anyone have starting load data or a good load for lee 230 grn 308 bullet in .308 winc

[bobamike]

hey guys,
I am looking for a good starting load data for the lee 230 grn .309 cast bullet in .308 Winchester,I am powder coating my castings and sizing to.309,I need a good powder charge to start with,unless someone has found a good load for that round,I plan to mainly use this round in 300blk,but I would like to see what I can do with this casting in 308 also,but I have been able to find much on this grn bullet.any help would be greatly appreciated,and as quickly as possible,I would like to get some test rounds loaded before the weekend and test them out this saturday at the range.

[Outpost75]

Standard twist of rifling in the .308 is 12 inches, which won't stabilize the 230.

Unless your .308 Win. has a twist of ten inches or faster, you are wasting your time.

Even in a 10" twist I couldn't get it to shoot very well in subsonic loads from either of my .30-'06s, #311299 is MUCH better.

178695178696

[bobamike]

thanks for the info! I guess it will just be a 300 blk round then,and I will look to get the 168 grn mold to do the 308 rounds with.

[sawzall]

Standard twist of rifling in the .308 is 12 inches, which won't stabilize the 230.

Unless your .308 Win. has a twist of ten inches or faster, you are wasting your time.

Even in a 10" twist I couldn't get it to shoot very well in subsonic loads from either of my .30-'06s, #311299 is MUCH better.

178695178696

I actually shoot the NOE modified version of this gas checked in a Remington 700 Tactical 12" twist and it's very accurate. 38 grains of IMR 4895. Not exactly subsonic but a great load for shooting steel with authority. I also use the NOE 311-247 in a 10" twist 30-06 with similar success. My only concern is the crappy boat tail on the Lee mold the OP has.


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[yondering]

Hmm, I've had this one for several years now but for some reason never bothered to try it in 308, I have a 1:10 18" AR that might handle them.

That bullet can be improved a lot by reaming out the bevel base. It shoots pretty well in the fast twist 300 Blackout once that's done, don't know how it would do in the slower twist 308.

OP - are you looking for subsonic loads or full power? Bolt action or semi-auto?

[bobamike]

I preffer subsonic to low end of loading them.I am still some what new to the reloading world and tend to stay away from max charge,if I can load a bullet to be accurate at minimum charge Im happy,where I live here in south carolina you dont have many long distance shots,so 2-3 hundred yards i am happy.and I have 300 blk and 308 in the ar plat form,the only bolt gun I have is a remington 700 in 300 win mag.as far as the mold modification,I have seen this discussed briefly else where,I would like to learn more about this and how much better the bullets shoot,

[yondering]

Big difference between subsonic and just the "low end" of normal book loads; you need to decide what you're looking for there, 1,000 fps vs 2,000+ fps? Your powder choices are pretty different.

If you're loading cast bullets in an AR, stick with subsonic loads unless you put gas checks on them; even with powder coating gas cutting happens in the bullet base as it passes the gas port will high pressure loads. Someone will be along to argue that shortly, but the evidence on target and in the gas system is clear. The Lee 230-5R bullet will accept a gas check on the boat tail base though, if you want to use if for high pressure loads.

Also, don't expect to cycle that 308 AR with subsonic loads; that's what the 300 Blk is for.

For a straight plain base modification to that bullet, a 5/16" reamer carefully aligned in a drill press will do it, giving you a .311" base if done correctly. Or, have a machinist bore it out for a better finish than a reamer provides. If you're only powder coating, might as well ream out the tumble lube grooves too. I did this one below when I first started coating several years ago, and just haven't gone back to ream it out all the way yet.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c26/zthang43/Bang/molds/IMG_2914.jpg

[bobamike]

those are some nice looking bullets! I would love to modify my mold,but at this time I dont feel comfortable doing it,,also love the hollow point tips,that to will have to wait till I build up the nerve to do it myself.as far as using this round in my 308,I plan to use it with my 300blk only now,the twist rate for this weight bullet just means I will be wasting my time,I will get the 175 grain mold and try that one at some point.I still have alot of wants on my reloading list,I plan at some point to get the dies to make my own gas checks in 5.56,308, that way I can experiment with higher velocities.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

16 grains of 2400 behind a 314299 in my 10 twist 308 shoots 1/2 groups at 100 yards easy peasy.
the bullet weighs ~205 grains lubed and checked.

[bobamike]

what bullet is that you are using? or should I say mold are you using,im not familiar with the number,so far i mainly know about lee molds,but am researching other types,I plan to get some lyman hollow point molds for my pistol rounds at some point,unless I get brave enough to mod my lee molds.

[yondering]

Jim, out of curiosity, how long is that 314299 bullet? (length is what matters for twist rate, not weight)

[Tackleberry41]

A 230gr you gonna have to extrapolate or make it up. I looked high and low for some data to shoot the NOE 230gr out of a mosin, no dice.

How it will perform? Never know. That NOE 230gr subsonic out of my mosin is very accurate, supersonic it sucks. The mosin has a 1-9.5 twist vs the common 1-10 of a 308.