Anybody cast for M1917, might get it going but need info.

I may be getting into casting for my M1917 in specific. I am not new to casting, at one time I did so for .303 and .40 but never attempted for any 7.62 calibers and there are many options for 7.62.

I am looking for tried and true recipes from some of you guys who actually shoot your casts on a regular basis. I am known to go through 200 rounds at one range outing so jacketed bullets are just not feasible anymore other than hunting but 100 loaded jacketed rounds for hunting will last longer than my time here on earth.

I will be casting for my M1917 so any info on casting for this rifle in specific will be greatly helpful.

well, lets see what you casting vets have developed!!!!

I use 180 gr bullets and 17 grains of Unique.
The Lyman manual has the best cast bullet section of any loading manual I am aware of. Other than the cast bullet books

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Originally Posted by bb1

I use 180 gr bullets and 17 grains of Unique.
The Lyman manual has the best cast bullet section of any loading manual I am aware of. Other than the cast bullet books

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yeah, I like the Lyman book but I just had no idea what i should or shouldn't factor in for weight vs twist rate etc.

My 1917 shoots cast bullets well. I have shot them in a 30 carbine. I get about a 3 foot group. It's kinda hard to measure. Never tried a P-14 or Springfield. I will try a K98 soon. If you want, I can keep you posted.

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Originally Posted by bb1

My 1917 shoots cast bullets well. I have shot them in a 30 carbine. I get about a 3 foot group. It's kinda hard to measure. Never tried a P-14 or Springfield. I will try a K98 soon. If you want, I can keep you posted.

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a 3 foot group? does it have a barrel or are you just using a sling shot screwed to the stock?:eek:

Milsurpguy,
my Eddystone shoots cast bullets very well. It shoots anything from 160- 200 grain bullets great out to 500 yards. The bullet that I use the most is Lyman's #311291 (170grn) round nose gas check. Another bullet that works well is Lee's 170 grain flat nose gas checked. I use Alliant 2400 powder. I got my loading info from an out of print book put out by or endorsed by the NRA. It suggests starting at 14 grains and working up to I believe a max of 21 grains. I shoot 16.5 grains with great success. One thing about 2400 is that 16.5 grains takes up very little space in the cartridge case making double charges hard to see. A double charge will damage the rifle and likely the shooter. I visually check each case before seating the bullet. I have some shooting buddies that do well with 12-13 grains of Unique. Recoil is very light with any of these. Hope this helps.

Tacofrank

Geez, with the amount of people that use and swear by 2400 I would be a fool not to try it out:dancingbanana:

You can't go wrong with 10 grs Unique in 30-06, very accurate and excellent in most other calibers also. A pleasure to shoot and no need to use more powder then the 10 grs. Excellent groups in my 1903A4 and Enfield "T" sniper with that load. Ray

Cast bullets shoot very well in the 1917. One of the keys to achieving this is in the bullet selection. 17's have 5 groove (and land) barrels. This works out to the lands occupying 5/8 of the bore circumference. Because of this arrangement the best design of cast bullet is one that has a relatively short(er) "bullet body" and a long(er) nose or bore-riding forepart that will ride on top of those lands. This was pointed out in detail by Col. Harrison in his writings for the NRA Handloading Book. Such a bullet was the Lyman #311334 a 190 grainer. This bullet mold has been long since discontinued, but the clone... Lyman #311332 is still available. The body of the bullet selected regardless of manufacturer should come from the mold with a body of preferably .310" or larger and a forepart or nose diameter (and this is important) of .301-.302". The nose has to be that diameter in order to ride on the lands and be guided positively by them. A smaller diameter will result in the bullet tilting/slumping on its axis while going down the barrel and poor accuracy will result. Lyman molds-numbers 311291, 311284, 311672, 311679, 311299 will all work well. RCBS #044-82020 is also good. All of the Lee molds in 30 cal from 170 grain on up are also of the right configuration for bore-rider. In the Saeco realm the #301 is an excellent choice as it is the reincarnation of the famous RG-4, a 196 grainer. Their #307 is similar to the Lyman 311291 and should work as well. As for powder charges all previous recommendations made so far are good, but there are many many possible combinations that will also work very well. Custom made molds made by other firms and individuals will do as well as any of the above mentioned ones as long as attention is paid to the bore riding feature. I'm sure that some folks have used differently configured bullets, and perhaps with some degree of success, but the long nosed ones w/shorter bodies will always do better. All bullets mentioned use gas checks although I have never tried the ones I use without them. They all also fall into the weight range appropriate for the rate of twist in the 1917's. With well cast bullets, the proper attention to powder selection and careful adjustment thereof, you can/might achieve MOA or pretty close to it. Some experimentation, patience and practice will do it. JC