Military Surplus Cast Bullet Matches

[Adam Helmer]

Next month the local club has a cast bullet match limited to military rifles; the course of fire is 10 rounds at 50 yards and 10 at 100 yards. At each distance 5 rounds are fired offhand and 5 from the bench. In 1996, I used a Spanish M43 8x57 rifle and 215 grain cast bullets and came in 2nd.

I have shot the annual match every year since with a variety of military rifles and never placed lower than 3rd out of a field of about 40 shooters. I am now working with a Yugo M48A that likes my 215 grain cast bullet and 25 grains of IMR4198. My quandry is that my FN ABL M49 8mm likes the same load and is quite accurate. I merely cutoff the gas by turning the gas lock and manually operate the FN.

At the annual shoot, one sees a mix of every imaginable military rifle ever made. Some are in pretty rough shape, but seem to shoot well which is a testimonial to the designers and not the current owners. Does anyone else shoot cast bullets in their military rifles?

Adam