Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters reloading for a 31-06?

gotsarock,

I have an extra Lyman or RCBS seater if you wish to try it... PM me your shipping addy and I'll ship it out... You can purchase it if you wish, or just borrow, either way not a problem...

GH

Honing out the existing die or getting a seater die for a .311-ish bullet is probably the simplest solution. Seater dies for 303 Brit, 7.7 Jap, 8x57 or similar rounds would likely work just fine, properly adjusted. Seater dies are large enough that the brass isn't supposed to touch the die.

As others have advised get an M die from Lyman then proceed with some .311/312 bullets.

Probably the most sensible idea, but then there goes the fun of developing new loads.

If the accuracy is so-so, I'd have a look at the muzzle end of the tube. Not unusual for milsurp guns to have some damage from cleaning. Often times lopping 2-4" off the barrel (provided you keep it to a legal 16" length) and putting on a fresh crown will do wonders.

Sitka deer picked up a 223 with a barrel that everyone who looked at it considered to be junk due to the heavy rust and pitting. We figured in the name of science it wouldn't hurt anything to see if I could save the barrel. I put alot of elbow greese trying to clean up the barrel with JB combpound but the last couple inches of barrel just wouldn't clean up. So I lopped off 4" of barrel and recrowned it on the lathe to the see if the "goner" barrel would shoot. As I recall the asnwer was an affirmative with sub moa groups.

Thanks for the kind offer, Grasshopper. I'm going to try honing the current die, but will be in touch if that doesn't work.

Why not a 7.65 die set from Lee? Swap the expander ball into the '06 set, and use the 7.65 seater? If that set is too hard to come by, maybe a 7.62x54R Russian set?

I once had a very early 30-06 Model 30 Remington that Remington built with a 303 Brit barrel 5 groove left hand twist 312 diameter and it shot well with most anything I fed it with.

I did try some 174 gr 303 bullets and they worked fine, Didn't have to change a thing in the reloading die, just seated them as normal.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I've honed out my seating die so a .311 bullet will fit through and will try a 31 M die for expanding the case neck.

Hot damn....I've been waiting FOR YEARS for someone to do that!!

9point3,

About your Model 30, I remember having read somewhere that US M1917s had the same bore and groove diameters as the British Pattern 14 that Remington, Winchester and Eddystone had been making earlier, just chambered differently. Since early Model 30s were built largely from 1917 parts, your experience doesn't surprise me. If I remember correctly, Col. Harrison of the NRA recommended different(larger diameter) cast bullets for 1917s than for 1903s.

I'll swing with those saying just shoot 308 bullets in it first and see what happens...I'd grab a chronograph and increase charge weights (carefully) and track velocity at the same time as charges are increased. Might work.

I say this because I have built barrels cut a thou or two over sized through the groove diameter in 30 caliber and they shot fine..even had a pre 64 M70 375 H&H that we miked at .378 through the grooves that was very accurate.....another 30/06 that was about 1.5 thou oversized.

About the only difference is that charges are increased to boot the bullets a bit harder in the arse to make them slug better into the bore.

Have you considered rebsrreling and making it a B-29?

That is the same info I had as well. Shot 308 diameter bullets out of it before I had read the .303 stuff and it worked fine.

Are not expander balls available in just about any diameter? My "old" memory thinks yes. Jack