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Hello all,
My first post to the forum! I have been casting for about 5 months now. So far almost exclusively pistol (.358, .452, .356) but I am looking to begin feeding lead pills to my rifles.
I’m looking for suggestions for a single .309 mold that would be suitable for plinking steel out to 200 yards. My .308 rifles are M1, 1903, K31, and Winchester 94 in 30-30.
Is there one single casting that would do this job best and what would that be?
TIA
Lee C309-150-F
SAECO #316
Lyman 311041
RCBS 30-150-FN
Any of those would work.
For your M1 and 1903 I recommend Lyman's 311299. It just plain works in Milsurps. For your 30-30, the 311041 previously mentioned is a great choice and has been the gold standard for the Win94 for many years. Lyman 311291 is also a good choice but recently on this forum, I bought a 4C NOE 311-165-RF. I just rains boolits when casting and but it performs as good as my old 1940's M94 can squeeze out of it - about 3 MOA at 100yds.
If you are truly looking for a single mold the Lyman 311041, Lee 309-150-F, or NOE 311-184-FN J5
would all be good choices. The bonus with the NOE is that it can be ordered in plain base, gas check, or a combination of both. Another option is the Lee .312-155 or .312-160. These fat .30 caliber bullets are very accurate in .30/06 rifles and 7.5 Swiss. Most would shy away from loading a tubular magazine with these bullets. I don’t but that’s another subject. The .312 molds are available in 6 cavity which is nice. It’s pretty simple to convert to plain base too.
for the M1 and 1903 Look at the
311299 I was looking at the math and it should be still stable to 350 yds
if you only need 200yds you could just work up a load till your happy... low recoil plinker load
30-30 need a flat nose ... but not too long .... you could single load it ? not sure you would have to try it
Welcome to the forum! The Lyman 311299 is a true winner in the M1 Garand. The RCBS 30-165-SIL happens to be my favorite boolit for the 1903 Springfield. The Lyman 311041 is another one of my favorites in the 30-30W. I have also had some really good results with the ubiquitous Lee C30-170-F in many of my 30 Cal rifles.
I found the RCBS 30-150 to be a great boolit for my 336 Marlin 30-30 Win. The Lyman 311041 clone I have from a Lee 6 cavity group buy, shoots well in my .308 Win Savage 11.
I shoot Cast in the :
30-06 , 1903-A3 Springfield
7.5 Swiss , 1911K (short rifle) Schmidt-Ruben
308 Winchester , son's Savage bolt action
30-30 , model 94 Winchester Lever Action
The boolit that works the best in all of them is the 2-cavity Lee C309-170-F , sized to .309" .
I have tried lighter weights but the 170 grain is most accurate in all of them .
The 1911K Schmidt-Ruben 7.5 Swiss is a tack driver w/ this boolit and ...
... "The Load " of 13.0 grs. Red Dot .
Gary
Thanks to everyone for the replies. Lots of great info, much appreciated.
Might I add one other that has worked for me in multiple firearms and calibers: the 311-466, a 150-ish grain round nose that has given yeoman's service in 30-30, 308, 30-40, and 30-06.
150gr lee gas checked would get my vote.
Consider getting a larger dia mould. My 308W likes 310, 30/30 takes 311. Mil surps may take 313. You can size down but not UP.
You might also look at the Ideal/Lyman 311008. It came out for the 32-20 over a century ago, but as an all around plinker in 30 cal, it’s hard to beat. I wouldn’t be without one.
If you want a pointy little bullet, the Ideal/Lyman 311359. Both of these bullets drop at about 115 grains when cast with the classic Lyman #2 alloy.
Froggie
If you are just plinking and light target work at under 100 yards try the Lee 113 fp. Itis a gc bullet but is accurate and economical on lead.