Need advice - which 30 cal mould?

[Tristan]

I would like to purchase in the immediate future, a single dual-cavity mould for use in my 30-06 and 308 rifles. I am already in on the group buy for the 311041 lee gang mould purchase, but I've heard that design is not optimal for the '06 and 308. It would be for use in bolt-action rifles.

Do you have any ideas on which Lyman (or other maker) mould has a 170 - 190 grain bullet which would be suitable for both calibers (I'm leaning toward a 180 gr. at the present)?

Thanks!

Tristan

[David R]

Asking for an opinion here? :)

IF the boolit fits your gun, the 311644 works great for me. Its a 190 grain bore rider with a taper from bore to groove diamiters (sp?). I think the 31141 will be great in both your guns. I have a 308 and an '06. MY '06 seems to like the lighter boolits and the 308 likes the heavier ones. I think the '06 has a slower twist.

MY 308 won't shoot the 311407 at all. MY '06 won't shoot the 311644. Its all a matter of fit with both guns. Best group so far from my 308 was a full case of WC860 with the 311644.

I have 311466, 311407, 311291, 311644 and 311284. I would send a few if you want.

David

[Maven]

Tristan, If you've followed this board for the past few weeks, you know we've been complaining about undersized molds (nose, body or both) coming from Lee Precision, Lyman, RCBS and even Saeco (now part of Redding). I've typically found the noses to be to small for the .308Win. and .30-06 bores; the .30-30Win. is a different story. Here are your options: (1) Have a custom mold made to fit your rifle's critical dimensions, but that's expensive. (2) Choose a bore riding design, e.g. Lyman #311299, and hope the nose portion fits your rifles. (3) Choose a Loverin design (all body, but exposed lube grooves), which may be accurate in your rifles if sized to fit them. Lyman #311467 and Saeco #315 are examples of these. (4) Watch EBay for Lyman #311644,*a tapered 195gr. bullet expressly designed to fit the throats of .308Win.'s and .30-06's. It performs very well in at least 6 different rifles that I have personal knowledge of including my own '06.


*These are now a bit scarce as the design was modified sometime after 1999 or so. However, the original #311644 mold appears several times a year on EBay and is not outrageously priced.

[Char-Gar]

I have had nothing but good luck with the RCBS 165 SIL in both the .308 and 30-06.

[NVcurmudgeon]

I have a Lyman 314299, which casts .3032" x .3140". It was bought for my No. 4 Fazakerly Enfield, yet doesn't seem to mind a bit being sized down to .310" for my NRA Sporter Springfield or a newly aquired Krag carbine. If I was buying for .30 cal. only, I would buy the 311299 version of the same boolit, on the assumption that the nose would be a bit skinnier, and a better fit in the American .30 cal. barrels. As it is with my 314299, all three of these rifles rather heavily engrave the nose. It seems to do no harm to the accuracy, and leading is non-existent in all three. All the above wth loads at 1400-1800 fps mv.

[Bass Ackward]

I would like to purchase in the immediate future, a single dual-cavity mould for use in my 30-06 and 308 rifles. I am already in on the group buy for the 311041 lee gang mould purchase, but I've heard that design is not optimal for the '06 and 308. It would be for use in bolt-action rifles.

Do you have any ideas on which Lyman (or other maker) mould has a 170 - 190 grain bullet which would be suitable for both calibers (I'm leaning toward a 180 gr. at the present)?

Thanks!

Tristan


Tristan,

Sizing and hardness has more to do with people developing an opinion about design X working or not working than anything else. I have some designs that shoot best sized .308 and stink above that and some that stink if you go smaller than .311. And the good news is that different sizes perform differently at different velocities opening an endless opportunity of trials. And there is seldom any logic to it. If I didn't play around with sizing, I would have formed different opinions on various designs than I hold today.

If a bullet fits, it shoots. If it fits, you get more options to make it work accurately for you than if it doesn't. If you have ten loads that shoot accurately, you improve your odds one will perform better than the rest. But even a bad design can shoot if you find the right combo. If you can just seat it out to lightly engrave somewhere, results should please. Because of this, no one can tell you other than a statistical probability where you are going to end up.

The brands and individual designs sold today are sold because they stood the test of time in the market. So they all work for somebody in some gun. Heavy is easier to learn on than light. A better chance for fit is to avoid the heavy bore rides. Personally I think you are going to proove the guy wrong that said the 311041 isn't going to work for you. But give it a chance first.

[Tristan]

Wow, informed opinions and considered responses to my question! The contrast to some other forums is striking.

I appreciate the answers here. Since I'm already 'in' the 311041 group buy, and I've been pretty heavily collecting moulds lately, I'll try this approach - first, try out the lee group buy mould, and if results are less than stellar, perhaps branch out and get one of the other recommended moulds. I may even take David R. up on his offer for a few tester projo's.

Thank you all for your time in answering this question!