"Tonight, old man, you did it..."

[Rick the Librarian]

Tonight, old man, you did it!
You did it! You did it! You said that you would do it,
And indeed you did. I thought that you would rue it;
I doubted you'd do it. But now I must admit it
That succeed you did.

--My Fair Lady

I have to admit I feel like a combination of Professor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle! I finally successfully reloaded 30 Krag 30-40 cartridges!!

It went off without a hitch. I used Hogsden H335 powder, 30 grains, with 180 gr. FMJ .308 bullets. They loaded easily, and, to make things better, I took 10 of them to the range, stuck the pointy ends towards the muzzle of my Krag and they all went BOOM, sending the bullet down range!!

After sticking my toe in the water for months, I finally did it!!

Now, to slug the barrel and get some (much cheaper) cast bullets!

[Parashooter]

So, what was all the angst about? Been reading too many horror stories on the internet, I suppose.

[Rick the Librarian]

I think the combination of lubrication, trimming, etc. When attempting a new task or skill, the hardest thing for me to do is just to DO it. Once I get over that first hump, everything is OK. I did notice that my first session of rifle reloading went much easier (maybe beginner's luck?) than did the pistol reloading.

Now ... where to find some reasonably priced .308 .30 caliber cast bullets???

[BudT]

Rick,
Look around maybe you can find someone near you that can cast some up for you at a reasonable price. I use 180-200 grain cast GC rolled in Alox in my 30-40 Winchester 95 and they shoot almost as good as any jacketed slug except for a Hornady 160 grain and it shoots better than I can see to hold. Using a cast GC you can drive them at 2,000 fps and better if you wish if the bolt gun is capable of those pressures. I suppose you could slow them down for the sake of saving some powder. Remember to get a case expanding die to flair the mouth of the case with so you don't shave any lead when you seat the slugs, a Lee factory crimp die is also usefull. If you ever get into casting you to will feel some satisfaction and pride in making your own and either shootin or hunting with them is the same. To take game with your handloads using your own slugs is great.

[Rick the Librarian]

I got the crimp die as part of the Lee die set. I think the die set was part of the problem - I had an older die set I had picked up at a gunshow some time back. I decided to get a new Lee set because that was what I was used to reloading for pistol.

I'll keep my eyes open for some cast bullets - I have quite a few 180 gr. SMKs, but I hate to use them for just casual shooting.

[Irish Rob]

Western Bullet Company. 210gr gas check spire point.

[Matt Anthony]

Rick:
You can buy lead bullets from many online companies, Midwayusa.com is just a start. Wideners, Midsouth Shooters Supply, powdervalleyinc.com, Natchez are just a few. Google lead rifle bullets and more will appear.
If you are smart, you will start casting your own, however, the price of alloy is continuing to rise and the wheel weight supply is drying up due to lead being phased out of wheel weights. There are still zillions of tons of wheel weights available, wrecking yards, recyclers and repair/tire shops. You have to look around!
If you do cast your own bullets, make sure you adhere to all safety procedures and make sure you wear safety glasses and a shield. You only have one set of eyes!
Matt

[Matt Anthony]

Rick:
Check out Midsouth:
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.co...52%49%46%4C%45

[Rick the Librarian]

Never had the desire to cast my own bullets. I have to admit my lovely bride, although very tolerant of all my other firearms "excesses" might draw the line at that!

Thanks for the links - they were very helpful.

[joem]

I did much the same thing with a 1882 Danish rifle in 11.75 Danish cal. I tinkered with it for a little over a year with brass trying to get something to fit. Finally decided to load up a few rounds and try it out. Strapped it to a bench and moved back and fired it with a string around the trigger. After five rounds and no KaBoom I figured it was safe to fire. Now I shoot it all the time.