Elmer Keith's cast bullets in rifles

[reo]

Most know of the Keith designs in pistols, but did EK advocate, use or design any cast bullets for any of his rifles?

[Charles]

Keith used cast bullet extensively in his old Sharps, an dthe 45-70. He also did some work with cast bullet in the 375 H and H. At least that is what I remember reading about in the 50's and 60's. I used some of his cast bullet loads in the 45-70 and 357 H&H. They worked just like he said they would.

[J Miller]

Most know of the Keith designs in pistols, but did EK advocate, use or design any cast bullets for any of his rifles?

I've read Sixguns and Hell I Was There by Keith as well as some of his other articles. I don't remember him mentioning the use of his SWC in any rifles. I may have just missed it.
Other than the Marlin 336 and 1894, some converted 1892 Winchesters, and the Remington 788 bolt gun, there were few to no long guns chambered for hand gun rounds while he was alive. Those that shot them used jacketed bullets more than anything else.

The great surge in popularity of Keith's bullets seems to me to be a recent ( last 20 years or so ) development. Especially the increase in weight of the more common calibers.

Not trying to be a know-it-all, this is just what I remember from my own reloading experiences.

Joe

[Ben_Rumson]

Joe don't forget the Ruger 44 Carbine..

[J Miller]

Joe don't forget the Ruger 44 Carbine..

Ben, I guess I did forget it. But, wasn't the Ruger 44 Carbine a gas operated action that was very COAL critical. If I'm right then the Ruger would not be suitable for the Keith SWC anyway.

Joe

[mescalero1]

Joe,
when I was a kid( we are the same age ) ALL of our pistols were fed Kieth style bullets, those were the molds we had & we could not afford more.

[Lefty Dude]

I shoot a Keith type SWC in my Rossi 44-40. It's a 240 gr. and is very accurate.

[J Miller]

mescalero1,

I think we are in the minority.

When I started shooting .45 Colts in the mid 70s, about my second or third mold was a Lyman 454424. I've shot thousands of bullets from that mold through every thing I've owned in .45 Colt. From my experiences folks that reload but don't cast don't usually pay the extra for Keith style bullets. And most of them that shoot rifles shoot the heavier LBT types because they "think" the Keith bullets won't feed. Just keep reading what the members here talk about when they discuss their .45 Colt lever guns. Most of them use the RNFP of one sort or another.

Joe

[Ben_Rumson]

Nah Joe you’re right... It prolly would have been a PITA to make work with anything other than factory ammo.. It was gas operated and tube fed, and I don’t know what lead bullets would do for the gas operated system on the Ruger..I do see guys running CBs in their M1 carbines with no complaints.. Maybe someone with one of the Ruger Levers in 44 mag knows how a Keith bullet works...Just a guess but I’d say as long as the ammo was factory length and gas system issues aside... a fella could get it done with a Keith bullet.. though a fella might have to adjust his case length shorter to get the proper COAL to use a 240gr Keith type bullet.