Thread: Bullet casting questions

Suppose you want to cast projectiles for 308, 7.62x39 and 303.

Do you buy a single oversized mould (? around 313 or 314), and run the projectiles through .309, .311 and .313 sizing dies, or do you need separate mold as well as sizers ?

Guess I am asking what max mold bullet is you can size using a .309 sizer...

Those exact 30 cals gave me the idea too. I think the going would get tough after more than about .008 sizing on my cheap gear, probably could size as far as you need with more steps inbetween I guess.

If you are going for Lee molds this is what I've found, I bought the 312-180 for a No.1 Mk3 but doesn't work so good, I believe cause of the nose section that measures about .301 which is ideal for .308 and I would bet on the Russian 7.62s but is sloppy in the 303 wich I understand has a +/- .303-.304 bore. Thus in technical terms has unsupported wiggle room down the barrel. Sized down with a .308 sizer they work really well in my .308 on paper targets.

I speculate the Lee "7.62x39" probably has the best chance of woking in all 3 and a .308,.309 sizer for the .308s.

303 British is more like .312 isn't it?

VC, my (limited) understanding is that you size the cast heads +0.001 larger than the bore, so 309 for 308 and 313 for 303

Chupcabra, tx that makes sense, did not think about stepped sizing

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

but is sloppy in the 303 wich I understand has a +/- .303-.304 bore. Thus in technical terms has unsupported wiggle room down the barrel.

The bit i didn't get.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

The bit i didn't get.

This is from an article by C E Harris might explain better than I can.

"Oversized 30's", like the .303 British, 7.7 Jap, 7.65 Argentine, and 7.62x39 Russian frequently give poor accuracy with .30 caliber cast bullets designed for U.S. barrels having .300 bore and .308 groove dimensions. This is because the part of the bullet ahead of the driving bands receives no guidance from the lands in barrel s of larger bore diameter. The quick rule of thumb to checking proper fit of the forepart is to insert the bullet, nose first, into the muzzle. If it enters clear up to the front driving band without being noticeably engraved, accuracy will seldom be satisfactory."

Ah i see, confusion with bore size as usually people refer to groove dia as bore size.

Another option if you want to have a go is paper patching undersize bullets up to the size you want. I have an old 1895 Winchester in 303Brit that I paper patch for as it's barrel is .317"! This rifle has won quite a few competitions for me & will shoot 2" groups at 100m with these which is pretty good for a rifle this age & with these barrel dimensions.
Hope this is of help.
Cheers.

Originally Posted by TARGEX

Another option if you want to have a go is paper patching undersize bullets up to the size you want. I have an old 1895 Winchester in 303Brit that I paper patch for as it's barrel is .317"! This rifle has won quite a few competitions for me & will shoot 2" groups at 100m with these which is pretty good for a rifle this age & with these barrel dimensions.
Hope this is of help.
Cheers.

I was inspired to try out patching after reading a magazine article about an oversized 1895 with a "hollow" section halfway down (cheers! to the author).
Having a Smelly with the same issue has turned me into a PP addict. hehe.

Yep, that article would have been written by me & it's the same 1895! Good to here it was of use to someone.
Cast bullets are a lot of fun to play with.

Just found some old computer printer paper for wrapping my .451 sized projectile for my 577/450. Using turned brass cartridges I don't crimp and this paper should fit it all together well. I get surprising accuracy from this rifle, I size my 45/70 to the same .451 no patch and it's very accurate as well. Only using Black powder loads.

Here's my contribution to extreme 357 patching, used Coreldraw for the CAD work.