C-309-200-R Diameter

[Mark Daiute]

At what diameters does your Lee C309-200-R cast driving bands and nose?

Thanks in advance,

Mark

[Mark Daiute]

Has anyone purchased and used this mold?

[Tatume]

The diameter will depend on the alloy you use and the temperature at which you cast.

[Tatume]

What is your issue? Is yours casting too large or too small? What rifle are you loading for?

[Mark Daiute]

Tatume asked: What is your issue? Is yours casting too large or too small? What rifle are you loading for?



I primarily cast for Krags. If the mold throws a boolit at .309 with #2 alloy it will not serve in all but one or 2 of my rifles.

The mold looks interesting to me, I would like to try it, but I want intel before purchasing.

I am hoping the mold will cast fat enough for me to size down to what I need.

Thanks,

Mark

[mac60]

Mark - I have all of their .30 cal. moulds, except that one. They all drop boolits bigger than .309". Have you looked at the .312-185-1R?

[Kraschenbirn]

That Lee mold is the 'go-to' for my '98 Krag carbine. Don't recall exactly what size it drops from my home-brewed #2 alloy because I powder coat 'as cast' then size the drive bands to .311 and the nose to .301. Accuracy is better than I can hold with iron sights; last time out, shooting prone without a sling, I went 10 for 10 on a 12" round plate @ 200 and 8 for 10 on a 16" square @ 300.

Bill

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have one that I purchased new 2011, this is the old style blocks and to my knowledge, Lee's actual dimensions varied greatly, batch to batch, back then. When they upgraded the design of their 2 cavity molds (in 2013), they also went to CNC cutting and since have greatly improved their dimension variations. I would expect a new Lee C309-200-R mold to be much closer to .309 than mine is.

Mine drops fat...quite fat:
while only 189gr, the driving bands are a "out of round" .312/.313 and Nose is .301/.302

I posted about all the lee 30 cal molds back in the day.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?189534-Lee-30-cal-2-cav-molds-not-necessarily-as-advertised&highlight=

[Tatume]

A lot of people here use this bullet for 30-40 Krag. Do a search on "C309-200-R" and you'll find them.

[Mark Daiute]

Thanks, All.

I have 311299, 311284, 314299 Lee C312-185-R Lee 309-170-f and Lee C309-180-R, use them all, they all shoot very well. Do I need another 30 Cal, mold? Not really. Do I want to try another? Yes indeedy. I was simply hoping to find a preponderance of users reporting that the C309-200-R would indeed, cast at greater than 309 with No.2 Alloy.

I't casting time here at the Daiute house, I'm trying to mold large quantities of everything I use. I think I'll spring for this mold and let you all know what it rolls out of the mold as.

Thanks and happy shooting to you all,

Mark

[Mark Daiute]

Update: The mold arrived and started raining bullets with absolutely no prep, I just heated it up and started casting, the bullets drop with no effort just a gentle "tap" on the hinge. Sometimes they drop out of their own accord.

The best part is that in all cases the driving bands exceed .311 and the nose exceeds .301 Truth is, the bands run from .311 to .314 and the nose runs from .301 to .304.

I'll load some up and give a report on Monday if all goes well.

Thanks,

Mark

[lotech]

I bought such a mould years ago when I first began casting for a Ruger carbine in .30-40 Krag. I damaged the mould eventually and discarded it, but bullets had a large enough nose and body to wok well in .30-40 and .30-06, maybe others. I've since found #314299 bullets are at least as accurate as bullets cast from the Lee mould and this is the bullet design I've used in a variety of .30 caliber rifles for quite a while.

[HangFireW8]

The mold sounds good, but unless the cavities are different sizes, that's a lot of size variation. You may need to work on your casting technique and consistency, especially closing the mold halves and handle tension.

Melt temp variation or pressure casting differences can also make for size differences.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP...

Truth is, the bands run from .311 to .314 and the nose runs from .301 to .304.

This would concern me. There shouldn't be that much variation in 30 cal boolits.
If I had that much diameter variation, I would also be checking for weight variation.

[cwlongshot]

I have used it with success, Once I powder coated and sized to 311. (In black out)


CW

[Mark Daiute]

This would concern me. There shouldn't be that much variation in 30 cal boolits.
If I had that much diameter variation, I would also be checking for weight variation.

JonB, to be clear the boolits are out of round by about .002 t0 about .003 and this could be a reslut of some lead on the face of the mold blocks.

HangFireW8, my lead pot holds about 40lbs of alloy and at the time I cast these boolits there was about 30lbs in the pot. Temps seem stable, I think I may have mislead everyone, the boolits don't differ that much from boolit to boolit by they are out of round that much.

Thanks everyone!

Mark

[HangFireW8]

Well OK lead flakes on the mold faces would explain it. More consistent technique will prevent that from happening. As long as the mold is fully closed when you pour, and the lead fully hard when you open it, then you won't get flakes there.

[Mark Daiute]

Well OK lead flakes on the mold faces would explain it. More consistent technique will prevent that from happening. As long as the mold is fully closed when you pour, and the lead fully hard when you open it, then you won't get flakes there.

The flakes were my fault entirely, the result of putting the mold n the lead to heat it up and not holding it closed. Took a while to work them off, still the mold seems to be out of round by a couple thousandths.

17 grains of 2400 and these boolits and it was no problem putting them into groups under 2 inches at 100 yards. I think I have a winner that may rival my 311299. That with a Krag with the 1902 rear sight.

I pour slowly, leave a big sprue and wait for it to freeze, wait a little more and then cut the sprue off. I'll cast some more and let you know if they are any "rounder".

Be well all,

Mark

[HangFireW8]

Thanks for the follow-up, sounds like you're on the right track!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

OK yes, I did mis-understand.
Good to hear the boolit to boolit is fairly consistent.
Let us know if the mold produces a less out-of-round boolit after you clean up the mold faces.

FYI, My own personal guideline is, that I won't accept a mold that produces a boolit that is clearly more than .001 out-of-round...especially a rifle boolit.

[Mark Daiute]

mold cleaned up. Nose: .001 out of round

driving bands .001/.002 out of round.

Boolits drop pretty easily out of mold

It's a little difficult to get a good, sharp fill-out beneath the sprue plate, you know, at the shoulder for the gas check at the base/bottom of the boolit.

alloy is 5% linotype 95% lead.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

improving the venting helps with base fillout.
I would 'break' the edge of the top of the mold faces, creating a vent line at the seam.

[Mark Daiute]

improving the venting helps with base fillout.
I would 'break' the edge of the top of the mold faces, creating a vent line at the seam.

have a photo of how you do it? How much of a break line? This is on the top of the mold right where the halves meet, right? Just lightly relive the joint with a little sand paper?

Thanks for the input!!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP...

This is on the top of the mold right where the halves meet, right? Just lightly relive the joint with a little sand paper?

Yep and yep,
maybe .005 at the most...or the same size as the other vent lines on the mold face.

[Mark Daiute]

Yep and yep,
maybe .005 at the most...or the same size as the other vent lines on the mold face.

one last question: do I break the line where the halves meet? the line that would define the rebate for the gascheck?

Let me be a little more specific: should the relief run up to and stop at the cavity or do I go right through the cavity?

Albeit very lightly...

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

NOT the round cavity edge...just the straight edge/seam of the blocks.
It just needs to vent from the edge of the cavity, to the outside edge where the sprue plate covers.

[Mark Daiute]

I ran a line from where the mold blocks meet outward from the cavity, one line running outward from each of the 2 cavities. I did not run the line through the rebate in the cavity for the gascheck just up to the rebate.

Thanks,

Mark

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

you should be good to go...let us know if it hopes

[Mark Daiute]

you should be good to go...let us know if it hopes

I hopes that it helps!

Nice mold overall but the lack of fill-out at the base of the bullet takes some of the joy out of the experience.

Thanks again,

Mark

[Mark Daiute]

you should be good to go...let us know if it hopes

Jon B, joy is found, only rarely do the bases fail to fill out.

Many many thanks, I will enjoy my 26 -dollar mold so much more now.

Mark

[9.3X62AL]

Mark--

Late to the party, sorry about that. I have one of the Lee C309-200 2-cavity moulds, and mine is a total delight to use for casting--and loses no love when the castings are assembled into 30-06 cases for my commercial Mauser 98 so chambered. Its metal is 92/6/2 alloy, cast at 675*-700*. Drive bands drop at about .3105", bore rider portion is about .3005"--bore will admit a .300" pin gauge, .301" is a no-go. I size in a Lyman .309" H&I die (throat and grooves are .3085"), and the sized bullets are a couple tenths over .309". I seat Hornady 30 caliber gas checks and lube with Carnauba Red.

The bullet is a good fit in the Mauser's barrel. Eye-balled bullets will shoot into 1-1/4" to 1-1/2" five-shots @ 100 yards groups pretty reliably. For comparison, the rifle will shoot 168 grain Matchkings into .600" to .800" five-shot groups with WW-760 and IMR-4320 to 2700 FPS. The castings remain accurate from 1500-2000+ FPS; 60.0 grains of WC-860 (full case in W-W brass) gives a satisfying cannon-BOOM report, not quite 2100 FPS over the time-clock, and grouping remains in the 1.5"-class. Accordingly, I cast up some Bruce B Softpoints using Lyman #257420 as donor slugs for the point; I loaded 20 of these for hunting purposes, and though no deer have volunteered as test media when i had the 30-06 afield I will be giving the Mauser (and a few other rifles) their Last Tango In Paris in Zone D-14 this year. 2018 is the last year of lead bullets for hunting in this area of California.

[Mark Daiute]

9.3X62AL;

Now this sounds like fun:

60.0 grains of WC-860 (full case in W-W brass) gives a satisfying cannon-BOOM report, not quite 2100 FPS over the time-clock, and grouping remains in the 1.5"-class.

I don't have WC860 but I have 5010 and WC872 so I am definitely going down that path just for fun! Thanks.

All the best,

Mark

[9.3X62AL]

WC-860 has been a strangely useful propellant for me. 100%-density loads in commercial 6.5 x 55 brass (55.0 grains) gives 1896-level ballistics in my Ruger 77R of that caliber with 140 grain jacketed bullets--2450 FPS and SUPERB accuracy. I have "duplexed" the slow-burner with IMR 4198 in 45/70 and gotten 1873-level ballistics with 400-425 grain cast bullets, 1300 FPS or so and again stellar accuracy. The "boomy" report seems to be a trait of these slow-for-application powders--and a fun one it surely is.

[Mark Daiute]

WC-860 has been a strangely useful propellant for me. 100%-density loads in commercial 6.5 x 55 brass (55.0 grains) gives 1896-level ballistics in my Ruger 77R of that caliber with 140 grain jacketed bullets--2450 FPS and SUPERB accuracy. I have "duplexed" the slow-burner with IMR 4198 in 45/70 and gotten 1873-level ballistics with 400-425 grain cast bullets, 1300 FPS or so and again stellar accuracy. The "boomy" report seems to be a trait of these slow-for-application powders--and a fun one it surely is.

I've used it's twins the 870's in Krag, 45-70 and 50-70 have yet to try it in 30-06 or 6.5 Swede but that's on the horizon