Oversized jacketed bullets?

lksmith03

I have some .311 bullets that I am contemplating using in my 300 AAC.
I have a .309 diameter sizer that I use for cast bullets. Can anyone see a harm in using these in an AAC sized to .309?
I know that cast bullets are OK and recommended to be oversized by .001

noylj

Are these lead or jacketed? IF jacketed, don't size them. Just start with the starting load and shoot them as-is. IF you size a jacketed bullet, the lead and jacket get squeezed down but the jacket springs back some. You then have a VERY inaccurate bullet.
Have you actually slugged your barrel?

perry shooter

More then likely you will BREAK your sizer if you try to size Jacketed bullets . all the sizers I know are intended for lead bullets.Even then bullets made of hard alloy like Linotype or monotype take much more effort to push through a sizing die.

charliemeyer007

I have had some luck at bumping up jacketed bullets to a larger diameter. If you have lots of them it might be worth the trouble to find/develope a technique to get it done or you trade them to someone that can use them as is. My first thought would be to look at the Lee bullet sizer for a reloading press, might be tough enough to do the job. My last thought is I doubt that you will get a really accurate bullet, shootable most likely.

lksmith03

quote:Originally posted by charliemeyer007
I have had some luck at bumping up jacketed bullets to a larger diameter. If you have lots of them it might be worth the trouble to find/develope a technique to get it done or you trade them to someone that can use them as is. My first thought would be to look at the Lee bullet sizer for a reloading press, might be tough enough to do the job. My last thought is I doubt that you will get a really accurate bullet, shootable most likely.

I have the Lee Sizer in .309 that I use for my cast bullets that I am wanting to use. My question is can anybody see a reason that it wouldnt work in Jacketed?
I know the Lee sizer can handle it since I use the .510 to size milsurp bullets for my 50BMG and have sized hundreds with no issues and the .309 has a lot more steel than the .510 since they fit the same press.
BTW the press I would use for this endeavor is a Lee "O" frame cast press for 50bmg, so the leverage and press strength isn't an issue

Mobuck

I'd say it's a bad idea and poor return for your time. Bullets aren't that expensive and performance will be much better with correct bullets.

Hawk Carse

Lead core, copper jacket, I trust.
I think it will work, physically. I doubt the accuracy will be very good, but it seems you are producing blasting ammo anyhow.

243winxb

Sizing down .002" of a jacketed, lead core bullet is ok to do in your Lee set up. Lube the bullets.

jonk

The concern over jacket springback and loose cores is largely overstated in my experience. I've sized hundreds of .338" bullets down to .330" for my M.95 with no loose jackets or loss in accuracy. I do this in one pass on my Rockchucker with the Lee .329" die slightly opened up with some grinding compound to better fit my bore.

It's one of those no-nos like 'lubing the case shoulder' that gets repeated but isn't really an issue.

Go for it, 2/1000" isn't going to cause any issue.

Then again shooting them oversized isn't going to cause an issue either if you avoid max loads and stick with fairly slow powders.

nononsense

lksmith03,

I would need to know the firearm that these bullets will fired in before I stated anything.

Best.

lksmith03

quote:Originally posted by nononsense
lksmith03,

I would need to know the firearm that these bullets will fired in before I stated anything.

Best.



it's a CMMG Wasp chromoly upper with melonite treatment

I checked all my fired cases both with unsized .311 bullets and sized .309 bullets. the .311 went into my 223rem based brass but not my 5.56 based brass and the.309 went into all my brass, so I don't think neck tension will be an issue.
I intend on loading them with h110 powder

nononsense

lksmith03,

Your re-sizing process itself will work with the set up you describe. But I suggest that you take some other information into consideration.

Your .309" diameter bullets might work just fine in a bolt action rifle. However, when used in a semi-auto gas gun, you might see a significant increase in pressure. This could result in pierced primers, loose primer pockets or other failures. Tread lightly.

Yes I know that the melonite treatment (salt nitriding, nitrocarburizing) reduces pressure.

I test lots of bullets and loads in AR-type platforms and high pressure excursions are no fun! Safety is my first concern then all the others behind that.

Personally, I'm not a fan of re-sizing jacketed bullets as they usually exhibit a loss of accuracy. I see this as a penny-wise, pound foolish endeavor.

Good luck with your choice.

Best.

lksmith03

Finally got a chance to do some accuracy testing with them.
I am loading them to ~2100-2200 FPS.
Accuracy is on par with my 110gr Pointed Soft points driver @ ~2400fps.
Cutting same holes with both loads @25yds (My customary initial zero).
the oversized 125's are exactly 2"lower @25yds, but that wasn't unexpected due to being 2-300fps slower.
Also, not seeing any primer cratering or any other pressure signs.

243winxb

Glad its working for you. You would have to size the jacketed lead core bullet down more than .005" to start having problems. This is when the lead will not spring back enough to stay in contact with the brass jacket.

fire for effect

The folks at Corbin have told me in the past that there is no problem resizing bullets down a couple of thousandth of an inch. I my case I have been sizing .357 bullets down to .355 since the 1980's fro my .38 Super. resizing .311 bullets doen to .308 would be the maximum you should go. More than that and they say you will see a copper spring backand a loosening of the core.

v35

I sized .311 Hornady HP bullets down to .308, in a Lee die, for the 30 Luger till I found it didn't make any difference.