View Full Version : 7.62x39 casting......a good day
I bought 2 Lee molds for my mauser 98 converted to 7.62x39. I found out the barrel is .308 bore and a reletively short throat. The Lee 185gr .303 Brit mold boolit must be seated very deeply in order to chamber.
I only expect accuracy within a 'minute of steel'
Today I cast boolits with 2 new molds, and a good day for me is casting with few culled boolits. I dont think I had 5 culls all day.
84870
84871
this is the Lee 7.62x39 boolit 155gr, But, I have a .308 bore, it is dropping at .305/314 nose/bands, and 159grs.
84875
84876
This is the Lee .309/120gr. Dropping at .309 and 116grs. Litterally drops out of the mold. Easier to cast than a bevel base truncated cone.
Both boolits were WW water dropped.
What may be the better boolit to use, and what kind of charge load to plink steel? I am wanting economy here, perhaps pistol powder.
BTW, is this the Lee SOUP CAN mold that I have heard about?
Artful
10-20-2013, 07:41 PM
I like this one for plinking
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/images/N.O.E._Bullet_Moulds_314_129Gr._SP.Jpg
If you want less weight than that try TL314-90-SWC
but you can plink just fine with either of yours
- how far you trying to reach out and touch that steel?
well, gosh,
"how far you trying to reach out and touch that steel? ".............as far as I can........
thats the fun of reloading boolits
Artful
10-20-2013, 09:38 PM
Your 155 boolit will reach out to man size steel out to 500 yards if you know how far to hold over.
Here's my Mauser converted 7.62x39
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/rowdyfisk/FAL/th_762x39MauserWASRconversion.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rowdyfisk/media/FAL/762x39MauserWASRconversion.jpg.html)
click to enlarge - I'm using WASR single stack mag 'cuz I didn't want to cut the receiver for AK mag's
Thats a cool rifle. Please tell me more of the conversion. I had a hard time getting mine to feed.
How did you attach the mag, and get it to feed?
imashooter2
10-21-2013, 06:19 AM
BTW, is this the Lee SOUP CAN mold that I have heard about?
No, the "Soup Can" is the Lee C309-113-F.
Artful
10-21-2013, 04:44 PM
Thats a cool rifle. Please tell me more of the conversion. I had a hard time getting mine to feed.
How did you attach the mag, and get it to feed?
I bought the rifle used - it came with standard box magazine with shortened follower and spacer
fed ok as long as you worked the bolt briskly - I thought about AK mag but discovered you have
to cut out part of the receiver for lips of magazine to go high enough to pick up rounds. Friend suggested WASR mag's got some 10 rounders and took out the mag box and held it up and you could see it would work. So ordered another magazine assembly (just in case I wanted to keep the original intact) - we used the plastic clay you get from the hobby store and bake to make hard, to make a guide for the front of the magazine to keep it centered and drilled a pin thru the front for the magazine to catch onto, then put another pin in the back and made up a magazine catch similar to the AK design. Had to work with the angles a bit before finding the correct spot to get 'em up the spout. Found the tolerances for WASR mags are pretty large evidently but have 3 that function fine. We had to weld up and recut the extractor a few times because some of the cases didn't want to come out depending upon who's ammo you bought. Again you have to work the bolt briskly to keep function reliable on feeding - extraction stroke can be slow so you don't fling the expensive cases into the grass.
http://www.imageshack.com/scaled/large/263/dsc06119.jpg
http://www.imageshack.com/scaled/large/339/dsc06118.jpg
The gun will shoot pretty good
500 yard target - 10 shots fired
http://www.imageshack.com/scaled/large/151/1122101120a.jpg
Note the wind flag - lost 2 of 'em
HighHook
10-22-2013, 03:27 AM
I had pretty good luck hitting steel at 300. Nice shoot"in art. Fun little cartridge.
Thats a cool conversion. I had the barrel & follower kit bought out of Shotgun News many many years ago. I am just now finishing it up. The little plastic 'follwer kit' that came with it was junk.
I ended up using a SKS aftermarket follower, M1 carbine spring cut down, and shaped a mag well filler myself. Now it feeds, but I seem to have a breech issue. Sometimes the PRVI partisan ammo blows out primers, mil-surp steel cases work fine.
It has a real short throat too. I made a dummy round with the 155gr boolit seated to crimp groove and it engraves rifling.
I tried the little 120boolit seated to only show 1 groove and it wouldnt chamber either.
Got any ideas?
Artful
10-22-2013, 11:49 PM
Chamber cast time to see what you got. Either gunsmith or do it yourself
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/barrel-blanks-tools/barrel-chamfering-accessories/cerrosafe-reg-chamber-casting-alloy-prod384.aspx
Expensive but reusable multiple times.
Have you slugged your barrel? - is it .308 or .311 or ?
Sounds like the throat was cut for factory 123 grain SP Jacketed.
armoredman
10-23-2013, 01:41 PM
The NOE 129 boolit is the top o' the heap I've found in 7.62x39mm cast slugs. I like the Mauser conversion - nifty!
I got a .308 bore, chamber cast is unknown
So far, any boolit I made a dummy round for engraves the rifling on closing, unless seated very deep.
But, when I shoot PRVI partisan ammo I get blown primers.
I shoot rusky steel cases and all looks fine
Chamber cast time to see what you got. Either gunsmith or do it yourself
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/barrel-blanks-tools/barrel-chamfering-accessories/cerrosafe-reg-chamber-casting-alloy-prod384.aspx
Expensive but reusable multiple times.
Have you slugged your barrel? - is it .308 or .311 or ?
Sounds like the throat was cut for factory 123 grain SP Jacketed.
Artful
10-24-2013, 01:28 AM
If the PRVI is being jammed into the rifling it will raise the pressures - if you chamber them and extract without shooting do you see any engraving of the rifling on the bullet?
the PRVI is not jamming in the rifling, nor the neck
Artful
10-24-2013, 06:49 PM
It could be a semi-sharp firing pin and thinner primer cups on the PRVI vs thicker cups. Or protrusion of firing pin. Have you reloaded any ammo in the PRVI cases, and if so what primer did you use and how did it act?
I tried to resize PRVI case and, the neck expander compressed the neck down to the shoulder.
I never seen that happen.
Also, one of the PRVI cases (blown primer) wouldnt go into the shell holder.
Artful
10-25-2013, 12:16 AM
I tried to resize PRVI case and, the neck expander compressed the neck down to the shoulder. I never seen that happen.
Soft Brass will do that...
you may need to polish the expanding ball and lube the inside of the case mouth.
Also, one of the PRVI cases (blown primer) wouldnt go into the shell holder.
Was part of the primer up above the base of the case? or the Rim deformed?
some of the PRVI primers fell down into the magazine well, yeah, they were blown out of the casehead!!
Rusky steel cases didnt show any pressure signs whatsoever.
I have shot 6.5x55 up to high end pressures, blew primers, and the case head looked like it was beginning to look like a belted mag.
The PRVI does not have any ring around the case head. It is getting swollen pockets though.
Also, the recovered primers were not flattened out like a pressure sign, they were still rounded edges.
Artful
10-25-2013, 11:39 PM
Sounds like bad brass to me - do you have any other brand of brass cased ammo to try?
no, no other 'brass'
thinking of ordering headspace guages this week
85413
85414
I just cast a bunch of LEE .308 113F boolits. They are out of round.
What is Lee's return policy?
Are they good to deal with?
62chevy
10-27-2013, 01:53 PM
Chamber cast time to see what you got. Either gunsmith or do it yourself
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/barrel-blanks-tools/barrel-chamfering-accessories/cerrosafe-reg-chamber-casting-alloy-prod384.aspx
Expensive but reusable multiple times.
Have you slugged your barrel? - is it .308 or .311 or ?
Sounds like the throat was cut for factory 123 grain SP Jacketed.
Much cheaper at Roto Metals. http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/chamber_casting_alloy.htm
Artful
10-27-2013, 07:22 PM
Good to know thanks 62Chevy.
30 day return -
http://leeprecision.com/product-returns.html
If over 30 days I'd all them - did you order from Lee or get from someone else like Midway?
I sent the mold back to Lee and already recieved it back.
I am waiting to start another casting session with the new mold.
Chamber cast time to see what you got. Either gunsmith or do it yourself
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/barrel-blanks-tools/barrel-chamfering-accessories/cerrosafe-reg-chamber-casting-alloy-prod384.aspx
Expensive but reusable multiple times.
Have you slugged your barrel? - is it .308 or .311 or ?
Sounds like the throat was cut for factory 123 grain SP Jacketed.
I found out it had a headspace issue. I set the barrel back about .005"
No more blown primers with the PRVI ammo. shoots rather accurate actually.
PRVI softpoint & Wolf ployformance are quite good shooting.
Rusky mil surp is all over the target.
Time to get serious on a cast load
Artful
11-24-2013, 12:43 PM
If you got any 680/1680 or 5744 powder it seems to work pretty well for me.
I like to use H4198 when I'm pushing 7.62x39 for velocity.
That's a sweet rifle, Art. :)
I just looked, I got Unique, GreenDot, Re7, IMR3031, 5744.
My boolit choices are both Lee, 185gr .303; or 120gr RN soupcan.
Took the little gun to the range today with some boolit loads.
LEE 120 gr round nose soupcan, Gas check & lube =120gr boolit.
lubed with .310 sizer, water quenched WW dropped at .309
10.0 gr GreenDot= 1150fps
18gr 5744=1700fps
18.4gr 4198= 1800fps. a possible accuracy load
20.3gr 5744 = 2188.
LEE 185 gr .303 boolit with gas check. sized to .310.
20gr (full case) 3031 = 1525 fps another possible accuracy load.
Since my barrel is a .300x.308, this round is a bore rider.
IMR 4198 and 3031 both shoot to a minute of steel.
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