Mihec 30cal silhouette cast bullet in the 308w

[forrest r]

I bought this mold over year ago and cast a couple hundred test bullets with it & then traditionally sized/lubed them. Never did get around to testing them so I re-sized & lubed them and loaded up ladder tests using H335.


Did 32gr, 33gr, 34gr, 35gr loads. In earlier tests I use 34gr of H335 with the lee 312-160-tl bullet and got 2464fps for a 10-shot string. This Mihec bullet is heavier (14gr) and seats deeper (50/1000th's) then that lee bullet. Didn't chronograph the loads on this 1st outing, simply wanted to get an idea of what this bullet can do/withstand.


Interestingly enough this mihec bullet held the same 2" 10-shot groups @ 100yds over a 2gr spread in the H335 loads. Those 10-shot groups were measured outside to outside on the holes.

With jacketed bullets a 2" 10-shot group @ 100yds with a 175gr bullet in a 308w doing 2400fps+ is disappointing. With cast bullets it's a good start. I'm hoping to get a consistent 10-shot 1 1/2" group/load with this bullet doing 2500fps+ (that 34gr load is right @ 2500fps) using the mixed lc nato brass that I've been using. If I can do that then I'll break out the match brass and really see what this bullet can do.

Anyway not bad for a 175gr cast bullet doing 2400fps+ in a 308w using mixed brass and +/- 10gr less powder then 175gr jacketed bullets.

 

[AJC1]

Being able to cast and assemble casual plinking rounds that shoot that well in rifle is a goal. I'm still learning the craft in pistol and hope to get loads for my 7.7 and 6.5 sweed to work that well. The only twist being that I hope to avoid the gas check with powdercoat. The classic molds with gc seem to rule the market and a few are coming out flat base.

 

[Barbaroja]

Very nice results! Just started casting the lee 170gn (177.5 with my alloy gas checked and powder coated) flat point for 30-30, I have also had good luck using h335.

 

[Barbaroja]

Being able to cast and assemble casual plinking rounds that shoot that well in rifle is a goal. I'm still learning the craft in pistol and hope to get loads for my 7.7 and 6.5 sweed to work that well. The only twist being that I hope to avoid the gas check with powdercoat. The classic molds with gc seem to rule the market and a few are coming out flat base.

Check out NOE moulds. They have plain base and checked options of their design and you can get both options on the same mould (ex. 2 cavity mould that casts 1 plain base 1 gas check)
I’m about to order the neck expanders they sell for my cast loading.they expand down the neck like the Lyman M die but They use the lee universal expansion die body and are available in any size you under the sun for perfect neck tension for your bullets.

 

[forrest r]

I'm trying for a load that will do 1 1/2" 10-shot groups @ 100yds with this bullet doing 2550fps+.

It's boringly easy to get moa loads with jacketed bullets. Same thing with cast bullets in the 1800fps to 2100fps range. It starts to get interesting @ 2200fps with cast bullets.

Start pushing cast bullets 2400fps+ and the fun starts. Myself I like the challenge of learning from testing different alloys/lubes/bullet diameters & then adding faster and slower powders to mix to try to get the most out of a specific cast bullet.