Best bullet for k31

[sixpointfive]

Wondering which bullet would be best for the k31.

I have
Lee 312-160r
Lyman 311291
Noe 30/30 bullet

[Oily]

I am looking for the same thing. Ordered K31 NOE boolits from Western Bullit and nose is too large to fit short chamber in my gun and when loaded to touch rifling gas checks are below neck of brass. Am looking at nose sizing to allow long boolit to chamber as it is a bore rider design. K31 are are notorious for short chambers and bores of .297. Slug your bore and size .002 over .Lyman 311291 is a great bullit in all .30 caliber rifles and is easy to work up loads for. By the way the NOE K31 seated below the neck and 12 grains of Red Dot is good shooter 3" groups @ 100 yds With issue sights if I can do my part. So most groups are 6" LOL

[Went2kck]

I have the K31 noe mold it works very well. I still had to seat them deeper than I though was needed. Maybe mine has a shallower throat than I think. Also sized to 309. I did not have any leading after 50 rounds. Material cast was COWW not sure what hardness was.

[Czech_too]

I'm using the NOE mould, without complaints, in both the K31 & the 1911 model.

[Went2kck]

I have the K31 noe mold it works very well. I still had to seat them deeper than I though was needed. Maybe mine has a shallower throat than I think. Also sized to 309. I did not have any leading after 50 rounds. Material cast was COWW not sure what harde

[ukrifleman]

I use the Lee 155gn 7.62x39 bullet, mould No.90385.

As it is a spitzer design, it chambers well in the short throat of a K31 without having to seat too deep.
ukrifleman

[Kraschenbirn]

This has been hashed over quite few times without determining an absolute "BEST". A lot depends upon the age/condition of your K-31...mine is a 1937-vintage (original barrel) with sufficient throat erosion to allow chambering of just about anything with a reasonable profile. My 'pet load' uses a Lee 309-200, sized to .310 that prints inside 2" @ 100M with original sights. My buddy's 1952, though, is nearly mint, inside and out, and won't chamber my ammo; he doesn't cast so he's loading commercial boolits intended for the 7.62x39 (don't know where he buys them) that shoot well enough to satisfy his needs.

Bill

[sixpointfive]

Ok thanks all. I'm going to try my 311-160 Lee with 16 grains unique. Going to slug the bore to find out diameter

[Maven]

sixpointfive, I think I'd drop that charge [of Unique] to 12.5gr. and work up to no more than 14.5gr.

[mac1911]

I tried the ranch dog 30/30 flat nose TL design bullet. With 16 grains 2400 shot well but feeding was a bit rough.
I have a 30 carbine mold I will try also. It's a no gas check design so not sure how well it will work other than for plinking/gallery type load.

[sixpointfive]

I also have a 311359 m1 carbine gas checked 115 mold

[Maven]

6.5, I forgot to add to post #9 the most accurate CB's for K-31's or at least the 2 that I owned: Ly. #311291*, Lee C 309-170R, Lee 113gr. "soup can," and Saeco #315. Btw, I sized all to .309" and got excellent accuracy from all.


*Needed a tapering die for the first driving band, which allowed seating -291 longer/farther out of the case: was more accurate that way.

[sixpointfive]

Anybody run unique or have published cast bullet data to share

[sixpointfive]

Don't know what a tapering die is?

[Maven]

It is a H & I (lube sizer die) which reduces the driving band of a given bullet by a certain amount (as specified by the customer). It thus allows you to seat a CB farther out of the case and engage the rifling without undue effort (especially important for the K-31 with its poor camming action). Mine was made by the late Joe Wiest and worked like a charm with =291. Btw, by trial and error, you established how much tapering a given bullet required by raising or lowering the die body in your press.. Saeco #315, which is already tapered, didn't require such manipulation.

[madsenshooter]

I have one of the bump dies Joe made also. Mine is for the Lyman 450. I had originally asked him to make it to size the nose down on a 308329 spitzer so that it would fit the throat with gascheck above the neck/shoulder junction of my tight throat K31. I've found it does the job on a lot of bullets. About the only bullet that will fit my throat with the gascheck above the neck, without any sizing, is the Eagan MX3-30-AR. It resembles the RCBS silly-wet, but has a bit more taper, and is a nosepour. It shoots very good!

[Maven]

madsenshooter, You jogged my memory about the die Joe made: It was indeed a die for a lube sizer, e.g., Ly. #450. I edited my post to reflect that.

[sixpointfive]

What powder and charge?

[Maven]

With the Lee "soup can," I used 17gr. WC 820/AA #9. All the others used between 18 - 20gr. WC 820/AA #9 or 20 - 22gr. AA 5744

[fa38]

The RCBS 165 Sil works very well also. Sized .311 which is basically sizing the gas check and using WLR primers and 16.5 to 16.7 grs of 2400. My son-in-law used that load in his K31 to shoot a 384-11x military match in some nasty wind in April and a 395-19x in May at the Van Dyne Sportsmen's club. The May match has not been posted on the CBA site yet.
https://castbulletassoc.org/uploads/documents/730/04142017%20Van%20Dyne.pdf

[sixpointfive]

What are the case lengths for the k31. Just sized a bunch of once fired

[madsenshooter]

madsenshooter, You jogged my memory about the die Joe made: It was indeed a die for a lube sizer, e.g., Ly. #450. I edited my post to reflect that.

I think mine was the prototype Maven. He said he was going to buy a reamer after that.

[Dan Cash]

A fellow on this forum, name now forgotten sent me some samples of a bullet he designed for the K31 in an Accurate mould. The work wonderfully in the Swiss and some other .30 rifles in my batery. I use them paper patched or straight greased. Here is the bullet: http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=31-185S-D.png[/URL]

[Texas by God]

The two K31s I had were very short throated. I gave up on cast in them because of the deep seating required. Milsurp 7.5 ammo was inexpensive then and I couldn't match it's accuracy with hand loads (hang head) so that's what I used.

[sixpointfive]

Ok slugged the bore its .307. I took some Lee 312-160 bullets, gas checked and sized .309. Used 16 gr of 2400 and it shoots a 2"group at 50 and 3" at 100. Yes the bullets are seated deeply because of the leade being so short.

[dogmower]

I shoot both the lyman 311299 and the 311413 (the pointy 169 grain, may be off on the mold no) over h4895. both shoot as well as I can hold them, but the 311299 (heavier) seems to shoot a bit better at longer range. 555 yards is the longest I shoot the k31 at and it hits the 12x24 rams regularly if I do my part. I don't have too many rifles that can shoot a cast boolit accurately that far, but the k31 is definitely one of them.

[RU shooter]

Anybody run unique or have published cast bullet data to share
The 7.5 and the 30-06 have basically the same case capacity and in my older Hogdon manual they list using the same data in both that's for jacketed bullets . The same would apply for cast . And yes I've used Unique under several mid weight cast bullets , 12 -14.5 grs worked well . As others have said numerous cast bullets shoot well in these rifles IF they aren't too big on the nose for your barrel mine would chamber a nose of .301 so a lot of my normal 30 cal bullets worked . Good luck

Tim

[35 Whelen]

MY K-31's have not been picky at all about what bullets shoot best. But some of the contenders are:

NEI 308145

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Targets/NovMatchRapidProne.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Targets/NovMatchRapidProne.jpg.html)

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Targets/DSC_0005.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Targets/DSC_0005.jpg.html)

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Targets/P1010075.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Targets/P1010075.jpg.html)

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/1953%20K-31/June09match.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/1953%20K-31/June09match.jpg.html)


NOE K31-180

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Targets/P1010078.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Targets/P1010078.jpg.html)

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/1953%20K-31/P1010115.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/1953%20K-31/P1010115.jpg.html)

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Targets/NOEK31180edit-1.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Targets/NOEK31180edit-1.jpg.html)

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h6/308Scout/Targets/K31NOEBullet.jpg (http://s60.photobucket.com/user/308Scout/media/Targets/K31NOEBullet.jpg.html)

Bear in mind that most of these groups were shot in matches, and would group much, much smaller from the bench.

I also had good luck with the Lyman 311672, but didn't shoot it in any matches.

35W