Good evening.  I have been enjoying this forum for sometime.  Last weekend I decided to join CBA in an effort to learn more about casting to improve my efforts over the past 3 years.  I am an avid Metallic Silhouette shooter who broke down years of avoiding CF after shooting a buddies old Marlin in 30-30. The barrel was so bad it could not shoot cast bullets although I made a bunch of 31141s for him in an effort to help.  Then it came time to get my own gun.  I picked up my first CF gun which was a Marlin 336CB made in 2001.  Sorry, modern but it is what I own.  Nice old stuff is SO expensive.  It is a 6 groove ballard rifled gun with a 12:1 twist.  I measured 12.5 but...close enough.  8.5 grains of unique an a .311 sized 167g bullet from my old ideal 31141 and that has done well enough.

But I guess I want to learn more about how to ensure I can always cast, sort, process and load a better cast bullet.  There is so much I don't know.  I thought, going to a few matches, there is one in Bedford, MA.  A little over an hour away.  I might learn something.  Of course a lever gun is hardly competitive.    That is my plan.  If it seems like an adventure worth the journey...I will continue and see if I can get others who cast involved.  I do find it interesting how fragmented shooting sports is.  I have plenty of shooting buddies but everyone pursues their own interest. Any suggestions welcome.  I wish there was a list of variable in order of relative importance.  The combinations are infinite, or seem so.  Weight, alloy, power, crimp, non crimp, freebore, no freebore, powder burn speed, BC, BC changes based on velocity....heavy vs light bullets.  Sometimes I ask myself why drive myself crazy?