Mosin Nagant Lee C312-185-1R

[petroid]

Finally had some success shooting cast out of my Mosin. Bore slugs at .312-313 and boolits dropping from mold at about 3.12-.314. Alloy is WC COWW. DT with HF Red PC. Then aluminum gc installed sized in Lee .314 push through die. Loaded at COAL 2.775 with 12-16gr Alliant 2400. Shooting at 20 yards kneeling so not very stable but I have something to work with at least.I feel like there is something to be found in the 13-15gr range. Have to cast and load some more for further testing. May do better to seat farther out too. I just pushed them in to cover the lube grooves. I think 16gr was a little too much for this load. Recoil was noticeably more at that load, though still nothing compared to a full power load.

[aspangler]

I would revisit 13 an 14. A steady rest will make a difference also.

[odies dad]

If that was surplus ammo, you would have scorch marks on your targets at 20 yards.

[petroid]

I didn't have much brass so was limited to three shots per load. Gonna load five at 13 14 and 15 grains and shoot from a bench next time. Without PC I could barely keep these on paper at 15 yards

[Echd]

If you are unable to keep them on the paper at 15, I'd suggest revisiting the load and boolit entirely.

[petroid]

Without the PC they wouldn't stay on paper at 15. Well I didn't have gas checks on those either which didn't help to stabilize the base but the pc helped make the nose a little fatter too which helps line it up in the bore.

[popper]

You might try dacron filler also. Similar to my 308 tests. 16 gr. seems to be best so far, lighter caused bad vertical stringing. I don't use GCs.

[petroid]

I may try some Dacron. I may try some with regular lube and not pc to see if its the pc or the gc making the difference over the non gc failure. I think it's a combo

[popper]

If the rear band is short you probably won't get good results with 2400. Slower powder will work.

[petroid]

My recent test targets seem to show potential with the 2400. What powder would you suggest? I have some reloader 7 but not sure if I can get reliable ignition without a fuller case and then I'm worried about velocity and recoil being higher than I'm looking for.

[kungfustyle]

Stay with the 2400. Take a fireformed shell and put a lead in it so it moves freely. Chamber it and then carefully measure it. Let the lands determine the COL then I agree stick in the 13 to 14 range. Try prone with a tackle/range box as a rest bring a few towels to help, one to lay on one to form a rest.

[Maximumbob54]

The only other powders I would try are Red Dot and Trail Boss. I never remember the guy that long ago did all the Unique and Red Dot loads but there was extensive testing done. Trail Boss is new but I've had all sorts of luck with it in reduced powder rifle loads. It's very cast friendly.

[xacex]

The only other powders I would try are Red Dot and Trail Boss. I never remember the guy that long ago did all the Unique and Red Dot loads but there was extensive testing done. Trail Boss is new but I've had all sorts of luck with it in reduced powder rifle loads. It's very cast friendly.

Ed Harris developed and published the article "the load." Also designed the Lee 312-155 2r AK boolit that does so well in many rifles among other accolades.

[petroid]

Ed Harris developed and published the article "the load." Also designed the Lee 312-155 2r AK boolit that does so well in many rifles among other accolades.

"The Load" is definitely my inspiration. I know he used Red Dot and later modified it to include 2400 which is what I chose to try. I plan on getting that mold as well because it can pull double duty in my 300 blackout as well

[Maven]

petroid, I know I'm late to this thread, but I've had excellent results with 12grs. - 13grs. Alliant Unique in my M 39 Finn. Nagant. The CB's were #314299's with GC's, sized to .312", and lubed the old fashioned way.

[petroid]

Maven, I sure wish I could find some Unique. I feel lucky to have found the 2400.

Shooting from a stable rest is in the future, just have to find time to get out.
I also do plan on determining the best seating depth. Should have done it from the get-go.
Thanks for all the suggestions!

[petroid]

Shot some more test loads today at 50 yards. Results were inconclusive. I had a better rest (hood of my truck) but groups were widely variable.
Boolit is Lee C312-185-1R from COWW DT w/ HF Red and sized to .314 with aluminum GC.
Alliant 2400 at 13, 14, and 15 grains.
I tried to set COAL at 2.785 so that I could crimp in top groove but I had trouble maintaining the same COAL.
The boolit nose would not pass through the seating die to contact the seater plug and was bottoming out. So I seated the boolits up against the bullet guide hole. This was inconsistent and I am going to adjust the die some more to see if this helps. I also had one round that seated somewhat crooked. I think it was in the 13 grain group. Don't know if it is the flyer or not.

I tried to find the best seating depth by chambering a dummy round and it wound up seating only slightly farther out than my previous COAL so I stuck with it. Hopefully I can get the die adjusted for a more consistent COAL.
For the 15 grain group I had raised the rear sight one notch and it did seem to raise the POI closer to POA but still shooting far left. I have since drifted the front sight to the left to bring the groups closer to center.
I don't know if the varied COAL is accounting for the poor groups. Previous test indicated the the 14 or 15 grain charge would be best but this tells me that 13 grains is best.
There was no leading and only minor powder fouling so I don't think that is what caused the groups to open up.
I'm going to try it again once I get the seating depth figured out.

[popper]

May have to beagle the mould a bit or just use the larger boolits. You did WD the cooked boolits (cooked for extra 30-45 min.) into water? If not, cook again for ~ 1 hr @ 385F, then drop. Wait ~ a week before you shoot them. I don't think the COL is the problem, I'd crimp to the groove if the base is still in the neck. I think your 13 gr load shows the alloy is at it's limit, groups open up above that. My mould is similar to yours, just 165 gr. Dacron (from worn out puppy chew toys) helped some. I filled the case to the shoulder but not compressing.

The boolit nose would not pass through the seating die to contact the seater plug and was bottoming out.

Hornady die?

[petroid]

Popper, I am using Lee dies. Same process for previous boolits. AC COWW DT w/ HF Red and WD when pulled from oven the sized .314 and GC installed. They have sat for about five days. I'll try some more after curing longer, but if I can get consistent accuracy per the 13 gr. load I'm happy. I have lapped the seater die out a bit and the boolits drop right in up to the GC now so hopefully that fixes my COAL woes. Will keep you updated.

[petroid]

Couple of things
First. I did try some rounds with dacron filler. No improvement. In fact, it was worse. I loaded five each with and without dacron with 13 grains of 2400 and without dacron I had a 2-3 inch group. With dacron was about 5 inches. I don't know why.

Also, I think I misspoke. I had WD my boolits after casting but after PCing this batch only air cooled. That may explain groups opening up at higher charges. So I took the remaining 15 or so boolits and put them in the oven at 375 for an hour and WD them. Will try to get some more tests soon