New to me mold, Lyman 3111

[richhodg66]

I won this mold on an Ebay auction because it was so different. This is the longest .30 caliber bullet I have ever seen. Held it up against my RCBS 180 FP mold and the cavities look half again as long. It's a plain based, FN design.

The bullet chart in the stickies had this listed in several weights up to 245 grains. No idea what it was designed for, but if it'll stabilized in a standard 1 in 10" twist, I want to try some slow deer hunting loads with it (soft pointed).

I think there may be a .300 Blackout in my future if this casts well and the '06 won't handle it. Any one have experience with this one?

[frnkeore]

I believe that it was designed for either the 303 British or the 30/40 Krag or both. They where the only fast twist 30's around when it was designed.

Please give us more info on your bullet. Tell us the alloy you use and the length, nose length, weight and what the band diameters are.

If the front band diameters are the same as the rear, then it won't work, at all on a BO.

Frank

[richhodg66]

I won't get to cast any with it for a while. Never checked the twist on my SMLE, always assumed it was about a 1 in 10". I don't own a Krag (yet). Interesting about the blackout, why is that a problem?

[frnkeore]

If the bands are all the same size, the neck, freebore and throat won't be enough to keep it from going deep into the case when seated.

From the neck/shoulder junction to the end of the .309 freebore is, .470. Any band area longer than that, will be inside the case.

Frank

[Catshooter]

Pics! We need pics!


Cat

[richhodg66]

Finally cast a few this afternoon (only about 50, don't want to waste time with one that will not stabilize).

The sample one I weighed is 243.2 grains. The bands start at .313 and gradually increase to .315 at the base. In the picture, the one on the left is the 3111, on the right is an RCBS 180 grain FP for scale. This is a big bullet. I'll try to load a few and get some shot through my old .30-06 and see what happens.

[Catshooter]

Man, that is one loooooong boolit. Nice! Be interesting to see how well it does in your '06. Good luck and thanks for the pic.


Cat

[frnkeore]

Thank you for posting the band sizes. What is the length of that bullet?

Frank

[richhodg66]

The length is 1.33" for the 3111, the RCBS is 1.035" for comparison. I loaded a few last night, you do have to seat these with a lot of bullet down inside the case. I was going to shoot these in my old Model 70, but I think I'm going to use a sporterized Chech Mauser I have instead.

I have a feeling this won't stabilize at the speeds a plain based design will work with. Anybody make plain base gas checks in .30 caliber?

[richhodg66]

Loaded ten of these with 23.5 grains of SR4759 this weekend. Shot them through a sporterized Mauser in .30-06 known to be a good shooter with the 311284 . I got two and a half foot groups at 50 yards. They weren't exactly keyholing, but you could tell there was a lot of yaw as they went through the paper.

So, gonna cast some harder ones, try to get some plain based gas checks and I think I'm going to try them in a Mosin next.

[jaystuw]

yeah, I remember it from a few weeks ago. a Double cavity from Hampelguns, a vender that's had a number of interesting lyman molds lately. But none as interesting as the 3111. Anyway, congratulations. Its a very rare mold. Should of gone for way more than 89 bucks. Jay