Anyone got an oversized .303 mold .314+?

[migrant hunter]

I have tried the lee 185 gr with a .314 sizer(boolit is about .313), it just won't stabilise(keyholing).
The gun(no 4 enfeild) shoots fine with .312 jacketed, keyholes with .3105.
I would like to try a few cast at .315 or bigger, as my next step would be to buy a bigger mold or buy another lee mold and lap it out.
Anyone else making boolits for a big bored .303?
If anyone has some gas checked cast at .315/.316, I'd like to buy/trade some.

 

[LUTNIT]

I had the same issue with my No.1 Mk.3; .3105 jacketed would tumble but .312" jacketed where fine.
Have you slugged the bore? Mine turned out to be .315"
Mine shot .314" okay (.3140" to .3145" as cast) but I had to keep velocities down.
If the rifle was worth more than $100 I may have ordered a custom mould for it but I just ended up selling it.

I would slug the bore, find out what it really is, and order a custom bullet mould from a place like Accurate Molds. Can then order a custom push through sizer from Lee directly or find a local machinist who can make you one (that's what I did for my .433" sizer).
Accurate Molds makes a clone of the Lyman 314299 but can cut it to any custom size when you order. You could order one in .315" or .316" or larger if you wish.
There was an old mould from decades past that cast .316" if I remember correctly but that'll be like hens teeth to find. I'd just order one custom sized; only costs a bit over $100.

 

[JBD]

beagle it,

google beagling a mold I had to do it for an sks with a 315 bore.

 

[Muskyhunter1]

Migrant,

Lutnit is bang on you need to slug your bore. Another suggestion is try some unsized bullets out of your mold see what they come out at and try them. It just may be a simple matter of getting a bigger sizer die. Keep us posted and good luck.

 

[Lionel]

I'll agree with JBD. Beagling is a quick and easy way to get a mold to run a few thou larger.
High temp muffler tape? The alumanized stuff at Crappy tire. I used it on one of my molds and if memory serves me it opened up the mold by about .0015 to .002"
I only put tape on one side of the mold, but if I had to I could do both sides and if I was really needing to open the mold up I might get away with 2 layers of tape, but that might be pushing the boundaries a bit much.
Getting too silly with the tape means that bullets will start to run out of round on you. The little bit I did didn't affect roundness, and I measured many bullets to make sure. It was for a .338 mold, so you might have a different experience.
Best of all it's cheaper than buying a new mold that may or may not work. Kind of a try before you buy thing.

 

[migrant hunter]

Played with it and moved on. It is so out of round already that beagling it did'nt help(I tried a batch). Ordered a Lyman .314/200gr.
I have been using the bullets from my lee mold in my .308 and 7.62x54, sized to .311. They work fine for those calibers, so I don't want to mess it up.

 

[nanuk]

NOE has .316 moulds... I think they are around 165gr FN I have one, never used it yet

 

[antiqueguy]

I got a .316 210gr mold from CBE works well in my no 4 mk1 most are going to be oversize most of these guns did serve though ww2 and Korea

 

[sawzall]

Played with it and moved on. It is so out of round already that beagling it did'nt help(I tried a batch). Ordered a Lyman .314/200gr.
I have been using the bullets from my lee mold in my .308 and 7.62x54, sized to .311. They work fine for those calibers, so I don't want to mess it up.

Did you get your Lyman mold yet? Test it? Every new Lyman I've tried drops undersize with clip on wheel weights. I have 2 old Ideal molds and they both drop nice and fat. Lyman is no help because they say it's my alloy. They say the molds drop to spec with Lyman #2 alloy.

 

[10x]

x2 on an NOE mold in .314 or .316 - these are great molds.
And if you can get 35 folks together on a buy Swede will do a run of a custom mold or a copy of an obsolete mold