K31 7.5x55 bollits ?

[Tedly]

Anybody care to remark on what boolits they're happy with out of the K31 ? My shooting is entirely with issue irons and restricted to 200 yds. if that helps. I'm currently using C312-185-1R sizes to .311 in a push thru. Accuracy is decent , but what's out there thats K31 specific ? Thanks.

[725]

Some time back there was a group buy of a 165 grain bore rider that was particularly good. I'll be dog-gone if I can remember the mold number. I'll be back in town in a few days. Somebody should remember it before I get back.

[uscra112]

The throats in milsurp K-31s vary a lot. Can't recommend any specific bullet. NOE 311-180-K31 cast very hard works in one of mine, may not in yours. The BEST bullet I've ever had was a 165 grain Eagan tapered style. i didn't own that mould, and I lost touch with the guy who did. Had to be pan-lubed, which I hate.

[Kraschenbirn]

K31s are notorious for chambering issues due to their very short throats. If yours handles the Lee 312-185 without sizing the bore-rider nose in a separate operation then you probably have as good a bullet/chamber match-up as you're going to find. That particular Lee boolit shoots quite well in my 96/11 but won't chamber in my K31 without sizing down the nose. My go-to for the K31 is the RCBS 30-165SIL sized to .310 with the nose 'as cast'.

Bill

[garandsrus]

I like the 311413 in 7.5x55 since the throat on most K31’s is tight/short.

[Stewbaby]

K31 specific and works well in 30-06 also. Out of stock now but set up email reminder if you can or watch eBay.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230429/66b329d74820fdd32e6856c3b629aeb9.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230429/d3d7952926430d60ba460ab9abe91d90.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230429/ff3f6b479bb453fd247b63d50946853e.jpg

[uscra112]

Don't assume your throat is all that tight. Some are worn enough that a larger nose is needed.

[andrew375]

Mine shoots great with the Lee 200gr. I use a .310 sizer that barely touches the sides.

[Intel6]

I also use the NOE K31 mould for cast bullets in my K31.

[Tedly]

Going to look around for this one. Seems like a good application.

[Tedly]

Garandsrus , I just came up with a #311413 , out of my uncles basement. He had a #311397 but I can't find it. Going to run 22.5 gr. Buffalo Rifle . I see you're in Warren , I'm in Clawson ,

[Adam Helmer]

Tedly,
All my Swiss 7.5MM arms like the Lee C312-185-1R sized .309", and cast from Old wheelweights and a dash of tin dropped from the mold into a bucket of water and lubed with Alox.

Perhaps you need to try other powders and charge weights.

Adam

[Tedly]

Adam Helmer , I usually size to .311 dai. do you think that O/S is detremental ?

[webfoot10]

Try to find the Lyman 311414 mold for the 300 savage. Gas check and size to .309
or what ever your rifle likes and your in business. Fits the tight fit of the K-31 chamber
well.

[Adam Helmer]

Adam Helmer , I usually size to .311 dai. do you think that O/S is detremental ?

None of my Swiss 7.5MMs need anything more than .309". I use the C312 sized .311 in my Russians. I would tweek the powder types and charges.

Adam

[madsenshooter]

The throats in milsurp K-31s vary a lot. Can't recommend any specific bullet. NOE 311-180-K31 cast very hard works in one of mine, may not in yours. The BEST bullet I've ever had was a 165 grain Eagan tapered style. i didn't own that mould, and I lost touch with the guy who did. Had to be pan-lubed, which I hate.

Been away awhile, nice to see mention of Mr. Eagan's mold after all this time. Since my tight bore K31 allows me to size to .308 I can get away with standard 450 lubing w/o the lube squishing up onto the bullet. I still have the mold, got the 180gr version also, but haven't cast any with it yet.

[Leadmad]

My Wifes K-31 shoots well with the Lee C312-155-2r mould, drops about 161 grains and sized to .309

Cheers

[NuJudge]

I have both of the K31 group buy molds from 10 years or so ago. I have only used cast bullets with low powered loads. They shot well. The rifling on K31 barrels originally goes almost back to the case mouth, but with jacketed bullet wear, one begins to have a Leade. I have a good supply of Berdan primers, so have just used GP11 brass.

My recollection is more worn barrels shot cast bullets better.

Regarding jacketed bullets, a relatively new K31 barrel that came on a rifle I bought in 2002 would initially not shoot Sierra 168gr MK and other target bullets worth a darn, but shot Remington 165gr Core-Lokt very well. After about 1000 rounds of Remingtons, I tried the SMK again and they shot very well.

https://www.castpics.net/subsite2/ByFireArm/Cast%20in%20the%20K31.pdf

[lead collector]

The RCBS 30 165 works pretty well for me. When I bought my mold, I was hoping that the nose would cast a little smaller, as my rifle has a really tight throat, but its a little larger.
That said, other than needing a slight bump to drive the bolt home, it works great.
I have been using 20.5 of 4227, with every load hand weighed, and crimped wirth a Lee collet crimp die, to a moderate crimp.
Crimping 4227 for me is a must, and if you dont crimp them, the burn seems erratic and I got pretty bad vertical stringing.
This load has been shooting under an inch at 100 yards, with a scope and 1.5 inches with opens.
In a 5 shot group I will often have 2 or 3 touching, the others really close, after a couple of fouling shots.

I weigh my bullets, and sort them, throwing out any that are more than a 1/2 grain heavy or light. My final sort will have bullets sorted with in 2 tenths of each other. Heavy and light bullets go back in the pot.
I have gained more accuracy by sorting bullets, and getting rid of heavy and light, or ones with wrinkles or damaged driving bands than anything else that I have tried.

[ukrifleman]

My Wifes K-31 shoots well with the Lee C312-155-2r mould, drops about 161 grains and sized to .309

Cheers
+1

I also found the 155gn Lee bullet G/C to .309, worked well in my K31.
ukrifleman

[AIRONE]

Someone use the LEE CTL312-160-2R Double Cavity Mold with g.c. ? It has a very tapered shape and in my opinion it should fit in the 7,5x55 swiss
https://leeprecision.com/mold-dc-tl312-160-2r

[Cree]

I had Ed at Maplewood Bullets cast up a bunch of either the Lee 155 or the Lee 160 for my K31 and they shot very well over (IIRC) about 18-19 grains of 2400. Don’t have my notes nearby, but I’m secretly thinking it was the 155 grainers…

Cree

[lead collector]

Airone,

Congrats on your project, and as far as candidates for shooting cast lead goes, you have chosen wisely with the K31.
Sorry to hear of your limitations on powder selections in your country.
From my experience with the K31, my biggest struggle was finding a bullet that had a small enough nose to allow me to chamber it and still seat to the proper depth.
Some of my molds were so large that I had to seat too deep, and this put the bullet below the neck.
I finally settled on the RCBS 30-165 SIL bullet, and have been getting good accuracy.
My bullet still slightly engraves the lead of the rifling, when seated. This contributes to good accuracy, but you cant remove the cartridge from the rifle, once the bold is closed. I carry a swiss cleaning kit, to the range, in case I have a mis-fire to push the bullet out of the lead.
As far as your powder selection goes, I hope you can find a powder that will be acceptable.
Some experimental loads may be required. If you can find bullseye, red dot, green dot, blue dot, 2400, Unique, or Herco, these work pretty well. 6 or 7 grains of red dot, 12 grains of either green or red dot, and 11.5 - 12.5 of Unique or Herco, or 16 - 20 grains of 2400 works well.
I have also used H4198, H4895, or IMR 3031, if you have access to these. These powders are very predictable, and can be reduced safely.
I have also used, trail boss, if you can find it. Starting with about 8 grains should get you there.
My most accurate load to date in the 7.5 x 55 has been 20.5 grains of 4227, and the RCBS 30-165 SIL, with a moderate crimp, using the Lee collet crimp die. This will shoot, 5 shots around an inch, or less, at 100 yards with my K31 that I have scoped.
Use caution when loading reduced loads, with fast pistol powders, as a double charge at a starting load would be an over charge.
Also when working up your reduced loads, make sure that your bullet clears the barrel on the first shot. This may sound impossible, but with out access to the proven loads, with powders that we have here, you are in uncharted waters, so use caution.

Lots of luck on your project.

[AIRONE]

Grazie per la risposta. Purtroppo in Italia è impossibile trovare le polveri che hai citato. Inoltre c'è un limite per la quantità di polvere che si può detenere a casa, e la legge conteggia anche la polvere che è contenuta nelle cartucce! A complicare tutto c'è il fatto che adesso le polveri sono vendute in confezioni da 500 grammi comer minimo. Così se una polvere non va bene o la butti via o la usi per ricariche di cui non trovi le dosi. Come ho detto ho 500 grammi di 800-X che usavo per le ricariche del cal. 12, per cui volevo usarla invece di buttarla via! Questa polvere è sovrapponibile alla Herco. Ho letto l'articolo di Harris e questo sito: http://gunlore.awardspace.info/rifledarms/hercules.htm http://gunlore.awardspace.info/rifledarms/swiss30cal.htm
con 9 gr. di HERCO dovrei andare bene. Magari potrei partire con 8 gr!
Appena ho un pò di tempo debbo fare la prova a inserire la palla Lee CTL312-160-2R, in una cartuccia senza innesco e senza polvere, posizionando la base della palla fino alla base del collo del bossolo, e vedere se ci sono problemi (se la palla resta incastrata nell'inizio della rigatura). Se dovesse restare incastrata avevo pensato di calibrare solo la parte terminale della palla ad un diametro inferiore, in modo che non si blocchi nella canna. Credo che un Lee .285 o .284 dovrebbe bastare! Basta fare un blocco sul ram della pressa in modo che la palla entri nel dies fino al punto voluto!
Ho misurato la OAL con la palla LEE e ho mm 71,5 con la palla inserita fino alla base del collo. La OAL del 7,5x55 Swiss è mm 77,7
Non amo le palle che scendono nel bossolo oltre la base del collo!
ho visto la foto della palla RCBS 30-165 SIL, e la LEE mi sembra più sottile in punta!

[Tedly]

FWIW I tried the #311414 and its shooting really well.

[andrew375]

Someone use the LEE CTL312-160-2R Double Cavity Mold with g.c. ? It has a very tapered shape and in my opinion it should fit in the 7,5x55 swiss
https://leeprecision.com/mold-dc-tl312-160-2r

I am currently working with this bullet. It works, but has to be seated quite deep.

[ukrifleman]

I had good results with the Lee 155gn .312 bullet as it suits the short throat of the K31

https://www.leeprecision.com/mold-dc-312-155-2r
ukrifleman

[alamogunr]

Just discovered this semi-old thread. I've got a NOE .311-180 FN K-31 mold. At least that is what is on my Excel mold list. I haven't gotten around to using it and may never. I don't know if the K-31 designation was original when ordered or if I added on my own based on comments when the GB was formed.