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View Full Version : K-31 311-180Gr NOE Group Buy



SwedeNelson
09-05-2009, 08:30 PM
For information on this buy see “K-31 Mould”
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=45919

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=145&pictureid=1257
K31 311-180Gr

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/picture.php?albumid=145&pictureid=1258
Should fit very well.

This is how N.O.E. is going to run our group buy.

You can ether PM or E-mail me at (pbsco1 @ qwestoffice.net) with
what you want. Will post a running list of user name and how many
cavities / options. When we get 15 on the list the order will go in for
the tooling. It takes two to three weeks for the tooling to get in.
We will keep the buy open until the tooling gets in.

At that time we will close the buy and ask you to send in your
payment.

It will take another three to four weeks to run the moulds.

Prices will be as follows:
Single cavity mould $68.00 Ea.
Double cavity mould $72.00 Ea.
Three cavity mould $79.00 Ea.
Four cavity mould $85.00 Ea.
Five cavity mould $92.00 Ea.
Plus Shipping/Handling.
Prices are subject to change at any time.

You can mix number of cavities in an order to make 15.
We will offer gas check only on this bullet.

Use LEE Commercial 6-Cavity handles (not included).
Lyman, RCBS type top punch furnished with each mould
as well as a sample of Bull Plate sprue plate lube.
Moulds are machined from 2024 Aluminum
Used for high strength structural and aircraft applications.
Tensile strength range 30,000 to 63,000 psi
Sprue plate (blued), alignment pins, and hardware will be
carbon steel.

Hollow pointing one cavity and furnishing a double
ended pin would be $35.00 Extra.

We will accept Checks, Money Orders and Pay-Pal
Pay-Pal requires a 3% sir-charge.

Our mailing address is:
Night Owl Enterprises
1645 W 150 N
Provo, Utah 84601
801 377-7289

Zip Code List
06110 France
68409
45840
81003
15401
68776
83276
31545
55416
40071
76367
08043
46755
80004
30436
27713
85260
52245
80015
51031
57107
32547
DH3 2AY
67062
44286
16316
96822
44233
64117





Thank you for your interest in this buy.
Swede Nelson

SwedeNelson
09-05-2009, 08:31 PM
List of orders:
*1 kirb 2 cavity w/HP
*2 dominicfortune00 4 cavity
*3 primersp 2 cavity
*4 dromia 5 cavity
*5 j20 owner 2 cavity w/HP
*6 emmie 4 cavity
*7 rigger 4 cavity
*8 280Ackley 4 cavity
*9 RugerFan 4 cavity
*10 35Whelen 4 cavity
*11 Mike in co 4 cavity
*12 wrench 2 cavity
*13 Swiss96/11 5 cavity
*14 Jvg5576 2 cavity
*15 vintageRifle (2) 3 cavity
*16 Glenn R. Latham 4 cavity
*17 Madesnshooter 3 cavity w/HP
*18 boz330 2 cavity
*19 techlava 5 cavity w/HP
*20 azhunter12 5 cavity
*21 62fusil 4 cavity
*22 dan 3 cavity
*23 JMN322 3 cavity
*24 mtgrs737 4 cavity
*25 4060MAY 4 cavity
*26 6shooter 3 cavity
*27 45-70bpcr 4 cavity
*28 B747 4 cavity
29 BobJ 5 cavity
*30 NuJudge 5 cavity

Thanks
Swede Nelson

dominicfortune00
09-05-2009, 09:29 PM
I'll take a 4 cav.

Will get order out on Tuesday.

Oops, make that when the funds are requested.

j20owner
09-06-2009, 12:16 AM
Omg!!!!

primersp
09-06-2009, 03:08 AM
i'will take a 2 cav

dromia
09-06-2009, 07:48 AM
PM sent Al. :D

280Ackley
09-07-2009, 07:05 PM
Swede you're killing me. I'm away from my computer for a long weekend and come home to find not one, but two new moulds I want/need? Put me down for a 4 cavity.

RugerFan
09-07-2009, 08:29 PM
I'm in for a 4 cav.

35 Whelen
09-07-2009, 11:09 PM
PM, e-mail, Western Union Telegram, Fax, smoke signal, and telegraph sent....I'm in for a 4-cavity.
35W

RugerFan
09-08-2009, 12:35 AM
So now I notice the alloy used for the drawing dimensions is linotype. How many folks are really going to be casting this bullet in linotype? What would the dimensions look like casting with WW or Lyman #2?

SwedeNelson
09-08-2009, 03:14 AM
RugerFan

We will cut the mould to cast the same dimensions the only change will be the weight.
It will weigh about 192Gr.

Good catch!
Thanks
Swede Nelson

RugerFan
09-08-2009, 01:24 PM
RugerFan

We will cut the mould to cast the same dimensions the only change will be the weight.
It will weigh about 192Gr.

Good catch!
Thanks
Swede Nelson

Ok, just checking.

Also, I finally got to the post office today and mailed you a few 266469 bullets. You should get them this week.

Calamity Jake
09-08-2009, 04:21 PM
Your also running a 314299 clone, what are the chances of getting 2 cavs each in a 4 cav mould?

You know somebody had to ask!!!!

mike in co
09-08-2009, 04:23 PM
i just shot some 314299's(210/1700 pfs) from a tired finn m39, and shoot a 97-2x at 200 yds, iron sight...guess i need a heavy for my stable of k-31's too.

count me in for a 4....

mike in co

swiss 96/11
09-12-2009, 11:41 AM
I am in for a 5-cavity,great bullet weight and custom fit for the K-31's.

jvg5576
09-14-2009, 02:15 PM
PM sent for one 2-cav. mould.

VintageRifle
09-17-2009, 10:40 PM
I will take two 3-cavity moulds.

SwedeNelson
09-18-2009, 10:05 AM
That makes 15.
Will order the tooling today.
And start to PM every one with a cost.
The tooling is running about 2 to 2 1/2 weeks.
So we will keep the buy open until we get
it in - for any that would still like to get in.

Thanks for the orders
We couldn't do it with out you.
Swede Nelson

jvg5576
09-21-2009, 12:24 PM
payment mailed today

primersp
09-22-2009, 12:39 AM
it's seem i was 2 times for the mold on the list ,i want only one please ,paiement send
thanks

azhunter12
09-22-2009, 02:10 AM
Pm sent about getting in on this.

SwedeNelson
09-22-2009, 09:45 AM
primersp

Got it fixed, sorry.

Azhunter12

your on the list.

Thank you all for the orders.
We couldn't do it with out you.

Swede Nelson

swiss 96/11
09-23-2009, 10:47 AM
Payment sent today,Thanks for another fine mould.

62fusil
09-24-2009, 07:51 AM
I'd live a 4-cav, e-mail sent.

- Virgil

emmie
09-27-2009, 11:49 AM
OK, money sent. now where-who- to get gas checks(1000) from.

emmie

primersp
09-27-2009, 12:09 PM
try on this forum to blammer serious ,fast and not expensive

JMN322
09-28-2009, 10:31 AM
I'd like a three-cavity mold.

I'd like to use PayPal. What is your account name?

James Gibson
09-28-2009, 12:10 PM
emmie: need GC's?
http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,1331.html

JMN322
09-30-2009, 08:30 AM
Swede,

Sent you a PM, but then it looks like it didn't go through. Just wanted to check that you got the PayPal payment I sent yesterday... Let me know.

Thanks,

JMN322

SwedeNelson
09-30-2009, 09:01 AM
JMN322

Got your payment.
Thanks for the order.

Swede Nelson

6shooter
10-01-2009, 07:21 PM
Hey Sweede, I would like one in a 3 hole. My first time buying on this sight.

SwedeNelson
10-01-2009, 09:08 PM
6shooter

Welcome!
And thanks for the order.

Swede Nelson

4060MAY
10-02-2009, 02:07 PM
I'm in for a 4 cavity
pm on the way

mtgrs737
10-02-2009, 03:10 PM
If it's not too late to get in on this, I would like a three cavity. PM sent!

6shooter
10-02-2009, 05:02 PM
Sent paypal yesterday 10-1-09

45-70bpcr
10-04-2009, 06:10 PM
Hi Swede

Sending a PM. Would like in with a 4 holer.

45-70bpcr
10-06-2009, 11:29 AM
Payment mailed. Thank you!

mtgrs737
10-06-2009, 11:40 AM
If it's not too late to get in on this, I would like a three cavity. PM sent!


You should be receiving payment anyday now! Thanks for running this mould!

4060MAY
10-09-2009, 02:55 PM
payment mailed

JMN322
10-10-2009, 10:37 PM
Am new to casting, but am accumulating things I'll need when this mold arrives. I'm shooting the K31 so need input on what sizer to get? Given the bullet dimensions, is 308 or 309 the sizer to get?

B747
10-12-2009, 08:25 PM
Am new to casting, but am accumulating things I'll need when this mold arrives. I'm shooting the K31 so need input on what sizer to get? Given the bullet dimensions, is 308 or 309 the sizer to get?

Either a 309 or 310 will work fine in most K31's.

Wally

SwedeNelson
10-12-2009, 11:37 PM
B747
Thanks.

Jmn322
I use a 310 sizer with good luck.

Swede Nelson

JMN322
10-13-2009, 07:29 AM
I'm getting from other reading I've done on this forum that until I slug the bore I can't really know for sure. On the other hand, what is the slug dimension and what the gun likes to shoot differ. Looks like what I need to do is get a .309 and .310 sizers and see for myself.

I was wondering, though, given the dimensions for this particular bullet buy, if .310 would actually "work" as the dimension of the bullet is smaller?

SwedeNelson
10-13-2009, 09:58 AM
JMN322

The best thing to do is slug your bore, good advise.
I like to size .0015 to .002 over bore size.

Swede Nelson

JMN322
10-13-2009, 08:00 PM
Looks like a trip to the hardware store this weekend. I found this low-tech how-to on surplusrifle:

http://www.surplusrifle.com/reloading/slug/index.asp

Bob J
10-14-2009, 06:51 AM
In for a 5 cavity if not too late..... PM sent....

SwedeNelson
10-22-2009, 08:31 PM
Last Call!

Got the tooling in.
Will close this buy Wednesday 10/28/09.
If you want to get in on this one now is the time.
Get your payments in and we will get it in the shop.

Thanks for the orders
Swede Nelson

j20owner
10-23-2009, 01:34 AM
Sent payment in around Tuesday by snail mail. Hopefully you've got it or will see it soon.

dromia
10-23-2009, 09:23 AM
Al have you been updating the payments?

Sent the money on the 7th along with the dosh for the 22 mould but my name hasn't gone green yet.

I'm not precious about the colour just want to sure you've got the money. :D

SwedeNelson
10-23-2009, 09:36 AM
dromia

I'm way behind.
Will get it done today.

Thanks for your support.
Swede Nelson

VintageRifle
10-23-2009, 09:32 PM
Have you started cutting moulds or are you going to wait until the buy is closed? Just curious.

SwedeNelson
10-23-2009, 10:22 PM
Vintagerifle

We run blocks 250 at a time.
Got material in last week, so I guess
you could say we have already started.

Swede Nelson

VintageRifle
10-23-2009, 10:35 PM
Swede Nelson:

Thanks for the update. Curiosity satisfied.

NuJudge
10-25-2009, 10:52 PM
Money is sent.

j20owner
10-29-2009, 10:25 AM
Is this buy closed? Still waiting on $$??


Patiently waiting.:coffee:

SwedeNelson
10-29-2009, 10:48 AM
This buy is closed.
If you havent got you money in yet please do so now.
Thanks for the orders.

Swede Nelson

mtgrs737
10-29-2009, 08:41 PM
Swede,

I sent the extra money in to update from a 3 to a 4 cavity mould. If you didn't get it yet let me know.

Thanks for running this mould.

techlava
11-05-2009, 02:11 PM
When should we see the finished molds? Thanks

abunaitoo
11-08-2009, 05:07 PM
I know it's closed, but......
Any chance of getting a two cavity???

If not would some one like to start another GB of this mould????

VintageRifle
11-08-2009, 10:29 PM
I think they have it setup so that the next group buy would only need 5 moulds to run.

madsenshooter
11-08-2009, 10:35 PM
That's right, if you missed this buy, go here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=65575

RugerFan
11-19-2009, 07:23 PM
How we comin Swede? I know you're busy. Just curious how production is coming along.

SwedeNelson
11-19-2009, 07:35 PM
RugerFan

This one is number 7 on the list.
I think it will be about 3 weeks.
Next week will be messed up with
the holiday.

We are running about 2 to 2 1/2
weeks behind.
Will try to get it out ASAP.

Thanks
Swede Nelson

Boz330
01-02-2010, 02:36 PM
I saw somewhere that this might ship on the 22nd of Dec. Not trying to be a PIA just curious.

Bob

Never mind I found the update, Thanks.

35 Whelen
01-08-2010, 11:42 PM
I saw somewhere that this might ship on the 22nd of Dec. Not trying to be a PIA just curious.

Bob

Never mind I found the update, Thanks.


I was wondering the same thing, but I haven't seen an update. Where is the update?
Thanks,
35W

j20owner
01-09-2010, 08:54 AM
NOE's delivery schedule is located in the "Vendor Sponsors" section.

35 Whelen
01-09-2010, 11:25 AM
Thanks for the heads up.
35W

mtgrs737
01-11-2010, 11:38 AM
RugerFan

This one is number 7 on the list.
I think it will be about 3 weeks.
Next week will be messed up with
the holiday.

We are running about 2 to 2 1/2
weeks behind.
Will try to get it out ASAP.

Thanks
Swede Nelson

Swede,

I would rather wait a little bit longer and get your usual high quality product than have you rush through it and take the chance on less than your best. I will have the rest of my life to cast and will enjoy your quality moud when you get it done. Thanks for running this buy!

j20owner
02-01-2010, 06:29 PM
It's February!!!! :bigsmyl2:

B747
02-02-2010, 11:12 AM
With the delivery of this mold getting close, I was thinking about ordering a .310 sizing die for a Magma Star but am now wondering if that would be a problem with this bullet.

The band below the lube groove is speced at .311 but the nose directly in front of the groove is .309 and looks like it will leak lube out on the nose with a .310 die.

Is this bullet going to require going down to at least a .309 die to work OK in a Star?

SwedeNelson
02-04-2010, 10:09 PM
B747

I have no idea - never had the opportunity to use a star.
Hope some one that has will chime in.

Proofed the tooling for this one.
Should go to the mill in about a week.

Swede Nelson

j20owner
02-04-2010, 11:09 PM
B747

Should go to the mill in about a week.

Swede Nelson


Woohooo!!!

Jon K
02-05-2010, 04:21 PM
B747,

Shouldn't be a problem, that's only .001" (.0005 on a side)
If you cast hot it might even grow from .309-.310.
If your alignment is set right for grooves, and your lube is not thin as water, you should be OK. I have some .313 boolits I lube in a .314 die with no problems.

Jon

NuJudge
02-05-2010, 05:27 PM
My experience is that I want a bullet to be bigger than the die on my Star machines, or I get some leakage. With my Lyman machines, I regularly lube bullets that are .001" or .002" smaller than the die, with no leakage.

I've been shooting .311" bullets in a K31 I have that has been shot a LOT. No problems there. I have another K31 with a much newer barrel, and I don't think the .311" bullets will fit the throat.

SwedeNelson
02-13-2010, 04:50 PM
Cast with the test mould today.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/swedenelson/K31311180Gr.jpg
Weight 189Gr.
Should have the production moulds first of next week.

Swede Nelson

j20owner
02-13-2010, 07:06 PM
So what is the nose diameter of those from the test mold?

http://www.xaclan.com/forums/images/smiles/b020.gif
Me when this mold comes in.

http://xaclan.com/Heinrich/heinrich/smilies/1975_dancing_banana.gif
http://xaclan.com/Heinrich/heinrich/smilies/dance.gif

SwedeNelson
02-13-2010, 10:53 PM
j20owner

My sample came out .29585
That is with my standerd WW material.

Swede Nelson

j20owner
02-13-2010, 11:38 PM
Sweet!!!

dominicfortune00
02-14-2010, 10:30 PM
Those sure are some pretty boolits!

SwedeNelson
02-25-2010, 11:32 PM
Cast with the first production mould tonight.
Dimensions look good, nose .2958 to .2962
Body .3117 weight 188.8Gr.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/swedenelson/K31311180Gr002.jpg
Gas check a snug fit.

Will finish with the QC and box them up and get
them out in the next day or two.

Swede Nelson

mike in co
02-26-2010, 12:43 AM
may i ask, what alloy and what temp did you cast at ??


they look good!

mike in co

SwedeNelson
02-26-2010, 11:05 AM
Mike in co

Wheel weight material at about 800 deg.
Again had to go hot to get the nose to fill out.

Swede Nelson

j20owner
02-26-2010, 06:31 PM
Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.http://xaclan.com/Heinrich/heinrich/smilies/worship.gifhttp://xaclan.com/Heinrich/heinrich/smilies/worship.gif

madsenshooter
02-27-2010, 05:55 PM
They're shipping! Just got the click and ship notification! I'm sure they'll be worth the not so long wait, it just seemed like an eternity!

Update: It arrived today, 3/1/10, warming up the oven now to burn the lube off, and starting the pot too! Happiness is a jewel-like mold!

j20owner
03-01-2010, 03:14 PM
Mold has arrived! Can't wait to try it, but I'm having an issue. I can't get my HP pin tight. I tighten the set screw and the pin just slides in and out with no resistance. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

madsenshooter
03-01-2010, 07:08 PM
Set screw hole not drilled all the way through? That'd be a bit hard to tap though. Wild guess.

mike in co
03-01-2010, 07:16 PM
Mold has arrived! Can't wait to try it, but I'm having an issue. I can't get my HP pin tight. I tighten the set screw and the pin just slides in and out with no resistance. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

get it up to temp and see how it does ???

mike in co

dominicfortune00
03-01-2010, 07:19 PM
I got mine today!

Nice work Swede!

j20owner
03-01-2010, 07:19 PM
Mike, I can't get the pin tight in the handle.

The hole seems to be tapped fully, from what I can see.

Blammer
03-01-2010, 08:35 PM
it's not suppose to be tight, if it was tight, the pin would not move and you'd never get the boolit out of the cavity.

SwedeNelson
03-01-2010, 09:22 PM
j20owner

It sounds like somthing is keeping the set screw from going all the way in.
Take the set screw out and see if the hole is open all the way in.

Can get another handle off to you tomorrow.

Swede Nelson

j20owner
03-01-2010, 10:34 PM
Al, I looked at it as best I could with dilated eyes this afternoon when it showed up. I'm going to give it another look-see tomorrow once my eyes have reverted to normallcy. I'll also take it to work and see if we might have a tap that is the proper pitch/size(doubt it).

I might also try and find another set screw, cause I know I'll lose the one that is included.[smilie=l:

Jon K
03-01-2010, 11:47 PM
K-31 arrived today warmed it up a couple of times, the ran off about 150 to break it in...........185.5 gr as cast my alloy & 190.5 w/gc & lube.
Can't wait to test loads.

Jon

B747
03-02-2010, 01:04 AM
My 4 cavity NOE K-31 311-180 also arrived today. So I fired up my Magma 40 lb pot with about 80% WW and 20 % Lino and set the temp at 810F.

Swede definitely does hit the specs dead on with this one --- the nose measured right at .296 and just forward of the lube groove was .3090 to .3095 and the drive band came in at .3110 to .3115. With this alloy they were dropping at 186.5 + or – a few tenths.

Nice mold --- weather is looking OK for tomorrow, so will probably send some of these downrange.

Wally

madsenshooter
03-02-2010, 12:48 PM
Got some loaded, it doesn't quite fit the throat of my K31 as I'd expected. I wind up with the base about even with the shoulder/body junction when the bolt will close easy and the ogive just touches the rifling. They're sized .308' and OAL is 2.80". I have a very tight throated and minimum bore K31 though. So for me, the boolit isn't much of an improvement over a couple Eagan designs I have. But the proof is in the shooting and I'm heading to the range. Didn't see any sense in pussyfooting around with it, it's sitting atop 44.4gr of 4350, will report back, only have 6 to play with today.

VintageRifle
03-02-2010, 03:29 PM
madsenshooter:

What are your nose specs?

Any chance of getting a photo of one of the bullets inserted into the muzzle?

madsenshooter
03-02-2010, 06:47 PM
Vintage, with my rifle, it doesn't go into the muzzle. In the high tin alloy I use the nose was .297, which is just fine, bore on my rifle is .295. It is an accurate bullet. Here's 4 out of 5 within 1/2 inch at 100yds. With the 44.4gr of H4350 I mentioned above, avg velocity was 2155fps, ES 27fps. I'll take the blame for the one outside the group, and I don't want to talk much about how the target got splashed with mud, except to say it had a bit to do with a Krag load I was trying, and a loose ocular bell. My alloy will do 2450 with no problems, I was shooting the Eagan MX3-30AR at that velocity out of the K31 (got to take better notes, don't remember what powder/charge wt. that was, but I saved one to pull down), next time out I'll get the speed up a bit for the NOE K31. The 44.4gr of H4350 was a mild load, didn't even seal the cases.

35 Whelen
03-02-2010, 08:30 PM
Got my mould in the mail yesterday, and spent last night with it in the oven heating it to 375°, cooling, heating, cooling...three times.

Loaded the pot with WW ingots and fired it up this morning and as per the enclosed instructions, kept the melt under 600°, actually right at 600°. Poured the first four and applied the Bullplate as instructed. It went downhill from there. I cast several dozen and they all came out very wrinkled. So, I heated the mould on the pot, still no luck. Then I let the mould cool and washed it out wish dish soap and a toothbrush, then degreased it with carb cleaner.
Started all over with same results. Heated the mould again and cast about 40 and got ONE bullet that was acceptable. Most of the flaws in the bullets were in the area of the grease groove. Frustrated, I turned the heat up a little more and the bullets began looking somewhat better, but still nowhere near useable.
In desperation, I turn the pot all the way up, which turned out to be 675° and immersed the corner of the mould in until it was very hot. Now began to get better bullets. I checked the bullets as I dropped them and when most of them were coming out OK, I began water-quenching them so I could shoot a few today. Quenched about 100 then went back to dropping them on a towel on the bench and cast 140 more. All this time the mould is increasing in temperature.

I then began to sort the quenched bullets both visually and by weight. Had exactly a 50% reject rate. All the flaws without exception were in the area of the lube groove. Those that weren't rejected were weighed and for the most part came out +/- .25 grs. which is good in my book.

By now the air-cooled bullets had cooled enough to handle so I visually checked them and out of 50, had only 5 rejects (10%) with again, all the flaws being in the area of the lube groove. Since the last bullets had the fewest flaws, I'm led to believe that this mould will have to be run VERY hot, at least when using WW's.

I lubed them with home made soft lube and checked 15 of the quenched bullets in my Lyman 450 sizer using a .314" die and Hornady checks, then sized them in a Lee .309". I then loaded them in my match K31 as follows:
Case: Prvi; Primer: CCI350; Powder: Red Dot- 13.0 grs. I then seated the bullet to the top of the lube groove. I found when I chambered the rounds in the K31, the bullet pushed back in the case about to the point that the top of the gas check was even with the bottom of the case neck.

Retired to the bench and after a few sighters, fired these two 5-shot groups:

This was the first group, a smidge under 2":
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Targets/K31NOEBullet-1.jpg

...then the second, a smidge under 1.5":
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Targets/K31NOEBullet.jpg

Mind you these groups were fired with open (peep) sights.

Here's a shot of the rifle and targets:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Targets/53K31NOE.jpg

I'm fairly pleased with the groups, especially considering I made no attempt to work up a load.

I chambered a round or two in my two other K31's and found the bullet pushed back in the case about the same amount. Guess they all have very short throats.

I didn't expect this much difficulty. I think I'll get a magnifying glass and check the vent lines in the area of the lube grooves. Maybe some of them aren't fully cut and this is causing the fill out problems.

On a side note, I've been using an old NEI 4-cavity .30 caliber mould for a couple of years now and haven't had any problems at all; heat it up and cast bullets. I'm not necessarily comparing the NOE to the NEI except to point out that the two moulds are physically very similar.

The workmanship of the mould appears outstanding. I hate using a mallet to open a sprue plate, but I found the sprue plate to be so good, I could easily open it with a gloved hand. It cuts very well.

The instructions suggest keeping the alloy at 600° or below to prolong the life of the mould, but I'd rather get a little use and good bullets, than a lot of use with crummy bullets!

As I get time, I'll do more shooting. I expect better groups from this K-31 and in my experience it seems to shoot ACWW better than WQWW. So after my air-cooled bullets have hardened I'll try them.

35W

j20owner
03-02-2010, 08:38 PM
Swede, what's the thread pitch and size of the set screw in the HP handle?

SwedeNelson
03-02-2010, 08:58 PM
j20owner

#8-32
Can send you out a new handle.
Let me know and we will get it out.

35whelen

"The instructions suggest keeping the alloy at 600° or below to prolong the life of the mould"
Reread the instructions "our moulds are engineered to operate at below 600 deg." that is
the temperature of the blocks, not the alloy. I have found that this mould likes a alloy temp at about 780 deg. The mould block temp will run about 150 to 200 deg. cooler than the alloy.

You may try to lightly smoke your cavities also, you will get real good fill out.
I know some don't like to use smoke but I have had very good luck with a very light coat.

I hope this helps
Swede Nelson

j20owner
03-02-2010, 09:09 PM
j20owner

#8-32
Can send you out a new handle.
Let me know and we will get it out.

I hope this helps
Swede Nelson

I'll let you know. I bone-headed it this morning and forgot to take the handle in with me. I've looked at it some more and I don't think the hole got 100% tapped. I'm going to try and tap it some more and see what happens.

VintageRifle
03-02-2010, 10:25 PM
Thanks for the info on how the bullets cast and shot for you madsenshooter. The K31 I shoot the most have a bore of .2965. I have a few others I can try as well if it doesn't work out for this particular one.

mike in co
03-02-2010, 11:08 PM
j20owner

#8-32
Can send you out a new handle.
Let me know and we will get it out.

35whelen

"The instructions suggest keeping the alloy at 600° or below to prolong the life of the mould"
Reread the instructions "our moulds are engineered to operate at below 600 deg." that is
the temperature of the blocks, not the alloy. I have found that this mould likes a alloy temp at about 780 deg. The mould block temp will run about 150 to 200 deg. cooler than the alloy.

You may try to lightly smoke your cavities also, you will get real good fill out.
I know some don't like to use smoke but I have had very good luck with a very light coat.

I hope this helps
Swede Nelson

yes i found the 600 degree number to be a suprise too...but saw that he had cast at 800....
i did mine at 770
and got 189, 311/310 base 295/295.5 noses, 1.080 oal........1.1 with the check in place
now to size some and see how they chamber......


194 lubed sized and checked(309)
medium engraving....oal from 2.894 to 2.94...so all keep the gas check in the neck...barely but there..
mike in co

j20owner
03-03-2010, 12:00 AM
Got it taken care of Swede. Had to drill the hole a little deeper so my non-bottoming tap would tap a little more hole. Once that was accomplished, was able to set my HP pin depth. Will attempt to cast some tomorrow.

35 Whelen
03-03-2010, 01:31 AM
Swede:
Thanks a million for the clarification with regards to mould temp. Now I know what to do!
35W

j20owner
03-03-2010, 06:09 PM
Got it figured out. Had to drill the hole a little deeper and run the tap through it to get it to hold the pin. Now to test it out.

VintageRifle
03-06-2010, 02:02 PM
Got my mould in the mail yesterday. Hoping to have time today to cast with it.

j20owner
03-06-2010, 05:54 PM
Ok, got some casting under my belt and I need to figure out how to get good HP nose fill-out. Any suggestions or hints? I'm getting lop-sided noses on the HP cavity when casting HP's.

I had the pin flipped to make flat-nosed out of both cavities and it wasn't doing it, so I'm sure it's something with the HP pin cavity.

Blammer
03-06-2010, 08:41 PM
HEAT! and pressure pour will help.

Crank up the temp maybe at a touch of tin.

Pressure pouring will also help, if you have a bottom pour put the mould ON the pour spout and pour.

j20owner
03-06-2010, 08:49 PM
Well, tried pressure pouring and heat, but haven't tried tin yet. BTW, I'm using straight COWW metal.

I sure do like the way they fall out of the mold. Just a gentle shake and the plop out.

SwedeNelson
03-06-2010, 10:44 PM
j20owner

Some times its hard to keep the pin hot.
Try to get the pin in and out of the mould
as fast as you can, its not much of a pin
to get and keep hot.
And like Blammer said try some tin and
pressure pouring.

Swede Nelson

j20owner
03-06-2010, 10:49 PM
OK, I was wondering if it was pin heat problems. I'm a little slow about getting the pin out and back in after dropping the boolits.

BTW, this is my first rifle mold and also my first HP mold, so I knew there was going to be a steep learning curve. Come to think of it, it's my first gas-check mold, too.

NuJudge
03-07-2010, 08:21 PM
Several comments about the mold:

I wish the locator pins stuck out a bit more and were bullet shaped, not hockey puck shaped.
The locator pins worked best with frequent application of BullPlate.
This is the first mold I've ever used where the bolt attaching the sprueplate to the blocks gets tighter with use, not looser.
Nose diameter .295", diameter just ahead of the lube groove .308", driving band diameter .310". Just about perfect.
The NOE mold is a good bit slower than the Lee 165gr RCBS (about 10 bullets per minute instead of 24), and seems to like its Lead a good bit hotter.

madsenshooter
03-07-2010, 08:42 PM
No, I don't think you want the pins sticking out much more. Ever try to open a mold with one that sticks out a bit too far? The rear one on mine was out too far, both hands pulling on a Lee six cavity handle wouldn't open it, but then the shape could play a part in that too. I have to say though, they are positively located!

j20owner
03-07-2010, 09:38 PM
Here's a pic of a couple of mine. Still need work on the HP casting.
http://xaclan.com/Heinrich/heinrich/Casting/NOE%20k31.JPG

Boz330
03-08-2010, 06:47 PM
I to had to run the mold hotter than I am used to in order to get good fill out. Didn't get any good boolits till I dipped a corner and got the mold heated pretty good. If the boolit wasn't frosted it was a cull. Tin did seem to help some but mostly just keep the melt hot. I probably threw back 30% even after that. Now that I have a handle on it I think the next session will go better.
The good news was the first group with 20gr of 4759 gave a lot of optimism. The 11 round group was 5HX2.125 W with a core group of 8 rounds in 2.25HX1.125W. The first couple rounds I loaded had different OALs while I got the round fitted to the rifle and these could have been the fliers in the group but I don't know for sure.
For my rifle the bore rider section could have gone back a little further to keep the GC in the neck. Right now the bottom of the boolit is even with the shoulder.

Bob

primersp
03-09-2010, 11:43 AM
got mine to day just 10 days to come ,try to cast soon
thanks

primersp
03-10-2010, 11:21 AM
cast today bullets drop at 311 and 188 g.c fitted perfectly i try to shoot sized to 310.5
ANDRE

35 Whelen
03-17-2010, 12:29 PM
More stats on the NOE mould.
I got a good batch cast from ACWW. Visually sorted about 140 bullets and lost exactly 10%. Next I weight sorted 55 and again lost exactly 10% which left me with 50 bullets with a weight spread of +/- .25 grs. or 188.8 grs. to 189.3 grs. :
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Cast%20bullets/NOEK31Sorting.jpg

Fired some more groups and this is how they looked:
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Targets/NOEK311801edit-1.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Targets/NOEK31180edit.jpg

The top target was intersting to me as the sun was setting as I was shooting and there was a shadow cast on the bull. It's interesting how changing light affects the POI when shooting open sights. On the 10th shot I deliberately held a bit high so as to put the last shot back into the group.

For whatever reason, the first shot with this bullet is ALWAYS high.
35W

Much to my surprize the AA#7 shows alot of potential.

j20owner
03-20-2010, 08:34 AM
Loaded some up for the first time last night. I had to seat a little deeper than I wanted due to my non-throated K31. Not sure if I'll get a chance to try them this weekend. Seems Winter didn't get the memo that it's now Spring.:violin:

bkbville
03-22-2010, 04:44 AM
I thought the whole point of this design was a boolit that would fit the K31 throat ...

j20owner
03-22-2010, 04:54 PM
Not all throats are created equal. I have some 311291s and 311290s that fatnhappy sent me and I can not get them to chamber at all. These will actually chamber due to the smaller nose section.

Shepherd2
03-23-2010, 11:36 AM
I kept getting wrinkled boolits with my mould so I decided to raise the temperature to about 800 degrees. No joy from that. Since I've had to smoke the cavities on other aluminum moulds I decided to give that a go. Bingo! On the next pour all the boolits were keepers. I didn't have 1 reject after that.

j20owner
04-18-2010, 03:34 PM
Loaded some up for the first time last night. I had to seat a little deeper than I wanted due to my non-throated K31. Not sure if I'll get a chance to try them this weekend. Seems Winter didn't get the memo that it's now Spring.:violin:

I finally got a chance to shoot these. I only loaded 5 over 28.0 grains of Varget. Shot them at 50yds and shot into a 1.25" group, about 5 inches due right of POA.[smilie=l:

Velocity was only in the 1600's, somehow cleared the memory before writing it down. I'm really wanting to get these as close to 2500 as possible. Any hints or ideas? I've never used fillers before.

280Ackley
07-25-2010, 09:33 PM
Well it''s been a long time coming, but I finally got some of these loaded and shot them today. Overall I was very pleased. Loaded 18 and put them all into a 2 inch bull at a hundred. Load was 16 grns of 2400. Really fun to shoot. This boolit thing really is addictive.

Bob J
08-03-2010, 11:50 AM
These are awesome in my son's K31 loaded over AA5744.... 2" groups or better with iron sites at 100 yards....

I've attached my load development worksheet for anyone who is interested in the specific details...:coffee:

bkbville
08-12-2010, 03:09 PM
This is encouraging.

Can anyone spare some of these boolits? (or lend the mold?)

I'd like to give them a try in my K31, which hasn't worked with any I've tried thus far.

280Ackley
09-07-2010, 09:26 PM
These are awesome in my son's K31 loaded over AA5744.... 2" groups or better with iron sites at 100 yards....

I've attached my load development worksheet for anyone who is interested in the specific details...:coffee:

Bob that's a very cool app for the worksheet where did you get it?

Bob J
09-08-2010, 07:17 AM
Thanks! It's a spreadsheet that I built in Excel.... Wanted something that allowed me to graph the actual MV vs each load in my ladders so I could see the spread as well as where the load "rolled off"....

Have attached a copy of my current workbook containing all of the loads I have done so far for anyone who is interested in a copy......:grin:




Bob that's a very cool app for the worksheet where did you get it?

frkelly74
12-10-2010, 11:42 PM
Are these molds still available?

SwedeNelson
12-11-2010, 10:52 AM
We hope to have a run the first of next year.

Swede Nelson

j20owner
02-19-2011, 01:06 PM
Thread necromancy here, but I shot 5 of these today over 44.5gr of H4350 for an avg of 2244fps. Only shot them at 50 yds, but they actually hit to POA. Might be onto something. Here's a link to a post in another thread I made. link (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showpost.php?p=1167698&postcount=130)