Post by Bullshop on Jun 22, 2019 19:55:24 GMT -7
A success story is something everyone usually enjoys hearing about so I would like to ramble on a bit about a double success story that I have recently enjoyed. This story is partly about a gun and partly about a mold and the success of a mating of the two.
Pat 1 The Gun
This part of the story started a couple years ago with the purchase of a barrel. This barrel was quite unusual in more than one way. First it is finished at 30" length. If anyone has ever priced barrels you know that barrels at anything over 26" come at a premium price and anything over 28" is hard to find and adds cost totally disproportionate with standard lengths.
Secondly it was pre-chambered for the 30-06 Ackley. Being an ardent fan of anything Ackley the chambering quickly got my attention. It also has a section about 1" in length at the muzzle that is reduced in diameter from the palma contour for a target front sight. This section could also be threaded for a break or suppressor.
The third oddity is that the barrel shank has two threading pitches. The chamber face end is threaded for a post 64 model 70 Winchester receiver but s section just behind the Win threads is threaded with Savage threads and came with a Savage barrel locking nut installed on the threads.
The way this works is that the barrel threads into a post 64 model 70 receiver then when headspace is correct the barrel is locked in place via the Savage barrel nut system. This barrel came from a gentleman target shooter that felt he was getting too old to continue to enjoy the sport so he offered this new never fired barrel at a shamefully low price. Apparently the odd features were too far out of the norm that no one seemed interested but seemingly always being the odd duck on the pond it appealed to me.
The three thing that appealed to me were that first no chamber reamer required for installation, hopefully ! Second the 30-06 Ackley chamber. Third the 30 barrel length.
I really like the added barrel length because it allows either higher velocity at standard pressure or equal velocity at lower pressure than more abbreviated barrel lengths. Yes there is a down side to added barrel length which is longer barrel dwell time. It is there but can be dealt with just as is done with a flint lock rifle with a conscious effort made with follow through.
I was aware that this could turn out to be a pig in a poke but the outwardly odd character of the barrel just seemed to appeal to my own outwardly odd character and the mating of the two seemed somehow normal. At the asking price it seemed I had little to loose and much to gain so I became the owner.
The next hurdle was to acquire a post 64 model 70 Winchester doner rifle at a price that would keep the project manageable. That took about a year of watching gun broker and putting in low bids until finally there was a three AM auction ending where everyone must have been sleeping because I was the only bidder.
Not immediately having funding for what might be a more appropriate stock design for a heavy long barrel and wanting to get the show on the road I just opened the barrel channel on the factory Winchester synthetic stock and got on with the project.
For a barrel break in I shot about 50 mid range velocity cast bullet loads through it and it was showing that it wanted to shoot good. There are no maker markings on the barrel but inspection of the bore showed a very smooth surface free from tool marks usually so apparent in low end barrels. I think that it had been lapped by its maker.
When it was time to get down to serious business I put together a load using a 190gn open tip flat base bullet I swaged on my old Corbin Mighty Might equipment using Sierra J-4 Jackets with a core alloy of 98% lead 2% antimony. The powder charge was 55.5gn of Scott 4351 sparked by an RP 9 1/2M primer. I will have Tina include a picture of the first three shot 100 yard group. Why only three shots ? Because the three shots measured .262" center to center and I just couldn't force myself to shoot any more into that group. Subsequent groups proved that the first was no fluke and that this combination was easily a half MOA shooter. At that moment my smile was so big it nearly broke my face. There was now no question about the barrel, it is a winner.
Part 2 The mold
This part started when Jr. convinced me that we needed to not only add powder coated bullets as an option to our customers but that since the 300 BO was such a hot item we needed to add a powder coat design specifically for that cartridge. Very possibly one of the last molds ever produced by NEI I took Jr's advice and invested in a six cavity mehanite mold for a 220 gn smooth semi round nose boat tail bullet design that would drop at .307" diameter from the mold.
We jumped into powder coating with this first mold with great enthusiasm but were repeatedly rewarded with great disappointment. The bullet looks good but I just simply could not get it to shoot good. Not for a lack of trying either because I burned a lot of powder in several rifles trying. I would go at it feverishly for a few days and never make any gains. In frustration I would end the project and after wounds healed and memory faded get it out and try again never making any significant progress. At one point I even put the mold up for sale on ebay at less than I paid but no takers. At this point it became a tangible reminder that plans don't always work out and in that alone had value.
One of the problems not exactly with the mold as the mold casts great but with the bullet design. The design carried the .307" diameter for most of its length with a very short ogive. This design feature necessitated very deep seating which apparently in some way was causing damage to the section of bullet below the case neck.
Finally just in the past couple days I remembered maybe about 15 years ago having had a 30 caliber nose die made then put it away and forgot about it. I recently noticed it in my die box and looking at it in the box looking down at the concave ejector punch I wondered what I was looking at. On closer inspection I had an OH YEA !!! I remember that. Then bingo the light went on. I had just dumped the last of the last batch of PC bullets I had made from this mold into a re-cycle lead can thinking I had had enough of it. With the ready bullets staring me in the face and the nose die in my hand I just could not resist the urge to try.
Taking a WAG on how much of the nose to size I felt about half the length of the bullet was about right. That leaves enough full groove diameter for solid hold on the rifling and at the same time allows enough nose length outside the case that the bullet base is not below the case shoulder in the 30-06 case neck. The bullets are now .310" diameter for about half their length not counting the boat tail and at .301" diameter for the nose half.
Since this bullet was intended for sub-sonic velocities in the 300 BO I though I would work in that velocity range in the 30-06 Ackley. Immediately it was apparent that the nose sizing completely changed the dynamics of the bullet design and that this bugger was now chomping at the bit and ready to race. Powder of choice for sub-sonic speeds was Trail Boss and 12gn seemed to be the sweet spot.
I just simply could not believe what I was seeing, groups repeatedly holding very close to one MOA. I think I even cried a little! I wanted to believe but the pain of the scars cause by this beast seemed to not allow it. I needed more proof! OK try my 308 Win a rifle that has proven a very accurate cast bullet shooter even with near top end pressure loads.
So the Winchester 30-06 Ackley was quickly traded for the old Savage 308 with great anticipation. Going with the same idea of sub-sonic velocities the 308 did its best shooting at 10gn and it too was punching nice tight little clusters at very nearly 0ne MOA. That did it !!! I was an emotional wreck !!! After all the failed attempts with this bullet finally success!!!
I am ecstatic !!! Today culminated in a double success story that has brought me great personal satisfaction. Now it appears as though The Bullshop may in the near future be offering a powder coated 220gn semi round nose boat tail bullet for sub-sonic loads in the 300 BO . This is a fairly long bullet and is showing complete stability from the 1/10" twist rifling in the two rifles I used. The 300 BO goes as fast as 1/7" so will have no stability issues even at velocities substantially lower than what I was shooting.
I will now go beg Tina to add a couple pictures I took to go along with these ramblings
Hope yall enjoy!
Pat 1 The Gun
This part of the story started a couple years ago with the purchase of a barrel. This barrel was quite unusual in more than one way. First it is finished at 30" length. If anyone has ever priced barrels you know that barrels at anything over 26" come at a premium price and anything over 28" is hard to find and adds cost totally disproportionate with standard lengths.
Secondly it was pre-chambered for the 30-06 Ackley. Being an ardent fan of anything Ackley the chambering quickly got my attention. It also has a section about 1" in length at the muzzle that is reduced in diameter from the palma contour for a target front sight. This section could also be threaded for a break or suppressor.
The third oddity is that the barrel shank has two threading pitches. The chamber face end is threaded for a post 64 model 70 Winchester receiver but s section just behind the Win threads is threaded with Savage threads and came with a Savage barrel locking nut installed on the threads.
The way this works is that the barrel threads into a post 64 model 70 receiver then when headspace is correct the barrel is locked in place via the Savage barrel nut system. This barrel came from a gentleman target shooter that felt he was getting too old to continue to enjoy the sport so he offered this new never fired barrel at a shamefully low price. Apparently the odd features were too far out of the norm that no one seemed interested but seemingly always being the odd duck on the pond it appealed to me.
The three thing that appealed to me were that first no chamber reamer required for installation, hopefully ! Second the 30-06 Ackley chamber. Third the 30 barrel length.
I really like the added barrel length because it allows either higher velocity at standard pressure or equal velocity at lower pressure than more abbreviated barrel lengths. Yes there is a down side to added barrel length which is longer barrel dwell time. It is there but can be dealt with just as is done with a flint lock rifle with a conscious effort made with follow through.
I was aware that this could turn out to be a pig in a poke but the outwardly odd character of the barrel just seemed to appeal to my own outwardly odd character and the mating of the two seemed somehow normal. At the asking price it seemed I had little to loose and much to gain so I became the owner.
The next hurdle was to acquire a post 64 model 70 Winchester doner rifle at a price that would keep the project manageable. That took about a year of watching gun broker and putting in low bids until finally there was a three AM auction ending where everyone must have been sleeping because I was the only bidder.
Not immediately having funding for what might be a more appropriate stock design for a heavy long barrel and wanting to get the show on the road I just opened the barrel channel on the factory Winchester synthetic stock and got on with the project.
For a barrel break in I shot about 50 mid range velocity cast bullet loads through it and it was showing that it wanted to shoot good. There are no maker markings on the barrel but inspection of the bore showed a very smooth surface free from tool marks usually so apparent in low end barrels. I think that it had been lapped by its maker.
When it was time to get down to serious business I put together a load using a 190gn open tip flat base bullet I swaged on my old Corbin Mighty Might equipment using Sierra J-4 Jackets with a core alloy of 98% lead 2% antimony. The powder charge was 55.5gn of Scott 4351 sparked by an RP 9 1/2M primer. I will have Tina include a picture of the first three shot 100 yard group. Why only three shots ? Because the three shots measured .262" center to center and I just couldn't force myself to shoot any more into that group. Subsequent groups proved that the first was no fluke and that this combination was easily a half MOA shooter. At that moment my smile was so big it nearly broke my face. There was now no question about the barrel, it is a winner.
Part 2 The mold
This part started when Jr. convinced me that we needed to not only add powder coated bullets as an option to our customers but that since the 300 BO was such a hot item we needed to add a powder coat design specifically for that cartridge. Very possibly one of the last molds ever produced by NEI I took Jr's advice and invested in a six cavity mehanite mold for a 220 gn smooth semi round nose boat tail bullet design that would drop at .307" diameter from the mold.
We jumped into powder coating with this first mold with great enthusiasm but were repeatedly rewarded with great disappointment. The bullet looks good but I just simply could not get it to shoot good. Not for a lack of trying either because I burned a lot of powder in several rifles trying. I would go at it feverishly for a few days and never make any gains. In frustration I would end the project and after wounds healed and memory faded get it out and try again never making any significant progress. At one point I even put the mold up for sale on ebay at less than I paid but no takers. At this point it became a tangible reminder that plans don't always work out and in that alone had value.
One of the problems not exactly with the mold as the mold casts great but with the bullet design. The design carried the .307" diameter for most of its length with a very short ogive. This design feature necessitated very deep seating which apparently in some way was causing damage to the section of bullet below the case neck.
Finally just in the past couple days I remembered maybe about 15 years ago having had a 30 caliber nose die made then put it away and forgot about it. I recently noticed it in my die box and looking at it in the box looking down at the concave ejector punch I wondered what I was looking at. On closer inspection I had an OH YEA !!! I remember that. Then bingo the light went on. I had just dumped the last of the last batch of PC bullets I had made from this mold into a re-cycle lead can thinking I had had enough of it. With the ready bullets staring me in the face and the nose die in my hand I just could not resist the urge to try.
Taking a WAG on how much of the nose to size I felt about half the length of the bullet was about right. That leaves enough full groove diameter for solid hold on the rifling and at the same time allows enough nose length outside the case that the bullet base is not below the case shoulder in the 30-06 case neck. The bullets are now .310" diameter for about half their length not counting the boat tail and at .301" diameter for the nose half.
Since this bullet was intended for sub-sonic velocities in the 300 BO I though I would work in that velocity range in the 30-06 Ackley. Immediately it was apparent that the nose sizing completely changed the dynamics of the bullet design and that this bugger was now chomping at the bit and ready to race. Powder of choice for sub-sonic speeds was Trail Boss and 12gn seemed to be the sweet spot.
I just simply could not believe what I was seeing, groups repeatedly holding very close to one MOA. I think I even cried a little! I wanted to believe but the pain of the scars cause by this beast seemed to not allow it. I needed more proof! OK try my 308 Win a rifle that has proven a very accurate cast bullet shooter even with near top end pressure loads.
So the Winchester 30-06 Ackley was quickly traded for the old Savage 308 with great anticipation. Going with the same idea of sub-sonic velocities the 308 did its best shooting at 10gn and it too was punching nice tight little clusters at very nearly 0ne MOA. That did it !!! I was an emotional wreck !!! After all the failed attempts with this bullet finally success!!!
I am ecstatic !!! Today culminated in a double success story that has brought me great personal satisfaction. Now it appears as though The Bullshop may in the near future be offering a powder coated 220gn semi round nose boat tail bullet for sub-sonic loads in the 300 BO . This is a fairly long bullet and is showing complete stability from the 1/10" twist rifling in the two rifles I used. The 300 BO goes as fast as 1/7" so will have no stability issues even at velocities substantially lower than what I was shooting.
I will now go beg Tina to add a couple pictures I took to go along with these ramblings
Hope yall enjoy!
