Mold for 308 win

[tomme boy]

I am thinking of trying some lead in my 308 win. It is kind of a put together rifle that shoots really really good. It is a Savage action and factory Remington barrel. I had the barrel rethreaded and chambered for the Savage. I also had him put on a muzzlebreak.

Anyway, the barrel has a 1 in 12" twist and is 24" long. It was a new take off when I got it and had the work done. It is fairly smooth considering it is a factory barrel. I know knothing about bullets for the 308. Anyone care to give some advise. I am just going to shoot steel plates with it out to 500yds if it will do it. Right now I am shooting it out to 900 with jacketed bullets. So hopefully the lead will work.

[smoked turkey]

Good Evening tomme boy:
I'm sure you will get some good input from folks that know W-A-Y more than I do about this addiction. I can tell you that you came to the right place to learn the right way to go about casting for your .308. Before you purchase a mold and sizing die, you need to slug your barrel. There are numerous good posts on that subject. I think if you go to the top and do a search for slugging a barrel you will get the exact info on how its done. You need to size your cast boolits from .001-.003 more than your measured slug from your bore. For the long range shooting you want to do, you need to get info on which boolit will go the distance for your .308. Someone more knowledgable than I will give you some input on that. I personally use a Lyman 450 sizer with a .311 sizing die. You can make your own lube or buy the sticks from a place like Midway. I hope you enjoy the process as much as I do. It is a rewarding hobby. It helps relieve stress and helps keep the mind occupied on something better than TV IMO. From your post I can see that you are not new to shooting/reloading. This phase of it just makes it a lot more fun.

[stubshaft]

Years ago I had Veral at LBT make me a 180gr SP mold. I have used this boolit in cartridges from the 30 Herrett to 300 WSM and have busted alot of caps in the 308 with it. If 180 doesn't strike your fancy the 30-165 RCBS SIL boolit is another dandy. Like Smoked turkey said though hold off until you get the barrel slugged before ordering the sizing die. Mostly everything else you can start to collect.

[Larry Gibson]

311299 if you want to hit steel plates at 500 yards. That bullet has the BC to remain sonic with the muzzle velocity you'll get and have accuracy to, around 2100-2200+ fps if you cast and load correctly for higher velocity.

Larry Gibson

[lead chucker]

I have the 311299 coming I think it will work good in my 1-10 twist 308 not sure how it will work in a 1-12 I have a friend with a Winchester with a 1-12 and it doesn't like the heavy bullets it likes the 165 and lighter ones but he shoots j bullets not sure if lead would be different.

[tomme boy]

I know a 200 gr jacketed is very marginal for the 12 twist. Shooting lead I don't know if it is the same or not. I have seen people shooting really heavy lead with slower twist. So, does the weight become a problem like jacketed does as to the stability goes. The 1-12 is supposed to be a 180 gr max from what I know about jacketed.

This gun will shoot in the .2's at 100 yds with 168 A-Max. I don't want to buy any more of these as I am getting cheaper as I grow older.

Any suggestions with any molds from Accurate Molds?

[stubshaft]

The twist formula is predicated more on the length of the bullet not the actual weight.

[Larry Gibson]

The 12" twist was standardized for the .308W by Winchester back in the mid '50s. They loaded 200 gr factory ammo and it shot very well then and does now. I've also shot 220 gr RNs with excellent accuracy to 300+ yards out of .308ws with 12" twists. Getting back to the 311299 in the 12" twist; I've been shooting that bullet in numerous 12" twist .308W/7.62s since the mid '70s from 1700 fps to 2300+ fps (102,000 - 138,000 RPM...more than enough for stabilization). I never, ever had any stability problems and nothing but good accuracy to 600 yards with it. If shot at 2200 - 2300+ fps it goes subsonic somewhere between 550 - 650 yards.

The 311299 is a proven performer and will do just fine in the 12" twist.

Larry Gibson

[crabo]

Does Lee make a good mold for the 308? I am thinking that might be a good test bed for Erik's new hp design.

[ubetcha]

+1 on the 311299.I have been reading alot about good results with that bullet.I'm trying to work with it for my 30-06 using SR4759 but just haven't gotten to the range yet.Too cold outside for me.The 311284 is also suppose to be good per a Frank Marshall Jr article in the Lyman cast bullet handbook 3rd edition.but it's a 210 grainer.I will give it a try though

[runfiverun]

you can order molds all day long, but if they [the boolits] won't chamber what good are they?
the only one i can get to chamber in my ruger is the rcbs 165 silhouette boolit.
12 twist is standard in 30-30's and they seem to do fine with heavier boolits.
if you have a throat more like savage uses, the rcbs 150 fn g/c will be a better choice as it is similar to the 165 silh boolit but with a shorter nose and more bearing surface [similar to the 311284] and usually has a nose in the 300 diameter.
you have to mimic the throat and keep the boolit out of the case.
the 308's short neck isn't a big help here.
500 yds is gonna push things a bit but the extra velocity you'll get with the 12 twist will help
i use the 165 silh boolit to 300 yds on bowling pins regularly, the drop at 1900 fps is 10 m.o.a. from 100 to 300.

[GabbyM]

B.C. on that Lyman #311299 is .377. Plus it is designed to fit the bullet body inside a 308 Win case. For 500 yard shooting you need the high B.C. bullet since you won’t have the high velocity.

Getting a good mold from Lyman these days can be a challenge.

[tomme boy]

I do not want to use a Lyman mold. As everyone said, too many troubles. Has anyone used a Accurate Molds bullet? He has a lot to offer, I just don't know the style to get. I will slug my bore when a style is chosen.

[buyobuyo]

There have been a number of NOE 311299 group buys, so you could see if he has any leftovers or check the group buy sections. I think one just ended in the last few months. Also, I vaguely remember reading that someone had Accurate Molds make them a 311299 style mold. It had a flat point of course since he isn't setup to do anything else.

I have the Lyman 311672, which is almost identical to the RCBS 308-165-SIL. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet though.

[tomme boy]

I finally got around to slugging my bore. It is 0.300"x0.308" So what diameter do you think I should order. Look for a bore-rider.

[GRUMPA]

Tomme Boy,

Since your wondering what mould to buy I think I would take a slightly different path to this whole thing. I would be the type of person that would put in a request in the boolit exchange area and ask for some 30cal of different weights and designs and find out for yourself what works and what doesn't.

I have a 1-12 on my K98 in 06 and played with it for over a year off and on and I finally got it. You would have no idea what type of powder works and which one doesn't, believe me brand "X" works totally different than brand "Y". Then you have the perfect size to find, then what type of lube. Not all rifles and boolits are the same, what works great for someone else wont necessarily work for you, and this is where notes and patience pays off.

[runfiverun]

you can manipulate a mold by a thou or so through alloy changes.
you have good dmensions there a mold that has a 301 nose and will size to 310/309 should do fine.
now it's just a matter of mimicking throat shape, to get the best accuracy at velocity.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I got one of the 311299 NOE moulds from Al's last run. It makes beautiful boolits and they are the right size when cast from WW material IE .311 and .299

I haven't gotten a chance to shoot any yet but I see no reason they shouldn't shoot well. They are as close to perfect as any Cast Boolit I have seen.

The one in the center is NOE-311299 Left is Sierra 220gr and RT is 240 gr.

Randy

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_182084f31bff24fb2a.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=3839)

[pipehand]

The bullet/cartridge combo in my avatar is the RCBS 30-165SIL loaded in Lake city Match brass. Twenty years ago I shot it oven heat treated and fast over charges of 3031 or 4064 or 4895 etc, but now I throttle it back, air cooled over 2400(powder, not velocity) and enjoy shooting it more. I don't belive you can go wrong with that boolit. It has worked well in every .308 Winchester I've tried it in and a few othe 30 calibers as well.

[grubbylabs]

I would talk to Tom @ accurate about what mold he would recommend for your 308. He is very helpful and will guide you in choosing a design. He sent me a very informative email over the weekend about figuring out what I needed for my 30 call stuff. Shoot him an email.

I have a few of his molds in hand gun calibers and they are awesome to say the least.

[popper]

RD is supposed to have a 308 win mould out this spring. No details that I've seen yet.

[excess650]

Wasn't the 311644 designed for the 308? I've been shooting it out of my K31 and like it. I haven't shot any NOE 311299s yet, but expect it would also be a good choice. The other design I would recommend is the Saeco #301.

I just ordered a scope, 20moa tipped mount and Burris Signature rings for my Rem700VS 308. I haven't shot it, but saw groups shot with cast by its previous owner. He shot the heavy 200gr? RCBS.