Re-sizing .311 FMJ down to .308

[civilian75]

I am considering re-sizing cheap 126gr .311 AK/SKS pulled caliber bullets down to .308. But, being a re-sign ignoramus, I must ask for help. How do I go about it? Are the cast bullet dies tough enough for FMJ? What do I need to get?

Gotta figure out if it is worth the trouble. My guess is it is not.

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[darkminstrel]

Sell or trade them to someone who wants .311 sized bullets? Mosins mostly enjoy that size.

 

[civilian75]

Sorry I wasn't clear. I do not have "extra" .311 bullets, it is more like I am short of 125g-ish affordable .308 cal bullets. And .311 can be had cheap. I want them for 300 aac bkl.

 

[JohnH]

Sorry I wasn't clear. I do not have "extra" .311 bullets, it is more like I am short of 125g-ish affordable .308 cal bullets. And .311 can be had cheap. I want them for 300 aac bkl.

Why 125 grain and affordable is a relative term....

If I was not doing 220 grain subsonic loads (like I will be) I would probably be looking at something like these:

Widener's Reloading and Shooting Supply INC for $0.18 each plus shipping

But I would get a couple buddies together and and split this

Widener's Reloading and Shooting Supply INC and then I would be down to $0.15 each with shipping.

Depending how picky you are Hi-Tech has some pull down 147 Grain @ $63/500 plus shipping

<broken link removed>

Pat's reloading has some good deals on both pulled tracers and new ball bullets as well:

Pat's Reloading - Prices

 

[civilian75]

John,
I had been looking at wideners M80 offers. Very, very attractive. Same goes for the Hi-tech (see separate thread on collet v. pulldowns). I was strongly leaning towards M80 right now until I though I can covert AK bullets. As I said, it is probably not worth it, but, did not want to drop the idea w/o properly exploring it.

 

[JohnH]

Here is someone else with the same basic question...

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/ammunition-reloading/47447-q-how-do-i-size-311-down-308-a.html

 

[RVTECH]

Sell the bullets! Take it from someone who has sold 1000s of bullets - and some were of a caliber I COULD have used but I did not want to deviate from my established loads just to 'use up' something I had a lot of. That can work sometimes - an example is I loaded some 124 grain .356 9mm Laser Cast for .38 Special and they are every bit as accurate as any .38 Cal specific .357 bullets so now I have a 'universal' application for the 9MM bullets as I prefer this weight for both calibers and do not have to do anything extra to make them work. My point being you may invest more time and effort into something that may or may not work out as well as you had hoped for.

 

[deadshot2]

If you choose to "resize" these bullets be prepared to spend some money some extra machinery. I've been told the "best" sizer is the Magma Star Lube-sizer. It's a one step, push through, sizer. $300 to start and you can add bullet feeders etc which will quickly break the $1K barrier.

Now for the problems. When sizing a lead bullet it's typically no big deal because you are only dealing with a single metal, the lead of the bullet. With jacketed bullets you're not only moving the lead, but the jacket too. The jacket may no longer have the same uniformity or "bond" with the lead as it did when originally formed. You may end up spitting bullet and jacket out the end of the barrel separately (or soon after) and accuracy will be hit/miss.

The money you'll spend on sizing will offset the extra cost of bullets that start out the same size. Yes, you can get cheaper sizers but they all require two operations. One up and in the sizer and then down to punch out the bullet. Not nearly as easy, fast, or accurate as the "star" but then again, accuracy won't be an issue with the resized jacketed bullets.

 

[FWest]

I have read on the 300blktalk folks shooting them @ .311 and also using a lee push through(.308) sizer with some decent lube to reduce the size. I have not tried it.