OK So Maybe The 311291 Ain't So Bad

quicksylver

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
Well I find myself eating my own words again..

I have been bad mouthing the 311291 and 311 041 ( 31141) here and on the other site for some time..'cause I just couldn't seem to get them to work the way I thought they should..

Not wanting to give up on something too easily and because of Sendaro's post of a couple of targets using this bullet and 4227 ..I thought I would give it one last honest try..

Sendaro's post..pretty good right..?
http://www.artfulbullet.com/index.php?threads/lyman-311291-imr4227.2303/

To start with I needed bullets..so I fired up my new Lee drip -o - matic..hauled out the NOE 2 cavity mold in 311291..and set to casting a "few" ..(12)..

I looked them over sort of, didn't weight them but did measure some..nice and strong .312 bands ,.301+-.302 noses..not bad numbers...with my alloy 4-4-92

As I said I haven't had much luck in the past with these in the Winchester 54 ,30-30 or any other .30 cal gun I own...BUT YA NEVER KNOW.. BESIDES THEY CAME OUT LOOKING REALLY PRETTY...

Last night I sized them .310 , lubed them with BR and rolled them lightly in BLL.. for use in my Win. 54 and M1 Garand..might as well try both ends of the spectrum..right?

My 30 -30 cases had been giving me the fits ..the bullets just weren't seating with enough pressure..so I readjusted my Lee neck sizing die so I was getting consistant resistance when seating them..maybe that would help with the accuracy says I..

I set the OAL so that the 30-30 cast came to just below the crimp groove ..the OAL is noted on the targets..
I didn't use 4227 as Senaro did but rather interpolated his loadings using 2400...

One LARGE note here the bullet cast such that the upper band is sized .310 along with the driving bands..and is engraved slightly when the round is chambered..good stuff..

So how did it shoot out of the Winny at 100 yds with iron sights ..not badly..

Nice old gun..
0MP70Co.jpg


Targets..
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And the M1 Garand..not bad for sloop[y shooting..
DO72k4P.jpg



The lower groups are the 315 PB those usually group as well as the 311291's did..but they had neck tension issues...and you can see how that affected them..

So..as I said I was wrong the 311291 does indeed work as Sendaro suggested....

Now on to the 311041 fron NOE..
 
Reed

Reed

Active Member
Dan, the man who can see a bug at 100 yards! Very nice results. What is that covering your bench, and how long has it lasted?
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
the 291 is actually a pretty good fit for the 0-6's throat.
it leaves some open areas in the taper that could give problems if pushed real hard but as an everyday shooter it isn't too bad.
I have a hard time getting the 041 to shoot well also, but it does pretty darn well in my 03.
I thought it would work in the 1917 but no, the leftover loads were tried in the 03 and I have never changed away from it for that rifle.
 
quicksylver

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
Fiver...i think the problem I was having with them was two fold..1. ..I was using an old ideal mold that cast a too small of a nose and upper band...these were from a new NOE mold with a good sized nose and upper band,2..I was pushing them way too fast..

I must say though that I cast and loaded some 41's from another Ideal mold that sized .312 shot beautifully from my friends Marlin 336 @ 1600 fps...
 
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quicksylver

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
Reed...that same bug might go un noticed crawling up the ridge of my nose...

Things are changing..this year I am using the NRA..50 foot b16..last year it was the 3" shoot-n-c target...

The covering on the bench is some left over rubber roofing stapled on....been on for about 8 yrs...should last forever...best bench cover I have ever used..nothing moves on it and it dries almost immediately after a rain..
 
quicksylver

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
The hottest it gets up here is in the mid 80's. Now that you mention it...I have never had a problem with it...
 
Rick

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Air temp may be 80 but black rubber sitting in the sun would be a whole lot hotter than that. :confused:
 
quicksylver

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
Rick said:
Air temp may be 80 but black rubber sitting in the sun would be a whole lot hotter than that. :confused:
Click to expand...

One would think so...but for some reason it remains usuable...possibly air temp cooling it...we are never without a breeze..besides there's a pond 40 ' from the bench..a bucket of water would take care of the excess heat...:)..and that reminds me there is another bench to the left that is in the shade this time of year... .the one in the picture gets shade later in the summer as well..
 
quicksylver

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
Boy this 54 and the 291 just keep giving..

prFzI6C.jpg

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I tried the 041 and got 1-1 1/4" groups ..guess I'll have to keep working on that one..

Hey 50% aint bad..

BTW the 291 hasn't YET done this well in the Rem .308 700 vs...
 
quicksylver

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
Reed ..I get asked that all the time at the range...as you know us casters are frugal individials...so in order to save my stach of targets ,I staple an nra target at the top of the backer right below that I staple an 11x17" sheet of paper ,usually some plans the town commission I am on supplied us...point of aim is at the bottom of the bull....the impact point is on the 11x17" sheet of paper ...if I work the sights properly I can get two rows of groups horizontally across the paper. ..the target remains untouched...good for at least 20 trips...
 
Ian

Ian

Notorious member
Dang, and I though I was cheap. :D

One other advantage I can think of for doing that is groups are a lot more clearly visible through the spotting scope, or even rifle scope. No straining the eyeballs between shots to see where one went in the black. The strain of switching between scopes and hunting for each bullet hole fatigue my eyes more quickly than if I can just stay in the rifle scope for the whole group, plus I can stay in exactly the same shooting position and just work the bolt while keeping my face on the stock.
 
quicksylver

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
Ian said:
Dang, and I though I was cheap. :D

One other advantage I can think of for doing that is groups are a lot more clearly visible through the spotting scope, or even rifle scope. No straining the eyeballs between shots to see where one went in the black. The strain of switching between scopes and hunting for each bullet hole fatigue my eyes more quickly than if I can just stay in the rifle scope for the whole group, plus I can stay in exactly the same shooting position and just work the bolt while keeping my face on the stock.
Click to expand...

Yup ..all of that Ian..:)
 
quicksylver

quicksylver

Well-Known Member
Thanks Smoky...I think I am going to use this rifle to do a comparison of Universal and Unique..plus having the powder forward and to the back,
Velocities,SD's etc..
 
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