.311 155 gr for .303 Brit or 7.62x54r?

[reloader762]

I've picked up a lot of .311 diameter, 155 grain boolits. Yes, I've read the sticky for cast bullet in military calibers but didn't find any load data for something this heavy (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, please). My current powder selection is a little limited, I have IMR 3031 and Accurate 4350 that's I've been using for .303 Brit and 8x56r. In pistol powders I have Unique and Power Pistol on hand. Anything I can do with these combos for .303 Brit or 7.62x54r? Thanks in advance, everyone has given great answers and advice to every question I have asked here!

[Outpost75]

In most .303s you are going to find the .311 bullets way undersized. Most military .303 barrels need .314-.315.

If your 7.62x54R is one of the tighter Finnish barrels the .311 might work, but the Russian and Chinese barrels run large like wartime .303s and require .314+.

I would try a mild load with Unique, 8-10 grains and see how they run. I think they will be too small and lead.

JACKETED .311 bullets will run fine with 35 grains of 3031.

[Maven]

My two Civil Guard, Sako-made M 28/30 Finn Nagants needed a .311" CB and were very accurate when Ly. #314299 was sized to that dimension. OTOH, my M 39, also Sako-made needs a .312" CB, especially -299. Sorry, no experience with the .303 Br.

[nagantguy]

Have one nagant that runs very tight, a Chinese 53, very late production don't know if it was ever even issued in the nicest shape I've ever seen one, any how it runs very well with 311 170gr boolits and 4895, so good that's where I stopped, most my nagants need them a bit fatter like 312 and up. Have no experience with the 303 brit. Size will be the issue not weight, slug them bores and see.

[adrians]

Yup I think you'll find .311 a tad on the "not big enough" side for your Brit ,
I have the NOE 316299 mold and shoot them "as cast" depending on my mix at the time of casting they have been .317" and still chamber and shoot good .
Can't remember the last time I shot my Russian last so can't comment there..

[Scharfschuetze]

303 bore diameters are all over the map. .312" to .317" in my stable.

While I load jacketed projectiles in my MN sniper and Polish Carbine, I can't comment on their vagaries regarding cast boolits.

[303Guy]

Paper patch them and seat them in unsized fired cases. That should make them fit. I don't know how Accurate 4350 compares with H4350 but with H4350 one cannot put enough into a Brit for jacketed 150gr bullets. That would make H4350 great for your boolit in the Brit (if paper patched). Otherwise a .311 cast boolit is indicated for a 308 bore. Remember that the bore ride section (if it's a bore ride) needs to be snug in the bore. With very light loads you can get away with an undersized drive band section. Most 303 Brits I know of are over .311 groove diameter (think .314 to .318). For anything more you will need to seal the boolit to the grooves.

I have shot undersized boolits in my Brit using a hard lube melted onto the boolit after seating. The theory was that the lube would centralize the boolit in the leade. It seemed to work.

[leebuilder]

Havent had much luck with the lighter boolits in 303, but lee 160 tl in 7.62x54r is good. Like the other posters have said size is the key. Try them you may get lucky.
3031 has not been a great preformer from experience but light loads up to 12grs of unique have worked for me.
share your results and
be safe

[Donor8x56r]

My 2 Finn M91s are shooting 312 version of that boolit by HM2.Next mold to try in them is undersized new lee version-it makes .311.
Strangely enough my 1917 No1Mk3 SMLE loves .312 and I will try .311 version in it as well.It has tight almost new bore and it's stamped NZ.

Normally I use .311 version in Swiss 7.5 and 308W.It shoots amazing in both.

[Artful]

Slug your barrel - trust us.

[303Guy]

Slug your barrel - trust us.

And pound cast the throat.

[LAGS]

I have been shooting the Lee 155 2R GC in both the MN's and Brits for Years.
I bought a 6 cavity mold and then Lapped my two cavity mold out to .315 for shooting in the rifles with larger bores like the Brits and a few of the MN's.
Unique worked well and so did 3031, but I cant find my old data for the Brit.
But I switched to 2400 in both, and when I couldnt find any of that, I switched to Reloader 7 and am very happy.
The one load for the MN with Unique was 15.0 gr with a .312 GC in my Finn with a .311 Bore and 26.0 gr of 2400 in the same rifle.
But I remember the Long Branch with a two groove barrel had to be sized .002 larger than the bore and cast with Lino type or very hard lead.
I havent shot it with the Powdercoated bullets in this weight yet, but it did well with the NOE 198 both GC and PB powdercoated and sized properly.
I will try to find the Data for the Lee Enfield, but I know it was lower than for the MN

[Artful]

Yes, check your throat and remember that powder coat will ad to diameter as well as changing you alloy will change you diameter as well.

[reloader762]

remember that powder coat will add to diameter

Good point, and I did forget to mention that these are powder coated.

I picked out an old manual from 1967 at a garage sale for $0.50 a while back, just to see what was different and what wasn't over the years. Cracked it open this weekend and low and behold it has formulas for cast bullets (with gas check) using Unique. Of course I don't know how different Unique varied over years, and I don't want to suggest I know diddly-squat about it, but it was interesting that it supported posters above using Unique.

[Maven]

"I have Unique and Power Pistol on hand. Anything I can do with these combos for .303 Brit or 7.62x54r?" ...reloader 762

reloader 762, I use Unique for CB loads in different caliber rifles. 12.5gr. Unique is very accurate in both my Finn. Nagant M 39 (Sako) and .30-06 Winchester) with Lyman #314299, although it is sized to a different diameter for each. I'm confident that you'll find 11.5 -12.5gr. will work in both a MN and .303 British once you determine which CB design & diameter each likes.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

In my Mk4 No 1 I used Lee's C185-312 with satisfaction. Shot as well as the surplus stuff. I used a full case of IMR 4350. No leading.

[Motor]

The Unique should work fine. I use it with the Lee 160gr in 7.62x54R. However, I have to agree with the others that unless you are shooting a M39 the .311" diameter "could" be a problem.

If you want sub-sonic some Bullseye works good. I use 6gr in the 54R.

Motor

[GooseGestapo]

My '43 Fazerkerly .303 Enfield SMLE with a circa '50-60's rebarrel has a .312" bbl and shoots "ok" with .311" boolits.
However, I beagled the molds up to ~.314" and sized to .314" shoot as well as jacketed .312" bullets. I haven't had a chance to try my powder coated .312"'s yet, but at .311" shoot as good as jacketed at same loadings through a .308" .300 BLK AR15.

Typically, cast bullets at .001-.003" larger than bore diameter shoot best.

[reloader762]

Thanks for all the replies! I now have a plan and will let you all know how the handloads perform!

[reloader762]

I finally got to shoot the small batch I made. In the end, Unique under the 155gr polymer coated cast bullet worked excellent.

It took a while to select which Mosin Nagant (they multiply like rabbits in my collection!) to take and finally decided on a fairly common 1944 built M38. Recoil was virtually non-existant and these were a pleasure to shoot going out 50 yards and being on paper (no, it wasn't one ragged hole, I'm not that good). All the holes were round, and I saw no keyholing. This was the desired outcome a purpose of the round.

Regarding cleanup, it was a breeze. I found no evidence of leading. The Mosin Nagant I choose was one that, although it has a sharp and shiny bore, I could scrub for hours and still get a solid dirty patch with every cleaner I have ever tried. This time, the patches were noticeably spotty vs. being solid black. If that's the difference between the powder I'm using and what was used in surplus rounds it helps convince me I don't want to buy surplus anymore!