303 British mold ideas

[plainsman456]

I have a mold for the 8MM and can't find something like it for the 303.
It is an old Idea mold and cast a 220 grain boolit.
When looking at different mold shops there are several listed but they have flatpoints,not like a fmj.
Also what types are suitable for this Smle.

[littlejack]

plainsman:
You may want to start by slugging your bore to get the exact dimentions.
Also, it is a good idea to fit the chamber with the boolit, and let the bore squeeze the boolit
down to fit.
With that being said, you may want to start with the Lyman 314299 mould. You can size it
down some if it is a little too big for chambering.
Jack

[KCSO]

I have a 220 grain rn fp that I had Mountain Moulds make up for my Argentine rifle that drops a bullet at 312 and on the smaller 303's it is a perfect hunting bullet. For target work I like the Lee 165 spire point that they use in the sks, with 12.5 of Red Dot it is deadly accurate. For the oversize bores I size down the Lee 8mm bullets that are too small .324 for most of the 8's I size and lube to 323 and then step them down in push through dies to 318 and they work fine in the two groove and really wide 303's.

[Jon K]

NOE 316299

Jon

[longbow]

+1 for the NOE 316299:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=134239

If you want heavier CBE makes them to suit .303.

Longbow

[Bret4207]

I have a mold for the 8MM and can't find something like it for the 303.
It is an old Idea mold and cast a 220 grain boolit.
When looking at different mold shops there are several listed but they have flatpoints,not like a fmj.
Also what types are suitable for this Smle.

So, you want a spire point, not a FP?

[curator]

Send a throat slug to Veral Smith at LBT and have him cut a mould to fit the throat of your rifle at the weight you want. Veral's moulds will shoot the best with most powders and totally change your mind about using cast bullets. Even better get his book: " Jacketed bullet velocities with cadt bullets" and learn a whole bunch about shooting and reloading.

[plainsman456]

Not really needing a non flat point but I just like the way that the Ideal mold #323-471 looks.
When sizing them down the lube groves almost disappear.They have shot ok but I have been worried about that.
I have a few 30 caliber molds that I will play with and that NOE mold sure looks good.

[PAT303]

I tried sized down 8mm's yesterday and they didn't group at all,like posted above the grooves all but disappear. Pat

[adrians]

yea NOE 316299 works for my Brits....:coffee:

[Larry Gibson]

I have a mold for the 8MM and can't find something like it for the 303.
It is an old Idea mold and cast a 220 grain boolit.
When looking at different mold shops there are several listed but they have flatpoints,not like a fmj.
Also what types are suitable for this Smle.

You might try that 8mm bullet sized down to fit your .303. I regularly size these two 8mm bullets down to .314, .316 and .318 for use in oversize .31s. The bullets are sized to .325, GC'd and lubed before being sized down in push through sizers. I can easily size them straight down from .325 to .314 in one sizing. As you can see, when lubed before sizing the lube grooves stay intact and with the old Ideal 323471 (left bullet) even the top grooves are still there.

Larry Gibson

[Dschuttig]

I've got a lyman 316475 that s shoots really well if you should come across one. Dan

[JeffinNZ]

Scroll down on Tertle's website at this link (http://www.allaboutenfields.co.nz/links-resouces/reloading/cast-bullet-engineering/) to see the range of .303 Brit moulds Jim at CBE has on offer ex Australia. I have the 313 220, 315 175, 313 215, 315 240 and all shoot great.

[plainsman456]

Well I found a mold in my stash that cast a 185+- boolit and they sized down real pretty.
Tomorrow they will be shot with 26.0 grains of SR 4759.
They came from the mold 318 and went to 314 with no problems,the grooves are still intact,lubed with 2500+.
Can't wait.

[adrians]

You might try that 8mm bullet sized down to fit your .303. I regularly size these two 8mm bullets down to .314, .316 and .318 for use in oversize .31s. The bullets are sized to .325, GC'd and lubed before being sized down in push through sizers. I can easily size them straight down from .325 to .314 in one sizing. As you can see, when lubed before sizing the lube grooves stay intact and with the old Ideal 323471 (left bullet) even the top grooves are still there.

Larry Gibson

never entered my head to use the 323471 , i'm going to try that szed to .314.
i wonder if my .314 lee push through will do it in one swipe, probably have to run them through the old 45 down to .319 and then go to the lee.
larry,, they run through the lee in one pass thats even better.[smilie=w:
:evil::coffee::twisted:

[walltube]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/684f1c392bb2fda.jpg

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/684f1c39499eaf5.jpg

Accurate Moulds no. 32-220B, a Lyman 323471 clone flanked by NOE316299 at left, NOE311284 right. WW yields a .318" diameter boolit. Had this made for a Faz No.4 Mk.I . You may size this boolit to .316" without fear of collapsing the drive bands, IF the loob grooves are first filled with loob.

There is a thread in "molds, maintainance & design" about fat .30 boolits for use in SMLE, M-N, etc. OY! but the images are big. A didgi photographer I am not. :)

Hoard yer Pb,
Wt.

[adrians]

nice,, i have the two flankers but that accurate is a great looker .
which gives the best results ,? probably all three huh! :bigsmyl2:

[Maven]

Scroll down on Tertle's website at this link (http://www.allaboutenfields.co.nz/links-resouces/reloading/cast-bullet-engineering/) to see the range of .303 Brit moulds Jim at CBE has on offer ex Australia. I have the 313 220, 315 175, 313 215, 315 240 and all shoot great.

+1 on what Jeff wrote!

[walltube]

nice,, i have the two flankers but that accurate is a great looker .
which gives the best results ,? probably all three huh! :bigsmyl2:

NOE 316299 and Lithgow No.1 Mk.III are a happy combination. A Parker-Hale PH5A gives a great advantage over the issue sights. Improvements would be a better skilled shooter\owner ;)

32-220B and Faz No.4 Mk.I are still testing.

NOE 311284 and M1917 did not materialise. Have the 311284, but not the M1917. Better luck next time..

Wt.

[adrians]

NOE 316299 and Lithgow No.1 Mk.III are a happy combination. A Parker-Hale PH5A gives a great advantage over the issue sights. Improvements would be a better skilled shooter\owner ;)

32-220B and Faz No.4 Mk.I are still testing.

NOE 311284 and M1917 did not materialise. Have the 311284, but not the M1917. Better luck next time..

Wt.

i was looking for a PH5A for my ishy ( 7.62) but couldn't find one within my budget at the time , then when i had the coin i couldn't find one so i bought a Rawson aperture instead ( australian i believe,?) this sight with the six hole adjustable peep is awesome and looks great , a big help with my ageing eyes over stock irons.
Walltube i just noticed that you say the Accurate is a clone of the 323471 ,so i have all three. [smilie=l:

[Ed in North Texas]

yea NOE 316299 works for my Brits....:coffee:

Ditto all the recommendations for the NOE mould. Check to see if any are still left from the last group buy, or see if there is a re-run started in group buys.

[Hamish]

A few months ago I tried sizing the 8mm Max through a Lee .314 push through sizer. Not too bad, but as I had water dropped them, I found that tumble lubing was a must. Still too small for my .303, but shoot decent out of the 91/30.

Al has 2 cavity 316299's in stock.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=98661

[walltube]

Yes, A.M. no. 32-220B is a clone (or very nearly so) of Lyman 323471. What disqualifies it as a 'perfect' clone is its flat nose. The gas check shank is cut to fit 8mm gas checks. My thinking is a too small .30 caliber dia. g'check would not be sufficient to prevent gas blowby. As an "let's see what if" I had no noticible difficulty sizing to .315".

I wished for an Australian made diopter back-sight for my Lithgow. One to compliment the other. Just could not co-ordinate finances with e-b*y listings. Luck was with me when the PH5A was incorrectly listed. Like new.

Wt.

[Shooter6br]

Accurate Molds For qiuck service and a quality mold . I got a 31-L mold in brass in 8 days. Not weeks or months. Tom is a great guy to boot!

[madsenshooter]

I agree, got my 312230E in 3 days! All measurements were spot on. Now if I'd just get a warm day so I could go shoot of them!

[308Man]

I have used Lyman 311365 in my brit it is an older design but has the FMJ Profile you are looking for keep an eye out for one...

[PAT303]

Why don't we get a mold made for the 303 like most other rifles/calibres?. Pat

[adrians]

Why don't we get a mold made for the 303 like most other rifles/calibres?. Pat

now there's a thought.:popcorn:

[plainsman456]

The mold I found in my stash has the number 31141 on it as well as 1 of 62.
It casts a boolit that weighs 185+-,and I have beenable to get it sized down to 314 and still have good sized lube grooves.
Tomorrow I will go and shoot these with some new Remington brass loaded with some 2400.
I am looking at some other molds that might be better for this rifle,Thanks for the Ideas.