7.62x39 and 8x57

[Tinbender]

Greetings folks,

Your site has been recommended on GBO quite a bit and certainly hasn't been over stated.......very impressed.

Long time handloader branching into casting with my son John who is in collage and of course broke.......like ramen every night broke:smile: So dad is subsidizing diversification of our hobby:roll I would like to multitask our first mold if possible.

My SKS slugs .3125 bore as new......1600-1800 fps would be fine.

John has a K98 @.325 bore very good.....he's young and wants to go fast which is fine with me so long as it's done safely.

I have been looking at molds for the .303 .314@150-180 grains or so and John would like to try PP using the same CB for the 8x57. Still need to cast the chambers and check OAL so the SKS does't become a single shot. If the PP doesn't work out mold #2 will be for the 8x57.

I did see a group buy for a 155gr FN with a range of diameter and research says this gentleman's work is very well thought of.

That's about as far as we've gotten.....any thoughts on this are most welcome....Dave

[Tinbender]

Well no warnings so I must be heading in the right direction.........we'll keep on agoing

Dave

[crabo]

Give it a little time, you'll get some responses.

[HangFireW8]

Dave,

Welcome to the forum. You'll get more responses in the evening when folks are off of work. You'll also get better responses if you ask specific questions.

You said you'd like to multitask your first mold if possible, but doing that across two different calibers is very difficult. If I read you right, you want to use it in both the 7.62 and the 8mm. While a .010" difference doesn't sound like much, sizing a boolit that much can pretty much destroy the lube grooves. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it would be advanced cast boolit reloading.

IMHO You'd be better off buying two inexpensive molds (read: Lee) or just focus on one.

I'm not sure what PP is. To me it's a Walther pistol. (Edit: Oh, right, paper patching. I have nothing against it, but I just don't do it.)

-HF

[chris in va]

I highly recommend you not use lead in your SKS. The AK piston system is similar, and the water dropped/gas checked bullets I put through mine formed a lead ring around the piston block, and the whole gun locked up solid.

[runfiverun]

by the time you get extra sizers for the 8mm to p/p it you will be better off getting a correct mold.
if his groove is 325 i am guessing his bore is 316 which is @ the size he will want to start off his p/p core.
now if you find a mold that will pour for the 316-17 size and you size it back down for the sks at 313 you have compromised that one.
but what does the gun know, get the mold and wrap some paper around it, [shoot for 326] use a starting jaxketed load and give it a try.

[Tinbender]

Sorry guys,

Didn't mean to come off as impatient, not very net savvy. I probably should have posted this in the PP forum. I'll try to be more specific there.

I have read a very few reports of gas piston leading and thanks for pointing this out. With a good fitting boolit with enough hardness and not too much velocity the majority that are using CB seem to be having good results.......but I could be wrong having heard it both ways. I will be sure to watch closely for leading.

Thanks Dave

[rockrat]

Try the military rifle section. think there are many that have loaded for the SKS and probably 8mm also.

I would think that you could have a mould that cast at .316 and size down to .314" without any problem, for use in your .3125" SKS. That way you will also have a boolit for paper patching.

[Tinbender]

Thanks for the ideas,

I can see some wisdom in doing one thing right instead of two things sort of right. At the gunsmithgarage a cleaver fellow turned and hardened a scrap of drill rod and ground a "D" reamer and chucked an aluminum block to create a straight sided mold for PP with no parting line and a punch-out pin. John does pretty well on the little metal lathe in the shop so making his first mold might be a great father-son thing when he stops buy from collage to clean out the frig. and wash his clothes:)

I have looked at the military and some more forums searching as suggested and did find some good starting loads. I looked at the Lee molds and have a bit of there tools now but if the 8x57 needs .326-.327 and the x39 needs .313-.314 I'm not seeing anything offered. So perhaps 155gr. group buy for the x39 and we'll see what we can machine for John to try his PP.

Thanks Dave

[303Guy]

Tinbender, if you can get your son (and yourself) into paper patching you could both have a hoot! I think your idea of a single mold for both is a great idea. It'll take a little thought but hey, he's in college right? For comparison, a 308 mold can be used for a patched 303 Brit (.312 nominal groove) so a .311 nominal groove SKS boolit can be used for a patched 8mm. You will need to look at the throat size and shape of both rifles for final boolit fit. The bore and groove don't matter that much, just the throat fit. I'd suggest starting off by accurately measuring both rifle throats (slugging) and going from there. PP can be quite versatile by selecting the appropriate paper. I do get the impression that longer and heavier boolits are better which kinda restricts you unless the SKS will work well with heavies (that are seated below the neck). Why not pop over to the smokeless paper patch section and ask again? There you might find some paper patch suggestions and here some plain cast suggestions.

For what it's worth, I think yours is a very good idea. It's what I'd do, anyway.
Best of luck in your quest. :drinks:

And welcome aboard! :drinks:

[MikeS]

The most important thing is to read. Before you buy anything, read as much as you can about casting boolits. A good place to start is right here. Read as many of the stickies as you can, read Glen Fryxell's great book about casting boolits (there's a link to it somewhere on this site, or another member might post it, I just don't have it handy at the moment), try and get one of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbooks, and read, read, read! Boolit casting isn't rocket science, but the more you know about it before you ever pour a single boolit, the better off you'll be!

I would say, rather than trying to learn how to cast boolits, AND how to paper patch boolits all at once, I would think you'd be better off buying 2 different moulds for the 2 rifles, and concentrate on making good boolits for both that way first. Then once you're comfortable casting boolits, and sizing/lubing them for the specific rifles they're going to be shot in, then you could start paper patching them. Of course I could be totally wrong, as I haven't gotten into paper patching boolits yet.

I'm just thinking that rather than trying to learn two different things at the same time, do one, then do the other. And if you decide that you really like casting your own boolits, you'll soon have way more than just 2 moulds anyway! Check in the military rifle section, there's a message thread there all about the 7.62x39! There's no reason not to cast boolits for it, if it's in an AK, or an SKS, or Ruger Mini-30, any of these rifles can shoot cast lead boolits. In fact C.E. Harris designed a boolit specifically for the 7.62x39, and it's available from Lee, both as a conventional lube version, as well as one specifically for tumble lubing with Lee's Liquid Alox. The Lee moulds cost around $20.00 for a 2 cavity mould, I wasn't sure which one I would like better, so I got both! But to start out, my suggestion would be to get the TL version first, then after you've slugged your rifle(s) get a Lee sizing/lubing kit the proper size. the kit has a sizing die that mounts in a reloading press, so a separate lubrisizer isn't needed to get started! Some folks might say not to get the tumble lube (TL) version, to get the conventional one, as you can TL it too, but considering how inexpensive the moulds are I would say get the TL mould, you can always get the conventional mould later! (or do what I did, and get both!) Of course the boolit moulds I mentioned are for the 7.62x39, I've never cast for an 8mm, so don't know which boolit would be the best one to start with for that cartridge, but I'm sure there are other members here that can tell you. Again, as I'm not too familiar with paper patching I could be wrong, but I think the TL version of C.E. Harris' boolit might be better suited to paper patching than the conventional lube version, so if you decide that you are going to learn paper patching along with boolit casting, that might be yet another reason to get the TL version first.

One thing about the Lee moulds, sometimes they come with the handles (that come with the mould) kind of loose, which makes mould alignment harder. I posted a message in the boolit mould section of the forum about how I made the mould much tighter, and it made the mould MUCH easier to use! Between that message (I forget exact what message thread it's in, I think it's in the one about Lee moulds), and the many about Leementing a mould, if you get a Lee mould to start, and read those posts, you should be able to get started casting without spending lots of money, and without all the headaches a Lee mould can give IF you don't read the messages about Leementing. While Lee moulds are ok for learning, once you've decided that you like boolit casting, and have gotten some practice doing it with the Lee mould, you can get a better mould. I just think that to start off with, when you're not even sure you will like casting your own boolits, it doesn't make sense to drop lots of money into it. Also, if you're going to get a Lee pot for casting, I would recommend that you start off with the Lee 4-20 pot. It holds more alloy than their 10lb pots, and it's a much better design. Also, the way it's designed the bottom pour parts are all off to one side, so if you want to use a ladle it doesn't get in the way (so you can ladle pour, or bottom pour).

You can start out with a Lee 2 cavity mould as I mentioned, along with their 4-20 pot, and their sizing die (which comes with Lee Liquid Alox) and basically have a layout of right around $100.00 (if you shop around for the pot), then all you would need is lead (I would suggest when starting out to use purchased Lyman #2 alloy), and gas checks, and you're ready to go. I suggest purchasing your alloy when you start so that if you have problems, you have one less variable, once you've gotten some casting under your belt, then you can start hunting down wheel weights, etc. to make up your own alloys. I think I got everything, but I might have left something out.

[Tinbender]

Thanks 303 guy, I will pop over to the PP hangout and cero-safe is on the way:smile:

Wow MikeS, you put allot of effort in that post! I try not to be to long winded since you guys get so many of the same questions, perhaps there was more that should have been said.......let me try.......oh yea I'm also the slowest fingers in the west.

I closed the HVAC company and my current occupation is "housewife". I love the learning process and have time so hours are spent in research....12-15 hours or so here and I'm more fascinated now than when I began. Me and the boys (3) do tend to jump in head first. In their teens Josh became interested in casting so Jay, josh, john, and I built an aluminium foundry one weekend......many enjoyable hours then and since.

In their twenties John started helping a local blacksmith so We set up forge and anvil in the shop and still go out and knock out a tomahawk once in a while......more fun with the boys:smile:

My brother and I have been loaders since our late teens but my boys were never too interested until recently. Hey....maybe it's my interest in casting boolits that sparked their interest in handloading? Ahhhhh......another process to set-up and de-bug involving hot stuff and mom standing at the shop door saying "you boys aren't going to burn the house down are you?"......." Honey you Know we never started a fire we couldn't put out ;)".....mom goes in the house with a wry smile.... the boys snicker.......Samantha and Melissa bring sandwiches to the shop and try their best to look impressed with the progress.......It's hard to get all the kids together any more but when we do life just doesn't get any better!

OK now I'm babbling so let"s see what their doing today in the PP forum.

Thanks Dave

Thanks Dave

[Harter66]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=122932

Some trials w/my sks and paper. FWIW the 1-9.5 twist in the sks will shoot a 250gr there's just not enough case. Per the Shilen twist/bullet weight guide.

[Tinbender]

Thanks for the link Harter66. I read it a few days ago, good info. I was aware the 1 in 9.5 would stabilize some heavy weights.....reading fellas working on .300 blackout performance. The turned fire lapping ?projectile? is interesting. I cast a hand lap and the point where the gas port is drilled was the only place that needed any work. Good cleaning, second lap cast and charged with white bar polishing compound. When cleaned impact slugs showed 2-3 tenths diameter reduction at the muzzle only. Have not cast the chamber yet but it looks good so far.

I have been thinking the weight which seats the boolit base no deeper than the depth of the neck and still allows magazine feed realizing the ogive profile and chamber throat will effect this length. Guessed 155-170grain but not really sure yet? I"m sure someone has done it just haven't found the post yet. I read allot in the winter so not a problem.

Thanks Dave

[Harter66]

I did some 309-160 Lees patched that shot pretty well. They fit magizines as well as feeding well.

I will tell you straight up gas port leading is an issue w/naked boolits,dexatron will be your friend.