.308 mould

[Jjmwandell]

Hello guys, I need a hand again. I'm looking for a good mould for a bolt action .308 that wont break the bank. It can be a double mould or a single. I just need something for hunting and plinking, not super picky on grain weight because I dont have much experience shooting this particular rifle and would like to do it more. Also I am looking for somewhere to buy a gad check maker for a few different bullets.

Thanks.
Justin.

[Wally]

I have/use the Lee (90366) Lee 2-Cavity Bullet Mold C309-150-F 30 Caliber (309 Diameter) 150 Grain Flat Nose Gas Check. It has worked out very well for me. I have used other more expensive iron molds and have had issues with them as the noses were too small. The Lee mold will cast good bullets and I have gotten good accuracy with them with a variety of powders.

[charlie b]

There is another thread just started a few days ago on this same topic.

[jimkim]

Lyman 311291, or a similar Lee mould.

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[Wally]

The Lyman 311291 is a good one, however I happen to opine that is is a bit too heavy in the .308 Winchester; it is ideal for the .30-06. In my Rem 700 .308 I find that the Lee C309-150-F is excellent. I also make my own aluminum gas checks when using it. Use 11.5~13 grains of Red Dot or Promo and you have a very accurate plinking round.



Lyman 311291, or a similar Lee mould.

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[Texas by God]

The C309150F Lee was my first rifle mould and still a favorite.

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[Wally]

I know that many bash Lee.....I have had issues with their "stuff", however I still am using a lot of Lee products. I used the C309150F and had good results, but I succumbed to the philosophy that I need a "more better" .30 caliber bullet mold. I tried Lyman & RCBS .30 Caliber molds and none of the ones that I used shot any better than my humble Lee mold. I have some Lee DC molds from the 70's; give 'em some TLC and they will last. I have found that the Lee DC molds are the most enjoyable to use as they are light. I run 'em hot and will get lead smear on the sprue plate. I've used various lubes to prevent it....but will get bubble on the bullet bases. I have found that a simple wipe on the blocks & opened sprue plate with an oily rag works exceedingly well.

[Jjmwandell]

So is it the same mold for my 30-30 then? I have and use a lee LH309 160. Will that work the the 308?

[Jjmwandell]

So after reading my lyman's manual I realized that I have load data for the 308 with the 180 grain cast bullet however not the 30-30. I may have mixed up which mold I need. However will they still work interchangeably? Or is there a better mold for the 30-30.

[Wally]

You can use the Lyman load data for the 180 grain bullet with the 160 grain Lee bullet...just start with the suggested starting load and carefully work up. The key is seating depth which is dependent on distance of your rifles leade.

[charlie b]

The Lyman 311291 is a good one, however I happen to opine that is is a bit too heavy in the .308 Winchester; it is ideal for the .30-06. In my Rem 700 .308 I find that the Lee C309-150-F is excellent. I also make my own aluminum gas checks when using it. Use 11.5~13 grains of Red Dot or Promo and you have a very accurate plinking round.

I kinda disagree. My .308 likes heavier bullets. RCBS 165SIL, Lee 180 and Lyman 311299. My next mold will probably be a 230gn. But, I like shooting at longer ranges too.

I use the Lee 180 for plinking as well. 8gn of Blue Dot gets me 1100fps. The Lyman bullets below were at 100yd, 311299.

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[Wally]

charlie b

I also like the RCBS 165 SIl-GC in the .308 Winchester, however I had to Beagle the mold to get good accuracy with it. The Lee 150 RF-GC works just fine as it is. I shoot at active targets at 150~200 yards using Promo & Red Dot. I always try to use the lightest bullets that provide good accuracy. A 230 grain bullet in the .308 will sure have to be deep seated. I thank you for sharing your loads and the target pictures. I am of the opinion that most would do well with the Lee molds and then one can graduate to the other "premium" brands.

[quilbilly]

I have a Rem 308 with a 22 inch barrel that loves the Lee 160 RNGC giving sub MOA groups at 100 yards and 1900 fps right out of the box. I also have a Mossberg MVP 308 with a 16-1/4" barrel which will not shoot accurately the Lee 160 period but loves the Lee 180 and Lyman 190's at 1300 fps and slower. Both have the same twist. Enjoy the adventure of getting to know your barrel. I would try the Lee 160RNGC or the 170 RFGC first to see what you get before moving to a premium mould at more cost in the future.

[GregLaROCHE]

I would definitely start with a Lee mold. They are inexpensive enough, so you can experiment with different boolit weights and styles. In the future when you figure out what you and your gun like best, you can invest one of the more expensive brands if you want. Lee sometimes has quality control problems, but if something isn’t right they replace I right away don’t hesitate to buy from them. Also get a double mold to start. A single mold has a much slower production rate and the larger ones are harder for a beginner. Don’t forget, you can shoot gas check boolits without gas checks if you want to in the beginning before you start making your own gas checks.

[charlie b]

charlie b

I also like the RCBS 165 SIl-GC in the .308 Winchester, however I had to Beagle the mold to get good accuracy with it. The Lee 150 RF-GC works just fine as it is. I shoot at active targets at 150~200 yards using Promo & Red Dot. I always try to use the lightest bullets that provide good accuracy. A 230 grain bullet in the .308 will sure have to be deep seated. I thank you for sharing your loads and the target pictures. I am of the opinion that most would do well with the Lee molds and then one can graduate to the other "premium" brands.

Nope, not deep seated. Like the Lee bullets, the 'good' heavy ones are bore riders. The forward end of the bullet is sized to fit the bore so only the rear section is in the neck of the case. Base of bullet is near the base of the neck.

[charlie b]

I buy gas checks for a simple reason. They crimp onto the shank of the bullet. I also like that they are made of thicker copper.

[Kermode]

My experience with cast in a 308 is VERY limited, but unusual for me - it worked!

My vote is for the NOE 312-202 2 banger (size .312, GC, 50-50 ww & pure mix.) That mold is a little pricy for us north of the border, but it does work well enough in several rifles we have, so the satisfaction value makes up for that.

In 308, I tried it in my son's Mossberg Night Train. My opinion of this rifle had been that was a truly horrible little firearm and a real waste of safe space. I think the very best factory round we tried was 5 or 6" at 100yd and way too many $$. The better reloads were 5" @ 50yds with a variety of powders with premium bullets - and it bounced around so much that my son wanted to weigh it down with sandbags! I had been leaning more towards a stake in the garden for tomatoes.

Before things started to get drastic, I thought to try some cast loads that had worked well in other rifles - 16gr of 2400 and the NOE mold. 2 shots at the 200 yd gong to warm it up - and hit it! Hmmm! Really??

On the 50yd target it took a couple sighters to get onto the bull then to my utter surprise 4 in a ragged hole! Took a while to both stop grinning and shaking my head at the same time!

I stopped there and will leave the rest of those rounds for the son to wring out & see what they can do. Might have been just a fluky time for me, but he should have fun finding the reality!

I will eventually get around to trying some Saeco 315 bullets in the Mossberg. They seem to come a very close 2nd to the NOE 312-202 in the Krag.

Best of luck with it!

Kermode