k31 NOE Mold???

[nitrohuck]

Anyone know a good place to begin tracking one down?

I have been searching around for awhile and sadly have just come up with dead threads with dead links :(

If anyone knows who to email, or if anyone has one they are interested in selling, let me know!

I have recently purchased a k31, that is a wallet dent enough, definitely don't need to be paying $1/round with factory prices (interested in GP-11 but until I get a berdan decapper I am just going to use boxer brass)

One final question to those of you who have used the NOE k31 mold, what COL did you use? Seems that is often the trickiest park of reloading the k31 due to the lands starting so close to the end of the case neck... I guess you would call this a "short throat"? (still a reloading nub heh)

Thanks a ton fellers, very excited to begin shooting a k31, have heard amazing things, not to mention the eternal battle between it and the m39 for who is the most accurate, luckily I own a m39 so we shall see!

~Nitro

P.S. If anyone has any of these bullets on hand I would love to buy a few and give them a try... I unfortunately do not have enough posts for the WTB/WTS section so I am a little hindered atm...

[madsenshooter]

The COL is going to vary, depending on what the diameter of the throat of your rifle is. Although NOE's bullet was designed for the K31, it doesn't fit them all. Mine has a particularly tight throat, and the nose casts a little large for it. I wound up having to seat with the gascheck below the neck. In others, it was just right, and in still others, it had to be seated long. Despite that, won't be selling my mold, someday the bullet it casts will fit the throat after it wears a bit.

In the meantime, I use a nose pour Eagan design, the MX3-30-AR, a 169gr tapered nose bullet that fits my tighter than normal throat very good. You might find this NOE bullet to be a good fit too. http://noebulletmolds.com/orders/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=258&osCsid=hihdilhbbl7iljq8o0dbvmat67

[nitrohuck]

Looking around on the NOE site I came across this mold which looks like it could be somewhat promising in the sense that it looks like it somewhat mimicks the long tapered nose of the GP-11 round, could this be beneficial or would it be a better bet to go with something like the 311299? I like the idea of the 311299 since I could use that for the m39 as well, and just size to 309 for the k31

http://noebulletmolds.com/orders/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=190

[Maven]

"I like the idea of the 311299 since I could use that for the m39 as well, and just size to 309 for the k31."

Two points: First, I think you're going to want Ly. #314299 for the M-39. E.g., my Sako Civil Guard M-39 requires a .312" CB, for which I use #314299. With the #311299, there's a chance that it will cast too small for your bore. Second, my K-31's really liked the Lee C-309-180R, Ly. #311466 (-467 would also work), and Saeco #315. Other K-31 shooters like the RCBS 165gr. Silhouette CB. In short, you may not need to get a custom mold for the K-31's or the M-39.

[wellfedirishman]

I did some testing with the K31 and NOEs 247 grain Whisper mold and got good results:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?136086-Range-report-on-K31-with-NOE-247grain-Whisper-bullet

[nitrohuck]

"I like the idea of the 311299 since I could use that for the m39 as well, and just size to 309 for the k31."

Two points: First, I think you're going to want Ly. #314299 for the M-39. E.g., my Sako Civil Guard M-39 requires a .312" CB, for which I use #314299. With the #311299, there's a chance that it will cast too small for your bore. Second, my K-31's really liked the Lee C-309-180R, Ly. #311466 (-467 would also work), and Saeco #315. Other K-31 shooters like the RCBS 165gr. Silhouette CB. In short, you may not need to get a custom mold for the K-31's or the M-39.

On the note about the Lyman 314299, I had some interest in it, and you may very well be correct that my m39 will need a .314 bullet that I can size down... The one thing that makes me think my bore will be roughly in the .310" range is that it is a B barrel with a practically brand new bore, B barrels are (usually) known to slug around .310" but as I have yet to slug it I cannot say for sure and you may very well be right...

That said, I have been dissuaded from buying the Lyman molds, and would rather drop the extra $30+ for a NOE mold that I know will cast to size and spec... I am mostly curious to hear opinions of if the NOE 311365 would be a good contender in a K31... If I had to guess I would think it could be a great cast substitute for the GP-11 projectile (or the Berger VLD which is as close as one can get with FMJ bullets) but I really have no experience so what do I know :P

I would think that this 311365 over 16.0gr of 2400 would be a great starting point, that is, unless those NOE k31 molds are still around

[madsenshooter]

If you want a pointy bullet for the K31, the 308329 or 311329, would be the one to get. NOE's 311365 has a very large nose ahead of the top groove it's .305". The 308329 on the other hand is .302 just a head of the top groove. In order to get the 308329's point out into the rifling, I had to bump the top band down down to .305". Smokem Joe makes these bump dies. Once the front band was bumped down, and I seated the ogive out into the lands, the cartridges were just below max magazine length. Probably as close to GP11 as you're going to get with a cast bullet. Had some pics at one time, but lost them recently. The gas check winds up about even with the neck/shoulder junction.

[HollowPoint]

A while back I purchased a 200 grain Gas Checked Spitzer bullet mold on one of the group buys here. I think it was an NOE mold. It's listed as 311365 198 grain mold. My mold drops bullets closer to 200 grains than 198 grains.

Any how; It's a fairly long bullet so I have to seat it with the Gas Check well below the shoulder of my K31's cartridge.

When loaded with 16.8 grains of 2400 on top of a Magnum Rifle primer I've been able to get repeatable (different shooting sessions) groups
of 1.5" at two-hundred yards with this combination. I have an 8x32x44 power BSA scope on my K31. Funny thing is that those groups are vertical groups; if
that means anything. Any dispersion I've gotten is generally up and down rather than off to either side of my point of aim.

I posted a picture of one of those groups a while back that included one of the local Range-Masters who witnessed me shooting the groups.

I still have those targets hanging on my wall in the shop.

When I first got the mold I wasn't really sure if the rifling in my K31 would stabilize such a long bullet at the velocity I was shooting them but, it's worked out like gangbusters. I'm sure you'll be happy with any mold you get from NOE. They're really high quality; in my opinion.

I arrived at my OAL for this bullet by sacrificing a piece of brass. I cut slits in the neck in order to be able to slide one of these bullets a little way into the neck. When I chambered that dummy round, as soon as the nose of the bullet touched the rifling it seated the bullet down into that piece of brass the exact distance it need to be in order for the nose of the bullet to be kissing the rifling.

Then I slowly ejected the dummy round and took my OAL measurement. I did this two or three times just to be sure the OAL wasn't changing upon extraction. This method of arriving at a good OAL seems to have worked out well for me. Your milage may vary.

HollowPoint

[zomby woof]

I have the NOE K31 Mold. Send me an IM, we'LL work something out.

[nitrohuck]

Hmm so conflicting opinions...

some say the 311365 is no good since the nose diameter is too large (@.305") and then Hollowpoint just said he gets sub MOA groups at 200yrds with the 311365

Obviously every k31 bore is different, but that is intriguing...

Does anyone know the specs of the NOE k31 mold? What the nose diameter is and what they truly cast out to? They do not have it listed on their website anymore and I cannot find a spec diagram of the boolit!

[HollowPoint]

Just click on the NOE link on post number three. It will take you to the NOE order page. From there you can scroll down the list to the mold in question. It has the diagram of each mold on the same page.

The diagram includes exact dimensions. It's on page 2 of the 30 caliber mold selections.

P.S. You're absolutely right about every gun being different.
HollowPoint

[nitrohuck]

Just click on the NOE link on post number three. It will take you to the NOE order page. From there you can scroll down the list to the mold in question. It has the diagram of each mold on the same page.

The diagram includes exact dimensions. It's on page 2 of the 30 caliber mold selections.

P.S. You're absolutely right about every gun being different.
HollowPoint

Ah yep, found it

unfortunately they do not give the nose diameter specs on that page (http://www.noebulletmolds.com/Mcatalog/CatalogPages.html)

It says that the k31 is a 180gr FN @.311" - but no nose diameter

[zomby woof]

http://noebulletmolds.com/orders/catalog/images/1111-050-K31-311.jpg

[nitrohuck]

Wow .297 seems almost like it would be too small to effectively engage rifling (aren't the k31 lands normally about .299?)

Of course people have had great results with this round, so the proof is in the pudding but that is a far opposite from the 311365 with nose diameter @ .305

I suppose this is the part where you guys say let the rifle decide what it likes!

[Balhincher]

I have an older (30 years estimate) Lyman 311332 mold that casts a pointed bullet. This particular mold like many Lyman molds of that vintage casts a bullet with a nose diameter a thousandth or so under .300. I shot a few of them in a 1903A3 with so so results. Reading through all the comments and replies in this thread I don't see any about this bullet. Does anyone have any experience with this bullet or more specifically, experience in a K31. I have one of the Swiss rifles and wondered if the smaller nose would work in it.

[madsenshooter]

It cast to specs, but my K31 has a .2955 bore diameter, around .306 groove. I haven't tried the 311365 in my K31, though I have the mold. Have to say it fits and works in my Krag very good. The .297 nose was good for some, not for others. For some too big, for a very few too small. Those were probably rifles that had been shot quite a bit with J-words. Yep, you have to see what'll work in yours.