.30-30 bullets and loads

jnyork · Post by **jnyork** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:11 am

I'm sure this has been beat to death but I cant find the threads so bear with me please.

I just bought a very nice Marlin 336A for metallic silhouette. Since I consider life too short to be sitting around molding bullets, who in your experience is the best commercial producer of cast lead bullets for the .30-30?

In your experience, what are some good ACCURATE cast bullet loads for the .30-30, I am more interested in accuracy that smokin' hot velocity.

Thanks.

canonsix · Post by **canonsix** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:17 am

I have had great luck with Oregon Trail Bullets and with cast performance Bullets.IN my NEF single shot the 170gr fngc shoots groups that I am almost afraid to mention, hth Doug

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:21 am

The Lyman 311041 GC bullet (cast by several folks) is a very good one.
Loaded over 18gr.IMR 4198 is a very accurete load at 1590fps. Recoil is almost nonexistant. Enjoy!

This target shot at 50yd.

neil mitchell · Post by **neil mitchell** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:37 am

Not to steal this thread ,but, is it necessary to slug your barrel first? I have 2 Marlin 30-30's with "micro groove" barrels.
If it is necessary is there a "poor mans" way to slug a barrel?

Thanks,
Neil

spaceman spiff · Post by **spaceman spiff** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:44 am

+ what Doug said. I'd also add Wayne Doudna to the list. All of the bullets I have bought from him have been top notch.

a link:

http://www.customcastbullets.com/

Regards,

cutter · Post by **cutter** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:48 am

Yep, 31 cal lead balls. They are almost pure lead, and very soft. Get two cheap wooden dowels , cut one into three sections ; 6inches, one foot, and whatever the remaining lenght is.
Start the ball, bore first with a soft mallet an a block of wood.
Usef the short secton of the wooden dowel to get the ball moving down the bore. Then add length of dowel as needed. If you try to use the full lenght of the dowel it may break.

Need some 31 round balls? I have plenty.

neil mitchell · Post by **neil mitchell** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:56 am

Thanks Cutter. Now where in hell can I find a couple of 31 cal lead balls?

Neil

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:58 am

I must admit ,I did not slug the barrel of the rifle in the photo and don`t usually in any of my guns. I shoot bullets about .002 over the jacketed bullet size for that caliber and they do just fine. If I can`t get one to shoot as well as I expect then I will take a chamber and muzzle cast with Cerosafe and see what is up. Very old or oddball calibers,yes I slug them, but the .30-30 barrels I have gauged have ran pretty close to standard.

neil mitchell · Post by **neil mitchell** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:58 am

Sorry Cutter,didn't see the last line in your post.I'll pm you my address.
Thanks,
Neil

WCF3030 · Post by **WCF3030** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:02 pm

neil mitchell wrote:Thanks Cutter. Now where in hell can I find a couple of 31 cal lead balls?

Neil

http://www.grafs.com/muzzleloading/3423

WCF3030 · Post by **WCF3030** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:05 pm

Before I went to casting I had exceptional accuracy with Oregon trail 165 gr plain base bullets in my Savage 340, Marlin Texan, Marlin 336w, 94 Win and H&R 30-30.
9.2 gr Unique.

MacEntyre · Post by **MacEntyre** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:04 am

WCF3030 wrote:Before I went to casting I had exceptional accuracy with Oregon trail 165 gr plain base bullets in my ...30-30.
9.2 gr Unique.

No gas check?

Don McDowell · Post by **Don McDowell** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:00 am

Jnyork this doesn't exactly answer your question but...
I never did find a commercial cast bullet I was completely happy with. I do have several 30 cal molds , and I don't care much for gaschecks, so I had the gas check step reamed from a 311291. What I ended up with is a plain base bullet that weighs 180 grs cast from lyman #2 , and when sized at .311 shoots very well out of my 30-30's including my marlin. 18 grs of 5744 spits that bullet out at 1700.

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 2:26 pm

Jerry,
I tried some of the Laser Cast 30-30's that were factory GC'd and it was like using jacketed bullets........and they cost about the same.

I haven't tried their regular, plain base, 30-30's yet, but they should work pretty well.

El Chivo · Post by **El Chivo** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:01 pm

for loads, try the Alliant web site, they have some "silhouette" loads.

Also if you order Oregon Trail bullets, request their 30-30 load data, most of the loads are silhouette level loads.

Their load manual is hilarious reading, you will learn that the 30-30 is still popular with the wool jacket and duck boot crowd.

jnyork · Post by **jnyork** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:34 pm

Well, I have been playing with this rifle for about a month now. I can report that it absolutely will NOT shoot the Lasercast non-gaschecked bullets at any velocity with any powder!! My friend back in Wyoming has an identical rifle and we played with it all last summer trying to get it to shoot these same bullets with exactly the same results. Patterns, not groups.

I finally got ahold of some 170 grain gas checked bullets made by a commercial bullet caster here in Yuma and what a difference!! 24 grains of 3031 puts 10- shots inside 2" at 50 meters with a receiver sight, which is about as good as I can see the sight picture. I got even better with 16 grains of 4759. I am now ready to go to the range next week and get my sight settings for silhouette.

I dont have any idea what it is about this particular model rifle (336a) that causes it not to like the Lasercast, they shoot very well indeed in my Uberti 1873 44-40 and my Marlin 1894cl 32-20. My friend has a Winchester 94, a centennial of some sort with a 24" barrel in 30-30 that shoots them just fine. Oh, well, at least I have some that will shoot now, and am a happy camper.

Charles · Post by **Charles** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 5:44 pm

Not to steal this thread ,but, is it necessary to slug your barrel first?

Neil... The standard cast bullet dictum is to slug your barrel. That is not bad advise but often it not needed. The key dimension in bullet and barrel fit is the chamber throat. In the best of worlds you want the bullet to be the exact size or not more than, .0005 larger.

Any Marlin 30-30 will take bullets .310 and not be too large for the throat. Some will take .311. So, if you are buying your bullets get them .310 and you will be just fine.

The theory of cast bullet fit to the chamber and barrel is fairly complex and I don't see any need to get into it all. You will just have to take my word on this.

If you don't get good results, the problem will be in the size of the bullet nose in relation to the bore size. If you buy bullets there is not much you can do about this.

1886 · Post by **1886** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 7:06 pm

I agree w/chuck. Bullet #311041 has shot real well in a number of .30-30s. I buy them sized .309 and gas checked. 25.5grs of 2495 is my favorite. I use a .3045" expander as the bullets I buy are quite hard. Velocity generally runs at 1550fps. For a milder load I use a Bearcreek Supply 170grFNPB sized .309 with a .307" expander(soft bullet), CCI-300 primers, and 6.5grs of Trail Boss. VERY quiet with a velocity of 950fps and very accurate. Great back yard load but be careful these rounds will penetrate! 1886.

oldgerboy · Post by **oldgerboy** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 7:12 pm

The little football-shaped split sinkers also work for slugging the bore.