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30/06 semi-auto with cast lead bullets
jhebison
Member Posts: 34 ✭✭
I may be off the board here, but I want to practice with my Rem 742 (semi-auto) shooting lead bullets.
Problem I have had is bolt does not eject and chamber the next round. I tried 150g bullet, the action did not unlock after firing. Next tried the 200g at max load by Lyman's book, bolt opened 4/5th the way. Tried increasing over max load by 1 grain and then 2 grains. Same result. Decided I needed some help.
Anyone got experience with cast bullets from a semi-auto rifle?
I can practice with the 200g and shoot as bolt action, meaning I manually work the bolt. But if there is a safe way to let the action cycle, I'd prefer it.
Problem I have had is bolt does not eject and chamber the next round. I tried 150g bullet, the action did not unlock after firing. Next tried the 200g at max load by Lyman's book, bolt opened 4/5th the way. Tried increasing over max load by 1 grain and then 2 grains. Same result. Decided I needed some help.
Anyone got experience with cast bullets from a semi-auto rifle?
I can practice with the 200g and shoot as bolt action, meaning I manually work the bolt. But if there is a safe way to let the action cycle, I'd prefer it.
Comments
quote:Originally posted by perry shooter
I am not sure about the Remington 742 But most semi auto's do not like lead bullets if they are gas operated the lead clogs up the gas port in the barrel . You might want to go back and try jacketed ammo it may not work now because the lead cloged up something . If the 742 is NOT gas operated then this is not the problem but rather not enough recoil generated by the load. Lyman lead loads are made to keep the velocity low so lead bullet will not strip in the bore look at your bullet weight and velocity and compare with jacketed bullet same weight and it's velocity if more then 10% different then lead load will not function in most cases.
quote:Originally posted by XXCross
Before you bag this idea, you might want to go back and try using powders that are slower than the ones that are usually prescribed for cast bullet loading. (longer burning curve of these powders keeps the pressures up longer)
Thanks anyway.
quote:Originally posted by flyingtorpedo
Do a search of the forums as well, link in the upper right of the page. A while back there was a thread about lead bullets in a garand. May get something usefull from that.[?]
http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=359893&SearchTerms=cast,garand
I am not sure about the Remington 742 But most semi auto's do not like lead bullets if they are gas operated the lead clogs up the gas port in the barrel .
Nonsense. It is a simple machine that requires a given volume of gas in a prescribed pressure range to function. Unless an angry beaver gnawed the barrel port you should be fine. Velocity has nothing to do with it, it is nearly a function of the pressure.
Lead is almost all I have shot out of my FN FAL's in the last year or two, no lead in the gas systems, or bores. Slow burning powders are the key. H4831 works well, AA3100 worked well too. If I were you I would start at 40 grains and work up till she cycles( with a 180-200 grain bullet).
It would be a mistake to say that cast bullets cannot be successfully shot from a semi auto without plugging the gas system, but it is something that shouldn't be approached by the novice cast shooter or reloader. You've found out one reason already- a load that won't lead the bore or plug the gas system up might not operate the action. On the other hand a load that will work everything that is fine for a jacketed bullet might lead everything up horribly.
You want a bullet that is about 1/1000 over bore diameter (up to 4/1000 is fine so long as it chambers ok with no resistance), a good lube, gas check, and lead alloy that is fairly hard. You still want to keep velocity under 2000 fps. Doing all this and finding a powder that operates the action is a challenge. As the last poster said, a slow powder is a good choice; 4831, 4350, etc. are slow enough that 3 things are accomplished. First, load density is sufficient to allow complete ignition while (second) providing enough gas to operate the action and (third) not exceeding 2000 fps.
Medium burn rate powders will also work but you have to modify the loading and you start to get on the border of not enough oomph to cycle the action. If you want my go to load for such applications- 32 gr of IMR 4895 will just operate my Garand with a 200 grain bullet. Normally this weight would be too heavy for the M1 but with a reduced load isn't an issue. Something like 44 would be a max load for a jacketed bullet but too hot for the op rod. Runs about 1800-1900 fps depending on powder lot, primer, bullet design, etc. Start at 28 or so and work up to no more than 35.
What loads did you try?