I have a 8.5" 1:7 twist AR Pistol in .300blk. I am starting the process of learning to reload and I would like to cast my own bullets. I had bought a mold that I was told would work and it turns out its a .312 155gr mold that is casting .314-.315 So im in the market for new molds. Im not planning on gas checking, I am planning on hi-tek coating and will be slugging my barrel in the next few days and will size down to the .309 or .310 it ends up being.
I am interested in molds for a supersonic bullet and also a subsonic bullet. My initial thoughts were in the .309/.310 140gr and .309/.310 200gr ranges so I can can the supersonic below 2000 fps. What molds do you recommend that will get me close to these numbers with wheel weight lead that should feed well in an AR and since im not lubing or gas checking, id love a cleaner bullet but if there are groves in it im ok with it.
Can anyone help me find the best molds to use? I am new to all of this so please be gentle if I sound like an idiot in any of this post
Louneo wrote:I have a 8.5" 1:7 twist AR Pistol in .300blk. I am starting the process of learning to reload and I would like to cast my own bullets. I had bought a mold that I was told would work and it turns out its a .312 155gr mold that is casting .314-.315 So im in the market for new molds. Im not planning on gas checking, I am planning on hi-tek coating and will be slugging my barrel in the next few days and will size down to the .309 or .310 it ends up being.
I am interested in molds for a supersonic bullet and also a subsonic bullet. My initial thoughts were in the .309/.310 140gr and .309/.310 200gr ranges so I can can the supersonic below 2000 fps. What molds do you recommend that will get me close to these numbers with wheel weight lead that should feed well in an AR and since im not lubing or gas checking, id love a cleaner bullet but if there are groves in it im ok with it.
Can anyone help me find the best molds to use? I am new to all of this so please be gentle if I sound like an idiot in any of this post
Thank you!
Ok, first I must qualify my post; I have not cast for my 300Blk, yet. But I too read a bunch of posts and purchased these based on good reviews.
TL309-230-5R, I got this one for subs, it gets mixed reviews but cheap enough and enough good reviews to give it a try.
MP 311 410 HP DC, suposed to be an HP, about 125gr; ACE 300 BLK DC .311 144gr; I also got a Lee C312-155-2R, but it's a gas check design, but it's supposed to shoot well.
Maybe some of you guys here have tried these and can give us both a review of them.
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~Pericles~
That mold will work just fine. You will have to get a sizer anyways. I size everything to .311 regardless of what size it drops.
Who made the mold?
Yes, I am a Baptist, and yes I carry a gun. You might think I carry a gun because I don't trust God. Well you would be wrong. I have complete faith in my Lord. It is mankind I have no trust in
It was definitely not the right mold although one of the reviewers said it would work just fine. Being new, I wasnt sure how much I would be able to effectively squeeze it down so I was fine with buying another mold. I just bought a 7.62x39 pistol upper so this mold will still be used at some point. This is the mold https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010G7T3W2/
Louneo wrote:It was definitely not the right mold although one of the reviewers said it would work just fine. Being new, I wasnt sure how much I would be able to effectively squeeze it down so I was fine with buying another mold. I just bought a 7.62x39 pistol upper so this mold will still be used at some point. This is the mold https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010G7T3W2/
Honestly that is the mold. I use. I use it for 7.62x39, .308 win, and 300blk.
I am a fan of lee molds, but sometumes they are nkt quite right.
NOE molds are awesome. They actually have a mold somewhat copied of that lee mold. But the offer it without the gas check, and if you are going to hitech coat that would be how i would to it.
Yes, I am a Baptist, and yes I carry a gun. You might think I carry a gun because I don't trust God. Well you would be wrong. I have complete faith in my Lord. It is mankind I have no trust in
One of my big concerns was that I wouldnt be able to slim these down enough to get them to the right size. Where ive not actually done any sizing yet (I have all of the reloading gear still in boxes as I need to build a bench still), I dont know what is too much to try to resize down from. Is going from a coated .316 bullet (top end of what the range of the drops were) to a .310 or .311? Also why are you going with .311 vs a .309 or .310. Does your barrel run slightly larger than .308? Trying to still understand how it all works and what the true tolerances are.
My reasoning for going 311, is simply a matter of simplicity. Having multiple 30 caliber firearms that will feed this bullet as well as various other bullets It was simply a matter of seeing if it would work to where I can size everything to one size. All of my American made 30 caliber Firearms slug at .308 all of my com block 30 caliber firearms slug at . 310.
I have had no issues with feeding as long as I set a proper overall length to keep the ogive from smashing into the lands.
I use a simple Lee push through Sizer to size. And I have size bullets easily as big as .318 down to .311.
Yes, I am a Baptist, and yes I carry a gun. You might think I carry a gun because I don't trust God. Well you would be wrong. I have complete faith in my Lord. It is mankind I have no trust in
Louneo wrote:One of my big concerns was that I wouldnt be able to slim these down enough to get them to the right size.
You can sometimes get a "tail" around the edge of the base when going down that far. A couple of things help:
1. Polish the inside of the die with 1000/2000 grit paper. Many folks by a Lee sizer .001 smaller than needed and polish it starting with 400 grit and working up.
2. Use a tiny bit of Imperial sizing wax on the bullets.
3. If you're coating, size before and after.
The boat tail is just not a good idea. Some folks have had decent results by milling out the boat tail or using gas checks, but personally I'd just get something different. I haven't tried the others you mention.
Thank you for the advice. I guess it would make sense that boat tails would exacerbate any gas blowby issues. Im used to shooting jacketed boat tails which is why my mind was looking for a cleaner edge to make the hi-tek stick a little easier with less 90 degree angles.
I just mixed up some lead and the mold dropped .3125 - .314 at 156.6gr-157.5gr. I believe the coating adds about .01 - .015 to them so It looks like maybe resizing those down wont be terrible. Bangbangping do you also think that sizing the bullets to .311 is the correct size for .300blk? I am in the process of slugging my barrel, (AKA I have a chunk of lead stuck in the end of the barrel currently because I keep breaking sections of dowel trying to get it to move, even with having lubed the barrel.) but I assume its .308 or close to it. Would you recommend +.01 +.02 or +.03 for coated?
