wanting mold for 308 win & 30.06

[Revolver]

I have no idea what to get. Suggestions? Got one to sell?

[GabbyM]

Hunt or target shoot?
Hunt how large of an animal?

[runfiverun]

there are so many 30 cal molds available it's almost a guess.
you just have to try and match the throat the best you can.
i use the rcbs silhouette in my ruger as the throat is too tight for anything else.
my 30-06 has a fairly tight throat but likes the rcbs 150 fngc which is similar to the silh boolit but has more bearing length and less nose.
my 1917 does well with the venerable 311041 or the rcbs 150 and the lyman loverign design but none of them will chamber in my 308.
the 041 and loverign won't chamber in my 0/6
but will in my 30-30 bolt gun which hates the rcbs silh boolit that the 308 and my 30-40 krag adore.
the 041 and 150 fngc do well in my 30/30 levergun however.

so my advice is to try and determine the shape of your throat and look at some designs before choosing your boolits.
or just buy 4-5 molds of varying designs and give each a try.

[Revolver]

Hunt or target shoot?
Hunt how large of an animal?

Target shooting for now.

[Larry Gibson]

RCBS 168 SIL, Lyman 311299.......preferably a design, for best target accuracy, that keeps the GC, or at least the top of it, inside the case neck with the front driving band touching the throat. Fit that to the .308W and it will also work in the '06. Many that fit the '06 will not fit the .308W without the GC beinging below the case neck.

Both cartridges are very popular with the CBA boys so you might look at their match results as they post the bullets and loads used.

Larry Gibson

[cisco05154]

Any suggestions for a NON-gas check bullet for a .308 or .30-06? I have a 311332 GC that I was thinking of removing the GC from the mold and trying it. Have any of you done this with a mold and with what results?

cisco

[rockrat]

I would suggest one of the Ranch Dog 30 cal moulds in the plain base variation. I would lean towards the 30-170. NOE has a group buy of the 311041 coming up soon, I think. You could order a plain base mould.

[fourarmed]

You just roll the dice. Every time I get a new .30 caliber gun, I get out my trusty quarter-inch brass rod. I run it down the barrel until it touches the closed bolt face, and then wrap tape around it even with the tip of the barrel. Then I start dropping sized bullets into the chamber and pushing them firmly into the throat. I run the rod in again until it touches the bullet, and use the inside jaws of a dial caliper to measure from the tip of the barrel to the tape. That gives me the maximum overall length for that gun with that bullet. In most of my guns, only one or two of my 30 caliber bullets will work. Some have to be seated too deeply in the case, others don't even touch the case. My 311284 and 311291 bullets are too big on the nose for all but rather worn barrels, while some throats are too tight for anything but the 311041 and the group buy plain base. And of course, these are just my moulds. A lot of them you find are undersized. I'd say your best bet for a starting place would probably be 311041 or 311466 rather than one of the bore riders.

[John Boy]

Target shooting for now.
The old Ideal 'Squibb' 311413 - good to 600 yds. I've shot it so far to 500 meters in a 308 ...[smilie=1:
As soon as I buy a 1000yd scope - will be trying it on highbore silhouettes
http://www.three-peaks.net/images/311413_169g.gif 169gr GC

[geargnasher]

You just roll the dice. Every time I get a new .30 caliber gun, I get out my trusty quarter-inch brass rod. I run it down the barrel until it touches the closed bolt face, and then wrap tape around it even with the tip of the barrel. Then I start dropping sized bullets into the chamber and pushing them firmly into the throat. I run the rod in again until it touches the bullet, and use the inside jaws of a dial caliper to measure from the tip of the barrel to the tape. That gives me the maximum overall length for that gun with that bullet. In most of my guns, only one or two of my 30 caliber bullets will work. Some have to be seated too deeply in the case, others don't even touch the case. My 311284 and 311291 bullets are too big on the nose for all but rather worn barrels, while some throats are too tight for anything but the 311041 and the group buy plain base. And of course, these are just my moulds. A lot of them you find are undersized. I'd say your best bet for a starting place would probably be 311041 or 311466 rather than one of the bore riders.

I used to roll the dice. Now I do impact slugs of my chambers and buy moulds from custom makers that reveal their exact dimensions, or have them cut to my own design. No more gambling or lousy boolit fit.

For a good .308 boolit, check out 45 2.1's .30 SIL group buy. I shoot a similar design in my .30-'06 to good effect, but it has an un-worn throat.

Gear

[kir_kenix]

Hard to go wrong with the 311041 (either original or any of the copies). It is often cited in coversations like this because of how easy it is to get to shoot in a variety of rifles. The ranch dog 165 and 170's are great boolits as well.

Really though, you are going to have to decide what your goals are. Plinking the Lee 113 soupcan...target the RCBS silouett is a good one, heavier if you want to shoot way out there...if hunting may ever be in the picture the RD is great. There are only about a million and a half .30 caliber molds out there...should be able to narrow it down slightly if we knew the application. 50 yard "target" shooting is alot different than 1,000 yard benchrest.

[Max Brand]

I'll give another two thumbs up to the 311041, my old Lyman has cast a multitude of these beauties two at a time for many years. There are, as stated previously,a plethora of .30 cals to choose from but this design will do just about anything you could ask of it. These days my other .30 cal moulds just sit there waiting for my grand kids.

[W.R.Buchanan]

My vote here is for an NOE 311299 mould or a Lee .308-190. Both are gas check boolits.

I have never gotten non GC boolit to shoot well in a .30 cal rifle.

Randy

[Revolver]

Wow, lots of information. I guess I'm going to have to research this stuff heavily. Is it ok for some lube grooves to not be in the case?