mosin nagant

[Billyspetz]

hello- i have a m91/30 and it slugs at .316, i want to shoot cast bullets but the .316 mold is to much money, my question is can i use a .312 mold and will it still be accurate, will it make that much of a difference? also the gun shoots very good with surplus ammo- billy spetz

[NoAngel]

Shooting a .312 in a .316 hole? You'll spend more time mining lead outta the barrel than shooting. You COULD paper patch that .312 up to .316 but you'll need a .316+ sizer to do that.

[Kraschenbirn]

Get yourself an inexpensive Lee 312-185 and 'beagle' it out to drop .317-.318. (Run an 'Advanced Search'...lower RH corner of the page header...to learn about 'beagling') Then, tumble lube and load 'as cast'. Start with 16 gr of 2400 and work up until accuracy begins to drop off. My pre-war 91/30 likes CBs better than any milsurp ammo I've tried.

Bill

[10gaOkie]

Billy, Most Mosins have a .310 bore. Are you sure yours is 316? If so, you need a .317 bullet. Check this out....
http://www.socamo.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=62
You can make a cast bullet bigger by using powder coat for lube.

Chris

[runfiverun]

if you have a 316 groove barrel there is no way on earth 312 will work.

[vzerone]

Yes I agree if you have a .316 groove that you would need a bullet at least .317 or .318. In fact fat as will let your chamber. With that said I'd be looking at some 8mm ( .323) bullets and then sizing them down to what will fit your chamber.

[Hamish]

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=31_285&osCsid=1j3bc90sogu0rt05ba3s3113e0

[krallstar]

You need to size to the throat. My Mosin after shooting the inside case neck measures around .317 but the throat is a tight .315 I size to .314-.315 using range scrap and get no leading.

[Boolseye]

.316” is pretty oversized, mine run .313” and .314”. I’ll suggest you slug it again, make sure you use a high quality micrometer, not a vernier caliper. I suspect your reading was a little off.
In any event-the NOE 316299 may be a good choice, that would be easy to beagle out to .317”.

[10gaOkie]

Billy
My best suggestion would be to order a custom mold for the size you need, not having to modify it, ready to cast bullets as it comes. Doing so after you are sure of your measurements. Order one ten thousands over your groove dimension along with a gas check bullet. You can order a great mold from Tom at Accurate Molds. A single cavity is priced at $76. Email Tom and let him know what you want and he will design a mold for the weight and size you want plus add the drawing design to his catalog to order from. I just had him do a mold for me. It is one for my .351WSL., and I love it. Quality wise, it puts Lee molds to shame. At least, check out the Accurate Molds website. /Chris

Chris

[Mohawk Daddy]

In an attempt to combine some of the good comments/suggestions already made, I would second getting the Lee 312-185 for a starter. If you don't want to try to beagle the mold, try shooting it as cast and see what you've got. I have an M44 Mosin with an oversize bore and throat, but I got lucky with a $22 Lee mold that drops .314 boolits that the rifle loves to shoot better than anything the Russkis ever passed out as standard issue. Another alternative is to try powder coating the boolits in order to fatten them up to where you're trying to go. This website has info on how to do that starting with an investment of about $5 plus a sizer. Lastly, if 2400 is unobtainable where you are as it is for me, try one of the 4198s as a substitute. My 44 likes 24 grains of IMR 4198 under the Lee 185, gas checked and cast fairly hard. Good luck with that 91/30.

[OptimusPanda]

I'm with vzerone. I'd rather start with an 8mm mold and sizing down the 5-6 thousands than beagle a .312" out fatter. That is, if buying a proper mold is out of the question.

[Boolseye]

I never had any luck with that Lee 312-185 in my mosins, but to be fair I never tried beagling it.

[GhostHawk]

My pair of Mosin's both slugged at .314.

I bought the Lee .312 185 gc, and yeah it leaded like a bastige as it was.

Beagled it, it got better, so did accuracy. Then I bought a .314 sizer and leemented the mold. Cast bullet with a small nut where the sprue plate goes. Cooled, trimmed nose off, added polish and started turning. I quit about halfway between .314 and .315. Add gas check, run through the .314 sizer to to seat and keep them as round as possible. 3 light coats of BLL or fill grooves with Ben's Red and a top coat of BLL.

Loaded over light loads of 4895 they shot well at 50 yards.
Loaded over even small loads of Red Dot (10 grains) they shot even better.

It can be done, the knowledge base is here. Read and reread until you are totally clear. Make notes, check your work often. Take your time. It is a labor of love.

Enjoy the journey, I suspect you will learn a lot, I did.

[nagantguy]

Get yourself an inexpensive Lee 312-185 and 'beagle' it out to drop .317-.318. (Run an 'Advanced Search'...lower RH corner of the page header...to learn about 'beagling') Then, tumble lube and load 'as cast'. Start with 16 gr of 2400 and work up until accuracy begins to drop off. My pre-war 91/30 likes CBs better than any milsurp ammo I've tried.

Bill

This is good sound advice; so is looking for another barrel; 316 is larger than I've ever encountered, heard of them,never seen one.
Also some above mentioned 32 molds with boolits sized down; also a doable path.
In for a penny in for a pound; a rebore; or reline isn't out of the question depending on budget. I've even seen them taken all the way to 45-70. But I also agree with those above who said recheck your slug measurements and that it would be a waste of time to try 312-313 boolits,waste of lead and powder; you may have a 1 in a million rifle that will magically do well with that combo but don't bet a pound of powder on it.