7.7 Jap Plinker

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  • Last Post 21 June 2013
Eddie2002 posted this 02 June 2013

Had one of those crazy ideas that either works or doesn't for a light Arisaka .312 plinker load. Just got laid off from work and have a lot of time on my hands right now so I'm spending some of it out in my shop. I realized that a 5/16 drill gives a hole of .312 so I scrounged up two small pieces of 1/4 inch aluminum plate, pinned them and drilled two 5/16th holes in them then deepened the holes with a 1/4 inch drill which gave a step for bullet lube placement. A simple spru cutter was easy enough to make out of some flat stock from the scrap bucket. Ended up with a 87.5 grain cast bullet which isn't very pretty but is functional. The mold gets clamped in a vice while pouring the WW lead which slows up everything but I'm in no rush, just experimenting. Loaded the first three bullets over 5.5 grains of Bullseye with a little cotton stuffed in the cartridge to keep the load where it belongs using some Norma 7.7 brass. Son of a gun, the loads worked great shooting a pine log at 10 yards out of the back of the shop. I smeared a goodly amount of home made bullet lube in the step down and didn't see any leading in the barrel. Think I might have a winner and it beats sitting around watching reruns any day. :D Loaded up about a box of the plinkers just to finish up the day. No pictures till after a trip to the range.

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Vassal posted this 03 June 2013

With that same basic set up you could drill through with a small bit and then drill partially through both sides with a larger bit creating a legitimate lube groove. then create a pin, either wide meplat or HP and cast em up!

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Eddie2002 posted this 06 June 2013

The load left a lot of powder residue in the barrel, after just a few shots the cleaning patches were still coming out black after 4 swabs. I'm wondering if some of the residue was from the cotton which I used to pack out the case with. Shot one round into a stack of yellow pine 2x4's and had the bullet penitrate a good 4 inches with no deformation. So far this is a load that seems to work for plinking and just all around having fun. After all the work I put into making the mold I found that a .32 caliber handgun bullet is the same weight and size as the one's I'm casting. There is even a nice 90 grain round nose mold made for a .32 that drops a slug at .313. Something else to put on the wish list.

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shastaboat posted this 07 June 2013

With the cost of primers and powder these days, it sure doesn't make much sence to waste your compoenents on substandard projectiles. Lee makes 3 bullets that are plain base and would shoot well for you. You can find their 2 cavity molds for less than $35.00.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEE-32-20-32-S-W-Colt-Dual-2-Cavity-Bullet-Mold-TL314-90-SWC-With-Handles-90311-/221230276649?pt=LHDefaultDomain0&hash=item33825a2029

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LEE-TL314-90-SWC-Double-Cavity-314-Dia-90-grain-/140961681043?pt=LHDefaultDomain0&hash=item20d1f88e93

Here is one for under $20.00 http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/searchMSS.asp?searchInfo=lee+90301&GO.x=0&GO.y=0

Th mold numbers you should look for are LEE 90300, 90301, 90311

Because I said so!

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Eddie2002 posted this 08 June 2013

I'm with you on that one, thanks for the info. about what molds are advailable. The experimental rounds worked so it's time to stop being cheap and just buy a mold instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 08 June 2013

if you need a lift, check out you tube videos ... bushboy casts some homemade shotgun slugs ...

awesum ... but interesting ... his molds are 5/8 holes drilled into a wooden board ! his fire is an old wood stove ... he pours molten lead into the holes about an inch from his bare hands ..

these vidios and others are linked also from * american slug shooters * page.

google these up ... google ( and the irs ) knows everything ...

reminds me of my first cast bullets ( g ) ..

ken

ken

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Eddie2002 posted this 08 June 2013

Decided to “bite the bullet” and ordered the Lee 311-100 2 cavity mold from Midway, looks like it will fill the ticket for what I'm planning to use it for. I slugged the Arisaka's bore and it came out to be .3095 as best as I can tell. Can hone the mold out for a little bigger diameter if needed but I'll give it a “shot” as is. Can try some plinkers for the 30-06 also once I get a load worked out for the 7.7 Jap. I've been using wood molds to make ammo for slingshots for years, just drill a hole and pour some lead. It beats rocks anytime.

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Rich/WIS posted this 15 June 2013

Loading Lyman 311576 120gr behind 5.0 gr Bullseye for cheap and low recoil plinking. Don't think you need a filler as Bullseye is easy to light. Haven't tried them W/O gas checks yet (all I cast up were sized and checked before I had the idea to try without the checks) but don't imagine leading would be a problem.

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Eddie2002 posted this 15 June 2013

Oh yeah, the mold just arrived in the mail yesterday and I've spent a couple hours learning how to cast a bullet with it. It casts a real cute little .311 round nose bullet with two lube groves. I'm loading the groves up with my home made lube of beeswax/candle wax and just a little STP and seating the bullet to the second grove. The poor pine log out back is getting more holes in it and so far the load is working great. I'm going to keep using the cotton filler just because I feel better keeping the powder charge in the bottom of the case even though I agree it probably isn't needed. I'm not developing a lot of pressure with the load, the shoulder and neck of a fired case hasn't moved at all so the brass will pretty well last for ever. Wish I had a crono to get an idea of the muzzle velocity. Maybe getting some drop data at 25, 50 and 100 yds could give something I could calculate MV from. Bet it would be a good small varmint load out to 50yds. Now I'm wondering if the same load would work for a 30-06.

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Uncle Russ posted this 16 June 2013

Around here we use the almost universal load for .30-.31 caliber stuff. 15.0-16.0gr 2400 and for the Jap we use the 314299. Goes BANG and like all the rest is a lot of fun to play with. Mr. Harris on this site would probably have some recommendations for a Bullseye load, I have no real experience there. Have fun and be safe. Don't forget to include Ma and the kids. Good loads for those folks.

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Eddie2002 posted this 21 June 2013

got some range time in yesterday with the plinker loads. My home made mold is trash, only 4 shots out of 20 hit paper at 50 yrds. The Lee .311-100 2 cavity mold on the other hand worked great. I loaded up 5.5 grains of Bullseye under the 100 grain .311 bullet for both 7.7 Jap and 30-06. The 7.7 Jap gave a 3-4 inch grouping while the 30-06 just loved the load. I shot groups of 3 as I was sighting in the scope on my Remington BDL 700 30-06 and the last grouping gave an under one inch group. Thanks to everybody on this site who have taken the time to instruct me on casting and shooting lead bullets. Couldn't of done it without your help. Here's a picture link that shows just how good the plinking was. http://s12.photobucket.com/user/Beeboy01/media/Overview_zps61e12ae5.jpg.html>http://s12.photobucket.com/user/Beeboy01/media/Overviewzps61e12ae5.jpg.html

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