gpb
posted this
21 January 2013
To Lefty:
Thanks for the information on the Savage magazine. I'll probably start looking for a Stevens 200 in .308 Win. this week. With the current demand for firearm related goods I hope I can find one.
I choose the .308 because it may offer the best hope of getting the magazine to function with .30 Remington cartridges. Also, I can cast and shoot .30 caliber bullets in it while I gather the parts to assemble the .30 Remington.
In reply to John Alexander who wrote:
“gpb,
Have you actually had trouble casting small bullets or just heard the old wives tales that they are more difficult. I have cast 22 bullets from about every mold on the market and from several custom designs and have never found them any harder to cast than larger calibers. The short stubby ones are a pain to handle.
John”
I have not cast bullets smaller than .30 caliber and my trepidation on casting smaller than .30 is based on past history. First some background. I did a lot of bullet casting more than thirty years ago. However, due to having to make many moves in my career, I haven't been able to cast bullets for over thirty years. I'm recently retired and getting back into it.
When I was casting, I cast bullets in .45 ACP, .38 Spl., and .308 Win. From thirty years ago I remember that 45 were easy, 38 were fairly easy and that 30 were beginning to become difficult. I was able to shoot 30 with good results. However, as the bullet diameters had became smaller, the number of culls increased. Therefore, as a re-entry point into bullet casting I have chosen .30 caliber. If I can cast 30 caliber and get good groups, I'll consider a smaller caliber as my next step. For now, one step at a time.
So in summary, I chose 30 as having the degree of difficulty that would provide a good re-entry point to bullet casting. It would offer a nice challenge, but not be so over whelming as to discourage further activity.
Dick