The Enfield and Mosin Bullet Mold

May 2024 Jamie R.

Like many of us I have a few Milsurps (military surplus rifles) in the cabinet that I really enjoy shooting. My centerfire rifle shooting is all done with reloaded cast bullets. The challenge of getting a piece of history to shoot well appeals to me as well as being able to produce the ammo I need, when I need it, not having to rely on what the stores have in stock or pay the crazy prices.

That being said I have been on the lookout for the Lyman 314299 bullet mold in Canada for the past 4 or 5 years; from my reading and Youtube watching, it has been called the go-to Milsurp bullet mold.

Well, having my morning java at the end of April, I finally found literally just one in stock at a Canadian dealer that I had dealt with in the past. Ordered it up and after a 3 week delay (Canada Post lost the package) it arrived on Friday.

What makes this mold work so well for old guns is the long bore riding bearing surface of the 200 grain bullet and the 0.3145 to 0.315 inch bullet diameter (from my soft and alloy lead mixes) that it produces. Most of those rifles have a generous bore diameter.

It is a two cavity steel mold so that you can cast hundreds of bullets at a sitting without stopping to let it cool as with aluminium molds. Typical Lyman quality and price, but you get what you pay for.

I cleaned the mold and cast some test bullets Friday night and then really put it to work Saturday, casting almost 300 bullets in one sitting. The best thing about casting with a steel mold is the quality and consistency of the bullets cast. Of the 280 or so bullets I cast there were only 6 rejects and those were more than shootable quality, but I was being picky because there were marks on the driving bands.

After applying home-made gas checks, sizing the bullets to 0.314 inch for consistency, and loading the rounds to the same charge that I use for the 0.312 Lee bullet I was shooting, I took my scoped Mosin carbine “Ugly Stick” to the range.

Gerry built the rifle for me years ago as a Christmas gift from GMK. Thanks again Ger, still one of my favourite rifles to shoot.

The Mosin shot more accurately with the new bullet, after shooting the usual rock on the berm several times to see if the scope needed adjustment with the heavier bullet. Seeing no adjustment was needed, I started picking out other odd colored smaller rocks on the berm, hitting them as well. My personal preference is a reactive target rather than putting holes in paper but I will be shooting groups with it on a day we bring the lead sled out.

I was very impressed with the new bullet but a bit disappointed at not having to re-sight in the scope. You see, I had loaded up 60 rounds and only shot one third of them.

The next test will be to load the new bullet for one of my .303s and see what it and I can do with good old iron sights. I expect a similar positive outcome.

The internet was correct in my opinion. The bullet produced by the 314299 mold is a must try for Milsurp shooters. By the way, the bullets I shot were prepared with lube and a gas checks through a lube sizer and no powder coating. I will be coating some in the future but for the initial Mosin and Enfield testing I wanted to keep things “old school.”

Happy Shooting!

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