Paper Patched Loads With a Ruger No.1 9.3x74R

[Reverend Recoil]

I have been working on a cast bullet load for my Ruger No.1 9.3x74R.  I did not want to invest in custom bullets molds, sizing dies, and gas checks.  Paper patched .358 cast bullets seem to satisfy everything.  With a Saeco #352 mold and wheel weight alloy I cast a .358 bullet.  With two wraps of vellum tracing the diameter is 0.367-0.368.  Finished weight is 250 gr.   No bullet lubricant is used.   Cases are neck expanded with a Lyman 9.3mm M-die and loaded to 2500 fps.  The powders I have used are Varget, Reloader No.15, IMR-4064.  All work well.  The accuracy of these paper patched bullets is the same as the jacketed bullets that I have tried.  On November 27, I shot a wild boar with one of these bullets.  He dropped in his tracks.

Bullets pictured left to right are: Paper patched Saeco #352 250 gr., Speer 270 gr., Barns 250 gr. XFS, Noslar 250 gr. Accubond, Priv Partizan 286 gr., and Hornady 286 gr. SP/RP.

[Nrut]

Excellent work Reverend Recoil!
I have PP up some lighter (223grs) .358 boolits myself and am just waiting for some warmer weather to try them out at the range..
Your Saeco 250gr. at 2500fps is likely good enough to kill anything that I would run across up here in B.C. and thats why I bought a 9.3X74R..
Of the powders that you listed which one gave you the best accuracy?
I suspect that you didn't recover your boolit but if you did what did it look like and what did the wound channel look like?
I like the way you have your #1 set up with that NECG rear peep... I have the same on my # 1 in .405 Win..
Keep up the good work!

[Reverend Recoil]

The three powders listed produce about the same accuracy.  IMR-4064 gives the highest velocity.  Reloader No.7 is good for 1600-1800 fps reduced loads.  I have done little shooting from a bench with this rifle because of the recoil.  Most of my shooting is off hand and kneeling position.  All these loads will hold the 3" ten ring of a pistol target at 100 yards.  That is me shooting unsupported.  I am sure they are capable of doing better.

The pig was shot at 75 yards.  The bullet was acomplete pass through.  The shoulder was broken on the near side and three ribs were broken on the far side.  Both lungs were destroyed.  There was only 9.3mm entrance and exit hole in the hide.  Maybe that's why pig skins make such good footballs.

[Nrut]

Ha!
I know what you mean about recoil.. That's why I'm shooting the lighter 223 gr. boolit with reduced loads of H4895.. My rifle is a break open single shot and only weighs 6.8 lbs. scoped..
I would like to try your RL-7 load as I have several pounds of it that I'm not using for anything else.. Could you please point me in the direction as to were you got your RL-7 loading data as I couldn't find any 9.3 data on Alliants website..
Thanks

[Reverend Recoil]

I get most of my data from Wolf Publishing, www.loaddata.com.  Wolf is the publisher of Rifle and Handloader magazines.  There are thousands of loads listed.  There is a modest annual subscripion fee.  New loads are added almost every day.

250 gr. Barns, 36.5gr. Alliant Reloader No.7 = 1735 fps
250 gr. Barns, 38.5gr. Alliant Reloader No.7 = 1816 fps

38.5gr. Alliant Reloader No.7 with the paper patched bullet is what killed the boar.

Starting loads for the 9.3x62 will work with the 9.3x74R.

What type of break open single shot rifle do you have?  Is it a Merkel or Kreighoff?

I wish mine was a fine double rifle.  One of these days.............

[Nrut]

You are right, I should subscribe to LoadData.com.. I had a subscription with them when they first started.. I figured I didn't need it any more which was a mistake.. I'll resubscribe this coming week..
I had a Ruger #1 in 9.3X74R on order for over a year but canceled the order when I found out the twist was 1:10 instead of a 1:13 the 9.3's normally have.. That was before I started PP and now I see that you can push PP fast in a fast twist..
 
Anyway I had been lusting for a Blaser K95 single shot for a long time and told myself when I retired I would buy one.. They are fairly rare up here but 2 mos. after retired I found a used one with all the features I wanted and in 9.3X74R and with a 6.5X55 accessory barrel.. I jumped on it and am glad I did.. I have only had it to the range once with the 9.3 barrel and it looks like it will shoot cast nicely.. Can't wait until spring!
Thanks again for the reloading data..
It'll be put to good use!   

[Brithunter]

Ahhh gentlemen perhaps you can be of assistance  although it's not a 9.3x74R like yours I have a Husqvarna Model 46 bolt action in 9.3x57 Mauser and have tried to paper patch some 0.358" cast bullets with little sucess  Now the moulds I have are both Lyman being:-

35875 which is a flat nosed plain base bullet which is a claimed 200 grains

35897 which is a gas checked tapered nose bullet of a claimed 232 grains

Now I cast them of pure lead, perhaps that was the mistake? Part of the problem will be that the groove diameter of my rifle is 0.370" although the land diameter appears to be 0.3545". The bullets from the 35897 mould drop at 0.358" in pure lead and weigh 240 grains. However the bullets from the 35875 mould drop at 210 grains weight and 0.362" diameter.

I just oiled one of each of the bullets and pushed them through the bore from the muzzle end which is how I got the land diameter. It would appear that the muzzle end of the barel may be 0.355" as measuring it with a digital caliper gets this reading. These bullets have hardened somewhat as I cast them about 6 years ago now.  At the moment none of the casting equipment is set up as I have no room for it at the moment. Later this year I will have space in a shed in which to cast once again.

This is my first venture into casting and the moulds were brought at an Arms Fair at Bisley Camp and both sets now have handles on them but did not have when I brought them. They do not appear to have been used or if so used very little.

 Any help would be most appreciated.

[Reverend Recoil]

I am not sure of what you are asking.  What loads have you tried and what are the results?   How are you patching the bullets, what type of paper, sizing, and finished diameter?  What kind of performance are you getting with jacketed bullets?

The best source of information on paper-patched bullets can be found on the Cast Boolets forum.
www.castboolits.gunloads.com

[Brithunter]

Sorry for the confusion. I am not re-starting from scratch as in the move a while back I seem to have lost my notes on this Paper-Patching experiment  .I remember getting poor accuracy and with at least one load some leading near the muzzle.

Didn't have these issues with the ole 577/450  that one was easy to load for.

  Now I have more of the 240 grain tapered GC bullet already cast so I will give that a go. Due to the taper of the bulelt and the throating of the Husvarna's barrel it's not possible to get the bullet to touch the leade. The blunter profile 210 grain bullet only just sitting in a sized case does not contact the leade.

   Looking through my books so far I have not found any real help in working out a load to begin with  the powders I have are:-

H4198
IMR4198
Reloader 7
Reloader 12
Reloader 15
H335
BLC-2
Vectan TU500

   One of those should be suitable I would have thought. I am assuming before I used H4895 as then I was using it in several cartridges but I don't use it now. Paper and patch size I will have to work out again as it would have been in my notes but if I recall right it was a type of computer paper that I used for the patches. I do have some alread patched bullets but cannot locate them right now which means they're going to be in a box still in the garage.

   Assuming that that the throat is big enough and bearing in mind that the groove diameter is 0.370" what size would the patched bullet be best at?

[Reverend Recoil]

I would start with a patched diameter that is same as the groove diameter.  It wouldn't hurt to try bullets patched at 0.372" .

[Brithunter]

Thank you. I will investigate if I can actually chamber a cartridge with a bullet patched to that size. If not it's back to the drawing board  .