Mold choice for .314 slugged Mosin?

[wallenba]

Just finished slugging my new toy, an M38 Mosin-Nagant, it came out .314. So, now what? I can get a .314 mold and hope it drops a little big. Best case is I'll have to lap a .314 sizer and beagle a mold to do it right. Anybody have an off the shelf solution? Laziness wins out sometimes, and I just want to get out and shoot this thing.:?

[rhbrink]

Paper patch? Have read of some sizing down 8mm boolits in steps so that means more custom sizers. No easy solution, mine is more like .316 got in on a group buy but that takes a while so paper patching I go. Talk about a roller coaster ride but I'm slowly getting there.

[3006guns]

wallenba, was your M38 a "rebuilt" or "rearsenalled" gun? I just purchased two 91/30's from AIM with the same bore sizes. Nice condition, but I was a little suprised at the "oversize" grooves. In fact I was a little concerned that the throats wouldn't allow a boolit big enough without caused neck expansion problems, but they seem okay.

I lucked out in having a H&G three cavity that runs to .315, so will be playing with them soon. In your case, have you considered lapping a Lee mold out? I've only enlarged iron molds but see no reason why you couldn't do it with aluminum.

[Char-Gar]

My 1932 Tula 91/30 runs .314 in the grooves and .302 across the lands. Finding a Mosin that is .314 is not uncommon. Over the years we have run a number of "fat 30" group buys that would work in this rifle. There still might be some going on over in the group buy section. You would need to check.

I forget the name but there is an Aussie mold maker that makes some big fat 30 for the .303 British. Somebody smarter than I can give you the web address. You could probably find something there that would work just fine.

You will want something that casts at lest .315 on the body.

[Maven]

"I forget the name but there is an Aussie mold maker that makes some big fat 30 for the .303 British. Somebody smarter than I can give you the web address. You could probably find something there that would work just fine."

That would be Jim Allison/Cast Bullet Engineering in NSW, Oz. Jeff in NZ, Smokemjoe, and I can vouch for the quality of his molds (I have 2). Jim made me a 2 cavity"fat" Loverin brass mold for my 7.65 x 53mm Arg. Mau. well before we had any group buys. The CB casts @ .315", but I size it to .314" for that rifle and .312" and .311" for my Finn. Nagant, M 39 and M 28/30, respectively. It is a VERY accurate CB in all 3 rifles.

www.castbulletengineering.bigpondhosting.com

[wallenba]

wallenba, was your M38 a "rebuilt" or "rearsenalled" gun? I just purchased two 91/30's from AIM with the same bore sizes. Nice condition, but I was a little suprised at the "oversize" grooves. In fact I was a little concerned that the throats wouldn't allow a boolit big enough without caused neck expansion problems, but they seem okay.

I lucked out in having a H&G three cavity that runs to .315, so will be playing with them soon. In your case, have you considered lapping a Lee mold out? I've only enlarged iron molds but see no reason why you couldn't do it with aluminum.

Re-arsenalled I'm guessing, I got it from a dealer who bought it from an estate sale. It was never fired I think by the owner, the cosmolene was/is caked in the barrel and very stubborn to get out. I can still get brown patches out of it. I'm considering a .323 mold and sizing it down. It might not leave a very generous lube groove though. I'm trying to think up a cutter that can enlarge the groove. I'll try it first as is, if I can get it in the smaller dies.

[wallenba]

wallenba,
I lucked out in having a H&G three cavity that runs to .315, so will be playing with them soon. In your case, have you considered lapping a Lee mold out? I've only enlarged iron molds but see no reason why you couldn't do it with aluminum.

I've never done that, but I understand the principle of how it's done. That might be a good option, as a Lee mold does not represent a major investment if lost to error. Still need to address the sizer problem. I might just shoot them as dropped from a .314 mold, who knows they might work ok, stranger things have happened.

[6.5 mike]

If you have a lee 185 gr, try 2 wraps of tracing paper. Should get you to .316/.317 without sizeing. This might fit the throat well. I size mine to .309, 2 wraps bring it to .314 for my 303 savages ( both are .3125). My mold drops at .3115 so most anything close should work.

[wallenba]

If you have a lee 185 gr, try 2 wraps of tracing paper. Should get you to .316/.317 without sizeing. This might fit the throat well. I size mine to .309, 2 wraps bring it to .314 for my 303 savages ( both are .3125). My mold drops at .3115 so most anything close should work.

Talk about a coincidence, I just this afternoon ordered two Lee 312-185-1r's from Midway. They are on sale for $16.75 ( I got two in case there is a learning curve with lapping them). I know nothing about paper patching, but if I can find the basics somewhere I'll give that a try before permanently altering the mold.

[3006guns]

Check out the paper patching section of this forum........lots of good info.

I have a Winchester mold for the .32-40 that I've used for my "generous" Lee Enfields. When sized down to .314 or so, the lube grooves look more like pencil lines and the boolit is plain base. It shoots beautifully with Trail Boss though.

One other far fetched thought would be to locate a mold in .318.......for the old 8mm German Commission rifles.

[dbldblu]

The standard advice is to use .001 larger than groove. This is good advice all else being equal. I cannot afford a custom mold for every old rifle I have. Upon occasion, I have used cast bullets that were a tad undersize and it can be done. Keep the loads on the mild side and you will not get leading either. I don't slug a barrel unless I have to. In your Mosin I would try my 314299 mold over 10 grains of Unique and go from there. If it shot well I would try some warmer stuff. If the warmer stuff did not shoot well, then I know what I need to know.

[wallenba]

Well guys, it's worse than I thought. I slugged the barrel again after having a thought that the muzzle might be worn the most. It was. I pushed the slug in only about an inch this time and it checked .3161 . I guess it will just be for fun shooting at short range. Good for emptying the Winchester rounds I use to obtain brass. An expensive lesson learned, I paid too much for it and got a loser. Just cause it looks good on the outside does not mean it is on the inside. On a brighter note I took a trip to Dunham's sporting goods to look at the Mosins they had there and came home with a nice 91/30 Hex made in Izhevsk 1928, and only $89. It had a clean bore, and after cleaning it again I slugged it at .3129.

[JeffinNZ]

Jim at CBE indicated to me the other day he was going to stop taking orders for a spell as he is struggling to keep up, needs a break to go shooting and can't find a person to help him that he is confident will maintain his very high standards of production.

Bit of a PITA but you can't help but admire his dedication to quality.

[wallenba]

Jim at CBE indicated to me the other day he was going to stop taking orders for a spell as he is struggling to keep up, needs a break to go shooting and can't find a person to help him that he is confident will maintain his very high standards of production.

Bit of a PITA but you can't help but admire his dedication to quality.

Thanks for the info Jeff. I'm ready to give up on this rifle. I'm just going to cast and load the biggest boolit I can drop from a lapped Lee 312-185 mold. Another concern is how big can I go before the neck won't chamber? If it hits fairly close to 5-6" groups at 100 yards I'll consider myself lucky. I have other rifles that deserve more attention.

[6.5 mike]

Cut, recrown, truck gun.

[rhbrink]

Don't give up! I have one just like yours and am paper patching using the Saeco 315 and two wraps of tracing paper and starting to get groups. Check the inside diameter of a fired round and that will indicate how large you can go. And there is always the 8mm booilts that could be swdeged down. I tried that a couple of times with a .321 boolit made for a Schuetzen rifle and it could be made to work but would need several push through dies to make it easier.

[Char-Gar]

It is common to find mil-surp rifles with cleaning rod wear near the muzzle. Shoot any such rifle before arriving at any conclusions or consigning it to the junk pile. You very well may be surprised.

[rhbrink]

I have seen some Russins that were counter bored to remove the muzzle wear. Never owned one but everyone swares that it doesn't hurt the accuracy at all. Maybe you could have yours counter bored by a gunsmith couldn't see where it would be very difficult to do?

[Jon K]

NOE 316299..........Try that.

Jon

[wallenba]

Well guys, the M38 slugs somewhere in the barrel at .314, it's .3161 at the muzzle and it has already been counterbored. I just got the book "The Paper Jacket" by Paul Matthews. I'll read it front to back. Luck has it there is a paper slicer in the house. Harbor Freight has them too, real cheap. I got my Lee 314-185's today and will cast tomorrow if it does not rain. I have some Rooster jacket too, so I'll be practicing soon, problem is I'm famous for my ten thumbs.LOL

[wallenba]

NOE 316299..........Try that.

Jon
Jon, I've tried finding their website before and never did. Can you post it here if you have it?

[Maven]

Look up Swede Nelson under "Vendor Sponsors" on this site.

[dualsport]

I have 4 MNs and they all like the 316299, but each one has to be treated different. One old soldier will chamber it unsized seated waay out, shoots fair. One of the other less worn barrels need them partially sized and shorter OAL to chamber.