Ok,ok! This is a goofy question. What is your favorite cast bullet rifle cartridge? I'll go first. .308 is the best long range but.... .357 is a lot of fun! it is easy to reload and the bullets I shoot are the Tumble lube type. One can lube several thousand while checking your eyelids for cracks. The boxes to store the reloads in are called '5 gallon buckets'. What are your reasons for your choice?

( This thread started because of the old joke when I worked on the drilling rigs- "why do druggies wish they could work in the oilfielf? .... Because joints are 30 feet long,dope comes in 5 gallon buckets and each rig has it's own pusher!"

joints= joints of drill pipe, dope = buckets of thread dope to lube the screws of the pipe, and pusher= man who overseen the operation of the rig.)

I've got two favorites, 45 Colt and 375 Whelen.
The 45 Colt because it's accurate, easy to load for and under most conditions it will do anything the 44 Mag will do with a lost less noice and cost. I load these by the thousands every year
The 375 Whelen because it can be loaded from 38-55 to nearly 375 H&H power levels. I've got molds for 250 gr to 300 gr all of which are very accurate with their choice of powder and velocity.
Jim

My favorite is 338 Mag with Lee 220s and next is Type 99 7.7X58 with Lee soupcans sized to 0.309.

LouisB

45-2.6"(100)
Brent

OK, I'll bite.

I just can't get away from my 1896 30-40 Krag Rifle.

I'm pretty sure the statement, "the .308 is best for long range" may not be quite right.

Of course any ACCURATE cast bullet rifle is deserving of being called a "favorite cast bullet rifle".

Civilize them with a Krag!

Have fun, JCherry

I can't think of one I don't like. I guess my favorite is what ever I have in the back on the way to the range. I guess I'm just easy to please about some things.

There is no doubt about it. The 323 thru 375 diameter rifles are by far the easiest to load with powders on hand. It seems with every 35 bore in particular, all you have to do is load the case full of appropriate powder, stick on a medium weight boolit, and it will shoot (offhand) as good as you can hold. Never fails. No special tuning required, unless desired to hone in for a scoped rifle. Yes, this works for the 357 maggie too. ... felix

Felix
This has been my experience with 45 Caliber bullets. Fill the case to more then half full of powder, stick a bullet on it and you've got something you could hunt with.
Jim

Hi to all that have posted ...so far! Hmmmm... I figured I'd be skinned AND nailed to the shed over this one. But I am among friends- right?....RIGHT???.

I have to agree about the .357 bores. Almost anything reasonable shoots well in them.

I thought "fer sure them 45/70 fellers would be all over this". And where are the -06 guys? hmmm...

Now I have -0- (zero) experience with the 30/40 Krag. But my Cast Bullet book says they shot cast loads to 1000 yds with good effect..... so hmmmm...

Anyway, I thought I would 'stir the pot' a little. I like reading what you guys have to say. Dale

Jim, it has to do case capacity and twist together, and it just seems the short-range calibers have it together straight from the git-go. The 30 calibers would have no flies if the 14 twist barrels were the norm. Yes, cutting the 45-70 case capacity in half, or at least a third, would be a better choice of a cartridge for shooting all day at the dump. The 22-26 twist would be just dandy for a 325 grainer. ... felix

I'm too busy with the short guns, so I haven't messed around much with long guns except the 470.

Dale--

About a dead heat in rifles between the 45-70/Ruger #1 and 9.3 x 62/CZ-550. A Rem 788 x 243 is showing surprising accuracy with RCBS 95 SP, so I might now have a rat zapper for cast boolits. The 30-06 has its moments of glory, but consistency is lacking for me with the rifle I currently have (pre-'64 M-70).

Although they can be a pain to cast,I'm fond of the .22 cal cast bullets. I use jacketed bullets on big game,but those .22 cast work great varmint(mostly jackrabbit)hunting.

45/70 is the one I have had most expirience with. Along with the muzzleloader bullets 50 and 54 REAL bullets for my fast twist guns and round ball 54 for my RB shooter. Just getting into the 8mm and 30 calibers. Got a pot of wheel weight just setting waiting for me to cast into 8 mm bullets. Jim

Any big ones over 40cal!





Left to Right; 40/65 Win, 577/450 Martini; 45/70 Gov.





i7 MachIV, 50/70 Gov.

Hi All! & G-Day to Mr Wallace! .22 cast bullets can shoot- and they are maddening to cast! Especially someone like me with bad eyes and all thumbs!

Mr Wallace- What are the cartridges you show? I guess the middle is a 450 Martini?? But that is only a guess.

A friend once shot cast in a .243. The bullets were of the poorest quality and they still shot good (under moa at 100 yds) This was more years ago than I care to admit and I can't remember any particulars. Has anyone played with the .358 and cast? That seems to be an efficent round. hmmmm... Like I need another caliber....... Dale

Dale - I have turned into a big .358 fan. Do a search on Aimoo Cast Boolits for .358 and Waksupi, and you will see my trials and tribulations with this chambering. I likes it!
With the heavy Bator bullet, or a 3589, they are some serious medicine for large hairy critters. There is virtually no difference for cast bullet shooting between this and the .35 Whelen.

Hello,
It's a tough call;but only two contenders.
The 30/40 Krag and the 45/70 Govt.
Take anyone's suggested load,or any load listed in a manual,and it will shoot pretty good.
Frank

I had to think about that one.

.25-20 WCF

Bullets are a good bit easier to cast than the smaller ones. Case capacity is about right for smokeless and the velocities I want. Easy on wallet, ears, and shoulder to shoot.

Got me wanting to dig mine out and do a serious accuracy workup.

So many temptations and so little time.

Boy, that's a tuff one, my 50-140 was up until I sold it, so now it a toss up between the 45-120, 450 3 1/4"Nitro, or my 33 winchester

My is the 30-40 Krag, nice long neck,just the right amount of powder space for just about any load.

Hi Again!

Deputy Al- How do you like your CZ rifle? I have drooled on a few pictures of them.... haven't laid the cash out yet....... And the I wanted a ruger #3 in something BIG! ...who knows why... maybe something will escape from the St Louis Zoo and head my way.

BUT... a few months ago 3 big buffalo escaped from their pen and were running down the road. The cops got a local guy to down them..... I had hoped they would just run back to the pen but the owner was too concerned with liability.... They had a few brushes with cars and the cars lost! I am thinking a .300 winmag or a .338 was the medicine.

Speaking of the .358 Win.... I seen a picture of an FN/FAL rifle in Alaska rebarreled to .358. When asked why- the owner replied, " Bears, you know!"

DE Hillyer, pard;

The Canadian-made FAL, the C1/C1A1, was the service rifle during my time in that country's Army, and I respect the design a great deal. I've often considered the .260 or 7-08 as neat possibilities for the FAL, and I think maybe DSA makes such rifles, but I NEVER even considered a necked-UP .308 for the beast. That gent in Alaska really has a practical bear gun! With 20 RELIABLE rounds on board, the FAL with Partition or Trophy-Bonded 210 (.338-08?) or 250 grain bullets would be a fearsome close-quarters bear rifle indeed. It's the next thing to a 1918A1 Browning Automatic Rifle, and can be fired every bit as fast without the complication of full-auto. The muzzle-blast ranges involved in defensive shooting of bears would suit the velocities of good game bullets from the .308 just about perfectly. Hmmmm......

(I tried my last FAL with cast bullets, but it wasn't very successful.)

Right now, I'd say the .30-40 in my Krag carbine would be my most-favored cast-bullet cartridge, but oh Lordy, I am a fickle soul....

Regards from BruceB (aka Bren Mk1)

Hi Bruce! Ya, I think I remember the .358 has energy out of line with it's size. This guy ( I don't know him- just read his post)thought it was worthwhile to have handy. If you didn't kill that big ol' griz.... he sure would be in a nasty mood!

That FAl is one heck of a rifle. If you got a good one- you got a good one! Mine shoots cast just fine! But I really would like to have one in .358! Why,why,why do we want things we shouldn't? ( I am beginning to think that hot cars and fast women would be cheaper than this hobby!)

Just an old .30/30. Seems kind of ho hum next to BA's fodder...

I have a .480 ruger T/C Encore barrel and I am looking to get a mould for casting bullets and can only find 400 and above moulds but I want around 320 grain moulds can anyone tell me where I can get them?

Schmidt_bender

Try here

http://www.mountainmolds.com/