The bullets you got should be "stop ring" bullets, meaning that one band will be bigger to hold it at the case mouth. They are made to fit some what loose in the case and the stop ring works like a seating die to hold OAL.

For cast bullets in general, if they cast round and and .001-.003 over groove, don't size them. Pan lube them and get them into the case (if you have to)  by flaring the mouth of the case or breech seat them.

I wish that there were more molds made for the .316 groove (thats what mine is too) but, there just aren't many. Lyman made a GC but, they're hard to find (on Ebay) and expensive.

I breech seat mine and use 14.5 gr 4227 with a 170 gr bullet. I've never shot fixed in it but, about 13-14 gr of 4227 should be the range.

Frank

Frank,

thanks!! The H&N bullets are flat nosed and cone shaped without any lube grooves. They are coated with a hard finish which makes them look orangish in color. Maybe I will hang onto them and try to run them through a sizer.

Contacted Western Bullet and learned they have "a 180 gr. RN plainbase bullet that can be had in either .316 or .318. They are sort of a specialty item. They are a Kephart-design bullet, with two large grease grooves and three bands. They'd be $15/100." Might try some of them. 

But what dia should I go with...316 or 318 diameter[/b]?

You know of anyone selling stop ring bullets in the 170 gr range for the 316 dia bore? 

I have bought some brass and cast bullets from Bob Hayley in Seymour, Texas// ph 940-888-3352. The brass is perfect and fits beautifully...it is made from 303 British. Shot the lube ring bullets he sent me already...but didnt use the stop rings he sent as they wouldnt fit inside the mouth of my cases. I bought only 20 pieces of brass but plan on ordering more. 

I went on line and watched the germans and austrians shooting their aydts and martinis off hand at 200 meters at a match in 2010. looked really fun and I also noted that they had pre-made their ammo for the match. I intend to pre-load my ammo. 

I spoke with the man who owns 310.com and he will make the Ideal hand loading tool for me in this cartridge for a very reasonable price, which in turn would make it possible to load round at the range. (fun guy to talk with too as he shoots SS rifles!!) I just need to know what type of bullet I will be loading. 

Thanks again. 

Schuetzendave,

perfect!! Thank you. The H&N are smooth, without lube rings and  with a concave base. I will size them to .318 when I get the tools to do so. I have almost a 1000 of them...too many to dispose of. 

Are you shooting stop ring bullets or conventional lube ring'd bullets? Any suggestions for dies to cast bullets with? I am new to it...dont even have a melting pot yet. 

and then loading for the round...is anyone using fillers?  I found natural cotton fiber in the form of a rope chord, but I am wondering if there is any issue with consistency with the filler (volume or weight)  affecting  accuracy. 

Ben

joe b,
You can size w/o hurting the nose and go .003-.004 in one pass with a arbor press.

Machine the as cast dia to start the bullet straight (about 1/2 the lenght of the bands or more), at the end of that area, transition it at 1 to 2 deg down to the dia you want. Make sure that the grooves are full of lube (read pan lube). Put the bullet in nose first and push it through from the base. You can seat the GC in the same operation if you put a taper into the as cast dia. The bullet resitance will hold the GC in place. Machine it all .001 undersize and polish it to size.

Frank

Buffalo Arms makes stop-ring moulds in .316, .320, and .325 Diameter.

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Steve   

Gentlemen,

  I thank all of you for the information you have shared. I was really surprised when I got home and found all the posts...this is going to be great!! 

  I will need some time to take all this in and to work up some test loads. I like the idea of testing some different bullets before commiting to a particular set of molds too. And at the same time, its very helpful to hear what has worked for you. 

Are any of you using "fillers" for this cartridge? I had read that the germans recommended the use of natural fillers...that got me to wondering. In Rowe's books I have seen the photos of the old pre-measured powder charges...but I havent seen mention of how they used fillers. Furthermore, with my smokeless regular reloading...consistency and accuracy are significant factors in producing quality cartridges that produce the desired results. This cartridge shouldnt be any different...right??? So....

Do we use fillers or can we skip them; and if we do use fillers...do we have to worry about volume or weight to achieve load consistency in burn rates and SD? 

Unfortunately, I have to leave again as I am being dragged away to socialize with my wife's girlfriend. 

But I will be back. thanks again!!!

Ben

Jaeger

To your question on fillers. We don't use fillers. Some controversy on wads however as a general rule only wads used are with the short cases that need wads to breech seat successfully.  Having said that there will be some that say wads are fine and improve results. Starting loads I would avoid them.

On consistency with cases less than full.  Key here is to use a powder that burns at it's intended rate and produces safe pressure with loading density allowed by your case size.  This is effected by bullet weight, how much crimp, bullets size, temper, desired velocity and even the primer used.

It's sort of like octane rating in your car's engine.  To low it will not perform well, too high is not a good thing either.  Extreme example you don't use Gasoline in a Diesel engine. Powder is just fuel and the case is a combustion chamber. Feed it right and no extra fillers or wads are required.  While many powders will do fine you will find consensus on 4227 for most single shot cases. 

If you can't find 4227 in your area look at a relative quickness chart and pick a powder that's available and near 4227 in burn rate. get things working well then branch off into other powders, best sick with whats proven as a first step.

Boats