Range Report- 6.5 Grendel Cast

[Lemonaid]

Great thread, thanks all!. I would stay away from the Lee mold 170 grain for use in a Grendel. https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.c...roduction-mold
Like it says at Midsouth, it's designed for Military Swedish Mausers. It casts way oversize and seems to be for extra long throats.
I had horrible leading when I tested some (not powder coated, no gas check) in my 6.5 Rap., got leading on the Magnetospeed which did not give any velocity readings. Lead was a bear to get out of the barrel.
If others have had success with the Lee mold in a Grendel I would be very interested in their report.

[Constitutionalist]

Thanks for the input! I'll probably give some of the suggestions a try.

I shot again today and think I've found the load. Avg. 2300fps SD 12

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/v134/Beaverhunter2/NOE_266-126-FN_31_3031.jpg?width=285&height=175&fit=bounds&crop=fill

Thanks again!

John

[Lemonaid]

Those are nice looking groups! Do you sort your cast bullets by weight?

[Oryx]

Great results ... Looks like that's the same load from your first post and it proved to keep it's promise. Great way to to shoot economically and enjoy the hobby.
I've pretty much kept the castigates to mostly pistols with the exception of a few rifle calibers, but it makes me want to give the mould a try .... especially with the prices and availability today.
Thanks for sharing

[Constitutionalist]

Those are nice looking groups! Do you sort your cast bullets by weight?

Sort of- I check them on a scale as cast (to avoid wasting a gas check) and keep those that are within a grain either side of 126.5gr. This seems to be the midpoint as cast with COWW. With this mold I don't scrap many, maybe 4 or 5 out of 100. Checked and powdercoated they come in around 129.

Since I'm primarily a hunter I don't want to get the boolits too hard and, like I mentioned above, I have cast a few softpoints to see how the mold likes that process. I used a single .310" pure lead ball to cast a 45gr nose. It worked well, although of course its slow.

I really like VonGruff's design. Weight is a good fit for Grendel and while the meplat isn't huge, it is there and would help promote expansion and energy transfer. With 2300fps at muzzle the load doesn't drop below 800 ft. lbs until 175 yards. That's an unusually long shot in the Northern Michigan woods so I may be hunting with this load/rifle next season. I've been using 123gr SSTs so far.

The Lee 6.5mm 170 (aka "the Cruise Missile") is IMO too heavy for 6.5 Grendel.. Also, it was intended to cast on the larger side to suit the 6.5 Carcano rifles and others with a .268" bore. Without lube or PC I'm not surprised by the leading. A trick I learned over on Cast Boolits to remove it is to wrap a piece of Chore Boy (be sure it's pure copper like Chore Boy- the cheap copper plated steel pads can scratch the bore) around an old bore brush and scrub with that. I actually have a very accurate .480 Ruger cast load (370gr LHP at 1325fps) that leads just bit. 6 or 7 strokes after firing a half dozen cylinders full and it's clean as a whistle. Another trick that helps a bit is to fire a jacketed round or two- the lead sticks to the copper/gilding metal.

Glad you guys found this info interesting!

John

[Constitutionalist]

VC:


Oh yes, I have also noted that casting equipment is only slightly more available than primers these days.

Think real carefully before dumping the money into casting equipment is my advice. You won't find a cheap source of hardened lead anymore and the costs of the gear is very high for what you get which will not equal a decent jacketed bullet under any condition.

LR55

Casting equipment availability? For sure. LOL

The one thing that casting has going for it IMO is- if I can't get jacketed bullets I have a couple lead mines available to me right behind my target frames. 1000 gas checks are $40 and easy to put on the shelf. There are also check makers you can buy. I have .30 and .45 caliber. Of course guns are picky- my .30-30s like Hornady and Gator copper checks on the Lee 170FN (casts at 183gr, 1950fps with 50/50 COWW and Pure) and prefer aluminum checks made with my Checkmaker on the Lee 113 RF (aka "the Soup Can").

I will agree with "Think really carefully before..." This is a rabbit hole that leads to a very addicting hobby! But you don't need a ton of stuff to get started. A mold, a Lee Sizer of the appropriate size, a pot you can melt lead in, an old tablespoon (with a wooden handle added to it) to pour the lead in the mold, and the tub, Airsoft BBs and Powdercoat color of your choice to coat the bullets. That being said- I have a 10lb. bottom pour Lee pot, a 20lb bottom pour Lee pot, and about 20 or so molds ranging from the Lee Soup Can to a .54 Minie to #4 and 00 Buckshot to 20 gauge slugs.

Be safe!

John

[EagleOtto]

I know this is resurrecting an old thread, but it's the only cast one I see.
Have you continued to see those results? I have been looking at that mold as well, have you tried it on game?
Thanks for the work you have shared!

[Constitutionalist]

I have not had the opportunity to try it on game but the accuracy continues. Five shots just over an inch at 100 yards if I'm shooting OK. I'm currently using RMR core lead which I get for $1.80/lb. shipped. High in comparison to the pre-craziness clip-on wheel weight days, but I can still put together a ready to shoot bullet for 8 cents. If you add the cost of the mold into the 3000 bullets I've already cast from it, the cost per bullet goes up to 11 cents. BOTOH, I still have the mold and it's got a long, productive life ahead of it. At 2250fps at muzzle and 12-13 Bhn I should get expansion out to 275 yards or so- which is further than anyone I know has shot a deer here in NE Lower Michigan. You can't see that far here- too many trees. My daughter's ex-boyfriend was from Wyoming. He said he felt claustrophobic when we went hunting around here! I'm very confident they'll work when I get the chance.

Be sure to get the right mold for your rifle. I have the 266-126-FN-AO3 2 Cavity GC. It has the slightly smaller meplat than the RG2 and RG4 which have a hollow point option. I've heard of excellent terminal performance with the HP design but I've also heard some guys had feed trouble in the AR platform. Mine from the listed mold feed sweetly in both of my Grendel ARs.

I enjoy making my own bullets and really enjoy out-shooting my buddies when they are shooting factory ammo or, as they are called on Cast Boolits: "j-words"!

EagleOtto,
PM me your address and I'll mail you a few to try. That way you can see if your rifle likes them before investing in the mold. Let me know if you want them As-Cast or Ready-to-Shoot.

Be safe out there!

John

[EagleOtto]

Thank you John, I appreciate the offer.
I think I have to have more posts before I can PM on this forum though.
I agree it is a whole new level of enjoyment to pour your own. I have begun enjoying this caliber more and wanting to get more time with it - time to get a mold.
Unfortunately, there does not seem to be many out there that are suitable and the NOE seems to fit the bill. However they appear to be sold out. I am hoping they will cut some more soon.
I am also on the other forum and can PM from there if need be.
Have a good day,
EO

[LR1955]

I have not had the opportunity to try it on game but the accuracy continues. Five shots just over an inch at 100 yards if I'm shooting OK. I'm currently using RMR core lead which I get for $1.80/lb. shipped. High in comparison to the pre-craziness clip-on wheel weight days, but I can still put together a ready to shoot bullet for 8 cents. If you add the cost of the mold into the 3000 bullets I've already cast from it, the cost per bullet goes up to 11 cents. BOTOH, I still have the mold and it's got a long, productive life ahead of it. At 2250fps at muzzle and 12-13 Bhn I should get expansion out to 275 yards or so- which is further than anyone I know has shot a deer here in NE Lower Michigan. You can't see that far here- too many trees. My daughter's ex-boyfriend was from Wyoming. He said he felt claustrophobic when we went hunting around here! I'm very confident they'll work when I get the chance.

Be sure to get the right mold for your rifle. I have the 266-126-FN-AO3 2 Cavity GC. It has the slightly smaller meplat than the RG2 and RG4 which have a hollow point option. I've heard of excellent terminal performance with the HP design but I've also heard some guys had feed trouble in the AR platform. Mine from the listed mold feed sweetly in both of my Grendel ARs.

I enjoy making my own bullets and really enjoy out-shooting my buddies when they are shooting factory ammo or, as they are called on Cast Boolits: "j-words"!

EagleOtto,
PM me your address and I'll mail you a few to try. That way you can see if your rifle likes them before investing in the mold. Let me know if you want them As-Cast or Ready-to-Shoot.

Be safe out there!

John

CI:

May have asked you this before. When I was into cast bullets for the .30-06 and .308, I had to ream out the inside of the necks of the brass so as to seat the oversized cast bullet that it may chamber and fire without cracking necks. Could not use that brass for jacketed anymore so kept it separated. That was the protocol when shooting cast bullets out of modern centerfire rifles whose chambers and barrels were within SAAMI specs.

I have a couple 6.5 molds and a lot of .30 cal molds but haven't messed with it for decades because of the need to ream out the inside of the necks of the brass.

Are you having to open up the brass like this?

LR-55

[pashiner]

I made an initial attempt with the lee "cruise missile" and found the front half of the bullet to be appropriate for a grendel II chamber, and the nose is at a good bore-riding diameter, but as you move toward the back of the bullet, the diameter increases to .272! the bullet is so long that they bend when forced through a .265 sizer.

I've been considering getting an additional sizer made in the neighborhood of .268-.269 and doing it in 2 steps, but the lead hardness may need adjusted. there's a fine line between too soft for the rifling and too hard for the sizer when you're squeezing a bullet this long and skinny down this far.

some folks have cut the mold off at the second to last driving band and made a 150-ish grain flat base bullet out of that mold with pretty good success. that would be my last resort I think.

interesting note, the 170+grain Lee cruise missile is actually shorter than a hornady 140gn bthp!

[LR1955]

I made an initial attempt with the lee "cruise missile" and found the front half of the bullet to be appropriate for a grendel II chamber, and the nose is at a good bore-riding diameter, but as you move toward the back of the bullet, the diameter increases to .272! the bullet is so long that they bend when forced through a .265 sizer.

I've been considering getting an additional sizer made in the neighborhood of .268-.269 and doing it in 2 steps, but the lead hardness may need adjusted. there's a fine line between too soft for the rifling and too hard for the sizer when you're squeezing a bullet this long and skinny down this far.

some folks have cut the mold off at the second to last driving band and made a 150-ish grain flat base bullet out of that mold with pretty good success. that would be my last resort I think.

interesting note, the 170+grain Lee cruise missile is actually shorter than a hornady 140gn bthp!

It should be shorter. Soft lead, even if a Lyman #2 Alloy. When I was swaging jacketed bullets I had a hard time with long bullets because the lead I was extruding was soft compared to commercial jacketed bullets and it took up a lot less space so the bullets ended up heavier if I wanted to get a decent fill of the jacket for stability. Yes, they shot remarkably well. As good as any Sierra of the time. Glad I am out of that experience though. One mistake and break anything and you pay for it ten fold.

Lee mold for center fire rifle? I wouldn't and I have a number of Lee molds and two of their furnaces. SAECO or a custom place would be my choice, but I do have a number of RCBS and Lyman single cavity molds for modern rifles that throw decent bullets.

I am surprised you are bending that long bullet. Must be the bullet is oversize or the sizing die undersize. Well, better you than me! I have more sizing dies than I can count. SAECO and RCBS. Rendered obsolete by powder coating and push through sizing dies.

LR55

[Constitutionalist]

CI:

May have asked you this before. When I was into cast bullets for the .30-06 and .308, I had to ream out the inside of the necks of the brass so as to seat the oversized cast bullet that it may chamber and fire without cracking necks. Could not use that brass for jacketed anymore so kept it separated. That was the protocol when shooting cast bullets out of modern centerfire rifles whose chambers and barrels were within SAAMI specs.

I have a couple 6.5 molds and a lot of .30 cal molds but haven't messed with it for decades because of the need to ream out the inside of the necks of the brass.

Are you having to open up the brass like this?

LR-55

I've never reamed a case neck. I flare them to accept 2/3 of the gas check on a ready to load bullet.. Size the bullets to the appropriate size while installing my gas check. Then I PC x2 and resize. My .30-30s and .308s get .311" My Grendels get .265".

[Constitutionalist]

Also, if you're serious about wanting the mold, let NOE know. Molds people ask for get cut. The people at NOE are great.

[pashiner]

It should be shorter. Soft lead, even if a Lyman #2 Alloy. When I was swaging jacketed bullets I had a hard time with long bullets because the lead I was extruding was soft compared to commercial jacketed bullets and it took up a lot less space so the bullets ended up heavier if I wanted to get a decent fill of the jacket for stability. Yes, they shot remarkably well. As good as any Sierra of the time. Glad I am out of that experience though. One mistake and break anything and you pay for it ten fold.

Lee mold for center fire rifle? I wouldn't and I have a number of Lee molds and two of their furnaces. SAECO or a custom place would be my choice, but I do have a number of RCBS and Lyman single cavity molds for modern rifles that throw decent bullets.

I am surprised you are bending that long bullet. Must be the bullet is oversize or the sizing die undersize. Well, better you than me! I have more sizing dies than I can count. SAECO and RCBS. Rendered obsolete by powder coating and push through sizing dies.

LR55

yeah, I believe it's an oversized bullet situation. going from .272 (or even bigger if the mold wasn't closed properly) down to .265 in one operation. It kinda made me wince yanking on a lee challenger press that hard so I quit there.

I had cast a batch pretty hard...maybe 17-20brn or so. I'd get the first and second driving bands into the push-thru sizer, and I think the press was starting to flex. I gave up on that pretty quick.

I think If I were to soften them up to 12-15brn or thereabouts, and do it in two steps, maybe 3 or 4 thou at a time I'd see better results, but I don't feel too bad setting a $17 set of mold blocks aside for another time.

really, I bought the mold out of curiosity a few years ago while I was ordering molds for other calibers. It was just too cheap to pass up . maybe there's a lesson in false economy here, but a hardcast 170+grain flat meplat missile at ~1800fps sounded like a pretty good time to me. Wouldn't that be one penetratin' sumbitch?