Best .308 bullet mould???

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Wed May 21, 2008 9:36 pm

Ok guys, what is the best cast bullet mould for use in a .30-30, .308, .30-06, .30-40, etc. etc. Prefer at least a two cavity mould and accomodate a gas check. The Ranch Dog custom looks pretty good, but I have no experience with his and his site says "fully subscribed" whatever that means.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Wed May 21, 2008 10:19 pm

I will be getting the Ranch Dog .30 cal. 165 gr. 2 cavity mold in a couple days.
(got a notice yesterday from USPS of shipment by priority).
His molds have been by subscription as in pre pay for a mold group buy.
He is not going to do that any more BUT the 165 .30 cal 2 cavity will be available from his site on the first of June. with 6 cavity molds to be available shortly. You could e-mail him for details.

I have not seen a sample bullet yet of the .30 cal but all of my RD molds are of top quality and expect the 165 to be a fine bullet.

My favorite .30 bullet to date is Lymans 311041 with the RCBS 150 a fairly close second..
I hope to be able to cast a few RD .30`s this weekend.

The 311041 works great in the .30-30. I like RCBS 180 Sil. in the .308

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Wed May 21, 2008 10:26 pm

Thanks Chuck, I have the Lyman 311041 (a single though) and it is fine in .30-30 form, but it is at it's limit in the .30-40 and over it in the .308, unless I back 'em down to the point of getting blowback.

jhrosier · Post by **jhrosier** » Wed May 21, 2008 10:27 pm

I'm having good results with the Lyman 311299, 200gr GC in the .308.
I have just recently got this mould and have not tried it in my other .30s.
I am shooting 1-1/2 moa groups with velocities around 2000 fps.
The bullets are made of 1 part lino to 4 parts WW and water droped for a hardness in the high 20s.

I have been loading the 311041 in several rifles with good results.
This one is a 170 gr flat point GC design.
I have tried it in 7.62x54, 7.5x55 Swiss, .308, 30-06, and 30-30.
Note that the 7.62x54 is a Finn, with a .308 bore.
It shoots well and feeds with no problems in an '03 Springfield, M94 Win., 1895 Win., Rem.700, Swiss K31, and Mosin Nagant.
I am loading this one in the 1700-1800 fps range and getting 2-3 moa from most of the guns.

Jack

northwoods · Post by **northwoods** » Wed May 21, 2008 11:40 pm

311291, believe it was first made in 1906 and was the first gas check design. The old timers used it for all the thirtys. You asked for one for all of them, so this will work. Frank Marshells favorite for the 30-30.
If this is wrong information we will know.
Bob

Charles · Post by **Charles** » Thu May 22, 2008 9:47 am

Yur request is a good news, bad news situation.

The bad news, is there is no single bullet mould that will do the best in all of the various 30 caliber rifles.

The good news is there is one that comes awful close and that would be the original Barlow designed Lyman 311291. It has given me very good results in the 30-30, 30-06, 30-40, 300 Savage and the .308 Winchester. This bullet weights in at 165 to 175 grains.

Another old Barlow design that does very well in the 30-40 and the 30-06 is 311284. This bullet weights in at about 210 to 220 grains.

Cast bullet accuracy is all about bullet fit to the land, groove and throat diameter of the rifle. It is highly unlikely one bullet mold will giveil good fit in a number of rifles.

RCBS 165 SIL has given me good resuls in the 30-06 and .308. RCBS 180 FN has also done well for me in the 30-30. The old Loverine designs 311466,311467 and 311407 has done very well in a number of 30 caliber rifles. Sadly they are no longer in production. SAECO also produces some good 30 cal designs.

I am something of a cast bullet nut with 30 caliber rifles being my all time favorite. There have been far more 30 caliber molds produced than any other caliber.

Bear in mind bullet fit is critical, so some folks report good results with bullet X or bad results with the same bullet. Most likely their results, good or bad, has to do with bullet fit rather than the basic design itself.

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Thu May 22, 2008 10:25 am

And the worst news is that you don't know if a specific mold fits your rifle until you cast from it. Individual molds are all different, even molds of the same design.

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Fri May 23, 2008 7:37 pm

Ranch Dog has these in stock, just ordered one of these and his mold for the .444/.44mag(TLC432-265-RF);

Also picked up a CTL312-160-2R at Lee today out of their surplus stock for $14, figure I can use one against the other.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Fri May 23, 2008 7:58 pm

I just got my RD 165 RF mold today in the mail. Should be able to cast a few this weekend and do some testing is a couple of weeks.
Good looking mold though. Should cast some fine slugs.
I also have the .444 mold you ordered. It is a fine shooter.

RD .44`s cast of 30:1

Andrew · Post by **Andrew** » Fri May 23, 2008 9:23 pm

Chuck,

I know I asked the last time you posted pics of them shiny boogers how they got so shiny and I remember something about their mix. Was that it?

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Fri May 23, 2008 10:51 pm

Andrew,The tin makes them shine like they are silver just like the Lone Ranger used. Those are 30:1 lead to tin.

Also shows the quality of finish that the new Lee molds are made to.