230gr 308 win Question

[Janisca]

Hello,

i have a 230gr mold (made for 300blk subsonic i suppose) that i am considering making some plinking rounds for to push out of a 308 win.

i'm not sure what kind of safety concerns there are.. or why.. my initial thought is..

1. they wont go fast (meh, just looking for plinking trigger time anyway)
2. will go too slow, dont have to be subsonic.. just dont want a pipe bomb
3. will become a pipe bomb because 230g is too much. it's only raited for 208gr..

i dont really FEAR any of the three above but.. thats why i'm asking. i feel like i'm overlooking something that could be dangerous.

anyone have experience/feedback on loading 230gr out of 308 or.. heavier bullets than "normal" for example?

[Recycled bullet]

Hey I would start by making some inert cartridges i.e. no powder no primers, experiment with overall length and crimp settings and find out if it is compatible with your rifle for magazine feeding and making the run between exiting the mag and entering the firing chamber without jamming up.

[Recycled bullet]

Next after the feeding question is appreciably answered, do you own trail boss or other suitable fast pistol or shot gun powders?

How fast do you want to go?

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve shot those in a 30.06 using starting loads for 220 grain boolits. Also loaded some for my friend in 308. They were very light loads with a single base pistol powder, because he was looking for sub sonic. They wouldn’t stabilize when subsonic. We attributed it to not enough twist.

[RickinTN]

Why do you say it's only rated for 208 grains?
Curious,
Rick

[Willbird]

I agree that considering rifling twist might be the first step. If the gun is a 1/10 twist then you can find out the maximum bullet length that will be stable in that twist at your intended velocity. Might be a non starter based just on that.

There might be a thread here about using that exact bullet in 308 win, the OP in that thread had a 1/12 twist rifle.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?427032-Extra-Heavy-TL309-230-5R-Boolit-in-308-Winchester-%96-Good-Results

[Fitz]

I shot 230 gr. paper patched bullets out of my Spanish mouser FR-8 with 2400 powder very accurate and will shot straight threw a good size hog at 50 yards from shoulder to ribs , don't have a chronograph but estimate 18 gr of powder puts me around 1600 fps.

[megasupermagnum]

I really doubt twist rate is going to be a concern unless you wanted to purposefully make very slow rounds. A 230gr cast bullet is more like a 200gr jacketed bullet as far as length, and certain cast bullet designs seem to stabilize better anyway.

I have not looked in my Lymans cast bullet manual yet, but I seem to recall they list the Lee 230gr in there. Maybe I'm wrong. If it's not in there, I would gladly use data for the Lyman 311299 which is like 205-210 grains for most people. The loads listed in there with shotgun/pistol powder are nowhere near maximum pressures. If you have the Lee 230gr version, then I've not heard great things. They are mainly meant to be slow. The NOE 230gr is a better design, but in generall plainbase bullets start to become less accurate as you get north of 1400 fps, although it depends a lot. The gas check version would be good to higher velocities. If you are just looking for a fun shooting round, I'd just pick a load for a Lee 230 or Lyman 311299 using shotgun/pistol powder like 700x, Unique, 2400, bluedot, etc. for that 1100-1250 fps range and go have fun.

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve always wondered why the Lee boolit was designed with a boat tail. I was thought maybe it was just to make it look cool. Supposedly, boat tails only start having a positive effect beyond 300 yards and plain bases have an advantage at closer ranges.

[stubshaft]

I have used that bullet in my 14" Contender barrel and it used to print .75" @ 75 yards all day long ahead of 9.0 Unique. The barrel was an MGM with a .308" bore and I shot them as cast with tumble lube.

[M-Tecs]

I have used that bullet in my 14" Contender barrel and it used to print .75" @ 75 yards all day long ahead of 9.0 Unique. The barrel was an MGM with a .308" bore and I shot them as cast with tumble lube.

What cartridge? I have a 30/30 Super 14 barrel that I've never shot a cast boolit thru.