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Thanks mate - The .303s are already loaded again, and I'll sort the 6.5s one night in the week...can't wait to try them at their intended distance

I made this seater for cast boolits in 7.62x39. Im currently working on one for .357 then probably .303 and the MAS36.

Nice work tongueout

I've watched other threads about lathes and mills with an outside interest, as I'm not really much of an engineer...

...the other day I was trying to measure the OAL on my rifles, but found that the cast boolits didn't fit the cases I'd had drilled and tapped for jacketed bullets...I had to use the M dies to open the case necks, and a normally sized case to shave/size down the boolit...

...it did occur to me that a small lathe for making spuds/expanders/mandrills would be useful...

I have to admit using the hornady cartridge overall length gauge to measure seating depth is not some thing I have toyed with in military calibers. You would need to use fired cases for drilling out or previously expanded cases. I will give it a go and see how it checks out.
Thinking about it I guess you would have to use a case that you have loaded with your cast boolit then fired. You would then need to drill and tap the fired case I can do this for you if you want just send me some of your fired cases.

Thanks for the kind offer on the cases Alpha; but I use a SHED OAL gauge (much sturdier than the Hornady), so get my cases sorted by Ovenpaa, but as I say thanks anyway...

...you don't have to have fired a 'cast boolit' in the case; just any case that's been fired in the rifle with the neck expanded enough to loosely take the boolit.

I didn't think it was worth measuring the classics for cast, as I'd already done it for jackets and found the jump to be pretty big - So I'll make an embarrassing confession...in my previous post I said I'd checked the OAL for cast, but the truth is that I checked the SMLE but didn't check the 6.5 (was in a rush) until after the testing...and have discovered a problem (wanted to double check tonight before 'fessing up)...

...that's why a went to lengths to adapt the case for use with the gauge; because when I was testing the rounds I could feel the boolit engaging in the lands (and/or pushing the boolit in) - I made the decision to continue testing them because the recoil was light and the primers looked OK (not flattened as much as my jacketed loads)...but then when I measured the OAL I found that they were 0.1" inches past the lands ( )...

...I assumed (yup, an ass) that I'd be OK to use the OAL suggested in the Lyman manual for the boolit (266673)...I even went a bit shorter to be safe (3.000 instead of 3.025) - when I looked at the max OAL dummies for both, it was obvious that the shape of the cast boolit puts the ogive far further forward...I should have realised it, but you'd also think the Lyman data would be conservative...

...anyway; the problem I've got now (apart from having some frustratingly good but useless test data) is that if I seat the boolits deep enough to be off the lands, then the base of the boolit (with the GC on it) is well below the base of the neck...

...so do I try them like that, or wait and try a different boolit?

Thanks for the kind offer on the cases Alpha; but I use a SHED OAL gauge (much sturdier than the Hornady), so get my cases sorted by Ovenpaa, but as I say thanks anyway...

No worries you are in good hands Ovenpaa,s work is first class.


As you are discovering cast boolits are a all new ball game. I tend to shoot my cast loads then trim the cases then drill and tap them I do the same with my condom bullet cases.

There is no problem with a boolit entering the bore so long as it does so snugly and doesn't seat back into the case, for example that is exactly what bore riding designs are designed to do. You should just see the lands marks on the boolit.

OK, cool...off to the garage for a play...

Dougan wrote: ...I assumed (yup, an ass) that I'd be OK to use the OAL suggested in the Lyman manual for the boolit (266673)...I even went a bit shorter to be safe (3.000 instead of 3.025) - when I looked at the max OAL dummies for both, it was obvious that the shape of the cast boolit puts the ogive far further forward...I should have realised it, but you'd also think the Lyman data would be conservative...

...anyway; the problem I've got now (apart from having some frustratingly good but useless test data) is that if I seat the boolits deep enough to be off the lands, then the base of the boolit (with the GC on it) is well below the base of the neck...

...so do I try them like that, or wait and try a different boolit?

The Lyman data is based on their test rig, in their latest Cast boolit Handbook 4th edition they use an M38, who other than them know what the freebore on that rifle is. They are only telling you what they have done and used and what has worked safely in that for them. That is why we apply safe reloading practices when applying data to our cartridges and firearms.

On a safety issue primer "sign" is an almost useless indicator of pressure and should never be trusted or used, especially with these lighter loads.

Right, I now know that it's not the boolit that I thought it was - they're 269 145Gr.FNs (sized down to 266)...I bit of a schoolboy error, but as it turns out the way they were seated was OK, so no harm done.

I messed around with the gauge and some dummies, and found that it is as you said; that it's just the throat/freebore that the nose is entering - They are going in just a bit too much as the bullet pulls if unloaded...but at least I know that the neck tension is good and that they are not pushing in, because the gas checks gets left behind in it's original position...

...so if I seat them a tad more, the GC with be right at the base of the neck and the nose will be just into the throat (I'll reduce the testing loads by a Gn to compensate)...which could work well.

On the subject of safety - I've been very busy lately (both in and out of work) so have rushed the process of 'going cast' a bit - It's no excuse (if you're not sure then you shouldn't fire it), but I'll not rush to meet self imposed deadlines in the future.

Anyway, I'm happy with them now, and can't wait to try them on Saturday.