Any practical way to bump .308" dia. bullets up to .311"?

Ardent

Ardent

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I have a CZ527 7.62x39, and I'm frustrated by the lack of variety and ballistically poor bullets available in .311". I do shoot .308" bullets out of it, but lose velocity vs. the same weight .311" bullet. Any practical way to bump the diameter of .308" bullets up? I'm especially interested in the 110gr V-Max.
 
I believe Hornady makes a .311 VMAX as well.

Anyway, I can't really help you, other than to suggest that paper patching would put you slightly over bore.

If you're looking for a #####in' 200 yard varmint load (300 if there's no wind), try the 85gr XTP's designed for pistols. They'll hold up to 3000+fps velocities out of a 308 and will smote a varmint with a blow of utterly biblical proportions
 
What is the bore on a CZ BTW?

Being that you load 308 already, I'd be tempted to use a 308 expander, and 308 bullets in the 7.62x39 and try a couple of them out. Might get lucky. I have a mosin with a 312 bores that shoots decent with 308 tips.

Failing that, I'd be tempted to try paper patching as well, but more because it is something that I have been wanting to try for a while now.
 
Paper patching involves wrapping the bullet twice with paper, paper should have some cotton content. The end result will mean a bullet that has increased dia. by 4 x paper thickness, most "thin" paper is about .002", thus making your bullet .008" thicker than orig. or .316". I have heard of patching with teflon tape but am unsure of it's thickness or effectiveness. I paper patch bullets for the old calibers such as .45/70, the Sharps cartridges, 38/55 etc.
 
prosper said:
I believe Hornady makes a .311 VMAX as well.

Anyway, I can't really help you, other than to suggest that paper patching would put you slightly over bore.

If you're looking for a #####in' 200 yard varmint load (300 if there's no wind), try the 85gr XTP's designed for pistols. They'll hold up to 3000+fps velocities out of a 308 and will smote a varmint with a blow of utterly biblical proportions
Click to expand...

No such luck on the .311 V Max, sadly... Neat idea on the little 85 grainer, that thing should sail out of my CZ. I will certainly be trying them out.

I've patched before, with wax paper, for an old BP revolver with a worn bore. Kinda a hassle I'd like to avoid... As a note though, masking tape works well, and is easier to apply, if you have a fair gap to fill. I'm considering lathing up a .3105" cup with a shell holder type base I can stick in my press, then making a die with a shallow cone that could put pressure evenly round the top of the bullet. Who knows, bullets might not be able to take it and blow in flight, but would be interesting to try anyhow. It should work given it's not a very drastic jump in diameter, and I'm varminting with them anyhow, the more fragmentation the better.

To the gentleman that's curious, the CZ has a .3105" bore.
 
mysticplayer said:
If dirt cheap is the goal, gas checked hard cast. Messy and you need to keep the gas system clean but workable.

Otherwise, Hornady makes some great bullets.

Jerry
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Fortunately the CZ527's a bolt action, no gas system worries, and yup I already cast for it with the Lee 160gr .312 mold, works great. I just want the light weight and high BC of the 110gr Vmax to work for me.

Gatehouse said:
If you can't get good accuracy wiht .308 bullets, and you want to get it...Rebarrel. May save you alot of frustration.
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I'm very close to doing this, but since I've been pointed to Corbin, I've found their bullet bumping dies and will give them a shot first. I still feel there's a lot of options for getting it to do what I want with the existing barrel, and like the built in iron sights it has too much and would hate to lose them.

todbartell said:
losing velocity? add more powder
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As for adding more powder, counter productive, shooting sub diameter bullets with a lot of powder means a drastic reduction in barrel life due to gas cutting, and a sharp increase in fouling.
 
Have you looked into the cost of Corbin Equipment? I'm in the business and find their equip. way overpriced! Certainly not worth it when you compare to the bullets you can buy.
 
Ardent said:
I have a CZ527 7.62x39, and I'm frustrated by the lack of variety and ballistically poor bullets available in .311". I do shoot .308" bullets out of it, but lose velocity vs. the same weight .311" bullet. Any practical way to bump the diameter of .308" bullets up? I'm especially interested in the 110gr V-Max.
Click to expand...

Ardent I used a Lee mold #CTL312-160-2R in my SKS I used to have with good results. I found them to be more accurate then the factory offerings and a lot cheaper on the wallet as well. Gas checked and lynotype was what I used. After a day at the range, all I had to do was remove the gas piston and peel away a thin layer of lead. It came of quite easily. If yours is a bolt action then you don't even have to worry about that. The only reason I got rid of the SKS was the fact that I had to chase brass all over the range, but I often wondered how nice a little bolt action 7.62x39 would make nice caribou medicine;)
 
Hi-Standard said:
Ardent I used a Lee mold #CTL312-160-2R in my SKS I used to have with good results. I found them to be more accurate then the factory offerings and a lot cheaper on the wallet as well. Gas checked and lynotype was what I used. After a day at the range, all I had to do was remove the gas piston and peel away a thin layer of lead. It came of quite easily. If yours is a bolt action then you don't even have to worry about that. The only reason I got rid of the SKS was the fact that I had to chase brass all over the range, but I often wondered how nice a little bolt action 7.62x39 would make nice caribou medicine;)
Click to expand...

Already on it, have that mold and love it, I gas check it and fire it over 'Lil Gun for 2,100fps. Nice accurate all purpose load. And yes, the 7.62x39 in a bolt gun that's properly scaled to it is a magnificent little cartridge.
 
ben hunchak said:
Have you looked into the cost of Corbin Equipment? I'm in the business and find their equip. way overpriced! Certainly not worth it when you compare to the bullets you can buy.
Click to expand...

Yep, it's pricey stuff for sure, especially their complete die sets (which I'm considering, huge fan of RBT's but there's only the Lapua reasonably available) but the bump die's reasonably priced.
 
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