Made a plain base today.

[Ben]

As some of you know by now, I'm really enjoying my T/C Contender in 32 H&R Mag.
Obviously, I can also shoot 32 S&W Longs in my pistol.

Today I was looking at a mould that I bought recently.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/48...er-309-diameter-113-grain-flat-nose-gas-check
For me, It cast .310 dia. bullets with clip on air cooled WW's.
I've already shot some in my Contender ( with a .308" bore ) with gas checks, they shoot great.

Today, I thought......" If I remove the g/c shank from the rear cavity of this mould, I've still got the front cav. as a g/c design......Ummmm ? ? , I wonder how the plain base version would shoot ? ? "

I should know soon.
I've removed the g/c shank.
I doubt with the plain base that it would do well past 850-900 fps.
But, with a 32 S&W Long, that would be just about right.
All bands mike .310" except, the rear band , once the bullet goes through a .311" sizer , the rear band alone mikes .311".

I thought about connecting the 2 rear drive bands and having one thick rear drive band, then thought against that idea and cut it as you see it below.

An added bonus with this one might be a " training load " bullet for the 30-06 and the 308 Win.
Maybe about 4.5 grs. of B'Eye with the bullet , and keep the target at 25 yards for a young ( 10-12 yr. old ) shooter.

Well, we won't know a thing about this one until it heads down range.
Stay tuned.................

Ben

 

[Rick]

Hhmmm . . . Why do you doubt it would not do well past 850-900 fps? I shoot PB 130's in my BH 30 Carbine at 1100+ as a reduced load. Works great. I haven't tried pushing it past that but only because I had no need/reason to but it should do well up to at least 1500 fps.

 

[frnkeore]

I can shoot PB to 1600 fps w/o leading and target accuracy with 20/1 alloy. A friend, shoots at 1680 fps with 120 gr (same alloy), 25 cals and shoots regularly, 10 shot groups, under 1.5" at 200 yrds.

Frank

 

[Dale53]

Ben;
I agree with Ric. My Schuetzen rifle is a genuine 1/2 minute rifle at 200 yards with a plain base bullet at 1400 fps. Further, my .357 and .44 Magnums handle full velocity with plain base bullets (in revolvers).

So, chances are good, you can shoot, with accuracy, whatever velocity you need within the bounds of safety. My experience tells me that plain base works until about 1400 fps.

FWIW
Dale53

 

[Ian]

Velocity in a .30-caliber past 15-1600 fps without leading is easily possible if the bullet seals well in the throat, it's accuracy that deteriorates. If you use a compacting buffer, a little more plain-base velocity can be squeezed out with good accuracy.

 

[Dale53]

Ben;
By the way, good job on the mold modification. Looks nice and maybe we can all learn a bit from your experimenting.

Dale

 

[williamwaco]

I shoot PB cast in my contender .357 and my Ruger .30 carbine at 1600 + all the time with excellent results.

I will bet a dollar against a peanut that you will too.

 

[williamwaco]

PS: How did you cut it?

 

[Ben]

The " Mad Scientist " at work today.
Think I'll go back down in my dungeon and think up another project.

OK, you guys have me convinced that I can shoot this one much faster than 900 fps.
We'll see ? ?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

williamwaco,

I cut it with a .312 " drill bit and about 15 minutes of work to insure and guarantee the bit was entering the base of the mold at a " Perfect 90." I also computed the depth of the cut to remove the g/c shank and leave me a bit of a lube groove between the 2 drive bands on the rear of the bullet.






Ben

 

[Ian]

There you go, good thinking on leaving a lube groove.

 

[williamwaco]

The " Mad Scientist " at work today.
Think I'll go back down in my dungeon and think up another project.

OK, you guys have me convinced that I can shoot this one much faster than 900 fps.
We'll see ? ?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

williamwaco,

I cut it with a .312 " drill bit and about 15 minutes of work to insure and guarantee the bit was entering the base of the mold at a " Perfect 90." I also computed the depth of the cut to remove the g/c shank and leave me a bit of a lube groove between the 2 drive bands on the rear of the bullet.




Ben

As they say - - - > Great minds run on parallel tracks.

I am planning the same thing with my 170 grain .30-30 Lee Molld.
I have chosen a 5/16 drill bit for the surgery.

I haven't "Done the deed" yet but winter is when I do that kind of stuff when it is too cold to get out.

 

[Ben]

williamwaco,

My friend Ken has shot some of my plain based .30 cal. bullets.
He has enjoyed shooting tight groups and saving a little bit on powder and the additional cost of gas checks.

He wanted to order a Lee, .30 cal. mold with the express goal of removing the g/c shank in one of the cavities. I suggested the Lee. 180 gr. g/c version.

I told him that I'd help him with the project. I used a HSS , 5/16" drill bit that is razor sharp.

The bit cuts a super clean and concentric hole.

The project went well today. Kens bullets are miking .3115" with a .300" nose. Should be some good " numbers " for him.

Ben

Here is a 5 shot group with the bullet that you see above at 50 yards :

 

[Ben]

Recently I did some additional testing of the SAECO # 301 plain base bullet.

In the photo below, my friend Bryan shot these two groups with his rifle. The # 301 plain base is showing a good deal of promise :



I fired a group ( sorry no photo ) with his rifle with 8.5 grs. of Herco and the SAECO # 301 that was a good bit tighter than either of the groups above.

Needless to say, we will both be shooting more of the SAECO # 301 plain base bullets.

 

[Maven]

Nice job and good shooting, Ben!

 

[Ben]

Thanks Paul,

Ben

 

[Maven]

Makes me wish I owned a drill press, Ben! Also, would a Forster inside neck reamer, e.g., .308" or .311" chucked in a drill press work as well as a drill bit?

 

[Ben]

Paul,

I can't say.......It might ? ?

People have tried to get me to switch over to a .312 " flutted reamer.
However, I have such good luck with my " system ", I am afraid to switch.

Ben

 

[Ian]

Makes me wish I owned a drill press, Ben! Also, would a Forster inside neck reamer, e.g., .308" or .311" chucked in a drill press work as well as a drill bit?

Yes, it will, much better than a drill bit and much better than any other use I could find for it. The trick is to pull the cord out of the wall, pull the belt off, and turn the chuck by hand.

 

[JWFilips]

I plain based one cavity of my NOE 311-165 Ranch dog Al La Ben's method & it worked Flawless. Also did a Lee 329-205 Again perfect
Then I did a NOE 326-180 Ranch Dog ......Well first cut would have been fine but i wasn't satisfied! decided to "clean it up"! Found out you can't do that! I call that one my 8 MM "ugly dog" now! Yes it shoots but it is "ugly"...guess I just like pretty bullets!

 

[Ben]

Jim,

Pretty is as pretty does...................