Lyman 308440 or 311440

[olde sarge]

Being as I am new here as a member and to casting bullets I have been doing a lot of looking and learning. I have found a bullet that is very intresting to me and can find almost zero info on it besides it is discontinued. This bullet is the 308440 or 311440. Does anyone have any firsthand insight as to how this bullet would work in an early M94 Winchester .30 WCF as an all around bullet used to shoot deer and hogs and anything else needing shooting? Any recomendations on who would be the best to do a mould copying this bullets specs if I am unable to find an original? I am amased at the amount of info here and at the way the old dogs get along so well with the people just learning. Several other places I have been should take notice. Thank you kindly. John

[mpmarty]

Welcome old sarge from an old lance corporal. Do a search on those numbers and I'm sure you'll find something here. If it ain't here it don't exist in the universe.

[mpmarty]

The .308 and .307, ( 307 in the Winchester ‘94 Big Bore), the 7.62X54 class, (7.65X53mm Argentine Mauser). The .308 and 307 cases are 51mm, the 30-40 Krag in strong rifles is near 58mm. But it’s internal space is very similar, it’s the Krag rifle that is not rated for the 308's Winchester’s pressure levels. The Lyman #311466 is a 155 grain bullet from my mould, and of the Loverin style...I don’t particularly like it, but some do. It and RCBS’s 30-150-FN are top cast 150 grainers. The small loads with fast powder’s pressures are under the strength level of good strong and tight Krags, older Mausers, and older Argentine Mauser rifles’ pressure thresholds. (The 7.62X39mm will be dealt with later) With the slow powders the Krags, Argentines, and any of the early Mausers before a 20th century built 96 class or better rifles....the loads must be cut below 45,000 psi.

[mroliver77]

NOE has done a group buy on it and I think BRP makes one. These guys are both in the vendors section. I use this boolit in my 30-30 Marlin MG and it shoots great, hits like a sledge hammer. It is obviously a short range boolit but has surprised me in various .30 cal how accurate it is. Mine is 6 cav from a Lee GB a couple years back.
Jay
I can fix you up with some to try.

[olde sarge]

mroliver77, Thank you for your reply. Once I get settled better on this endevor I may take you up on your offer. I presently am shooting my wifes mini-30 and waiting on my son to send the M94 from Vermont to me. Wouldn't dare to shoot them in the mini due to the gas system causing problems. John

[olde sarge]

mpmarty, thanks I had looked and didn't find the search. Looked again and felt really stupid when I found it. John

[scb]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=57305
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=72529 see post 12

[runfiverun]

i have an nei copy of the 311 version.
it will not chamber in either the 308 or the 0-6 without seating it extremely deep.
it does awesome in the 30-30 bolt gun.
and in the 31 cals. argie,jap,enfields.
the 308 version might do okay in the 30 cals.

[beagle]

The 311440 is a pretty rare bird if you're looking for an original Ideal or Lyman mould. The newer GB moulds should be easier to find.

Evidently, you've been reading Paco Kelley's articles as he highly recommends them in the .30/30. He's right, they do shoot and feed well in the .30/30 and the wide meplat should make for a great game getter.

I've shot two different 311440s in both my .30/30 M94 and Ruger Number 1 .30/06. There are more accurate .30 bullets IMO as the best I can squeeze out of my 06 is about 1 1/2" at 100 yards and it will normally hang around 1" with a good .30 bullet.

That aside, that's plenty of accuracy for hunting and that's the name of the game.

Normally, the problem you encounter is the fit of the nose. People who base first size will normally spread the nose diameter a bit and this causes chambering problems. I've done it myself. For success, use a nose first sizer and take any pressure off that nose. The two moulds that I have are such a close fit that it's easy to do. If you're using an older .30/30, the throat may be worn to the point where you don't have that problem. Hope so anyway.

These things aside, Paco is right. It's a good .30/30 hunting bullet if you can find one./beagle

[olde sarge]

Yes sir beagle you are right . The first mention I saw of it was Paco then I started looking for other info. I did a lot of research on Paco and even tried to contact him to no avail. Some of his load info sure makes my pucker factor work. John

[beagle]

Yeah, you're right about some of his loads. I kinda sneak up on them too.

He's an interesting character for sure. He'll get back to you I expect. I've corresponded with him some over the years on a couple of subjects and he's slow but usually gets back to you. He was having some health problems for a while I believe but I have no idea of his status as it's been over a year since we talked.

But, from reading his articles and trying some of his stuff, he's on the right track. He just pushes the envelope farther than I do at times./beagle

[MT Gianni]

Two Whitetails and an Antelope to date with the 311440 out of the 308. One deer was drt, the other ran 75 yards. The loper was running and went 60-70 yards. It is not the sledgehammer a 35 cal is but a good workable boolit.

[geezer56]

I have been playing with this boolit in a 308 and a 30-30, both in NEF handi rifles. It seems more accurate at under 2K fps, but I haven't done enough to be sure yet. Looks promising in the 308. The 30-30 is not super accurate with anything, but shoots everything well enough to hunt with. It isn't a dog with anything either, I just need to work with it a bit more. If you want a few to try, I have a few cast up and sized .309.