cast bullets for a Lee Enfield and Mosin Nagant

sirren

sirren

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Hi. I want to cast my own bullets for a Lee Enfield and Mosin Nagant and would like some advice. I slugged the barrels and got some weird values. Both guns are a 5 land and groove and I am having trouble measuring the diameter. 90% of the measurements for both guns have come up .310-.311 with the odd one being .308 and .314 every now and then. Can anyone explain to me if there is a proper way to measure a 5 land and grove barrel. Right now I am going to go with a .310 bullet for both of them. From what I understand I need to get a mold bigger then that, say a .314 and resize the bullets down to .310 correct? Would a .309 bullet be better or is the bore size the size you go with? Would taking off .004-.005 be too much, and leave a softer bullet? Finally is a bullet that is .001 over your bore size really dangerous? Maybe I should change that to how dangerous it it? I know that an oversize bullet will leed to higher pressure with possible gun and shooter damage but if you start 10% below max charge would you see signs of excessive pressure or would that be ever too much of a powder charge?

Thanks.
 
Get a bullet that will take a gas check or keep the velocities down. If your mould is casting bullets that measure .314, lube and shoot. Don't bother to resize they will be fine for almost all 303Brit rifles. The mould I have, throws a .314 bullet and the only rifle it won't shoot in is a 1943 Lithgow with a .317 bore. I'm not sure how that one got past inspection. The bore is perfect otherwise. It shoots the .318 Mauser bullets quite well though so not all is lost. I suspect that tolerances were quite lax in 1943 due to war time expediencies. Most of the rifles I shoot lead in like the bullet to be a few thousandths of an inch larger than bore diameter.
 
A cast lead bullet .001 oversize is not a problem. My Marlin 30-30 microgroove thrives on a cast bullet .003 oversize- it slugs .308 total and the bullets are sized .311 no leading whatsoever.
If you're plinking under 1600fps I'd just panlube and give her a crack without the gaschecks for now. Start at lower speeds with powders like Unique or SR4759.

Check out the Castboolits website.
 
1shot said:
A cast lead bullet .001 oversize is not a problem. My Marlin 30-30 microgroove thrives on a cast bullet .003 oversize- it slugs .308 total and the bullets are sized .311 no leading whatsoever.
If you're plinking under 1600fps I'd just panlube and give her a crack without the gaschecks for now. Start at lower speeds with powders like Unique or SR4759.

Check out the Castboolits website.
Click to expand...

:agree:

Most cast bullets work best at .001-.002 over bore size. Makes a good gas seal and gives a good grip on the rifling.
 
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