Requesting help & input on selection a 348 Winchester Gas Check Bullet Mould Design

I am requesting forum help & input on selection of a 348 Winchester Gas Check Bullet Mould Design from Accurate molds. I am interested in having a two cavity iron mould made for a Browning Model 71 in 348 Winchester. I would like a 200 grain design, flat nose, solid point, gas check base that can be later modified into a two cavity hollow point mould by Eric Ohlen at hollowpoint bullet moulds.

I am new to 348 Winchesters, this is the first firearm I own in this caliber. No other mfg has mould designs in production other than Tom at Accurate moulds. I did an internet search last week and could not find any Ideal, Lyman, Ohaus, Hensley & Gibbs, RCBS bullet moulds in the 200 grain range available for purchase, except for Accurate Bullet Moulds.

I would like to order from Tom an iron mould, but do not know what to order or how to order. I've been on his website and gone through the selection and order process, but I wanted to solicit input from the forum for selection of the mould attributes I want. My assumption is I need a mould that has a flat point (level action design) that casts at .349", at a minimum.

The follow moulds from Tom's catalog appear to fit my criteria:

Design #34-200A
https://accuratemolds.com/bullet_det...bullet=34-200A

Design #34-200B
https://accuratemolds.com/bullet_det...bullet=34-200B

So I am asking what design at Accurate moulds, what as cast size to order, which options to choose for size ( + or - tolerances, etc..) and any special notes I need to give Tom in order to indicate I want enough material left in the mould in order to have it converted to hollow point by Eric Ohlen.

Thanks in advance.

Um, these are not the droids you are looking for. Those are .338 boolits. (.340 diameter). What you want are the .350 diameter boolits

I have and use the 35-220B, but the Accurate 35-200A is very similar to the RCBS 200 grainer, which I also have. I have had slightly better results with the heavier boolit. I did not have good luck with the Lyman 350-447. It doesn't like to go fast. The 35-200 A, B, and C are virtually identical and vary only in the length of the nose portion. and only slightly there.

For a fun plinker, lube a 358-429 and size it .350, load it over 13 grains of red dot and crimp over the shoulder. It will hit quite low, but will be very accurate at 100 yards and in.

I don't like either of those designs. We can do better.

SAAMI chamber shows 1 degree 30 minutes, Basic from forcing cone entrance.

Rather than trying to match two cast cylindrical diameters taper the fore part to match the throat angle.

I would start with 34-200LG and have Tom make the following mods:

Truncate nose shortening crimp to meplat length to .50" and increase meplat diameter accordingly. Better for Erik's HP conversion.

Adjust width of lube groove and driving bands to make base to crimp length 0.50". Slight increase in bullet OAL will aid maintaining weight close to 200 grains after HP conversion. Seating depth should put GC at neck-shoulder junction.

North of crimp groove taper nose 1 deg, 30 minutes Basic (3 degrees total included angle) blending from .350 major diameter to . 34 diameter parallel nose section.

Make nose tolererance negative.

Tolerance should be centered on driving bands and GC heel.

You want driving bands .351+


.

The nose diameter needs to be no more than .340, if you are loading for a Japchester. The transition from chamber to rifling in those is quite abrupt. I'd spec it at +.000, -.002

Toms designs for the .348 Winchester start in the "35" caliber section, not the "34's".

I've helped chamber cast and measure one Miroku 71, and we found that the nose of the 35-250B was pretty much a perfect fit for the throat contours. I do not recall if we tweaked the bore ride or shank diameters to fit the individual rifle, but what I DO specifically remember was comparing the blueprint to the cast and feeling no desire to change anything about the shape or band locations.

The 35-220C will take you to the same place with a little less initial mass. Since you're planning to have the option of a hollow point, I would plan to end up at or a little above 200 grains after making the nose cavity. It's a REALLY BIG cartridge for throwing only 200 grains, and the world already has a lot of little .35 Remingtons.

Thank you all for your input. Several molds have been ordered.

Tom

The first mould has arrived. The stock item: Accurate # 35-250B for the 348 Winchester. I ordered this mould in addition to the custom one. Both will be sent to Erik Ohlen for hollowpointing. But tonight I wanted to cast up a few 250 grain solids to see what they looked like and discover how the mould acted. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Accurate mould heated up, and immediately began casting perfect bullets. I fiddled with the mould temp for a bit and then found a sweet spot and chucked out about 50 perfect projectiles. Tom sure does make a fine mould. Both are two cavity iron moulds. I ordered this one about ten days ago and it arrived yesterday (Friday).

Pics:

Fresh Bullets:

Attachment 325696

The mould:

Attachment 325697

The mould fresh from the box:

Attachment 325698

Bigger Pic:

https://www.hensleygibbs.com/TCD/MOL...tMoldPreHP.jpg