Best SAECO 4-cavity for Varminting with the 30-06

7.8K Views
Last Post 19 November 2014

Standard Member

LBD posted this 26 October 2014

I want to use cast bullets on a prairie dog hunt next spring and have a SAAMI 30-06 that is a proven shooter with a few designs that can cast .311” on the shank and w/ respect to bore riding designs, .302” on the nose. I'd actually rather not shoot a bore rider because, at least from my experience, while the bore riders can be remarkably accurate when everything is in sync, they can also throw too many flyers.

Any opinions on which 4-cavity SAECO design will likely provide the best results? I have enough Re7 to decimate the Wyoming prairie dog population but need an accurate cast bullet design and I need to be able to cast a 1000 or so high quality bullets in short order... which is the reason for an iron 4-cavity mold. Unfortunately, I only have experience with a selection of Lyman and RCBS molds. If I could get a 4-cavity 30-180-FN, (just dreamin') I'd be in good shape even though my copy of 30-180-FN does cast a heavy 193 grain bullet in WW metal. My RCBS 30-165-SIL is the bore rider I mentioned above that shoots really well... when it feels like it. Most of my Lyman molds (recent manufacture dates) are hard pressed to cast a .311” bullet, except for the possibility of my 311041... which has worn alignment sockets. I'm zeroing in on either SAECO #305 or 307. My concerns with #307 and #305 are that the former will cast undersize and the later will cast a nose too fat to chamber. I've heard good things about #316, but it looks kinda short.

Thanks, LBD

Attached Files

22 Comments

Order By: Standard | Newest | Votes

CBA Member

giorgio de galleani posted this 26 October 2014

I had good results with a 4 cavity saeco NÃ‚Â° 311 bullets

The weight is around 170 gr and the forepart is tapered ,not cilindrical.

Attached Files

CBA Member

delmarskid1 posted this 26 October 2014

The 315 is a tapered bullet.

Attached Files

CBA Member

Bud Hyett posted this 27 October 2014

The SAECO 315 is the best choice; The bullet shoots well at 100 yards in any .30 caliber I have tried from a T/C Contender in .30 Herrett to the .30-'06 for Military Rifle competition. The flat nose will slow the bullet more at 200 yards than the RCBS 30-165-SIL or 30-180-SP.

When the weight limit was 4.5 pounds for Long Range Handgun, I shot a Contender in .30 Herrett with the SAECO at 100 and the RCBS 30-165-SIL at 200.

You might consider buying two RCBS 30-180-SP molds and casting them together, letting one cool wile you dump and fill the second. More money, but production goes up and the RCBS 30-180-SP is a good bullet.

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

Attached Files

Standard Member

LBD posted this 27 October 2014

Thanks for all the input... I don't know why I don't own at least one RCBS 30-180-SP already. I've got two 30-180-FNs that were purchased about the same time.

From the choices above, what would the general consensus be on the best for varminting? Is SAECO 315 stable to 200 yards when launched at 1900-2000 fps? I'd like to be able to consistently keep 5 rounds inside 2-3 inches at 200 yards. At the same time, I need to make humane kills on prairie dogs and I wonder how effective the SILs and SPs would be. Obviously, I'm not in quest of the red mist... I'd be using a 22-250 if that were the case. Also, 200 yards would be my outside limit... 150-175 is a more realistic limit for a 90% plus hit-to-miss ratio.

LBD

Attached Files

CBA Regional Director

Tom Acheson posted this 27 October 2014

Might also look at their #301 @ 196-grains. It duplicates their old RG4, once known as their match bullet.

Tom

Attached Files

CBA Member

Bud Hyett posted this 27 October 2014

Shooting a prairie dog with a .30 caliber bullet inside two hundred yards will be like shooting a cow wih a 105 mm howitzer.

The 1900 / 2000 fps accuracy can be obtained with experimentation, consistent seating depth may become critical at that velocity..

Several years ago when I was working six and seven days per week, I bought the SAECO 315 from Meister Bullets and shot them, they are good bullets and cheaper than buying a mold for experimentation. I bought them unsized and lubricated; then sized them .311 and lubed with Gray's #24. Alice's rifle likes bullets sized at .311.

Farm boy from Illinois, living in the magical Pacific Northwest

Attached Files

CBA Member

giorgio de galleani posted this 27 October 2014

I have not tested from the bench rest the four cavity 200 grainer NÃ‚Â° 301 the modern RG4 replica ,just shot it from offhand at my 60 yards gongs with a 30-06 Mod 7600 Remington pump.

Very smooth cycling and nice recreational shooting .

Some years ago I had a 4 cavity tapered 315 mold , but I was never able to make it shoot good in any of my 30 caliber rifles , it must have been my fault.

I was not able to understand the use that great tapering in the various lead bands , from the base to the nose. I read that many bench rest shooters use it with success.

Instead I found that the gentle tapering nose of the 165 gr 301 bullet, allows the correct seating in new 308w, or the throatless 30-30 carbines or in the tight mousqueton 31 or K31 Schmidt-Rubin.

And of course in the tolerant throats of the vintage ' 03 and the M17 ( glorious old warhorses that like cast bullets very much)

Attached Files

Standard Member

TRKakaCatWhisperer posted this 28 October 2014

BHyett wrote: Shooting a prairie dog with a .30 caliber bullet inside two hundred yards will be like shooting a cow wih a 105 mm howitzer.

...

I've shot a lot of 105mm's and a lot of prairie dogs but never a cow. MOST fun gun for PD's is off hand with a .357mag lever action! (I've used 22LR, .223's (AR & Bolt), 6.5 Grendl, .308 in a 40X, .357Mag rifle, .458WM in Ruger #1 and other calibers in several other pistols)

Attached Files

Standard Member

LBD posted this 28 October 2014

I just went shopping for a 4-cavity SAECO 315 and decided 170+ skins is too much, considering I don't know how well it'll fit the '06. Too bad I don't have a .308W 'cause ol' Larry Potterfield has SAECO 311 in 4-cavity on sale. For those interested:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/130744/saeco-4-cavity-bullet-mold-311-30-caliber-309-diameter-165-grain-truncated-cone-gas-check?cm_vc=ProductFinding>http://www.midwayusa.com/product/130744/saeco-4-cavity-bullet-mold-311-30-caliber-309-diameter-165-grain-truncated-cone-gas-check?cmvc=ProductFinding

I'm going to pour a few from RCBS 30-180-FN (I don't recall ever shooting these through an '06). RCBS 30-180-FN was my go to mold for my old 336s.

LBD

Attached Files

CBA Member

R. Dupraz posted this 28 October 2014

NOE has their copy of the Saeco 315--NOE 311-175-FN four cavity GC on sale now for $82.80

Attached Files

CBA Member

delmarskid1 posted this 29 October 2014

I have the 311 in a two cavity and it's a good bullet in the '06. There is a straight bearing surface from the nose back. It then flares in a taper back to the driving bands. It usually drops right at .310” with anything but straight wheel weights. I saw the sale price and almost bought another mold to get the four cavity.

Attached Files

Standard Member

LBD posted this 29 October 2014

Regarding the 4-cavity SAECO 311 molds at Midway....do you know what Larry Potterfield's return policy is on “Clearance Items"?

What diameter does your SAECO 311 cast on the nose? You mentioned .310” with anything but WW metal. What diameter does it cast with WW metal?

I typically have my thermostat set at 650-690F when using a pre-heated iron mold and WW metal with a bit of softer alloy added. Normally I prefer to harden bullets by heat treating rather than adding Sb.

LBD

Attached Files

Standard Member

LBD posted this 29 October 2014

R. Dupraz wrote: NOE has their copy of the Saeco 315--NOE 311-175-FN four cavity GC on sale now for $82.80 Thank you but I'm not shelling out any more money on aluminum molds... unfortunately, NOE didn't offer this one in brass.

LBD

Attached Files

CBA Member

tturner53 posted this 29 October 2014

Anybody else had experience with the SAECO #311? I'm thinking about it. My one and only SAECO mold is a double cavity #315 and it's a real piece of quality work. And it's built to last. -If I was going on a big prarie dog hunt with a 30-06 and cb's I would only consider accuracy. Can't see how bullet shape will matter a whole lot. People overlook the .30 lightweights, for instance the Lyman 311359 or the old Lee 'Soupcan'. That was a 130 gr. .30 wasn't it?

Attached Files

CBA Member

giorgio de galleani posted this 29 October 2014

Me again on the 311 -30 cal gc mould.

The thing that I appreciate in my 4 cavity mould ,are the correct diameters , base bands are around 311 ,the gas check shank is correct for Hornady gas checks ,and the gentle taper on the nose allows to load it touching the origin of the rifling on different rifles without having the gas check poking into the powder charge.

Recently I had success with a new Ruger 308w scout rifle.

No sizing ,no check, just some Xlox and a speed around 1000 fps.

A wonderful perfomer at 50 to 100 yds.

I love the 4 cavity moulds and the least work to produce the rounds.

I plink gongs from offhand at 60 yds.

My iron gang mould is 15 years old ,and still OK.

Attached Files

Standard Member

LBD posted this 30 October 2014

giorgio de galleani wrote: Me again on the 311 -30 cal gc mould.

Recently I had success with a new Ruger 308w scout rifle.

No sizing ,no check, just some Xlox and a speed around 1000 fps.

A wonderful perfomer at 50 to 100 yds.

I love the 4 cavity moulds and the least work to produce the rounds.

I plink gongs from offhand at 60 yds.

My iron gang mould is 15 years old ,and still OK. Yes indeed... iron molds are great for cast-to-cast consistency and long life, but I still don't know how SAECO 311 fits a SAAMI '06 chamber and whether current molds (your mold is 15 years old) cast .311” bullets. In checking my diagrams of .308W vs. '06 chambers, there are pronounced differences in the throat areas.

If I purchase a 4-cavity SAECO 311, I may need to purchase a .308W to go with it. :D

LBD

Attached Files

CBA Member

mike0841 posted this 02 November 2014

LBD wrote: I want to use cast bullets on a prairie dog hunt next spring and have a SAAMI 30-06 that is a proven shooter with a few designs that can cast .311” on the shank and w/ respect to bore riding designs, .302” on the nose. I'd actually rather not shoot a bore rider because, at least from my experience, while the bore riders can be remarkably accurate when everything is in sync, they can also throw too many flyers.

Thanks, LBD You might want to take a look at the NOE 315 4 cavity for $92

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=339&osCsid=sfbu8ltt5pa4jk9jckc4lb31v5>http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/productinfo.php?cPath=30&productsid=339&osCsid=sfbu8ltt5pa4jk9jckc4lb31v5

Attached Files

CBA Member

delmarskid1 posted this 03 November 2014

LBD wrote: Regarding the 4-cavity SAECO 311 molds at Midway....do you know what Larry Potterfield's return policy is on “Clearance Items"?

What diameter does your SAECO 311 cast on the nose? You mentioned .310” with anything but WW metal. What diameter does it cast with WW metal?

LBD Hi sorry I didn't reply sooner. I got .301” on the bullets nose. This straight portion is a little less than .2". The taper nose and .1” taper before the driving bands take care of the rest. I don't think I have ever cast in this mold using straight wheel weights. I'm just guessing that they will come out smaller and we know how that works! I have no clue as to Mr. P's clearance return policy.

Attached Files

CBA Member

giorgio de galleani posted this 07 November 2014

My opinion is that you cannot get easily exact diameters from mass produced iron molds ,owing to innumerable variables .

The cutting cherries may wear out ,and the exact alloy contents may vary not to speak of pot temperature and casting technique.

Chamber dimensions even in new SAAMI specs vary , variables are many.

Some of my SAECO gang molds are very wrongly dimensioned , and other cast bullets that are OK for my plinking necessities,in different rifles ,and some bullets shoot better than I can hold, but if your goal is varmint shooting up to 100 yds You might consider using only the best custom aluminium gang molds.

I got exactly what I wanted By Veral Smith of LBT and Accurate Moulds ,and their prices were affordable .