Introduction To Cast Bullet Association Matches--John Alexander

The Cast Bullet Association had it’s origins in the mid 1970s. Founders Howard Thomas and Ken Mollohan had been exchanging letters about cast bullet shooting.

By that time the Schuetzen tradition of shooting breech seated plain based bullets was well developed; but the art of producing practical fixed ammunition with cast bullets was generally less understood.

Mollohan and Thomas asked Handloader Magazine to print an invitation to other interested shooters to join in the discussion. Several responded and shortly thereafter the precursor of the CBA's competitive program was born when some of the members of the group fired in a postal match.

In a July 7, 1976 letter to the group Thomas urged shooters to send in their targets for the Association’s first informal postal match. It was a 100-yard group match and any target chosen by the shooter as well as any rifle was acceptable. Shooters could shoot as many groups as they wanted and send in their best effort for scoring. A month later, Thomas reported that five shooters had sent in targets and that he had won the match with a 1.16” x .94” group. This unusual way of reporting results was because the founders believed that the area which would just cover the group was a better measure of accuracy than just the distance between the two widest shots.

Sid Musselman was announced as the director of competition in the February 1977 newsletter and he quickly organized both a postal match program for the summer of 1977 and the CBA’s first national match which was held that September at the Hart Family’s Range in Wapwallopen Pennsylvania.

The Association’s shooting program has grown from this beginning. The Association now sponsors a wide variety of programs for members interested in shooting cast bullets in competition. Benchrest shooting predominates, but some offhand matches are offered.

Local, and regional matches are held at locations throughout the country. The National Tournament has been held annually since 1977, and the location is rotated among ranges in the East, Midwest, and West to give members the opportunity to shoot in a national competition without traveling across the country.

These matches are open to five official classes of firearms; Production (factory rifles), Heavy (14 pound weight limit), Unrestricted, Long Range Handguns (seven pound weight limit) and Plain Based Bullets (single shot rifles shooting bullets without gas checks). Many ranges also welcome jacketed bullet and rimfire shooters wanting to try out competition in an “Open” class.

Recently, the CBA has adopted a class for military rifles which is attracting a number of new shooters into competition. This class is proving to be very popular and more military matches are being organized every year. Military rifles issued by any nation and legally sold as surplus qualify.

In addition to these programs, there is an extensive postal match program giving shooters, anywhere in the world, a chance to try cast bullet competition. This program attracts close to one thousand entries each year into a wide range of matches with all sorts of firearms. Group, and score benchrest matches as well as standing matches are offered. These provide opportunities to compete with firearms that fit into the five official classes, as well as with military rifles and carbines, hunting rifles, big and small bore rifles, lever, pump, auto rifles and several classes of pistols.

The results of all these matches along with technical information on the equipment and techniques used by the competitors are reported in the CBA's official journal, The Fouling Shot. The CBA also certifies and maintains the association's national records for the five benchrest classes as well as for offhand and military rifle.

This system of encouraging competition, sharing technical data, and keeping national records has resulted in tremendous progress in the art and science of shooting cast bullets in modern firearms.

The classes, courses of fire, and targets used have evolved over time. At present a match may consist of either a score match, a group match or both as well as possibly including an offhand match. To hold a registered group match a range must have moving backers to confirm the number of shots fired in small groups.

The targets for registered 100 yard score matches have a 0.72” diameter ten ring and a 0.072 X dot. Larger rings each increase 0.72” in size out to a 5.76” three ring. The same target is used for 200 yards but at that range two rings become one; thus the second smallest ring counts as a ten, the fourth smallest counts as a nine etc. Group matches are shot on a target of identical size with a small circle inside a square added at twelve o’clock as an aiming point similar to the targets used by jacketed benchrest shooters. The targets are printed in red to make bullet holes in the solid red parts more visible.

Military rifle and some postal matches use various NRA standard targets to facilitate the use of iron sights or for other reasons.

Times allowed in registered matches are ten minutes for five shot score and five shot group match and fifteen minutes for a ten shot group match. Wind flags are allowed.

A shooter considering entering a match should get a current set of the CBA rules of competition. These can be obtained from the Director of Services listed on the inside cover of The Fouling Shot. The course of fire for any shoot can be obtained from the match director of that event.

The annual National Tournament is currently a four-day affair with a Military Rifle match, an offhand match and time for sighting in on Thursday and Friday. The official shooting for the national championship in each class and the overall Grand National Champion is on Saturday and Sunday. Five shot group, ten shot group and score aggregates are fired at both 100 and 200 yards.

A chart on rifle telescopic sights used in the 2006 CBA National Matches.

A short description of each of the five official classes and the equipment

used in each follows.

     CBA Production Class--John Alexander 

Production class allows shooters to engage in CBA competition with a   factory rifle. All other classes require an expensive custom-made rifle to be competitive. Perhaps because of the lower equipment cost, the production class attracts more shooters to the national tournaments than any other class with the possible exception of heavy class.

Production class not only encourages more shooters to enter competition but also provides competition for experienced shooters who prefer to see how well a factory rifle can be made to shoot cast bullets.

The rifle used must be manufactured in a quantity of at least 1,000 in any twelve-month period. The maximum weight is 12 pounds with the mounted scope. Factory sights and ejectors may be removed but all other factory parts must be on the rifle when weighed and shot. The detailed requirements for production class are on the CBA web site.

Virtually all production class competitors shoot varmint weight rifles. The two most popular brands are Remington and Savage with about equal numbers showing up at the nationals. The occasional Ruger or Winchester also sometimes appears at the top of the individual aggregates. However, four different shooters using Savages have won six of the last seven nation championships in production class.

Almost all production class shooters chose the 308 Winchester. However shooters with other calibers are often in the top three, and one of these recently set several national records using a Ruger rifle chambered for the 243 Winchester.

Most production class shooters choose a good quality, 36-power scope since it is important to see bullet holes at 200 yards.

About half of production shooters cast their bullets from Linotype with the rest using various alloys. Virtually all the thirty caliber shooters choose bullets of at least 170 grains and most of the recent winners have used bullets of over 200 grains. For a given shape, the longer the bullet, the better the ballistic coefficient and the less wind drift. Production shooters use a wide variety of lubes, powders, and primers with no apparent favorites. For details on the equipment and loads used in production class see the match reports in the back of every issue of the Fouling Shot.

To be competitive requires an accurate varmint weight rifle. Although it is sometimes possible to exceed jacketed bullet accuracy with cast bullets, if the rifle won’t shoot four consecutive five shot groups which average under a minute of angle with jacketed bullets, that rifle is probably not likely to be competitive in production class.

Once you have found a promising rifle and mounted an appropriate scope, the next order of business is to find an appropriate bullet and make sure it is a good fit in your throat and bore.

There are many factors that affect cast bullet accuracy but good bullet fit to the throat and bore is essential. The bullet needs to be aligned with the bore and supported in that alignment over a substantial portion of the length of the bullet. Some production shooters modify the rifle’s throat with various special shapes and tapers and then swage, or bump, their bullets in a die made with the same reamer to obtain the needed fit. Excellent results can be obtained with this approach but it costs both time and money. Some top shooters obtain effective bullet fit in the factory throat by finding a mold that casts bullets that fit or can be lapped to make it produce bullets that fit. Having a custom bullet mold made to fit your rifle’s throat is another approach.

If you choose to fit the bullet to the factory throat, you should slug the throat with soft lead as described elsewhere in the book. Careful measurement of the slug will let you know what bullet dimensions are needed for a good fit. A bullet of decent length with a nose that shows good engraving by the lands when seated, and with the front driving band only slightly smaller than the diameter of the ball seat portion of the throat, is likely to shoot well.

The muzzle of the rifle should also be slugged in order to compare the groove diameter at the muzzle with the groove diameter near the throat. Jacketed bullets are somewhat elastic and thus have the ability to spring back after being deformed. This allows them to be somewhat tolerant of a bore that is slightly larger at the muzzle. Cast bullets have very little elasticity and usually do much better if the bore is uniform or tapers to a slightly smaller diameter at the muzzle. Thus, if the rifle has a larger bore at the muzzle it may be difficult attain good cast bullet accuracy, even though it may be accurate with jacketed bullets.

Once suitable equipment is assembled and a method is found to fit the bullet to the throat and bore, the most important thing is to practice as much a possible under conditions you would expect to find at a match.

Production class shooters can’t consistently match the high performance of the other three classes that allow high quality custom rifles. However, the best production shooters often shoot scores that would place them in the money in individual aggregates in the other classes. Production class shooters take pride in finding ways to achieve excellent accuracy with mass produced rifles.

By the time this goes to print, there may be another official CBA factory rifle class that allows a shooter to be competitive with even lower equipment costs. The CBA is running postal matches on a trial basis limited to the type of hunting rifles that many shooters already have. If there is sufficient interest in these postal matches, this may be made an official class on a trial basis.

Few shooters have a varmint weight 308 but many have a sporter weight 308 or other caliber that may be competitive. This class would not only restricts the weight of rifle and scope to nine and one half pounds but would also disallow some of the modifications allowed in the present production class making it closer to a true factory rifle class.

CBA Heavy Class

The CBA rules essentially allow any center fire rifle that weighs less than 14 pounds with sights. These are the fairly expensive custom built rifles.

CBA Unrestricted CLASS

The CBA rules essentially allow any center fire rifle that the shooter can lift onto the bench in this class. This includes "machine rest" and "rail" and "return to battery" guns that do not require the shooter to aim or control the rifle during shooting. These are the big, heavy, expensive envelope-pushing guns that are the test beds for change and innovation.

Today, early 2007, it appears that there is not much common ground in the Unrestricted class; as we would expect.

CBA Plain Base Bullet (PBB) CLASS

The CBA rules for the PBB class require that no metallic gas check be used on the bullet. In 2006 the National Match PBB competitors used the following:

So it would seem that today, early 2007, that the DeHaas Miller action in 32 Miller Short with a good barrel shooting a bullet >200 grains, with AA#9/H108 and using a 36X scope is the most popular combination in the PBB class.

Unfortunately the DeHaas Miller action business has been sold to Dakota Arms, and is either unobtainable or extraordinarily expensive today.

Here are the 2006 CBA National Match results, for rifle shooters who completed all four group matches. 

It seems clear that the single shot rifle shooters shooting plain base bullets can hold their own against their gas check using opponents.

 CBA LONG RANGE HANDGUN  COMPETITION--Jesse Miller

In Cast Bullet competition there is a class for pistols called Long Range Handgun (LRH). This class offers plenty of opportunity to experiment. One can experiment with scopes and caliber to one’s heart content.

One interesting aspect of this is that the competitor shoots the same targets and match schedule that is used for the various rifle classes. Thus the handgun needs to be “tuned” in much the same way as the ‘match target’ rifle.

The most commonly used guns are the Remington XP-100, and the Savage Striker. The Thompson Contender has been used by a few shooters. Some others makes are available on a custom basis. Most competitors, after being at it for a while, will reconfigure the gun to their own ideas.

The major limitation is a maximum weight of seven pounds. Other limitations are 15 inch maximum barrel length and forearm width.

At this writing, there have not been any ‘perfect’ scores shot for record; however the small groups are becoming quite impressive. Thus there is ample room for a new ‘star’ to come along and show us “how to do it!”

Here are some representative loads:

Below are some Remington XP 100 LRH handguns

30 BR – McMillan Stock – 36X Weaver Scope in Ken Light High Rise Mounts	Remington XP-100 – Stock 221 Fireball
Precision Stock, Black – 6mm PPC – Burris 10X EER Scope	MPI Stock – 7mm BR Short – 35 mm Leupold Scope in Ken Light High Rise Mount

CBA Military Rifle Competition--Claris Hyett

The military rifle cast bullet classes and competitions are being set up to offer everyone who owns a military rifle of any caliber or origin an opportunity to compete. The first few years are for the setup and growing the concept; we will regroup after these years and see if this will become a permanent offering.

We hope to emulate the Plain Base Shooters who in the last decade have setup their own class, set some very impressive records, have a great percentage of the shooters at any match or the Nationals, and who have a great time. The variety of rifles I’ve personally seen shot include Krags, Springfield’s, Swiss K-31’s, Mausers in both 7 mm and 8 mm, Swedish 6.5 X 55’s, Garands, and even a Japanese 7.7. This is competition for everyone.

Vision: Rifle competition for military rifles using cast bullets.

Mission: Setup the rules for the rifles and the competition, record and referee the matches, organize the reporting, and monitor the growth for this type of match.

Goals: 1) Local, regional, and national competition, 2) team matches, even international, 3) recognize records and champions, and 4) having a good time

Objectives: Class rules open enough to allow everyone to shoot, class rules standard throughout the competition, national and even international competition, records – remember, this is an international group and the records will be international), growing the CBA by adding more members and adding more active members, enjoyment of the company of like-minded shooters.

The classes are; 1) Issue Sight, 2) Modified Irons, 3) Modified Scope. The classes are set up to have the collectors who have original rifles shooting against each other, the people who have modified their rifles for competition or hunting shooting against each other, and the people who have trouble seeing the sights any more and have scoped their rifles shooting against each other. So far, the classes have been fairly evenly represented and competitive, the Modified Iron sight class having the fewest members at a match.

Interpretation of the rules will be in favor of the shooter for Modified Scope which means that variable power scopes can be used if they are set on six-power and left there. The Match Director will monitor that the scope is being used at six-power in the match and anything higher will be cause for disqualification. This means that even using the scope on a higher power on the sighter target is not allowed. And by the way, there are some excellent six-power scopes available with target torrents and adjustable objectives that are built for the jacketed benchrest shooter who have their Hunter Rifle class which also lists the scope power to 6X.

Quoting directly from the CBA Rules:

5.8 - Military Rifle Shoot - The rules for Registered Military Rifle Shoots shall follow existing CBA Benchrest rules with the following additions and exceptions.

(a) Military Rifles

[1] Issue - Any military service rifle issued to any nation and legally sold as surplus in the US and in strictly as issued configuration. This means NO modifications are allowed to the rifle.

[2] Modified Iron - Any military service rifle issued to any nation and legally sold as surplus in the US and with issue action and barrel. Stocks may be either issue stocks, modified military stocks or sporter stocks. Modified military or sporter stock forearms may not be wider nor flatter on the bottom than the original stock issued for that rifle. Modified military or sporter stocks may not weigh more than the original issued stock. Any trigger and iron sight may be used and glass bedding is allowed.

[3] Modified Scope - Any military service rifle issued to any nation and legally sold as surplus in the US and with issue action and barrel. Stocks may be either issue stocks, modified military stocks or sporter stocks. Modified military or sporter stock forearms may not be wider or flatter on the bottom than the original stock issued for that rifle. Modified military or sporter stocks may not weigh more than the original issued stock. Any trigger and scope up to a maximum of 6 power may be used. Glass bedding is allowed.

(b) Targets

[1] 100 Yard - NRA official 600 yard National Match Course target reduced to 100 yards

(MR – 31).

[2] 200 Yard - NRA official 600 yard National Match Course target reduced to 200 yards

(MR – 52).

(c) Time Limits - 10 shot score

Time Limits - 10 shot score matches will be fired in 15 minutes elapsed time.

(d) Course of Fire - All military competitions will be held using single round loading.

100 Yard Benchrest Score - Ten shots on each of two separate MR-31 targets for a combined total of 20 record shots. A separate sighter target may be used.

200 Yard Benchrest Score - Ten shots on each of two separate MR-52 targets for a combined total of 20 record shots. A separate sighter target may be used.

5 Shot Benchrest Group - Course of fire same as standard rules but using above targets and due to target size, no backers will be required. A separate sighter target may be used.

(e) Wind Flags - The use of individual wind flags is optional.

I have a choice of three Springfield 1903’s and a Trapdoor for this competition. I’d love to shoot the Trapdoor, but some ranges do not allow black powder and it is not the better shooting rifle of the collection. However, it is the most fun to shoot and sometimes it surprises me in practice with a good score.

1873 Trapdoor by Springfield Arsenal, Issue (Buffington) sights, Issue stock, 65 grains FFG, 30:1 alloy, Lee 500 grain bullet sized .460"

1903A1 by Rock Island Arsenal, Issue sights, Issue stock, 27 grains Reloader 7, Linotype alloy, Lyman 311335 sized .311"

1903A3 by Smith Corona, Issue sights, Issue stock, 31 grains Reloader 7, Linotype alloy, Lyman 311284 sized .311"

1924 Target by Springfield Arsenal, Lyman 48 Long Slide rear and Lyman 17A Globe front sights, M2 Springfield glass bedded stock, 30 grains Reloader 7, Linotype alloy, Lyman 311335 sized .311".