Lee mold 312-155

[jsanch03]

[foesgth]

I just resized some of the 312-155 to .309 and they will make it that small. The only ones I have now are tumble lubed. How many do you think you need and what kind of alloy? I could probably cast some next week even if it does interfere with my nap. I like being retired!

I also have the 312-160 if that would work better. I never had too much luck with these in a .308 rifle. I get much better accuracy out of the 311-299 Lyman type rounds. I have a NOE mold for that bullet. It makes 2 GC and 2 plain base. I have been doing those with HTC for excellent results. I use them in a couple of Spanish Mausers.

[jsanch03]

[jsanch03]

Bump

[rsrocket1]

I cast the Lee C312-185-1R for my Mosin Nagant, but I beagled the mold to drop at 0.315-0.316" and size them to 0.314" because my 91/30 slugged at 0.312" so it's not applicable for you. Did you slug your barrel to know the actual diameter of the grooves?

If these are the re-barreled K98's with "7.62" stamped on it, then it shoots plain 7.62x51 NATO or .308 Winchester cartridges. All you need are 308 bullets. If that's the case, you can shoot just about any 308 bullet through it and your options are huge.

I have a Remington 788 in .308 and shoot 100, 110, 113, 150, 170 and 200 grain cast bullets through it . The bullets are short jacketed, fully jacketed, plated, PC'd, gas checked and plain based and they all shoot great depending on the application. I've shot the 200g bullets as slow as subsonic (1000 fps) all the way up to the 100g SJ bullets at 3000 fps.

[kevins750]

Did you slug your bore?

And why .309 diameter. If your rifle has a .308 bore you are better served with a .310 or .311 bullet. I shoot sized .311 bullets in my 30-06 and AR and unsized .314 and PC'd in my mosin

[jsanch03]

[rsrocket1]

That's great.
You'll probably find that your gun will shoot any .308 type bullet. It's up to you to find a load to make it shoot well.

For cast bullets, I've found that a 2/1 mixture of beeswax/Vaseline works well in my .308. Zero leading and the mixture stays both relatively soft at any temperature and does not get runny at any temperature.

I stand the bullets up in a pie pan and pour the lube to cover the top groove. Then I put the pan in a 180 degree toaster oven until the lube is 100% melted.



Then let everything cool. The bullets pop out with the lube sticking in the grooves



The next time, I simply stand the bullets in the holes of the last lube job and put the pan back into the toaster oven to melt. The bullets can then be loaded and shot plain based or I could put an Aluminum or Copper gas check on them. I tried PC'ing them and they work OK, but unlike pistol bullets, they can't be stood up so I had to make an aluminum foil lining with ridges to hold the bullets sideways which leaves the coating slightly uneven. The 113g bullets stand up just fine.

[kevins750]

Take a full charge fired case and see how large a bullet fits in the case mouth.

[jsanch03]

[kevins750]

You can stick the bullet in the silicone tray squares nose down when heating.

You can also buy small mesh wire or screen with small squares to stand them up.

If you are careful and use non stick tin foil, standing rifle bullets with gas checks installed works for me without using mesh or trays to heat.

[jsanch03]

[kevins750]

I throw the foil away after each use. I use a silicone baking sheet now with good results.

I can't remember if the coat sticks to the copper checks but I would say yes.

[jsanch03]

[kevins750]

I just bought one from Walmart when I bought with my toaster oven. It is twice the size of my
Inner cooking area so I have 2 sheets.

You need a cooking thermometer also if you don't have one already, those little ovens are never as hot as they say.