Lyman 311672 in a .308 Winchester

[Wally]

Working on getting a new .308 Win bolt action rifle and was wondering how this bullet shoots in one with a 1 in 12" twist barrel; can anyone share their experience with it?

https://media.midwayusa.com/productimages/880x660/Primary/430/430308.jpg

[Catshooter]

Well Wally, I bought my 672 two weeks ago to do the same exact thing. It came, and would drop boolits at .304. Sooooooooo, one of our members posted that he thought it would work perfect for his Carcano. Sold it to him. I wasn't brave enough to try out Lyman's Customer-No-Service.

Good luck with yours. I hope your experience is better than mine.


Cat

[oldblinddog]

I have that mold as well and have no problems with mine. It casts good bullets.
188493
Here you can see that it is sized to .310".
188494
It casts, using hardball purchased from Rotometals, about .311". I bought this mold through Midway last year. I haven't worked with it much but it shot just fine from my .308. Like any mold, you will have to work with it some to determine a good load for a given bullet and powder. What are you intending to do with it?

[Wally]

Thank you....my worst nightmare; a bullet mold that casts undersized bullets.


Well Wally, I bought my 672 two weeks ago to do the same exact thing. It came, and would drop boolits at .304. Sooooooooo, one of our members posted that he thought it would work perfect for his Carcano. Sold it to him. I wasn't brave enough to try out Lyman's Customer-No-Service.

Good luck with yours. I hope your experience is better than mine.


Cat

[Wally]

Thank you....pictures and all. Maybe mine will cast 'em that large! Had great luck with various cast bullets use THE LOAD 13.0 grains of Red Dot in my .30-06. I want to try it in a .308 Win using the 311672. Will be shooting out to 200 yards and I am hoping that it will be accurate.



I have that mold as well and have no problems with mine. It casts good bullets.
188493
Here you can see that it is sized to .310".
188494
It casts, using hardball purchased from Rotometals, about .311". I bought this mold through Midway last year. I haven't worked with it much but it shot just fine from my .308. Like any mold, you will have to work with it some to determine a good load for a given bullet and powder. What are you intending to do with it?

[Catshooter]

I know, mine too.

I really like the looks of the 672 and really want it to work. I'll probably buy another, just have to wait for the wound to heal.

I prefer Lyman moulds as a rule. And I have usually had excellent luck with them. Most of mine the boolits just drop out, just beautiful.


Cat

[Wally]

I just cast with the new 311672...it casts well with no stuck bullets. I measured them at .311 as cast BUT only to the front edge of the top grease groove. The long "nose" measures .298" in diameter. They weigh 161~162 grains as cast. Seems perfect for the .308 Winchester. Cannot wait to shoot some to see how well that they do.


I know, mine too.

I really like the looks of the 672 and really want it to work. I'll probably buy another, just have to wait for the wound to heal.

I prefer Lyman moulds as a rule. And I have usually had excellent luck with them. Most of mine the boolits just drop out, just beautiful.


Cat

[Maven]

Wally, Lyman's Ed Schmitt designed #311644 to fit a standard .30cal. ball seat. #311672 was an updated version and slight reconfiguration (no nose grooves, for ex.) to simplify machining costs and perhaps casting issues as well. At one time I owned -644, but found it barely cast .310" (.3095" in fact). In spite of that, it was a good shooter in my Mod. 70 Win. .30-06. If I had known about "beagling" back then, perhaps I'd still own that mold. Yours may shoot well despite its undersized nose: nothing to lose by trying it! Btw, -644 was an excellent performer in my K-31's too.

[Wally]

I tried the 311672 using 13.0 of Red Dot. Accuracy was good, but not outstanding. At 150~200 yards groups in the 4~5" range. I decided to use a 13.5 grain charge and the groups opened up to the 2~2.5 foot range. I theorize that the "bad" fit on the nose of the bullet, not allowing it to bore ride was the issue. I shoudl have tried a reduced charge of 12.5 grains of Red Dot...theoretically it should shoot better. I will try a 311644 to see if it works better; I should think that it will.

[Larry Gibson]

Wally

If neither of the Lyman designs work out you might try a more modern design such as the NOE 30 XCB 310-165-FN. It has proven to be an exceptional bullet in the 308W, 30x60 XCB and the 30-06.

[sundog]

I have not used what Larry has suggested, although it does have a good reputation. I have used the RCBS 165-SIL in a 12 twist 308 and it does a fine job. RCBS molds are very good quality (as are NOE).

[popper]

I noticed something interesting in my last casting session, Accurate 31-165C & 31-184C Al. moulds. I've been trying a new method, (Lee pot), of pouring, then letting the mould fall onto the bottom plate. Reject rate went WAY down. Base band and shank are now sharp and good. When sizing to 310, the 165C front drive band is barely touched but the rear band is sized. IMHO what is happening is the nose cools and shrinks a tad but the impact forces a good fill at the base. Basically a straight wall (band) design drops at a reasonable taper. This technique may help those small moulds drop a little better. The 184C is large for my marlin 30/30 so I didn't see this after sizing. Iron moulds don't cool so fast so this trick might work better.

[oldblinddog]

The 311672 also shoots very well from the .30-06 using Lyman's accuracy load of 18.0 grs Unique from CB #4.

209032
Velocity averages 1831 fps.

[Wally]

Wally

If neither of the Lyman designs work out you might try a more modern design such as the NOE 30 XCB 310-165-FN. It has proven to be an exceptional bullet in the 308W, 30x60 XCB and the 30-06.

Thank you. I am hoping that the Lyman 311644 will work well and I am pretty confident that it will.

[Wally]

I have not used what Larry has suggested, although it does have a good reputation. I have used the RCBS 165-SIL in a 12 twist 308 and it does a fine job. RCBS molds are very good quality (as are NOE).

Thank you...if the Lyman 311664 fails, I do believe I will get the RCBS 165-SIL mold. I have the RCBS 180-SP-GC and it is excellent in the .30-06 for me. In fact would anyone wish to trade their RCBS 165 SIL-GC for a DC Lyman 311672 which I used just twice this year?