Lyman 311672 160g FN GC Silhouette ... can someone verify the length as cast

[10mmShooter]

Hey Guys,

Trying to get my ducks in row to start casting .308 for my M1a, can anyone measure the length(bullet length only) of a sample cast from the Lyman 311672 mold. I can only guess from pictures online, I'm guessing around 1 inch or so. Obviously I'm limited by the magazine dimensions so bullet selection is critical. I really need a .308 mold that is less than 1 inch to keep from having to seat the bullet below the "relatively" short neck of .308 cartridge. (found a Hoch Custom 165g .310 that is only .975 inch in length..but its pricey $135) need bullet weight to be north of 150g as well.

Many Thanks if someone has the data

I'll be sizing to .310 and casting with Lyman #2 alloy with IMR 4895 27-30g target velocity will be 1750-1900 fps, and reliable cycling.

[10mmShooter]

anyone New Years Day bump

[frkelly74]

I am going to guess it should work exactly as you want it to. I have the lee 312-160 boolit that I seat so that the base of the boolit is slightly below the point where the case neck ends and they work through the magazine and chamber fine.

[10mmShooter]

Hi Frkelly

Thanks for the info, I'm a little concerned with the seating dimension since it could effect the gas checks staying secure on the base of the bullet, my thinking is if I stay in the neck the neck will prevent any of the checks from falling off. I'm planning on using Hornady .30 checks on my castings. I have Lyman 4500s to seat my checks. Do you think they will be okay. I'm just trying to make sure I have everything planned before I drop $200 bucks for a mold, sizing dies, top punch and gc. Also I have a M1a loaded...so I have a NM barrel, but for lead cast bullets I'm only looking for cheap plinkers, as long as I can stay in 2-3 inches at 100 yds, will be fine. Do you think sizing to .310 is my best bet for starting out?? Some people size to .311 for the cast in .308 guns.

thanks

[frkelly74]

I have to say that I am perfectly satisfied with the lee 312-160 mold. It was inexpensive to buy and has worked well in both 308 and 30/06. I do tumble lube and size them at .311 with a push through sizer die for both applications and the Hornady checks seem to bite right in and stay put. Having said that , it is also true that I have never recovered a boolit that I fired that still had the gas check on it. The thing to think about when sizing the boolit is to use the largest boolit that will still chamber easily. The 30/06 loads I have made will function through my old Mutt 1 Garand with 33 gr of Accurate 2520 and some dacron filler loosely stuffed in over the powder. This is a mild load but it still functions perfectly. I guess I am trying to say that perhaps you don't have to spend quite so much money to get shooting cast boolits. I had a lyman sizer once and found that I didn't like the way it worked when compared with the simple tumble lube and push through sizer method. This is only my opinion based on my experience and not to be construed as anything else. Have fun and be safe.


I had some more thoughts about this. My 308 is a Remington 700 and I have some rounds loaded right now with the 312-160 boolit and 27 gr of IMR4895 These have worked well in the 700 which is quite new and therefore tight I think. They are not full house loads and I do not know if they would function an M1A1 but might be a good place to start. I have not put filler in the 308 because there is not the great amount of empty space to fill . This load is slightly below the starter load in the lyman book for 160 grain +- boolits.

[10mmShooter]

Thanks again Fr, I'm glad to here about the IMR4895, thats the powder I have most of since its my go to powder for my standard 168SMK loads. I was thinking 27-29 grains of IRM 4895 would get to 1800 ish fps with a lead bullet.

[frkelly74]

I believe that is about right. I took some of the loads we are discussing to the range this afternoon and had absolutely no trouble hitting clay pigeons laying on the bank at about 60 yds. One of the regulars who prides himself on loading hell for leather 30/378 weatherbys came and stood behind me and happened to see me hitting the clays in pretty quick sucession and then saw the cast boolits and pronounced what he observed as being " weird". He said he had never heard of putting cast through a rifle before. I replied with my standard reply " $.06 a shot. Plus labor." I had to add the plus labor caveat to that because people would say " can you load me up some", and I really don't want to get into all that. My bore ended up needing a light swabbing to bring up the shine and all is well.

[Wally]

I tried a 311672 in my 700 Rem .308 Winchester w/ 13.0 grains of Red Dot. At 200~225 yards it was pretty accurate, but a Lee 150 RF-GC was slightly moreso. The nose of the 311672 is slightly smaller than the lands in my rifle; this means that the bullet is supported in the bore only by the back end grease groove bands. Would this not cause an accuracy "issue"? Perhaps I should Beagle the bullet or lap it out slightly..would that help?

[oldblinddog]

I tried a 311672 in my 700 Rem .308 Winchester w/ 13.0 grains of Red Dot. At 200~225 yards it was pretty accurate, but a Lee 150 RF-GC was slightly moreso. The nose of the 311672 is slightly smaller than the lands in my rifle; this means that the bullet is supported in the bore only by the back end grease groove bands. Would this not cause an accuracy "issue"? Perhaps I should Beagle the bullet or lap it out slightly..would that help?

No, that will not help. The nose IS supported by the bore. The driving bands are groove diameter. If you got "good accuracy" with 13.0 grs. Red Dot out to 200 yds. why would you change it?

[Wally]

The Lee 150 RF-GC did better. IOW it outperformed (greater % of hits on my targets) the Lyman 311672. I didn't shoot at paper targets at that range as there was a 18 mph wind that was gusty. The nose is smaller in diameter than is the bore so I am not sure how it would be supported.


No, that will not help. The nose IS supported by the bore. The driving bands are groove diameter. If you got "good accuracy" with 13.0 grs. Red Dot out to 200 yds. why would you change it?

[oldblinddog]

What is the diameter of the nose as it is cast from your mold? And have you slugged the barrel?

Mine casts at .2995 on the nose and I size the drive bands to .310".

[Wally]

Barrel slugs at .308...bullet nose @ .298". I also have an RCBS 180 SP-GC .30 caliber mold...the noses on them are .300".

[Wally]

Barrel slugs at .308...bullet nose @ .298". I also have an RCBS 180 SP-GC .30 caliber mold...the noses on them are .300".

[oldblinddog]

I don't think that .298" nose will hurt anything, but it would be better if it were a bit larger.

[Wally]

I will try it again in my Rem 700 .308 & Rem 700 .30-06 if I can get a calm day. The Lee 150 RF-GC has 12 mm of bearing surface; the 311672 is at 11mm....and has an unsupported nose that is 12mm in length. The Lee bullet has 9mm. Perhaps a harder alloy would help using it.

[oldblinddog]

192569
The 311672 sized 0.310" over 13.0 gr Red Dot (despite the fact that I wrote "Varget" on the target) at 100 yds from Rem 700 with 22" barrel and Leupold 3x scope.

192571
The section of the bullet that is cylindrical and measures 0.299" on my bullets is only 0.200" long. Prior to that section the bullet is a cone that tapers from 0.310" down to 0.299" and is meant to "fit" the throat of .308 caliber rifles ( which one not specified).