311299 mold questions

[moodyholler]

I cast some of the out of wheelweights last night and installed the gas checks. Without the gas checks, what speed can I run them before leading? I am shooting them in my 1898 krag. I am tempted to remove the GC shank and make a plain base bullet out of it. Any thoughts? The GC are difficult to push into the sizer and it deforms the nose of the bullet. I have the correct nose punch. I cast them on my Coleman stove and they came out great. Thanks for all the advice so far. moodyholler

[PatMarlin]

I'm also interested in this mold because I just learned it comes in a 314299, which would be perfect for my .312 bore M1917. It looks like the closest thing (in weight) to a 311284, of which mine casts at .309, and too small for my Eddystone.

Any applause for this mold?.. :mrgreen:

[Bass Ackward]

I cast some of the out of wheelweights last night and installed the gas checks. The GC are difficult to push into the sizer and it deforms the nose of the bullet. I have the correct nose punch.

Without the gas checks, what speed can I run them before leading? I am shooting them in my 1898 krag. I am tempted to remove the GC shank and make a plain base bullet out of it. Any thoughts? I cast them on my Coleman stove and they came out great. Thanks for all the advice so far. moodyholler

Moody,

I would wait for awhile on the decision to remove the GC. That design is short on drive area anyway because it was designed for a short neck and throat.

What I would recommend is that you wait for 2 weeks before you try to size and seat checks. Either that or buy a cheap Lee nose through sizer to sie on the checks first. But freshly cast bullets that are air cooled will be soft as 8 BHN. Which is fairly soft. After 2 weeks, they will be harder. Then see if you still have a deformation problem.

[moodyholler]

Ba is this where water dropping them comes into play? moodyholler

[David R]

I am now BA, but...........

Water quenching your boolits will have them up to at least 18 BHN in 24 hours. I pour about 10 or so and throw them back in the sprue can, then start dropping them in water once the mold is hot. I figure the first few are not as hot as the rest and will be softer. Then they will mix in with the rest and could cause me problems later on.

David

[NVcurmudgeon]

Moody, Besides waiting a couple of weeks as Bass said, you could also try annealing to soften the GC. I heat them on Mama's elctric stove in an old tin can. With Hornady GC, when they get hot enough for the protective coating to turn black, they are done, just let them air cool. Then shake them and the black dust will separate. I have the 314299 version of the same boolit. Sized .314" it is very good in my No. 4 .303 British, and sized .310" it is more accurate in my NRA Sporter Springfield than I can see.

[drinks]

Moody;
Just go for the Lee sizers, even if they do not have the exact size you want,a smaller size can easily be polished out to what you need with wet or dry paper in a split dowel and a drill motor.
Have never understood the motivation for designs that push on a shaped nose rather than a nice flat base.
Oh well.

[Bass Ackward]

Ba is this where water dropping them comes into play? moodyholler

Moody,

Nope. A freshly cast WW bullet will measure the same at about 8 BHN whether it is air cooled or water dropped. But in as little as 1 hour later, you might be up to 12 BHN. Still ....

The real trick is to have a large enough of a supply of bullets on hand that you can pull down what you want and do what you want to them. If you are living trying to mold everything just before you shoot, you are always going to have problems.

[w30wcf]

moodyholler,

In answer to your question, I have been able to push this bullet to 1,700 f.p.s. in w.w.+ 2% alloy with good accuracy and no leading in my 788 .30-30 which has a 10" twist barrel. Powders used were 5744, 4064 and 4895.

For my 500 meter ram load I heat treat the bullets and push them to 2,200 f.p.s.

w30wcf