First try with 311407mod and m39 Ukko-Pekka.

[Finn45]

Chargar's GB from some time ago. Finally took the virginity out of it; mix of old WW blend and "fresh" monotype. Alloy was very good, must have been near eutectic, no flush, no frost, too bad it was total hit and miss throw. BHN14 right after casting and BHN21...22 air cooled after few days. Mold worked well, except that about 80% of the boolits needed some prying out of the cavities and sprue cutter pivot screw needed some watching. Pretty boolit:


I also made new modified batch of FWFL, I added synthetic ATF together with castor oil, same quantity. I wanted to make the lube very soft, because I've heard many times that Star could be slightly problematic with hard lubes without heating. Lube was soft, I added some more beeswax compared to my previous batch. Star worked very well and is joy to use. All my previous thoughts about boolit alignment problems simply doesn't apply; Stillwell's die has kind of a straight throat and it guides the boolit wonderfully:


165grains, .313" true dia, three grooves exposed, N310 0.7grams/10.8grains, 1465fps, Lapua brass, Federal GM210M primer:


Like many times before, the first group after one fouler was the best one; 55 yards, issue sights, ten shots, slightly under an inch at the point of aim:


Wind made some problems and screwed also my 111 yard shooting but all and all it looks pretty nice though.

I made some load development for Marlin as well. Same hard alloy and also soft alloy for hunting. My Sn60/Pb40 must be something else, since supposedly 1:20 ran only BHN6. Boolit was my MM-gc weighing 433grains with this soft alloy. Boy it educated me with leading... N120 and 1600...1650fps - zero leading; N530 and 1600...1650fps - minor leading; N120/N530 and 1700 - too much leading; N530/N135 and 1755fps - extreme leading. Especially with N135 I got big gray clouds of smoke, naturally shot full 5 shot strings...

[Jack Stanley]

Ah , the joys of learning ! I haven't tried anything but surplus in my 39 as yet but a Russian 38 has shot a few with fair results considering what the barrel looks like .

Jack

[RU shooter]

Nice shooting Finn45, Are you into the lands any with that boolit?

[Finn45]

... Are you into the lands any with that boolit?

Not even close... Coal was 2.622" and touching the lands would be 2.858"; only gc and two bands inside the neck then. This could be better for the m39 if those two front bands would be full or nearly full diameter.

[RU shooter]

Not even close... Coal was 2.622" and touching the lands would be 2.858"; only gc and two bands inside the neck then. This could be better for the m39 if those two front bands would be full or nearly full diameter.

Didnt think so!!!!!! It make one wonder how much better these rifles could shoot if it wasnt for the looooong jump! Not that their any slouch in the accuracy department as is. May work even better in a non "D" mod. chamber or were all the Model 27, 28 and 28/30's all modified to the longer throat?

[Maven]

RU Shooter, In my two M 28/30's (one has since been sold) and one M 39, I've used Ly. #314299 sized to .311" and .312" respectively, but seated to 2.98" and ~2.95" respectively for outstanding results. I also have used a "fat" Loverin (from CBE) seated into the rifling to obtain similar results. Moreover, if you have either Ly. #311291 or -41 and they cast larger than .311", they're worth trying in the M28/30.

[Char-Gar]

It always good to see one of my children bringing joy to a shooter. This is not a suprise as it is a modified Loverin design. The top two bands of that bullet will run .301 to .302 and will go on top of the lands of most 30 caliber rifles. It was designed to do that.

The original Loverin designs run about .304 on the top band and .306 on the second band. These works well for rifles with worn throats, but in rifles with good throats, the smaller .301 - .302 top bands work a little better, allowing the bullet to bore ride a mite and allows the bullet to be seated out to keep it's feet out of the fire in some cases.

[Buckshot]

..............Finn, as usual good report and nice pictures.

...........Buckshot

[junkbug]

Do you guys think that boolit would work in a SMLE III* ? I have a parts gun that I had recently put together with a NIB surplus barrel. So far have only shot surplus in it. I have not yet mastered the art of slugging barrels, so I don't know the groove diameter.

Sean

P.S. I got in on the same GB as Finn45.

[JoeBrotch]

Who makes the mold for the 311407Mod? I have three Fin M39's and a 91/30 I am trying to shoot with Cast bullets but very little luck.

[Buckshot]

Who makes the mold for the 311407Mod? I have three Fin M39's and a 91/30 I am trying to shoot with Cast bullets but very little luck.

.................It was a Lee 6 cavity Group Buy.

..............Buckshot