NOE 311299 @ 308 win

[brotherdarrell]

After almost a year of trying to get this rifle to shoot cast I finally broke down and got my first Noe mold. I also decided to up-grade my homemade lube and ordered some beeswax from Randyrat and followed Ben's excellent lube recipe and mixed up some Bens Red. I figured if this combo did'nt work nothing would.

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff489/brotherdarrell/DSC00071.jpg?t=1352328645

I fully realize that this is only one group, but it is by far better than any result to date. The cases (already fired) were sized in Lee collet die backed off to give inside neck of .308". I seated the gas checks on the Lyman 450 in a .312 sizer, sized in an opened up Lee push-through to .3095" and then loobed in the .312 sizer. Slight flare on cases with Lee flare die, seated just deep enough to close bolt (bottom of check was even with bottom of neck) and seater die was adjusted to take out flare but not crimp when boolit was seated. I shot two 5-shot groups with this load, the second group (actually first group) was a little over 1.5" ctc. I shot the second group slower than the first as I could see the first group starting to walk as I was shooting. This group also walked a little.

The Noe mold is a pleasure to cast with. It took a couple of heating cycles and about 30 boolits before they were shootable. I also had to turn the heat up a little on the pot.

The Ben's Red appears to work as advertised!!! Thank's Ben.:drinks: I do think I will have to stiffen it up a little for when the local temps go triple digit.

I now have a good base-line to get serious about. Thanks to all as this has been a group effort (though you may not realize it).

brotherdarrell

[madsenshooter]

Nothing quite like having a big enough nose! I make use of that a lot with the selection NOE has.

[brotherdarrell]

Nothing quite like having a big enough nose! I make use of that a lot with the selection NOE has.

I believe you are correct on that. The nose measures a hair under .301" and shaves a little lead when inserted in the end of the barrel. This mold may change everything with this rifle when it comes to shooting cast.

brotherdarrell

[Lefty SRH]

Velocity? Post a pic of the boolit please. I've been itching to play with my .308 and some cast boolits.

[brotherdarrell]

Could'nt tell you what the velocity is, but it is pretty tame.
http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff489/brotherdarrell/DSC00073.jpg?t=1352340556

brotherdarrell

[Lefty SRH]

What do they weigh and whats your load recipe?

[brotherdarrell]

What do they weigh and whats your load recipe?

Sorry for the delay. The boolits drop at 206 +/- cast from 50/50 ww/pure. They are also water-dropped for a bhn about 12-13. 26 gr Varget and win. lrp.

I plan on working up from here with the Varget and the same using 4895. Will see where it takes me.

brotherdarrell

[Dthunter]

its a great bullet style!
I use a Lyman 311299, and its nose measures around .3005". It shoots tremendously out of my Rem700VLS (1-12" twist).

I have gotten this combo to shoot at or near MOA at 200 yards (This is over many different days and weather conditions), with a muzzle velocity of 2375 fps! I have a groups that come in around 4"@ 200yards, every now and then. Maybe 1 group in 6-7 or so.

Very little apparent leading, but to maintain optimum accuracy I need to wipe the bore clean with a few patches every 10-15 rounds.

I never expected to get this kind of performance out of cast, but it took me a long time to work out the particulars for the loads.

Keep us posted with your results. Some of us will try to help you if we can. Good luck fellow Boolet shooter

[brotherdarrell]

Dthunter - thanks for the encouragement. I only dream of 2300+ fps with this 10" twist rifle. I was able to get this rifle to shoot fairly consistently around 2moa out to 200 yards with the Lee 200 grainer, though only with a m.v. around 1800 fps. I had lapped the mold to get the nose closer to .201" which was the sweet spot. I cast up a bunch this last spring to have a good supply. Imagine my surprise when I loaded up some last month and they would not chamber. after 9 months the nose grew .001":veryconfu.

The nose on this NOE mold mics @ .200". For some reason I just can't get that last .001" with my alloy and casting techniques. The boolits drop just under .310", which is fine as I size to.3095", but I can't help but think the nose would be better at just a little larger.

I have high hopes for this mold, as it shows a lot of promise. It has one gas check and one plain base cavity. Should be a lot of fun.

brotherdarrell

[madsenshooter]

Let your bullets age a bit after sizing before loading, they'll grow a bit, as you've noted, and get harder. Couple weeks at least.

[Dthunter]

Brotherdarrell:

No problem! This is truly fun stuff! keep shooting and it will come together.

Shooting/Reloading home cast boolets gives a level of satisfaction all its own!

[Ben]

After almost a year of trying to get this rifle to shoot cast I finally broke down and got my first Noe mold. I also decided to up-grade my homemade lube and ordered some beeswax from Randyrat and followed Ben's excellent lube recipe and mixed up some Bens Red. I figured if this combo did'nt work nothing would.

http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff489/brotherdarrell/DSC00071.jpg?t=1352328645

I fully realize that this is only one group, but it is by far better than any result to date. The cases (already fired) were sized in Lee collet die backed off to give inside neck of .308". I seated the gas checks on the Lyman 450 in a .312 sizer, sized in an opened up Lee push-through to .3095" and then loobed in the .312 sizer. Slight flare on cases with Lee flare die, seated just deep enough to close bolt (bottom of check was even with bottom of neck) and seater die was adjusted to take out flare but not crimp when boolit was seated. I shot two 5-shot groups with this load, the second group (actually first group) was a little over 1.5" ctc. I shot the second group slower than the first as I could see the first group starting to walk as I was shooting. This group also walked a little.

The Noe mold is a pleasure to cast with. It took a couple of heating cycles and about 30 boolits before they were shootable. I also had to turn the heat up a little on the pot.

The Ben's Red appears to work as advertised!!! Thank's Ben.:drinks: I do think I will have to stiffen it up a little for when the local temps go triple digit.

I now have a good base-line to get serious about. Thanks to all as this has been a group effort (though you may not realize it).

brotherdarrell

The Ben's Red appears to work as advertised!!! Thank's Ben.

Great shooting. I'm very glad you and Ben's Red are having success with each other.

Ben

[brotherdarrell]

:drinks:

brotherdarrell