Old Lyman mold question

[MtGun44]

I'm looking at some old Lyman molds.

Do the 308XXX series actually cast at .308" or are they larger
and just intended for 308 bores? I know that the current
bullets for 308 bores are 311XXX molds, and cast about
.311" or so, and work fine for normal 30 cal rifles with std
sized bores.

Thanks for those with actual experience.

Bill

[crazy mark]

I have some 308XXX's that cast from .310 - .312. It's luck of the draw. Haven't had one below .310 however.

[MtGun44]

I was suspecting that somehow the switch from 308XXX
to 311XXX designation was just a name switch, and it
does seem that way from your experience.

Thanks for the info.

Anybody else have the same results?

Bill

[tinsmith]

I recently purchased a couple of used Lyman molds at an auction.
One is 311041CV. The other one is 225415G. Do the letters indicate anything special about these molds?

[floodgate]

tinsmith:

According to Tom Griffin at Lyman, the two-letter suffix indicates the sequence number ("C" = 3rd) example of that cherry supplied by an outside vendor "V". I don't know what the single "G" would mean; possibly the only cherry made for Lyman by vendor "G". If you wanted to be REAL fussy, you could look for other moulds with the same number and suffix, as there appears to be some variation in the shape and as-cast weight between individual cherries of the same nominal mould ID number.

floodgate

[tinsmith]

Thanks for the reply. This site is loaded with so much info. & knowledgeable folks!