30 caliber problem

[358429]

I would appreciate you rifle shooters informed suggestions, for a plain based rifle bullet mold.

I am eyeballing the mp molds 311-410 hollow point mold.

In a perfect world it would be easy to cast, easy to load, clean shooting and accurate in multiple rifles with multiple powders, and compatible with powder coating.

*smiling*
I think this is doable.

I would be happy with a ten shot group that could be covered with a quarter.

I would be very happy with dime groups.

My H&Rshoots dime groups using PMC ball.

My range only goes to fifty yards.

I have 3, one quart freezer bags filled to bursting with hundreds of mixed

headstamp 308 Winchester brass,

that I have been loading and shooting for the browning;

Fired casings wet tumbled, full length sized/deprimed, trimmed/deburred/chamfered, tumbled again in pins, dried in an oven, then bagged.

Don't try to talk me out of this.

Except for better ideas. I am open to ideas.

I've got several pounds of IMR3031 and IMR4227. Small amount of varget, and some 4895.

The 170 flat nose lee bullet without gas checks gave ok results with the Browning BLR, 20x4227 and 30x3031 both shot well.

I have a hard time with the awful trigger, uncomfortable for me stocks, and poor sights on the browning.

I really like that specific browning rifle, it is not for sale.

That being said, my example is a terrible target rifle.

With the greatest sadness I must say that the H&R single shot rifle does not like the

lee bullets, the way I loaded the cartridges, at all.

(But I liked the H&R enough to buy it last month, I like how that rifle feels in my hands and shoulder)

(Heavy barrel with scope base, no iron sights)
(My mistake for picking the thing up haha!)

(I am considering replacing the 3-9x scope on the single shot rifle, with a sig sauer romeo 5 sight, the idea makes me happy...)

(maybe I will not like a electronic sight single shot 308 Win rifle, only one way to know I suppose)


Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[Bad Ass Wallace]

My 30 cal cast boolit shooter is a Springfield A3 30.06 fitted with a 4 groove Remington barrel (4/44) and fitted with a 12X Leupold scope. Took over 600 rounds of benchrest shooting to achieve not one but two 10 shot MOA groups in the same day. My boolit is Lyman 311284 (210gn) sized to 0.310" gas checked and backed by 31.5gn of IMR 3031.

3031 powder is perfect for 30cal cartridges (including 308), and is proving excellent in both 7mm and 8mm Mausers.

[358429]

This is the bullet I keep looking at.



Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[358429]

My 30 cal cast boolit shooter is a Springfield A3 30.06 fitted with a 4 groove Remington barrel (4/44) and fitted with a 12X Leupold scope. Took over 600 rounds of benchrest shooting to achieve not one but two 10 shot MOA groups in the same day. My boolit is Lyman 311284 (210gn) sized to 0.310" gas checked and backed by 31.5gn of IMR 3031.

3031 powder is perfect for 30cal cartridges (including 308), and is proving excellent in both 7mm and 8mm Mausers.

Nice results on the target. I intend to load for, and shoot my rifles until I find a combination of components that works well. Are you lubrisizing or powdercoating? Or something else?

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[Winger Ed.]

As far as .30 molds go:

Any of the tried & true designs that have been around for almost 100 years will do a good job for ya.
That may have something to do with why there are popular and still in production
I've got a 169 or 170 RN RCBS I originally got for a .30-30.
In the .30-30 or .308 Win, even a couple of .30-06s, I'd feel guilty if I asked it to do better.

And there are many others just as good.
For short range paper punching, I'd tend to go on the middle or lighter side of what's out there.

I'd also check into other powders folks have had good results with.
After reading up on it, seeing good things about it, I've drifted over to Red Dot,
and 'The Load' with its 'medium-ish' speeds for 100 yard targets to practice with .308 & .30-06.

I ain't Quigley, but I'm happy with it.

[MT Gianni]

I have an older BLR in 308. It shoots the Lee 113 fp well so yours should do OK with the MP mold.

[358429]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Half of me wants badly to get the mp mold and make it work,

my dark half whispers to get half a thousand hornady boat tail jacketed bullets

Either way I get to assemble ammo and shoot.

I'm considering doing both

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[Bad Ass Wallace]

Take coupious notes so when you run out of options you may find that you've tried it all before.

[Land Owner]

I would be happy with a ten shot group that could be covered with a quarter.

I would be very happy with dime groups.

WOULDN'T WE ALL!

Browning BLR

H&R single shot rifle

Which? Both?

Take your time. Don't rush. It is a LIFETIME hobby and some rifles seem to take full advantage of that timeline.

If one really likes jacketed bullets, feed it jacketed bullets. There is no harm or foul in that.

If you just plain want to shoot lead and have a "Jones" to shoot lead, then by all means take measurements in your rifle throat, chamber, and barrel then decide the boolit shape that "floats your boat", because confidence in one's equipment and ability is defined first in what attracts YOU to those components.

Whether the components can be "bang fit" in your rifles to achieve your goal will be defined in your "stick-to-it-ive-ness" to try different combinations.

Doing some WHAT IF math for 308 caliber, 0.311" dia. lead, MP mold:
135 gran solid
129 grain HP
126 gr. HP

Lyman 4th Ed (130 gr. boolit):
6 powders (potentially), 11.0 gr. to 26.5 gr. (min. to max. range)
in 0.10 gr. increments, (26.5 - 11) * 10 = 155 loads

GIVEN:
6 powders
155 loads
2 rifles
3 boolits

(6 * 155 * 2 * 3) equals 5,580 combinations. Enjoy the shooting! YMMV...

[richhodg66]

I have been playing with plain based in a .308 target rifle and a .30-06 I shoot exclusively cast in.

I have gotten good accurcay out of plain based version of the 311284 in the '06 and with plain based version of the XCB bullet in the .308. You have to be pretty meticulous about base fill out and I found that you really need to keep speeds low or you'll get leading. Like 1100-1200 FPS. At those speeds, my scope ran out of up adjustment before I got to point of aim at 100 yards, so I want to pursue this much more, I'll have to figure out how to shim things up a little.

I think this would be great in milsurps with battle sights that adjust to ridiculous ranges like most do. That should eliminate the problem of running out of up adjustment for the low speed stuff.

[JoeJames]

I have been playing with plain based in a .308 target rifle and a .30-06 I shoot exclusively cast in.

I have gotten good accurcay out of plain based version of the 311284 in the '06 and with plain based version of the XCB bullet in the .308. You have to be pretty meticulous about base fill out and I found that you really need to keep speeds low or you'll get leading. Like 1100-1200 FPS. At those speeds, my scope ran out of up adjustment before I got to point of aim at 100 yards, so I want to pursue this much more, I'll have to figure out how to shim things up a little.

I think this would be great in milsurps with battle sights that adjust to ridiculous ranges like most do. That should eliminate the problem of running out of up adjustment for the low speed stuff.

Excellent advice. If I remember right the battle sight on an 03 was something like 450 yards. I am sure someone will come up with an exact figure for the battle sight range. May have to just dig into Hatcher's Notebook.

[starnbar]

What twist are you running? That can sometimes be an issue I have one that according to the twist rate should handle heavy lead really good but anything over 150 grain with a bunch of different powder tries it just wont shoot.

[popper]

I use a 31-168A & C in my 30 cal and a 145gr PB version of same, 300 BO and AR10. Works fine. PC or BLL. HP are NOT easy to cast. Large lube groove is NOT needed. None of mine have a crimp groove. I use mostly LC brass but some mixed 308W. Other than the grooves, that bullet looks fine. All of the powders you have work fine.

[FredBuddy]

I made a Lee 150 fp mould into a
plain base. I also have the NOE 165 RD
with a plain base. I powder coat these.
So far, both are shooting well in 3 different
30-30's at about 1800 fps. In a couple of
more years of testing i might be able to
come to some conclusions !!!

[358429]

Take coupious notes so when you run out of options you may find that you've tried it all before.

Run out of options!!? Is that possible?

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[358429]

WOULDN'T WE ALL!



Which? Both?

Take your time. Don't rush. It is a LIFETIME hobby and some rifles seem to take full advantage of that timeline.

If one really likes jacketed bullets, feed it jacketed bullets. There is no harm or foul in that.

If you just plain want to shoot lead and have a "Jones" to shoot lead, then by all means take measurements in your rifle throat, chamber, and barrel then decide the boolit shape that "floats your boat", because confidence in one's equipment and ability is defined first in what attracts YOU to those components.

Whether the components can be "bang fit" in your rifles to achieve your goal will be defined in your "stick-to-it-ive-ness" to try different combinations.

Doing some WHAT IF math for 308 caliber, 0.311" dia. lead, MP mold:
135 gran solid
129 grain HP
126 gr. HP

Lyman 4th Ed (130 gr. boolit):
6 powders (potentially), 11.0 gr. to 26.5 gr. (min. to max. range)
in 0.10 gr. increments, (26.5 - 11) * 10 = 155 loads

GIVEN:
6 powders
155 loads
2 rifles
3 boolits

(6 * 155 * 2 * 3) equals 5,580 combinations. Enjoy the shooting! YMMV...

There is no rush, I am the hobby shooter caster loader. I call it percussive or concussion therapy when the loads get tested.

I think I like casting more than shooting and reloading oh, it is like the big recycling triangle and I get to practice with my guns.

Im interested in the power range between 900-2000 foot per second velocity, i think thats doable.

It would be icing on the cake if the useful velocity range was wider than that!

I suspect 4227 may be useful on the top end, and 3031 may be too slow. Only one way to know.

Unfortunately somehow I have misplaced my cast bullet handbook number four and the past week, I will have to replace it if someone walked off with it.

Of course, as soon as the new one is delivered then I'll find the old one!!

I've never done bullets this light in 308. I want to do this one because I want to. I like the way the bullet looks I want to mold and make copies of it.

I can just imagine how smooth it will feed from the Browning magazine, racking the lever, sight on target Bang! That gun is fun for SNAP shooting.

With the handi-rifle 308 single-shot rifle I suspect that the rifling may be rough and the quality control may not be exactly what I'm used to. That leaves these funny chatter marks on the primers when the gun is fired, that match up exactly with poor Machining where are the case head sets.

Yeah yeah yeah I should have done a better job inspecting it. May have been a mistake to shoulder the rifle. I think it'll all work out just fine.

If everything works then I may be shooting golf ball-sized groups standing off hand at 50 yards with a new bullet.

I have done that several times with the Browning using the lee lead bullet, I'm not even sure how, front site covers the target too much, the size of a grapefruit at that distance.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[358429]

I have been playing with plain based in a .308 target rifle and a .30-06 I shoot exclusively cast in.

I have gotten good accurcay out of plain based version of the 311284 in the '06 and with plain based version of the XCB bullet in the .308. You have to be pretty meticulous about base fill out and I found that you really need to keep speeds low or you'll get leading. Like 1100-1200 FPS. At those speeds, my scope ran out of up adjustment before I got to point of aim at 100 yards, so I want to pursue this much more, I'll have to figure out how to shim things up a little.

I think this would be great in milsurps with battle sights that adjust to ridiculous ranges like most do. That should eliminate the problem of running out of up adjustment for the low speed stuff.

I have seen in a gunsmith shop, adjustable scope bases that are adjustable up and down 20-40 Moa. Look kind of like a ramp with set screws . He told me that's for those guys who shoot things over a mile away. I wonder if that's what you need, zero your rifle at distance.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[358429]

What twist are you running? That can sometimes be an issue I have one that according to the twist rate should handle heavy lead really good but anything over 150 grain with a bunch of different powder tries it just wont shoot.

Which Rifle and bullet and powder combinations did not work so well for you? Sometimes a gun is just cantankerous. As far as the rate of barrel rifling twist, I don't know.

I powder coat the bullets, try a couple different powder charges that are conservative, shoot at a big Target, if it's accurate and doesn't lead get a smaller Target, I like to shoot at paper plates they're cheap and easy for my eyes to see.

And the Browning I got up to 32 grains of 3031 the lee 170 sans gas check before start depositing lead in the barrel and the group start to open up.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[358429]

I use a 31-168A & C in my 30 cal and a 145gr PB version of same, 300 BO and AR10. Works fine. PC or BLL. HP are NOT easy to cast. Large lube groove is NOT needed. None of mine have a crimp groove. I use mostly LC brass but some mixed 308W. Other than the grooves, that bullet looks fine. All of the powders you have work fine.

Yeah I'm not sure why that bullet has a crimp groove either looks like a strange revolver bullet or something else maybe??. I'll be powder coating, I'm not sure if lube grooves matter or not.

Could you tell more about the 145gr PB?

Yes the learning process for hollow points is steep. I ladle cast with a turkey fryer, gives me good results, I can't wait for the humidity to back off so I can cast. If it'll stop raining this morning would be great for it.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[358429]

I made a Lee 150 fp mould into a
plain base. I also have the NOE 165 RD
with a plain base. I powder coat these.
So far, both are shooting well in 3 different
30-30's at about 1800 fps. In a couple of
more years of testing i might be able to
come to some conclusions !!!

I'm also thinking about getting into 30 30 at some point. Buddy has a nice 336 I'm sure that if I make the ammo can shoot it as much as I want, probably buy one for myself it's a nice rifle .

Maybe these bullets have crimp grooves so that they can be used in tube magazine-fed marlins and winchester's??

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk