Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 358 Win with 246 grain Hunters Supply Cast Bullet

Hello everyone.

I have a rebored Model 70 in 358 Win. Just got the rifle back from JES a couple months ago and so far have only loaded a 180 LFNGC bullet at about 1900 fps. That load is working well, using 37 grains of H4895 and a WLR primer.

I just received some 246 grain LFN from Hunter’s Supply. These don’t come with a gas a check installed like the 180 grain cast performance bullets I have been using. They are dry lubed. I have a couple of questions about loading them.

1- Can I use H4895 with this bullet? I’d like to get velocity around 2000 fps as long as accuracy holds up. I was thinking of using jacketed load data for a 250 grain bullet and using a sort of reduced or starting load with H4895. Any problems with this?
2-Do I need a gas check to push this bullet at this velocity? Or, is this a circumstance where I should load a few without and see what happens to determine if a gas check is warranted or not?
3-The bullet is advertised at .359”. I haven’t measured them. However, if I do decide I need a gas check, what should I use to seat the gas check? Lee offers a .358” bullet sizer that can be used to seat gas checks. Would sizing these bullets down to .358” be problematic?

Thanks for your help!
-Jeff

Yes you'll need gas checks. Start with 32.0grs H4895, and work up. That should hit 2000 fps on the button. H4895 works well with up to 40% reduced loads.

Sizing down is not likely to improve your outcomes.
Cast .002 over groove is good.

Is the bullet designed for gas checks? You might have a hard time installing gas checks on a plain base bullet.

If not NECO used to sell what they called P wads. Unsure if they still do.

This is the bullet I’m talking about.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1025759788?pid=451426

My knowledge of shooting cast bullets, particularly in rifles, is very limited. The picture is an accurate representation of the bullet and it does appear to accommodate a gas check.

What should I use to seat gas checks? I see the bullet sizing kits on Midway, but they don’t sell a .359 as far as I can tell.

The picture looks to be a g/c design. You will have to seat the checks on and the least expensive way that I know of is to use Lee's seater/sizer system.

Thanks, Joe. I saw that Lee product and that what I was leaning towards. Only see a .358” available but I’ll do more digging to see if they have a .359”. Thanks again.

Just a little update on this.
I went ahead and purchased the Lee .358 bullet sizer to seat my gas checks. Took them out to the range today loading 2 shots each of H4895 at 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 grains. Accuracy was consistent throughout testing with no fliers and looks very promising at the top end with all three two shot groups of 38, 39 and 40 grains landing well within an inch of each other. Velocity topped out at approximately 2035 fps with 40 grains H4895. Haven’t cleaned the bore yet, but don’t see any signs of leading, or any signs of high pressure on the brass. The action cycled smoothly. I’ll load up a small batch of these at 40 grains and try to go kill some pigs soon. It would be nice to get some raking or bone shots on some bigger pigs at close and long (relatively speaking) range. I will be sure to post my results.

Sounds like the Saeco #352 cast lead bullet. Mine weigh 248grs with lube and a gas check. Loaded these in a 35 Whelen for Iowa deer hunting. Recipe is 53.0grs of IMR-4320 for 2480 fps. No leading problems. This load was the most accurate after trying lesser amounts of this powder. I haven't tried anything more, and don't think I will. Pressure signs are all very normal with rounded spent primers

That’s good info, GC. Have you taken any animals with your load? I think my rifle has more room to work with to achieve higher velocity, but I’ve read that pushing the bullet too fast can lead to fragmentation of the bullet on impact. I understand this depends on the hardness of the bullet. How hard are yours?

I'm lacking a brinnell hardness tester, but i figure mine are around 16 for the BHN. They can't be fingernail scratched. I drop them straight from the hot mold into ice water for some hardness quenching. I need to shoot these into wet newspaper to verify bullet performance. They are not as hard as plain linotype probably just under the Lyman #2.

The farthest I've shot the load above is 200 yds and accuracy is great. I may do some more experiments with faster powders than 4320 and drop the MV back to 2200fps range with the Whelen. The terminal performance of my cast rifle bullets is a complete mystery. I have not taken any game with them. I've been told that I should change this. I have been getting great accuracy with cast rifle bullets and enjoy making and shooting them

You don’t need to go faster than you are today nor do you need harder bullets than bh15. 15 is darned neat perfect for game. That Fn will flatten a bit and expand if you put it through a shoulder.
Go shoot some pigs.

I also shoot that same bullet in my Whelen. I'm using SR4759 and get 1970fps. I pity the foolish deer or hog that gets in front of that combo. I cast them soft and they get powdercoated.

In cast bullets you use a thousandths of an inch over the bore size. 0.001" Also with that coating on the bullet, no lube, no gas check, and run to to 2,000 f/s if the cartridge will safely do so. Go to the website, Hunter's Supply, and read about the bullet. Most of this info is there. RZ.