Lee Loader

Rooster59 wrote:Is there any reason I wouldn't want to have a qualified gunsmith ream the throats just a tad to emulate the looser Marlins?

That would be a tough decision, only you could answer.

If you went that route, I would make a couple of dummy cartridges with the bullet seated at the crimp groove and have them match the cut.

I will play with it some more tonight to make sure what I think I know, I really know. The alternative is to order the Accurate 31-165DG but have them cut the nose around .299-.300 instead of at .303".

I love your mold RD but it is looking incompatible with my rifles.

Yeah, sure is. Always sell it.

Rooster59 wrote:

mr surveyor wrote:Rooster .... the gun your trying that boolit in wouldn't happen to be a '84 336TS, would it?



jd

How did you know? Precisely.

sshhhhh .... I read it on the Marlin forum


jd

Rooster, I cannot remember if you have slugged the barrel or made a chamber impression. If not at least slug the barrel to determine exactly what the bore and groove diameters are. The reason I mention this is because of your thinking about reaming the chamber a bit. Might be just as easy to fire lap it out.

I've been working with three rifles chambered in 7.62x39 and my new TLC313-150-RF bullet that I designed for that cartridge. My Savage 10FCM is creating huge problems with cast bullet shooting as Savage cut a spec chamber but used a .308" groove barrel rather than the .310". The chamber needs a .313" bullet because of the freebore used with the cartridge but the bullet cannot survive the crush down to the meet the bore. The rifle uses an aggressive leade to get there. I also see this setup promoting throat erosion with the standard fare copper jacketed/steel core ammo.

Rather than rebarrel it, I've decided to fire lap the groove out to .310". The bore will come with it from .300" to .302" (the spec calls for .300"; hence, where the cartridge gets the 7.62 designation) but I can live with that.

If you groove is anything less than .3090", you might gain some overall length by taking it to that. May be out to .3095". The throat will wear appropriately with the groove.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have all the supplies to slug the barrel but don't have any supplies or experience in chamber casting. Slugging the barrel was going to wait until this weekend as I still have a few days to play deer sniper in the backyard this week. Didn't want to upset my barrel conditions by cleaning, slugging, etc. when my jacketed bullet load and scope are in harmony.

My reloading mentor handed me some of his bullets made from Lee 170 and 185 molds that have slightly smaller diameter from nose to crimp ring. I did some caliper comparisons last night while watching our metro area get lit up by "protestors". He also gave me three loaded rounds with the Lee 312-185 bullet in a 30-30 case. They loaded fine but exhibited a clear scrape mark from the rifling when ejected. Probably from the top of the chamber as it was getting pushed horizontal into the chamber. The bullet nose measured at .295" max. No indentation but a well defined shiny scuff mark. Looks like the rifling is very crisp and sharp edged.

Ranch Dog wrote:Rooster, I cannot remember if you have slugged the barrel or made a chamber impression. If not at least slug the barrel to determine exactly what the bore and groove diameters are. The reason I mention this is because of your thinking about reaming the chamber a bit. Might be just as easy to fire lap it out.

I've been working with three rifles chambered in 7.62x39 and my new TLC313-150-RF bullet that I designed for that cartridge. My Savage 10FCM is creating huge problems with cast bullet shooting as Savage cut a spec chamber but used a .308" groove barrel rather than the .310". The chamber needs a .313" bullet because of the freebore used with the cartridge but the bullet cannot survive the crush down to the meet the bore. The rifle uses an aggressive leade to get there. I also see this setup promoting throat erosion with the standard fare copper jacketed/steel core ammo.

Rather than rebarrel it, I've decided to fire lap the groove out to .310". The bore will come with it from .300" to .302" (the spec calls for .300"; hence, where the cartridge gets the 7.62 designation) but I can live with that.

If you groove is anything less than .3090", you might gain some overall length by taking it to that. May be out to .3095". The throat will wear appropriately with the groove.

Doing a little research on chamber dimensions and found this from lasc.us.
http://www.lasc.us/Brennan_2-1_Measurin ... nsions.htm

Some of the web research I read said measuring cerrosafe isn't as accurate as the method shown in the link for determining the throat and lead dimensions. I don't really need an entire chamber cast, just to know the dimensions from the brass neck forward. I can adjust the case length to fit the bullet I am trying to use. I think. Does this method make sense?

Try this thread over on cast boolits about pound cast on rifle chambers.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... pound-cast

Wonder what the purpose of the brass rod is, besides using less lead in the case? Seems to me using steel or just filling it with lead would be cheaper and just as functional.

Thanks 62chevy for the link.

The take I got for using brass was less chance of damage to the barrel. If you wrap the rod with tape you should be good. They don't like wood because it breaks some times.