Sizing .317 down to .313, Is it OK

[corbinace]

Two separate questions really;

I have a NOE 316299 mold. That is a fattened 311299 clone. After I powder coat them they are about .3175. I size these to .316 for an Enfield MK 4 and they do pretty well. This leaves a nose about .3045

I just got a M1917 with an original five groove barrel and from what I have read, I need to start with a .313 boolit.

Is it acceptable to take the .317 #2 alloy from my existing mold and size it down to .313? This sizing will be done on an old RCBS Rock Chucker or an old Pacific Deluxe PrO with NOE push through dies.

Now for another issue. The same projectile sized that close together in the same room is leaving the door open to errors. Yes, I know you never make mistakes, but I have been known to make 'em, and subsequently try to guard that door.

Is there another heavy bore rider that you would recommend for accuracy? If possible an NOE mold. Two different appearing slugs would diminish the chance of error. This same slug would likely be pressed into service to put an Elk in the freezer from under 250 yards.

[leftiye]

Try it, it might work fine. Moving that much lead might promote leading as it softens the surface. I've shrunk .459s to .454 before. I don't remember accuracy being too bad, but I didn't really do that many, nor watch closely.

[Wayne Smith]

You could go to Accurate and find an oversized 311041 - flat nose. It would look very different and with Accurate you can have it sized however you want.

[runfiverun]

for the 1917 I'd find a loverign design.
one in the 170gr range sized to 311 or so should do well in the 17.
or the rcbs 30-180 fngc [mine likes the 150gr version] my bud shoots the Loverign in his.

[Kraschenbirn]

Might work okay. I size .329 (Lee 209 gr. 'Karibiner') to .325 without any problem but I do it in a Lyman 450 using Lars' Carnuba Red. You might try lubing your PC'd boolits with electrician's line-pulling lubricant to prevent/minimize any galling.

Bill

[Mk42gunner]

I'd try sizing one down before powder coating, just to see if it is feasible. From what I have read, it is easy to lose the lube grooves if they aren't filled when sizing down any appreciable amount. With the powder coating, I don't think that would be a big deal; except for throwing the boolit wildly out of balance.

In the fwiw department, I have a bubbaized M1917 that shot the Lee 312-185 sized to .311" fairly well. I don't remember if I ever tried .313" in it or not. I have not shot that rifle in several years.

Robert

[mdi]

I'd size them, PC them, then size again (that's what I do for my 7.62x54r bullets). Just to make sure you "need" .313" bullets, slug the bore...

[wiljen]

I wholly agree with MDI. Slug the bore first so you know what you need. If you need .313, I'd size, then PC, then size again. It is more work but is less likely to ruin the features of the bullet the way a single heavy sizing operation can.

[corbinace]

Thank you one and all for your consideration of this issue.

Normal slugging is not really working for my lack of skill and tooling for the five groove bore. The best I have come up with is a soft .312 bullet driven a few inches up the bore and back to the chamber. That bullet was not fully engraved by the grooves. This is what lead me to think .313".

I do have some .311s that I guess I should try. Honestly, I had not even remembered having them until reading the responses. If I get a bunch of leading I can always clean it up and regroup.

Time to get to work, thanks a bunch, Tim.

[leftiye]

Slug it with one of your .317" boolits.

[Green Frog]

If you size them down that much, IMHO you aren't sizing any more, you are swaging. Your lube grooves are going to be pretty far gone too, but since you are powder coating, that shouldn't matter too much. I personally don't like to size the bullet more than enough to insure it's truly round, but that's the result of my bias developed in the Schuetzen game.

Froggie

[MT Chambers]

Loverign probably wouldn't have wanted his name spelled like that but I would try it, not only might it crush some grooves, it would do that unevenly, different on either side, which is not good for accuracy.

[popper]

Try sizing down just s bit before aging,coat then final size. Don't lube before PC. Just put different sizes in different containers and label.