Milling off a GC...

Ian

Notorious member
So, what NOE mould number is that I can't quite make it out from the photo) and what about it makes it shoot better than the Lee bullet with/without modifications? What kind of groups are you getting now?
 

popper

Well-Known Member
The Lee 309-230R BT mould seems to work reasonably when the BT is removed with a reamer (or twist drill). Shortening it makes it ~200gr. and moves the tl grooves to the base.
 
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CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I don't have a rooster in this fight.....but I genuinely LIKE thick base bands on my plain-based cast bullets. I have a late-1990s-vintage Lyman #358429 that has a base band about 2/3 the length of its middle and front drive bands. Call me a Luddite, but Keith bullets are supposed to have THREE drive bands of equal length and width. This #429 is a heretic. It shoots all right, but not as well as the #358477s with the thick base bands. A thick base band on a bullet just looks "CORRECT".

I don't have an aversion to gas checks that some folks seem to have. Yeah, they are expensive these days--but they cost less than buying J-words. I would like to hate bevel-base bullets, too--but I can't, because the Lee BB designs shoot so well in autopistols and in the 38/55. The bevel bases' principal defect is how lube leaks around that base in an H&I lube die, but I dare not admit that annoyance lest I be set upon by the powder coaters, bullet painters, and users of other conventional size/lube systems.
 
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Randominator

New Member
So, what NOE mould number is that I can't quite make it out from the photo) and what about it makes it shoot better than the Lee bullet with/without modifications? What kind of groups are you getting now?

NOE HTC310-225-RN

The LEE 309 dropped from my mold grossly undersized and no combination of powder or seating depth yielded groups better than 5" @ 50 yards. The NOE 310-225 has no lube grooves designed for powder paint, feeds great in any AR platform, and has great accuracy. In my 10.5" or 7.5" AR, groups average 3/4" for three shots @ 50 yards. 100 yard groups are under 2".

2k1YVaqm.jpg


In my Howa Mini-Action 300 Blackout, groups hover right around 1/2" @ 50. A Hornady 212 grain ELD shoots .3" @ 50 from the Howa. I was successfully hitting a 8" steel plate at 250 yards this week with the Howa shooting the 225 NOE. But man, there was a lot of drop to compensate for.

KK3fWp4m.jpg
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I have had good luck with the lee bullet too but I have to run it above bare minimum.
I also have a 7 twist helping me out, plus some mold lapping.
the next go around is gonna be with some powder coating plus another half grain of 700-x just to see if that's what I wanna do or stay with the tumble lube.

hey Allen.
the Star ain't got that problem.... LOL.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
I don't have a rooster in this fight.....but I genuinely LIKE thick base bands on my plain-based cast bullets. I have a late-1990s-vintage Lyman #358429 that has a base band about 2/3 the length of its middle and front drive bands. Call me a Luddite, but Keith bullets are supposed to have THREE drive bands of equal length and width. This #429 is a heretic. It shoots all right, but not as well as the #358477s with the thick base bands. A thick base band on a bullet just looks "CORRECT".

Then you'd really like the later Lyman 357446. Lyman had a cherry in the '70s that gave it a full diameter, oversized length front driving band that was a serious improvement over the original design. Plus it has a thick base, just the way you like it:).
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I have always liked a good heavy base band too.
I don't need a quarter inch or nuthin,,, but, you know,,,,, put some meat there.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Thanks for the info, Randominator. I guess I'm just lucky. I have stacks of targets from 50 and 100 yards showing 3 and 5-shot groups averaging 1.5 MOA with the Lee bullet, pretty dang undersized on all but the base band, from 7, 8, and 10" ROT barrels, including a 10.5" AR, two 16" ARs and a .308 Winchester bolt-action, all suppressed, and using powders ranging from Titegroup to Reloder 7. Do I get yawing? You betcha, sometimes. But they group for me. I've been trying to figure out for a long time why so many other people have trouble and a few don't, there has to be something to learn from it.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I keep thinking I need a 450 or the like to do some nose sizing or maybe some gas check seating from time to time.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Erik has done several for me, all to perfection. He gets the nod whenever I need metal removed from a mold.