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30BR bullet testing today

AlNyhus

Silver $$ Contributor
Not the greatest day for testing new bullets with winds from the 8 o'clock from 14-18 mph. but the good thing about that is at our range, that wind direction dampens the vertical out pretty well. If you see vertical on the target, it's either gun handling or tune up related.

Not a great pic but you can see my grey bench mat and blue towels blowing around. ;) Gun is my HV Panda, Kreiger twisted 1:17, chambered by 'Humble' Henry Rivers. Scope is a Sightron 36X45 ED.

9YKr76sl.jpg


This is the first lot 'hot off the press'. ;) Cores and core seating pressure are still being tweaked. Brass was also new...first firing on it.

s6cO5Wml.jpg


There was a bullet of vertical with 32.5 of H4198, a half bullet of vertical at 32.7 and it flattened out nicely at 33.0. I finished up shooting these two 3 shot groups 15 minutes apart to verify if it would repeat and hold POI.

aV5kYpXl.jpg


DlW1S6Il.jpg


kDErtyZl.jpg


By the time I finished, it was getting hard to keep stuff on the bench top. Next trip will be 5 shot groups as the charge weight goes up.

I'd forgotten just how fun it was to make your own bullets! :)

Good shootin' -Al
 
As a bit of history, I used to make my own .30 cal. BR bullets. When I stopped competing in formal BR competition to go drag racing, I sold my complete Blackmon set up to a friend.

When I was making bullets, I helped another friend, Steve Grosvenor, get set up to make his own .30 cal BR bullets. Steve ordered the exact Blackmon setup that I had. I supplied Steve with some J4 jackets and a couple of spools of bullet making wire. After making less than 2,000 bullets, Steve retired from BR shooting to dedicate his time to his custom knife making business, which has been very, very successful. The bullets Steve made were very good, shot like crazy and were in every respect identical to the ones that my Blackmon setup made.

Gene Crisman, who is a friend of Randy Robinett and myself, has an interest in making .30 cal. BR quality bullets. I contacted Steve, who lives about a half hour from me and yes...he still had his complete Blackmon bullet making equipment and yes...he would sell it to me. I've got everything set up on my bench just where my other set up was.

So things have come full circle. Randy Robinett helped me get started, I helped Steve and now I get to help Gene learn the nuances of bullet making. Randy Robinett's influence, help and guidance is the common thread that binds all of this...and all of us...together.
cool.gif


Larry Blackmon's .30 cal. dies just make great bullets...it's that simple. This point die is his 'standard' 7 ogive. With the 1" jackets I prefer, they tune up easily and aren't fussy at all.

Good shootin'
smile.gif
-Al
 
As a bit of history, I used to make my own .30 cal. BR bullets. When I stopped competing in formal BR competition to go drag racing, I sold my complete Blackmon set up to a friend.

When I was making bullets, I helped another friend, Steve Grosvenor, get set up to make his own .30 cal BR bullets. Steve ordered the exact Blackmon setup that I had. I supplied Steve with some J4 jackets and a couple of spools of bullet making wire. After making less than 2,000 bullets, Steve retired from BR shooting to dedicate his time to his custom knife making business, which has been very, very successful. The bullets Steve made were very good, shot like crazy and were in every respect identical to the ones that my Blackmon setup made.

Gene Crisman, who is a friend of Randy Robinett and myself, has an interest in making .30 cal. BR quality bullets. I contacted Steve, who lives about a half hour from me and yes...he still had his complete Blackmon bullet making equipment and yes...he would sell it to me. I've got everything set up on my bench just where my other set up was.

So things have come full circle. Randy Robinett helped me get started, I helped Steve and now I get to help Gene learn the nuances of bullet making. Randy Robinett's influence, help and guidance is the common thread that binds all of this...and all of us...together.
cool.gif


Larry Blackmon's .30 cal. dies just make great bullets...it's that simple. This point die is his 'standard' 7 ogive. With the 1" jackets I prefer, they tune up easily and aren't fussy at all.

Good shootin'
smile.gif
-Al
Any experience with some of the 10 ogive bullets like the BiBs ? I'm still looking at getting into it and still debating on 7 or 10 ogive.

The Blackman dies are not carbide are they? Does he still make dies? Any real disadvantages to non carbide dies when making bullets for personal use only?
 
Not the greatest day for testing new bullets with winds from the 8 o'clock from 14-18 mph. but the good thing about that is at our range, that wind direction dampens the vertical out pretty well. If you see vertical on the target, it's either gun handling or tune up related.

Not a great pic but you can see my grey bench mat and blue towels blowing around. ;) Gun is my HV Panda, Kreiger twisted 1:17, chambered by 'Humble' Henry Rivers. Scope is a Sightron 36X45 ED.

9YKr76sl.jpg


This is the first lot 'hot off the press'. ;) Cores and core seating pressure are still being tweaked. Brass was also new...first firing on it.

s6cO5Wml.jpg


There was a bullet of vertical with 32.5 of H4198, a half bullet of vertical at 32.7 and it flattened out nicely at 33.0. I finished up shooting these two 3 shot groups 15 minutes apart to verify if it would repeat and hold POI.

aV5kYpXl.jpg


DlW1S6Il.jpg


kDErtyZl.jpg


By the time I finished, it was getting hard to keep stuff on the bench top. Next trip will be 5 shot groups as the charge weight goes up.

I'd forgotten just how fun it was to make your own bullets! :)

Good shootin' -Al
Great shooting it's hammering! Wow!!!!
 
Any experience with some of the 10 ogive bullets like the BiBs ? I'm still looking at getting into it and still debating on 7 or 10 ogive.

I just might have some on hand. ;) BIB's are the Gold Standard.

mmwN8KIl.jpg


The Blackman dies are not carbide are they? Does he still make dies? Any real disadvantages to non carbide dies when making bullets for personal use only?
Larry's die are steel, not carbide. He's retired now from his Opthamology practice and still making great dies. Steel dies do need more lube than carbide, for one thing. For an individual making bullets for himself and/or some pals, the steel dies make a lot of sense...depends on your wants and needs.

Good shootin'
 
Hi Al. Glad to see you back. Are you still drag racing? Or do you have time for both?
I wanted to buy one of your BRs when you took a break, but a day late. ;}
Have fun Don.
 
I just might have some on hand. ;) BIB's are the Gold Standard.

mmwN8KIl.jpg



Larry's die are steel, not carbide. He's retired now from his Opthamology practice and still making great dies. Steel dies do need more lube than carbide, for one thing. For an individual making bullets for himself and/or some pals, the steel dies make a lot of sense...depends on your wants and needs.

Good shootin'
Did you find the 10 ogive harder to tune? Did you see any accuracy gains?

I'm assuming a fairly large saving with the steel over carbide.

My goals are a good quality benchrest grade bullet for myself. I only shoot at a couple of local clubs . Their are 2 guys shooting BiB bullets but they are hard to get here in Canada and expensive. The rest are shooting Bergers .

I've already got 3 Redding presses and frames that were modified by Detsch.
 
My goals are a good quality benchrest grade bullet for myself. I only shoot at a couple of local clubs . Their are 2 guys shooting BiB bullets but they are hard to get here in Canada and expensive. The rest are shooting Bergers .
Are you able to get J4 jackets into Canada? -Al
 
Al, I made comments in the Thread on Benchrest.com, and can’t add much more here. Great bullets.

Except your load of (just) 33.0 grns of 4198.

My 30BR just shoots big ole .300 wads with anything below 34.0 grns.

Or do you have a particularly fast lot?
 
Yes they got to come from an exporter/importer like Bullet Central or Reloading International. I think i could get them brought in through some other licensed importers as well, more than likely the same guy that imports BiB bullets could get them as well.
Nothing at all against Bullet Central but a plug for Reloading International. Great folks and easy to work with...and they carry my tuners! Seriously, contact Addison Mohler at Reloading International for your export/import needs. He's a shooter and is well versed on my tuners but pretty sure he's just a good guy like the rest of us.
 
My 30BR just shoots big ole .300 wads with anything below 34.0 grns.

Or do you have a particularly fast lot?
Jackie, the H4198 I'm using seems pretty normal for burn rate. The 1.00" jackets compared to the .925's definitely makes a difference, too.

I was out yesterday for some 5 shot groups while tuning it with the powder measure.The switchy winds from 11-1 o'clock made it a bit of a challenge, though you could still see the vertical come in and out as the powder charge went up. I stopped at 35.3...literally a case full.

We've got some warmer weather headed our way next week....be nice to leave the gloves at home and not have my nose running when testing. ;)

Good shootin' -Al
 
Jackie, the H4198 I'm using seems pretty normal for burn rate. The 1.00" jackets compared to the .925's definitely makes a difference, too.

I was out yesterday for some 5 shot groups while tuning it with the powder measure.The switchy winds from 11-1 o'clock made it a bit of a challenge, though you could still see the vertical come in and out as the powder charge went up. I stopped at 35.3...literally a case full.

We've got some warmer weather headed our way next week....be nice to leave the gloves at home and not have my nose running when testing. ;)

Good shootin' -Al
What difference are you seeing with the 1" jacket over .925?
 
Any experience with some of the 10 ogive bullets like the BiBs ? I'm still looking at getting into it and still debating on 7 or 10 ogive.

The Blackman dies are not carbide are they? Does he still make dies? Any real disadvantages to non carbide dies when making bullets for personal use only?
If ur thinking of his 118/10 ogive bullet talk to Randy about the leade angle. JGS has his reamer and its open source.
 
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If ur thinking of his 118/10 ogive bullet talk to Randy about the angle. JGS has his reamer and its open source.
I've already got a chamber done with a reamer that is a slightly modified version of his original one. Mine had the neck opened to .331 and the .200 datum line was opened slightly.

Unless your talking a reamer for bullet dies but I didn't think they were done with a reamer.
 

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