Can 230 grain lee mold be modified I want the tip to be flat and be around 250 grains

[Nomad666]

I want to get the mold modified to a flat top and to be around 250 grains would this be hard to get done if I find someone competent with a metal lathe?
Or just give up on this mold it just does not work for me in my 30-06 just want to see if it was modded if it could possibly end up working for me I dont mind loosing the mold if it all goes wrong...

Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold TL309-230-5R 30 Caliber (309 Diameter) 230 Grain

[jmort]

Why make a science project out of it? Just order the exact mold you want from Tom at Accurate.

[Bazoo]

I'm curious as to what kind of accuracy you get out of it and at what velocity, if you don't mind sharing.

[JSnover]

Agree with Jmort, the easiest way to find out will be to get the right mold. The upside is there's zero chance of ruining the one you have.

[Nomad666]

I'm curious as to what kind of accuracy you get out of it and at what velocity, if you don't mind sharing.

Using red dot 7 to 15 grains, 4350 20 to 52 grains same with rl-17 cant hit a 2x2 target at 100 yards may as well be a shotgun..
lubed or powder coated make no difference just a poor bullet choice on my part is all I can put it too...
Now I just want a heavy cast 250 grain but am finding no info on anyone who has tried casting and if they had success or not...
Rifle shoots 3/4" groups with factory ammo.

[JSnover]

What's your twist and what's the weight of those factory loads? 230-250 grain boolits might be too long to stabilize.

[Bazoo]

Do you mean 2 x 2 feet or inches? I assume you mean feet.

[Elkins45]

A 30-06 with a typical 1-10” twist barrel is unlikely to stabilize a 250 grain bullet.

[Nomad666]

2 foot x 2 foot...

Just want to have my own castable 240 or 250 grain boolit that can hit at least close to the center of a target at 100 yards dont need it for long range stuff.
I want this for anything coming at me from moose to grizz I dont want to end up as fertilizer..

But I have to say these lead free like the 180 grain Nosler e-tip are looking good for this too...

250gr .30 cal bullets from Claw bullet manufacturer from South Africa.
The 250gr stabilizing in std 1 in 10 gun, although it's actually a little shorter than a 200gr Accubond
Some really long lead free bullets out their too..

[Bazoo]

Does this rifle shoot other cast reasonably well? What alloy are you using and are you getting leading?

[Dragonheart]

I think you need to realize that regardless of what you decide to do, or not do to the nose of this bullet, the cast bullet is going to remain a lopsided bullet. Cast bullets are not round when they come out of the mold and this has nothing to do with the alloy, quality of the mold, casting procedure or the experience of the user, it is just the physics of the molding process. Sizing only makes the bands round and the remainder of the bullet is still not concentric (lopsided). If the nose is sized in a separate operation then it can be made round, but the bullet will still not be concentric. For example you can lay a nickle on a quarter and yes you have two round circles but they are not concentric to each other. When a lopsided bullet is fired, reasonable accuracy can be obtained at close ranges, but when the bullet begins to wobble the wobble is only going to get worse. When you think about it, why would anyone purchase commercial jacketed bullets that are as concentric as it gets if we could just drop them out of a mold?
Some have had excellent success with full power and long range accuracy by a complete resize of the cast bore-rider bullet design. I would suggest looking there instead of trying to rework this mold.

[JSnover]

It's a moot point if the mold is already at or beyond the max length for that 1:10 twist. Anything the OP does to the nose won't make it any shorter.

[country gent]

another thing that comes into play here with stability is velocity along with twist rate. Faster speeds will allow a longer bullet to stabilize in a given twist. In the M1A M14 garand 1-12 and 1-10 twists were used. My m1As hace 10 twist and bullet to 175 grns or so do well in my 300 win mag with 1-10 180 and 190s do good but anything much longer were abysmal.

What might work best is to post in the bullet exchange here for some samples of bullets in the 175 grn to 200 grn range to test and find what works in your rifle then buy that mould.

[Nomad666]

I have molds from 120 to 230 grain even then I am not particularly fond of any of them as far as accuracy goes but I got all this lead you see guess I will just have to turn it all into 6 tons of shot..

I have WW and pure lead and tin and pewter and have played with it all now...

Dragonheart I think you hit the nail on the head for everything I have tried I just cant seem to get things to go where I want...

[Bazoo]

The lee catalog lists that bullet as needing a fast twist, I wonder though if you pushed it hard enough if you could get a better resemblance of accuracy. I had an idea, instead of modifying the nose, maybe try having the top of the mould shaved to remove the boat tail. It would lighten and shorten it, maybe just enough. And it's an easily performed operation.

[Duster340]

I did something similar with an extra 214gr Lee SWC mold for use in my 44mags & specials. Turned it into a 240 gr WFP with a .385 cutting but on the drill press at work. Turned out nice a shoots great. Will try to post pics.

[Duster340]

Double post.

[Duster340]

I did something similar with an extra 214gr Lee SWC mold. Turned it into a 240 gr WFP with a .385 cutting but on the drill press at work. Turned out nice a shoots great.



Left is original 214 gr SWC. Middle is 232gr button nose, Right is the final product 240 gr WFN

[Dragonheart]

I have molds from 120 to 230 grain even then I am not particularly fond of any of them as far as accuracy goes but I got all this lead you see guess I will just have to turn it all into 6 tons of shot..

I have WW and pure lead and tin and pewter and have played with it all now...

Dragonheart I think you hit the nail on the head for everything I have tried I just cant seem to get things to go where I want...

If you really want to pursue full power with accuracy using PC cast rifle bullets, I would suggest finding the post by Bama, "Accurate PC 350 yards". But to save you a little time I will tell you Bama has gone to great lengths to correct the inherent problem of non-concentric cast rifle bullets. He produces not perfect, but the most concentric PC checked cast rifle bullet I have ever seen, so it can be done. I wouldn't spend any time trying to achieve worthwhile results with your mold; instead I would suggest learning for one who has already invented the wheel.

[Nomad666]

The lee catalog lists that bullet as needing a fast twist, I wonder though if you pushed it hard enough if you could get a better resemblance of accuracy. I had an idea, instead of modifying the nose, maybe try having the top of the mould shaved to remove the boat tail. It would lighten and shorten it, maybe just enough. And it's an easily performed operation.

OH I have pushed it to the point of flattening primers with soft and hard cast.