98/22 and Blue Dot powder

[Jacobite]

Well I got out today to shoot my newly aquired 98/22 and am very happy. I loaded up reduced loads with 175 grain Sierra bullets and Blue Dot powder. Loaded 5 each with 20,21,22,23,24, grains. All 5 loads gave me about the same results. 5 shots in about 2-2.5 inches, 12-14 inches high at 100 yards. Recoil was almost nothing. I am thinking this is pretty good for mauser sights on a rainy day. Now I just have to find a new bolt stop spring so it will eject brass.

[woofert]

sounds like a lot of fun!

I've been looking into cast bullet/reduced loads for my Enfield and Ishy using Blue dot or Unique and 32-20 118 grain cast flat points. Mainly for short range practice, but your results are encouraging.

for Mauser parts. poke around at the link below.

http://www.mausercentral.com/

Woofert

[Jacobite]

Woofert,
I did the subsonic bullseye loads before with .308 in my FR8. They were real cool. The rifle sounded like a .22. The blue dot loads have alot more umph.

[robocop10mm]

I use a 150 gr rngc (linotype) in 30-30, 308, 30-06. I have used unique w/dacron filler with very good results. You must use the dacron filler to get consitant results. W/out it you can get dangerous overpressures.

Easy on the shoulder, ears and the wallet. I generally go to about 2000 fps with good results.

[Seattlefungus]

Have you tried Rainier Bullets? they are cased with just a spray coat of copper to reduce lead fouling and particulates at indoor ranges. Very cheap too. And another way to top off low powder charges is dry cream of wheat.

[Jacobite]

Have you tried Rainier Bullets? they are cased with just a spray coat of copper to reduce lead fouling and particulates at indoor ranges. Very cheap too. And another way to top off low powder charges is dry cream of wheat.
I am looking into them actually.

[bullseye]

Woofert,
I did the subsonic bullseye loads before with .308 in my FR8. They were real cool. The rifle sounded like a .22. The blue dot loads have alot more umph.

would you mind sharing the receipe? :)

[Jacobite]

What ones do you want?

I used 5 grains of AA#5 with the 100 grain plinkers in the .308. I didn't use any filler just the powder. As I recall I used AA#5 in place of bullseye as I had a pound of the crap that was no good for any thing else. AA#5 was very dirty in the handguns I loaded for. The way I had read to make the sub sonic loads was load real light like 3 grains and try one. The idea is to load just enough powder to get the bullet to exit the barrel every shot. 3 grains might not even get the bullet out so you have to check after every shot. You just add .5 grains at a time till you get a load the is consistant.

Please do a bit of research before you try this. Don't just take my word for it. Unlike robocops unique powder loads you are not looking for much velocity. Blue Dot powder is better and safer for that.

As for the Blue Dot loads I have done alot of them. A man on accuratereloading.com has done alot of research with it.


This is the basic info he gave me so I could work with it myself. Please I take NO responsibility of these being safe. I have been working with Blue Dot in .308, 8x57 and .303 British with no ill affects. These will not be quiet sub sonic loads. The are reduced velocity loads that are great for plinking and practice. USE THIS INFO AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

As far as using Blue Dot in other calibers...

It did end up depending upon the case size...

308 cases seem to use a formula that the max is 60% of the case capacity filled to the very top of the case....

30/06 sized cases and 300 Mag sized cases, the max load seems to be 50% of full capacity to the brim...

short mag cases hold to the 60% rule as does the super short mags....

minimum case capacity seems to start at 20% of the full case to the brim capacity... no filler is needed and the powder is not position sensitive... large rifle or large pistol primers work just fine...

to cut this a little shorter....

308 sized cases seem to operate with 22.5 grains as max capacity...

24.5 grains on 57mm cases and 55 mm cases....
such as 6mm Rem, 257 Roberts, 6.5 x 55, 7 x 57, 8 x 57, 6.5 x 57...

Mag cases seem to operate at a max of 35 grains....7 Rem Mag 264 Win Mag, 300 Winchester, 300 Weatherby, 7mm Weatherby, 270 Weatherby, 338 Mag, 8mm Rem Mag, 340 Weatherby..

[Jacobite]

I want to add that I chronoed the 8x57 load of 24 grains of Blue Dot and 175 grain Sierra sp and got an average of 2069fps. No signs of over pressure in my rifle but when I went to 24.5 grains accuracy suffered. I am sticking with 24 grains for this load. Working with the .303 now and have started at 15 grains but for now I am playing with 147 grain .308 diameter bullets. So far so good but only plinking accuracy with the .308 dia. bullets.

[bullseye]

cool, I was thinking about loading some sub sonic loads for the 308 to play with. These will be shot out of a Rem 700. What I am really looking for is truly sub sonic loads, no crack of the bullet. Also, for the loads mentioned, do you crimp? Thanks for the info. :)

[Jacobite]

No I did not crimp. If you start low and work up till the bullet consistantly exits the barrel you should get quieter than I did. I was not really worried about being real quiet. The nice thing about the plinker bullets is they really bust up when they hit the ground. I can't imagine a richochet.