Thanks, it was satisfying to get a good result.

Yes, I was pleased. I need to load some more of these to see if it is a load that shoots consistently over more testing.

The bullet weighs 178 grains, so at an average velocity of 2170 you get recoil that's a bit more than a standard 30/30 load.

Thanks for the comment.

Sounds like an interesting bullet. I have an older Lyman mold that drops a similar dimension bullet.

I have a Wby Vanguard S2, same rifle, and it tears ragged holes with Sierra TGKs or GKs. Amazing rifle for the $.

For years the American shooting public had shunned Japanese made rifles, Not their shotguns, but rifles. with today's conglomerate of freedom arms manufacturing Remington, Marlin, and a few others need to watchout, they can't ride that horse anymore. their build quality is horrible compared back when they were separated companies. -Dave.

Perhaps they've shunned rifles branded as made in Japan, but Miroku has been making rifles for Browning since the late 60's. All BLRs, X Bolts and BL22s have been made in Japan since they were introduced. The newer Winchester Miroku made rifles are even better quality than pre - 64 Wins... I have Pre 64 Winchesters and Mirokus in the same model, and the Miroku versions are better. I WISH Marlin would outsource to Miroku or Howa... that would be great.

The Howa is a very nice rifle for the money, with a very smooth operating well designed action. The only complaint I have about this one is the Hogue stock which is very flexible, so much so that using the sling as a shooting aid changes the group size and impact point. The rifle has enough potential that I may purchase a better replacement stock for it.

Yeah, that Hogue on the base model is a definite throwaway stock. The B&C is excellent. Heck even the base model Weatherby synthetic stock is an improvement from the Hogue. You're welcome to my take off if you PM me an address. It's for a long action also.

Thanks, it makes it more fun to get a good result.

Maybe you should do a video ???

Thinking of brass it really is important to work up a load in one brand of brass as the weights and capacities of different brands vary considerably.

Thanks.

Thanks. I like the rifle except for the rubber coated stock, which I really dislike.

I have not slugged this particular barrel as it was a new one from a maker known for quality barrels, and operated under the assumption that the groove diameter was .308". I only checked the fit of the bore riding portion of the bullet in the muzzle to see how that fit.

Bullet hardness is one of several factors in shooting cast bullets successfully in rifles. Hard bullets have the strength to resist damage caused by torsion on the bullet caused by bothe acceleration and the rotation imparted by the rifling. Of all factors by far bullet fit is the most important, a hard cast bullet that is undersized will still lead the barrel and accuracy will be poor. Bullets must be big enough to fit the throat of the barrel, not just the bore, if they are undersized in the throat they will be gas cut and damaged before they make it to the bore of the barrel. Adding tin to lead really does very little to improve hardness, in comparison to the hardness levels that can be achieved by heat treating wheel weight alloy. Adding tin certainly improves the "cast-ability" of alloy, allowing bullets to fill out better with less voids, and you may also end up with bullets that are of somewhat larger diameter which is generally desirable.

Yes it's not too hard to shoot cast to 2200 fps with generally good accuracy. I've had pretty good luck with cast in 222 Rem up to 2700 fps, and with just WW metal bullets that were water dropped.

One would not want to us a small amount of a slow powder as they can act in unpredictable ways, however 4198 is relatively fast burning and if you do not go below the recommended start charges in the loading manuals you will be fine.

I had a typo in the description but have since corrected that, thanks for bringing it to my attention. The 30-165-SIL mold makes a 178 grain bullet with wheel weights, despite being described as a "165". Another RCBS mold I have, 30-180-SP, makes a 193 grain bullet with wheel weights, so apparently they are calibrated with an alloy that has a lot of tin in it compared to WW alloy.

They are conventionally lubed with gas checks.

I don't have a bores scope. No leading was detected when the barrel was cleaned, cleaning patches went thru smoothly, no "grabbing" like there is when lead is present and the barrel was mirror shiny after a few patches, also no lead particles on the patches either.

I had a look around but it seems most stores don't stock RCBS molds. I would suggest sending an email to Budget Shooter Supply to ask if they can supply the mold you want. Any dealer that sells RCBS reloading tools should be able to order you one, but be prepared for sticker shock....

@@314299 Ok thanks for the info, I'll reach out to that store. Still cheaper than golf! Cheers

Yes, you use IMR 4198 load data. It's non canister grade IMR 4198 basically.

It seems very similar to the IMR version, and would treat it as just another lot # of the IMR powder if working up a load.

Often loads with big SD's shoot good groups and those with small SD's shoot poorly. I expect it has to do with the barrel harmonics developed by the loads.

I've been shooting a fair bit of 223 using D4198 and 55gr FMJBT bullets, it works well but one has to settle for somewhat less velocity than obtained with the surplus ball power I generally use. I've also loaded it in 7.62x51/.308 ammo with 147 gr FMJBT bullets, of course less velocity is obtained but it makes for a decent plinking load. Have not used it yet in the 7.62x39 but i'm sure I will at some point.

@@314299 Ya I'm thinking of purchasing a 5lb ccontainer of D4198 for 223's and Canadaammo still has a bunch of them. Great price for the high volume plinker and I won't expect to see good groups. I have many boxes of Campro 223's I'd like to try out with this powder. I should also pick up a chronograph to find out how many grains of D4198 would give me 2900 - 3000 FPS from a 24" barrel. Any recommendations for this powder for 223"s?

Campro 55 grain are pretty good bullets for the money. I've been using between 20 to 22 grains of the D4198 with the Campro bullets to get to the 3000 to 3100 fps.

Yes, it's the one the rifle comes with, Howa fits these with the Hogue over-molded stock. The stock is my least favorite thing about the rifle.

That certainly sounds like a load with promise. You had some good results with 2400 as well, it has been a favorite of mine for a long time with cast bullets.

I always do.

That is a possibility.

@@314299 I would love to see that! Very nice shooting and loading!

Thanks for the feedback.