cast .308

[Mark Daiute]

I am seriously thinking of getting a mold in the 150 grain range for cases with short necks like .308 Win or 300 Savage. The smallest mold I have is the 170 grain Lee flat nosed boolit.

Most of my molds, like 311299 or 311284 are 200 grains or more.

I want less boolit base below the neck.

Your thoughts?

[fatnhappy]

FWIW I’m using the 311290 in my kimber .308 without any great difficulty.

I’ve been loading for the .300 savage for about 10 years. The 311291 has been my go to boolit, partly because the nose it a scooch small. The savage 99 can’t cam fat noses in like a bolt gun.

My 311041 nose is a bit too fat for the savage .300 or my savage 99 in .308 but is perfect in my kimber .308


I don’t have any experience with the 150 grains moulds in .30s

Ymmv

[bruce drake]

Lee makes a 150gr Flatnose in the same design as your 170gr mold. won't cost a lot to try it out. I know my 308 Win rifles like it.

[Mark Daiute]

Lee makes a 150gr Flatnose in the same design as your 170gr mold. won't cost a lot to try it out. I know my 308 Win rifles like it.

thank you

[fatnhappy]

I completely forgot I have and use the 311466 in the 7.62 x 39

I’ve never tried it in either cartridges. I should try it actually.......

[Cree]

I’ve had some luck with Lee’s 312-155R in a couple of 30 calibers (7.5 Swiss, too, surprisingly) and while I haven’t really wrung it out for accuracy, it’s shown promise with the “usual suspects” - 16-18 grains 2400 and 10-ish grains Universal. You didn’t say what you were going to do with the load and I’m not convinced it’d be a great (or even “good”) hunting boolit, but it’s shot pretty well for me. No problems feeding in bolt guns, either - something I’ve fought in a few converted sporters with flat nose boolits.

[gpidaho]

I'm another fan of the Lee 150gr. flat point. As mentioned it won't cost much to try. Gp

[Mark Daiute]

A member of my club shoots 308. He comes with factory ammo, shoots, leaves the once-fired cases behind. I've gathered several hundred, tumbled them. Then I bought a set of dies. Then I had to purchase a rifle so I got a Spanish Mauser in .308. The small case should lend itself to a high case density so I figure 308 should be a good cast shooter. my goals? See if I can get 1MOA at 100 yards and maybe hunt deer with it. Where I am most shots at deer are 50 yards or less. I looked at the lee 150 grain flat nose and it looks like the base is exactly the same as the 170 grain lee flat nose so it will protrude into the case the same amount. I am hopefull because it looks to me like about 90 percent of the bullet's base is in the neck, with the COAL I'm using.

[gpidaho]

Mark: You can ignore the crimp groove when loading for a bolt rifle. I seat a cast bullet up tight to the rifling. Do a little C.O.L testing and you may be able to seat your 170gr. bullet out far enough to keep it in the neck. Gp

[popper]

I use a 168gr fn GC in 308, no groove and no crimp, ar10. Works fine.

[krallstar]

How bout this. https://noebulletmolds.com/site/shop/308-311/309-146-sp-h2/309-146-sp-h2-5-cavity-gc

[toallmy]

I'm just starting to play with cast in a 308 also- like you my selection of molds seam to be for cartridges with more neck , but I have a plan base noe 311-165 fp that fits the 308 neck well . But I'm going to keep trying to get a 311-041 noe copy to work - I can keep all the lube groves in the neck but the gas check shank is in the shoulder when loaded . Ill be casting some of each this weakened if you want to try some .

[dverna]

Mark: You can ignore the crimp groove when loading for a bolt rifle. I seat a cast bullet up tight to the rifling. Do a little C.O.L testing and you may be able to seat your 170gr. bullet out far enough to keep it in the neck. Gp

Good advice.

[405grain]

Matching the cast bullet to the case neck length in 308 and 7.62x39 is the reason that I'm trying out the RCBS 30-165-Sil. I have tried the Lee C309-160-1R but even though I like the boolit, I don't really care for the quality of the molds.

[RickinTN]

The RCBS Silhouette bullet should work well in the .308. If you wanted a larger flat point the RCBS 150 FN may work better for a hunting bullet. Mine drop at about 165 or so grains if I recall correctly.
Good Luck,
Rick

[charlie b]

I load heavier bullets for my .308 (Savage). It has a short throat so bore riders (like the Lee's) work best in it.

I fired a bunch of the Lee 180 with several different powders. 1.5" at 100yd was easy. Several loads were around 1" at 100yd. I suspect the 150gn would be an excellent choice.

The RCBS 165sil is another excellent bullet for targets, but, it does not have a nice flat point I would want for hunting.

The NOE 165XCB is also a decent bullet, but, again, is pointed design. It also loads really deep in the case with the short throat my rifle has.

Why lighter bullets? Depending on your rifle and twist rate the velocity may be limited. That's why some of us use heavier bullets at 1900-2000fps. My go to bullet is a 210gn at 1950fps. But, I only shoot targets and longer ranges than your 100yd hunting distance :)

Accuracy will be the easy part if you are consistent about casting and weight sort the bullets.

[jimb16]

I used to have a Rem. 700 BDL that loved the lyman 311291. It has been a .30 cal standard for many years.