Lee Loader

You didn't say if the lead bullets leaded the barrel or not. If they did then you need 1 to 2 thousands over grove size so for you that would be .315 to .316 . I cast my own but Missouri bullets should be able to cast what ever size you want.

There was NO noticeable leading at all. It looked like the bullets were sliding through without engaging the rifling though. They would not even hit on the target board/frame anywhere at 50 yards. I had a guy spotting at one point and he could not see where they were hitting off the target board/frame. I then just shot in the berms in different areas to see if the bullets were going down range and they were. No leading though. I shot several kinds of jacketed bullets intermingled with the lead and also cleaned the barrel hot at the range twice and saw no leading.

Keep in mind size is king and hardness matters when it matters. Sounds like your lube is working but you still may need a bigger bullet. Someone else will have to help you with load data as it is still possible you load is to light for that bullet.

Yes, I will get it figured out and if they are too small I can use them when I start reloading 7.62x54R eventually. They are high tek coated #1 Russian grooveless. I took a chance on them working because I read a post in a forum where a guy used them in his Enfield with good results. The BHN of 20 is hard. I bought a sample pack of 100, I think they were $15 delivered. Totally worth it for the experience. I wanted to test them and test them I will. I like the bullets and will definitely try them in my Mosins eventually. At this rate I will need to buy more. LOL

If your groove diameter is .314", there is no way that a cast bullet under that diameter can workout. You can get away with jacketed bullets if their diameter is between your bore & groove diameter, but not with a cast bullet.

I am pretty certain the grooves are right at .314. When I slugged barrel it was very difficult to get a good reading so I actually took my calipers and lined them up in the muzzle where the 2 grooves are and that was the consistent diameter, .314. I will shoot these through it anyway because I don't want to pull them. Then use the Speer bullets when they come. I will see if I can order larger diameter from Missouri bullets. Jacketed bullets are fine too, was just trying to save money and experiment a little. My results with Russian pulled 185 gr bullets were encouraging. That went better than I expected.

I ran a magazine of work up loads for the new 6.8 barrel .
5 loads , 5 rounds , 1 magazine .
Compact carry and handy too .

JohnnyEnfield wrote:I am pretty certain the grooves are right at .314. When I slugged barrel it was very difficult to get a good reading so I actually took my calipers and lined them up in the muzzle where the 2 grooves are and that was the consistent diameter, .314. I will shoot these through it anyway because I don't want to pull them. Then use the Speer bullets when they come. I will see if I can order larger diameter from Missouri bullets. Jacketed bullets are fine too, was just trying to save money and experiment a little. My results with Russian pulled 185 gr bullets were encouraging. That went better than I expected.

It is better to slug the barrel with a lead fishing sinker. I thought I had a topic here on how to do it, but if so, can not find it. I will get one posted in a couple days.

I pulled my lead projectiles that didn't work well in .303 British and had to de-prime the cases and re shape the necks. But, I reloaded 20 of them with 180 grain Speer Hot Core bullets and 37.5 grains of CFE 223. When I can get to the local gun store I will see if he has Hybrid 100V so I can try it out in the future. Not sure when I will get to check my new hand loads at the range. I have some other empty brass I may do a different load in. Stay safe everyone, happy hand loading!

[mod="Ranch Dog"]I use these "...Did you Do Today?" topics to identify a certain level of interest that would be better served in a stand-alone topic. GasGuzzler's move to the 7.62x39 here and on my Rossi-Rifleman Forum warranted such a move.

The new topic is 7.62x39 Handloading and includes the information from the Rossi-Rifleman Forum.[/mod]