Shortened 310 Lee .44

[Bucks Owin]

I'm just curious as to if anyone has tried milling down the blocks on the great Lee 310 gr .44 mold to the point where the GC step starts? Just for kicks, I filled down a boolit to that length yesterday to weigh and had a "brainfart" that it might be an economical way to have a PB .44 mold of around 275 grs....

Always thinkin'!!! :roll:

Dennis

[dragonrider]

I did it with a 9MM mold in order to remove the bevel base and brind down the weight.

[krag35]

I have not milled a Lee 430-310 down to get rid of the gas check step, but I have drilled them out with pretty good success. Make sure your drill is perpendicular to the drill press table, remove the sprue plate and drill it out. I used a 7/16 drill bit (says .437) and it worked fine. I did the same to a Lyman 429649 and have had no problems.
krag35

[Poygan]

I could not set the sights on my 29-2 enough to get this boolit to shoot to POA.
I filed the gas check off and got it almost straight. Seems to me they now drop around 265-270 grains. Although I haven't experimented extensively, they seem to be as accurate as the RCBS 240 with gas check or the 429421 in my Marlin.

[Dale53]

Poygan;
>>>I could not set the sights on my 29-2 enough to get this boolit to shoot to POA<<<

I had the same problem with my S&W Mod 29 - 8 3/8" barreled revolver even with standard weight bullets. My front sight is pinned on so I merely exchanged it for a higher front sight. You need to do the calculations and replace your front sight with the correct one. I don't know if all 29's have a pinned front sight or not. Brownell's should have one to fit if yours is pinned:

http://www.brownells.com/

Good luck!
Dale53

[Bucks Owin]

Well, no more wondering....

I tried the trick with the 7/16" bit to PB the 310 .44 and didn't have much luck, in fact I FUed the mold! Grrrrrr :twisted:

Nothing to do but toss it or modify it so I stuck it in the "hillbilly milling machine" and milled off the blocks down to the step for the gascheck. (Actually I went about .010" too far but oh well...) Didn't turn out too bad either! Both cavities are throwing PB boolits of 262 grs after size and lube.

I'm naming this boolit the "262 Ramslammer" in hopes that it might turn out as a good silhouette bullet. Hey, ya never know! :-D

I have my doubts about shifting the center of gravity forward but if it's testing doesn't work out maybe I'll try hollow pointing....

It now looks kinda like a WC with a tapered nose..

Photo to come when my daughter gets back from her camp out with MY camera....:roll:

Dennis

PS:
Next 310 Lee mold I get will STAY a GC design!!! I still love that bullet as is, it's a great shooter....

[Leftoverdj]

It was done by one of the guys on the old Marlin board after he got disgusted with trying to get GC version to stabilize in NEF's slow twist. He sent me a hundred or so, and they shot really well in my Marlin 1894 at the lower velocities.

[Bucks Owin]

It was done by one of the guys on the old Marlin board after he got disgusted with trying to get GC version to stabilize in NEF's slow twist. He sent me a hundred or so, and they shot really well in my Marlin 1894 at the lower velocities.

Thanks for the encouraging words. I would think that the maximum velocity I'll get with this will be around 1450 fps....

(Although slower may be more accurate...)

Dennis

[lar45]

What did you use for your hillbilly milling machine? pics of the setup?
on end mill in the drill press and must move the vise back and forth and plunge the mill down to a preset stop?

I have a mill, I'm just curious is all.

I took a Lee .475 325 GC mold and milled it down to drop a 275 PB bullet. I shot a few, but don't remember anything about how they shot.
Seems like it was a real pain to get the block exactly level so the new base would be true. ??

[Bucks Owin]

What did you use for your hillbilly milling machine? pics of the setup?
on end mill in the drill press and must move the vise back and forth and plunge the mill down to a preset stop?

I have a mill, I'm just curious is all.

I took a Lee .475 325 GC mold and milled it down to drop a 275 PB bullet. I shot a few, but don't remember anything about how they shot.
Seems like it was a real pain to get the block exactly level so the new base would be true. ??


You pretty much figured out the hillbilly milling machine, my drillpress with a "traveling" machinist vise and a square router bit. The bases "seem" level. 44 man has agreed to try some of the boolits for accuracy once I get around to sending him some. I'm still fiddling with the sprueplate and haven't sent any yet.....


Dennis

[lar45]

I hadn't thought of a router bit, a lot of them are carbide aren't they? I would imagine that the bit should hold up fine at slow speeds with lots of oil.
and like the say, the proof is in the pudding, or shooting.

I had a 10 5/8" M29 years ago with the 4 position adjustable front sight. I wonder how hard it would be to have one put on a new pistol? Or if you could even get one?
It was real handy to get 50 yards dialed in, then switch the front sight to setting 2 and adjust for 100 yds and so on...

[JohnH]

I'm the guy Leftoverdj is refering to, and it did work well, still have the mold, but no 44 at present. Mine weigh right at 265 grains sans lube. I was shooting them at about 1300 fps and getting really good accuracy, I killed two deer that year with the boolit. I later found the trouble I was having with stabilization was due to bore size, not bullet length. It wouldn't be a big deal with a real mill to eliminate the gas check shank using a 7/16 end mill rather than a drill bit, that should make a really nice boolit too. Good luck with your efforts.

[Bucks Owin]

I'm the guy Leftoverdj is refering to, and it did work well, still have the mold, but no 44 at present. Mine weigh right at 265 grains sans lube. I was shooting them at about 1300 fps and getting really good accuracy, I killed two deer that year with the boolit. I later found the trouble I was having with stabilization was due to bore size, not bullet length. It wouldn't be a big deal with a real mill to eliminate the gas check shank using a 7/16 end mill rather than a drill bit, that should make a really nice boolit too. Good luck with your efforts.

Thanks for the input John!

Maybe I'll end up with a silhouette bullet yet....

Dennis

[Rem700]

So has anything more been done with this idea?
The 265 RD looks to be about the same but I missed out on the RDs.
I dont care for the GC or weight of the Lee 310 so I got to wondering about haveing the base machined off and guessed the weight would be about 260-270 gr. Then I did a search to see if this had already been tried and came across this thread.
Isnt there a couple of people on this board that modify molds? If so does anyone have an appx amount they might charge to remove the GC by milling the mold down to the GC thus removing the GC and some extra weight.
Thanks

[Shuz]

I'm just curious as to if anyone has tried milling down the blocks on the great Lee 310 gr .44 mold to the point where the GC step starts? Just for kicks, I filled down a boolit to that length yesterday to weigh and had a "brainfart" that it might be an economical way to have a PB .44 mold of around 275 grs....

Always thinkin'!!! :roll:

Dennis

I have a modified Lee 310 mould that I acquired a few years ago, from a member on this board, who did just what you are asking. Boolits cast from it, outta WW+1%, weigh 267g. I also have a Lyman 429640HP Devastator that has had the gas check shank reamed out,and the resultant weight is also 267g. I often tandem cast with these two moulds, and both shoot extremely well with 17g of WC820 and a CCI 350 mag primer. The only caveat with both designs lies in the small grease groove. I do get some minor leading with both, but it is easily removed by shooting a Ranch Dog 265, with a gas check. That combo weighs nearly the same. Life is grand!--Shuz