The Lee .309 200gr mould...

[Bad Karma]

I just got the "new" mould back from Lee. I'm still having a issue with this mould. I was casting with Lynotype with the first one but switched to wheel weights. The shank that is supposed to be a "bore ride" design isn't bore ride at all. This thing measures .3040" on the shank. It bites into the rifling. The photo is from my Weatherby 30-06 throated for 220gr roundnose. Anyone else have a Lee mould that does this?

[Buckshot]

..................I could only wish. What's the drive bands drop at?

...............Buckshot

[Ben]

Bad Karma:

I wouldn't get overly concerned about the engraving on the nose. It may turn out to be a blessing rather than a curse. A bore rider needs that nose support, if you put the nose of a bore rider bullet into the muzzle of your rifle's bore and don't see that kind of engraving, you shouldn't expect much in the accuracy dept from that particular bullet.

I have several nose rider bullet molds, & I usually like the nose diameters on mine to mike out at .3015 - .302, but I have several bore riders that run .303 and .304. Many of the larger ones ( .303 - .304 ) shoot just fine for me out of several of my .30 cal. rifles.

Ben

[bruce drake]

I took some time out last week when I was home and I found that the LEE 200gr mold that I bought from MidSouth in December did the very same thing loaded in my 308 Winchester. It gave me very good groups with 12gr of Unique. Necks fully sealed when fired and the recoil was just fine considering the heavy weight of the bullet. I sized the gascheck to .311 but I think the base fell around .310 with my Wheelweight mix as once it was pass the check it went pretty easy through my Lyman 45.

Bruce

[Ricochet]

My Lee 200 grainer is just like yours. Disappointing, because I bought it mainly with my K-31 in mind, and even with the boolits cast very soft it's extremely difficult to chamber them. .296" bore, .308" groove dimensions. Bore rider's .304". It'll work in my .300 Weatherby, I expect.

[heathydee]

I have one of those on the way as we speak and I am pleased to see that is is indeed a bore rider. I have never had much success with anything else in 30 caliber. I intend to use it in sub-sonic 30-30 loads, cast in pure lead . A poorman's whisper.

[oso]

Hey, wanna swap Lee C309-200-R molds? Mine is a single cavity and the nose is .300.

[Bad Karma]

My Lee 200 grainer is just like yours. Disappointing, because I bought it mainly with my K-31 in mind, and even with the boolits cast very soft it's extremely difficult to chamber them. .296" bore, .308" groove dimensions. Bore rider's .304". It'll work in my .300 Weatherby, I expect.

Yeah, I bought it to shoot out of my Fulton peerless M1 Garand 308. It just won't chamber... However I think what I'll do when Lee gets back in touch I'll send them a few boolits from my 309 180 mould and the 309 200 mould. I was hoping to get a nice heavy cast 30 caliber boolit for my M1 so it's cheaper to shoot and easier on the steel targets at the club.

[Bad Karma]

Hey, wanna swap Lee C309-200-R molds? Mine is a single cavity and the nose is .300.

Not a bad idea! My 309-180 is also a single cavity. I wonder if that's what happened? When they changed to a two cavity I suppose the cherries were cut bigger to anticipate wear. If you're serious shoot me an e-mail with the particulars.

[Bad Karma]

Ok, The bore ride does measure .304-.3045" The front band measures .314"