Well my mould is Lyman 311284. The Lee site says that I should buy a sizing die at .309” for a .308” bore. I believe that the 311284 will drop bullets at .311”? Would that be your thought as well? And…..if that is so….would a bullet with gas check, dropped at .311 go through a .309” die?
A question for a more experienced person regarding cast bullets
- Thread starter Dantforth
- Start date
That’s not much of a size down. I have sized a0.458 down to 0.446. The 0.309 would work but I normally use a 0.310 sizer for 308 barrels.
Well, thanks gentlemen. The mold was purchased to make bullets for my 30-40 Winchester 1895 rifle made by Miroku. I have read a piece where someone found that .309” worked as well or better than .310”. I will soon make a decision based on all of the info I have. Dave
The old time thinking was to have the bullet drop oversize, and then you size it to a diameter that works for you.
That was back when the Lyman sizing dies would shear the bullet down to size, not squeeze them like today's dies.
Very bad news!
Avoid any Lyman die that doesn't have a rubber sealing ring near the top.
You can't expect a store bought mould to drop its bullets at the stated diameter. Lee's standards are 2.5 thou over to 0.5 thou under. I've had RCBS and Lyman moulds throw bullets that were very oversize. I would size as little as possible, using the sizer/lube, mainly for lubing and seating gas checks.
It's fairly easy to get good performance with a quality mould, proper lube and seating and moderate loads. Bullet diameter isn't a big issue, unless it's too small.
Nowadays, powder coating has rewritten the rules about cast bullet shooting.
That was back when the Lyman sizing dies would shear the bullet down to size, not squeeze them like today's dies.
Very bad news!
Avoid any Lyman die that doesn't have a rubber sealing ring near the top.
You can't expect a store bought mould to drop its bullets at the stated diameter. Lee's standards are 2.5 thou over to 0.5 thou under. I've had RCBS and Lyman moulds throw bullets that were very oversize. I would size as little as possible, using the sizer/lube, mainly for lubing and seating gas checks.
It's fairly easy to get good performance with a quality mould, proper lube and seating and moderate loads. Bullet diameter isn't a big issue, unless it's too small.
Nowadays, powder coating has rewritten the rules about cast bullet shooting.
Resizing minus .002 is not a problem but over that you are moving a lot of metal.
Undersizing an oversized bullet + .003 is never a good thing for accuracy.
Getting an alloy harder will shrink bullet (within reason) softer - more lead = bigger.
Undersizing an oversized bullet + .003 is never a good thing for accuracy.
Getting an alloy harder will shrink bullet (within reason) softer - more lead = bigger.
fingers284
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My 175 gr mold cast slugs at .309 with the alloy I use ( coww). I powder coat these and size to .311 for the wife's 94' 30-30 and they work admirably . It is a GC shanked mold but we shoot them naked into 2" at 100.
I do it all the time
.309, .310, .311. So many variables in lead and guns that you really need to experiment. I have had no issue shooting .309 in any of my guns. Any recovered bullet always showed good engagement. Then again I cast hard bullets.
YMMV
This is critical. Until you know precisely what your bore diameter is, sizing your bullets is really a fool's errand because you don't know what your baseline is.
Alloy selection is also important because your 'as cast' diameter will change depending on the alloy you are casting with.
I have a 313226 mould which drops 98 grain bullets which I used in a .32 pistol. Now that I no longer have that gun, I size the bullets down to .309 for 30/30 and 30-06 plinkers. I do the same with Hornady 00 buckshot (.33 diameter) . Both shot very well.
Depends on your alloy.
