Advice on reloading for Saiga 7.62x39 - proper boolit diameter?

[mojomandan]

Hi guys,

I have a Saiga 7.62x39 in unmodified form. I have been shooting primarily Wolf steel-cased ammo and want to begin reloading using cast lead boolits. So, I bought a Lee double cavity CTL-160-2R mold #90361, which is supposed to be .312 for the 7.62x39 caliber according to the Lee site. I also got a Lee .311 lube and sizing kit. I got these items since I read about other guys using them for their 7.62x39 Saiga rifles.

I slugged my Saiga barrel with a soft lead bullet cast from this mold, and measured the smaller diameter (lands??) at .301 and the larger diameter (grooves??) at .308.

Does the above info suggest that my mold and sizing kit is too large for my bore?

Thanks!

[Garyshome]

Yes should be around .309. May be difficult to size down that much at one time.

[mojomandan]

After watching a video on slugging a bore, I followed those instructions and took a .33 caliber round ball and used it. This time I got a larger diameter of .312. Now I am confused

[5 RING]

After watching a video on slugging a bore, I followed those instructions and took a .33 caliber round ball and used it. This time I got a larger diameter of .312. Now I am confused

that is close to what it should have slugged to the first time. new Russian guns use a .310dia bullet not .308 like the rest of the world.

[Magana559]

I use that same boolit over H335 in my SKS, very happy with it. I do not size, gas check, and tumble lube it.

[GhostHawk]

My old Yugo SKS has a .312 bore and she likes the .312 lee boolits just fine. I am in the process of lapping out my sizing die to get it closer to .312 or above.

Cast them big, load them as long as you can and still have them fit in the mag. Don't be afraid to go big, I started out with a 155 gr mold for the sks, but found she much prefers the big 185's. Up till now I've been using IMR 4895 but I intend to branch out and try some 4350 or 3031 also. Both molds are lube groove designs.

[mojomandan]

I use that same boolit over H335 in my SKS, very happy with it. I do not size, gas check, and tumble lube it.

Am I reading you right...you don't size, don't add gas check, and don't tumble lube?

If the ball slug read .312", your push through sizer will be too small. I'll speculate that you're gonna need .314" or larger. What is the ID of the mouth of a fired case?

Hi Excess,

If I get a .314 sizer (Lee does make one), does that mean it will "compress" a cast .312 or slightly smaller bullet a little to expand its diameter to .314?

The ID of one fired case was .320".

[mojomandan]

.002" over groove diameter is pretty much normal with cast boolits. Ideally, the boolit "fills the throat" or is not more than 1/2 thousandth smaller (.0005") but that isn't always possible. The portion of the base of the boolit is unsupported when passing over the gas port, and gas cutting can occur. I would suggest that you try the .314" sizer and use GCs. You MIGHT need to size larger, and hopefully, your mould will drop .314"+.

My CTL-160s weigh 170gr w/GC.

I did not know I could "size up". Am I understanding you correctly that this is possible if I get the Lee .314" sizer for a smaller diameter cast bullet?

[Yodogsandman]

mojomandan, Your soft lead ball slug was able to fill your bore more completely because it was soft. Your Lee 312-160TL should cast at least .312" or a little over just using COWW(clip on wheel weights). You can increase the size a little with other alloys but, you probably don't need to. Most shoot this boolit "as cast" and just crimp on a gas check with the .314" push thru sizer and then tumble lube as it's designed for. It will not increase the size of your cast boolit, it just crimps the gas check in place. So, just cast some up using COWW, crimp on the gas checks with a .314 push thru sizer die, tumble lube, load and shoot. Hope this clarifies a few things for you. Good luck shooting your Saiga, I'll bet you'll do just fine!

[mojomandan]

Ok, thank you, guys for your great input. I will cast some boolits using wheel weight lead and measure (hopefully it will drop at least .312).

[Animal]

Mojomandan, I am eagerly looking forward to your results. I have a WASR 10 that is doing some very nice things with j-word handloads. I might try casting for it.

[QIDPlb]

I slugged my Saiga it came out to .312