I'd add a section at a time, though, to cut down on the possiblity of bending and I'd want the front section bedded solid in the center of the RB so it could not get wedged against the rifling. Might dig around and see if you have a brass machine screw that fits those threads.

And jacketed are much more tolerant of groove size then cast. Whether you use .357 or .358 jacketed will make very little difference.

[Paul5388]

DJ,

You have always been a source of good information.  Thanks!