303 bullet mold
- Thread starter Sam54
- Start date
Easiest to cast with is the Lee double-cavity aluminum mould.
It turns out a 184-grain slug which needs a gas-check (in theory).
Mould is about $30, gas-check seater/sizer is another $20.
That's Canadian bargain-basement prices; they are $18 and $17 in the States.
Neck-size your brass, segregate for that rifle, run with 13 grains of Red Dot and you are shooting a nice 250-yard load that doesn't recoil a lot.... and doing it for a dime a shot.
Good luck.
It turns out a 184-grain slug which needs a gas-check (in theory).
Mould is about $30, gas-check seater/sizer is another $20.
That's Canadian bargain-basement prices; they are $18 and $17 in the States.
Neck-size your brass, segregate for that rifle, run with 13 grains of Red Dot and you are shooting a nice 250-yard load that doesn't recoil a lot.... and doing it for a dime a shot.
Good luck.
I find the mold smellie is talking about cast a bit small for many enfields. I have had good luck with the sks mold 90385. CBE also make some lovely molds just for the enfield but they are three times the price of the lee.
One nice thing about cast bullets is that they don't have solid jackets to hold them together.
One good smack on the back end, and very often they will set-up, fill the bore and shoot accurately.
With the Red Dot load, you will find that straight wheelweight metal usually is plenty hard enough to shoot accurately, yet still soft enough for the rifle to set-up.
You have to remember that lead is a dead metal; it has no memory, no elasticity and it is good and heavy (11.35 specific gravity). If you smack it hard on the back end, the back end will swell up and seal the bore before the front end starts to move. A quick powder provides a much better smack than does a slower, progressive powder. Result: accurate shooting. Much erratic shooting with cast bullets arises from using powders unsuited to the end result.
Hope this helps.
One good smack on the back end, and very often they will set-up, fill the bore and shoot accurately.
With the Red Dot load, you will find that straight wheelweight metal usually is plenty hard enough to shoot accurately, yet still soft enough for the rifle to set-up.
You have to remember that lead is a dead metal; it has no memory, no elasticity and it is good and heavy (11.35 specific gravity). If you smack it hard on the back end, the back end will swell up and seal the bore before the front end starts to move. A quick powder provides a much better smack than does a slower, progressive powder. Result: accurate shooting. Much erratic shooting with cast bullets arises from using powders unsuited to the end result.
Hope this helps.
It all helps guys
I have been casting for the past few months for my 357 and have good results using dewc and other non gas checked bullets. Using both unique and 2400
I want to develop an effective round for my 303 and 54r rifles.
Has there been success using tumbled lubed, non gas checked bullets with those rounds?
I have been casting for the past few months for my 357 and have good results using dewc and other non gas checked bullets. Using both unique and 2400
I want to develop an effective round for my 303 and 54r rifles.
Has there been success using tumbled lubed, non gas checked bullets with those rounds?
...'K, noob question. Can someone explain what a gas check bullet is, and how are they cast?
I cast my own for several caliber's in black powder (rifle's) but I don't reload smokeless cartridges yet. I now have more than enough .303 British brass (as well as centerfire pistol) to begin this reloading "hobbie"
I cast my own for several caliber's in black powder (rifle's) but I don't reload smokeless cartridges yet. I now have more than enough .303 British brass (as well as centerfire pistol) to begin this reloading "hobbie"
A gas checked bullet is a cast bullet that has a rebate on the base. It allows you to take a copper or aluminum gascheck and crimp it to the base of the bullet.This is done when you are sizing your bullets.The gascheck protects the base of the bullet from the hot gases.
I actually really like a light load of unique and no gas check as a 100 yard target round. I use 7.5gr of unique behind a .311 165gr cast boolit no gas check in .308 for my m14. im not sure if that would work in .303 brit because of the extra space in the case. no gas check is even cheaper =)
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The LEE 312-185-1R Mold was designed for the .303 British cartridge. LEE also makes the 312-155-2R with standard grease grooves and the 312-160-2R with grease grooves designed to be tumble lubed with the LEE lubricant. The first number is the designed bullet diameter, the second is the weight, and the third is the nose shape.
The 155 and 160 grain Molds were designed by C.E. Harris to use in the SKS. They work well in the .303 British if the bore diameter is of specified dimensions. Harris specialized in working with cast bullets, and is the "father" of the 13 grain Red Dot load for military calibres.
Oversized bores are another thing. There are molds available that have .316 and .318 diameters, but these are usually older LYMAN molds and a good place to find them is on E-Bay. Also, LYMAN made molds just for the situation of oversized bores. These are usually a .311 diameter bullet designed for the 30 calibre rifles such as the 30-06, but have the same LYMAN designation with the letters "OS" or "XOS" on the blocks.
It is also possible to lathe bore an existing mold to make a odd oversize bullet. I have bored out a .38 wadcutter mold (148 grain, .358 diameter and lots of grease grooves) to make a 275 grain, .367 diameter bullet for my 9.3x57 Husqvarna rifle.
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The LEE 312-185-1R Mold was designed for the .303 British cartridge. LEE also makes the 312-155-2R with standard grease grooves and the 312-160-2R with grease grooves designed to be tumble lubed with the LEE lubricant. The first number is the designed bullet diameter, the second is the weight, and the third is the nose shape.
The 155 and 160 grain Molds were designed by C.E. Harris to use in the SKS. They work well in the .303 British if the bore diameter is of specified dimensions. Harris specialized in working with cast bullets, and is the "father" of the 13 grain Red Dot load for military calibres.
Oversized bores are another thing. There are molds available that have .316 and .318 diameters, but these are usually older LYMAN molds and a good place to find them is on E-Bay. Also, LYMAN made molds just for the situation of oversized bores. These are usually a .311 diameter bullet designed for the 30 calibre rifles such as the 30-06, but have the same LYMAN designation with the letters "OS" or "XOS" on the blocks.
It is also possible to lathe bore an existing mold to make a odd oversize bullet. I have bored out a .38 wadcutter mold (148 grain, .358 diameter and lots of grease grooves) to make a 275 grain, .367 diameter bullet for my 9.3x57 Husqvarna rifle.
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- Location
- Lac Pelletier Sask
the Lee 312-155-2R works well in my SKS and my 303 Ross,, sized and gas checked it comes out at .3115
Go to Walmart or CT. Go to the fishing isle. Get a package of sinker weights. I prefer the one that already look like bullets. Now go to the hardware area. Get a rod (or two, they tend to break) of 1/4" dowel. Go home and cut the dowel to 8 or 12 inch long pieces. Take the rifle. Open the bolt of the rifle and stuff a piece of rag in the chamber. Carefully start the bullet down the muzzle. Once started, place a piece of dowel behind hit and carefully tap it down with a hammer. When you have run the first dowel all the way in grab a second and continue till the bullet drops onto the piece of rage in the chamber. Collect the bullet and with a set of calipers carefully measure it. Don't squeeze to hard or you will wreak the slug. 5 groove enfield rifling can be tricky to measure, but it can be done.
Interesting. Can I assume that all gas checked boolits are flat base? If I were to ease up on the powder load, is a gas check really necessary? I'm aware that most guys who reload are crazy anal about the way a certain caliber is to perform...but that's because the aforementioned guys are fantastic marksmen. I am not a markman by anyone's standard, so I'm just looking for "can" the gas check be eliminated rather than the obvious that it will perform better with it.
Here's some pics regarding why gaschecks are used.
All 6 bullets in the picture below are Lee 312-185-1R bullets cast using straight wheel weights, the 4 on the left were fired by me into a snowbank for testing perposes and then retrieved in spring. The 2 on the right are unfired. I did this test simply because I wanted to see what would happen if I skipped the gascheck.
The 2 on the left were fired using 13 grains of red dot with no gascheck. The 2 in the middle were fired also with 13 grains of red dot but were gaschecked prior to loading. Notice how the left 2 are smaller in diameter, tapered at the bottom and are devoid of grease grooves, where as the the middle 2 are in great shape other then the gascheck is gone and theres rifling imprinted in them.
Basically the gascheck takes the impact of the powder and allows the lead to simply get pushed through the bore and down the barrel. The left 2 being un gaschecked simply couldn't take the pressure which then stripped away the thin grease grooves on the sides and deposited the now molten lead in the barrel.
What I was left with after firing 4 of the ungaschecked bullets was a bore caked with lead and let me tell you it was a real treat getting it out!!
So that being said, you can shoot non gaschecked lead bullets only if they are designed to be used without a gascheck. Also you have to keep the charges and velocity a little slower to keep leading at bay.
While a 1953 Fazakerley Lee Enfield should have a bore close to the "specified dimensions" it is not good to assume that it will be. The only way to check the bore diameter for certain is to slug the bore with a soft lead slug, and measure it. While your rifle was made or reconditioned in 1953, a time that there was not a real rush to get the rifles out the door, it is no assurance that the rifle has not been fired a lot and had the bore enlarged.
Most people try to drive cast bullets TOO FAST and lose accuracy. If you keep your loads into the 1400-1800 fps range, you should find an accurate load for shooting up to 300 yards.
