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Posted: 1/20/2017 6:53:12 PM EDT
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While a 30-30 isn't a choice for a hunting rifle here in Colorado, it is a joy to take out and fire off a few from time to time. Something primal about a 3-30 levergun. Decades ago, I sold off my Winchester 94 and later my Marlin 336 under the pressure of raising kids. I always wanted a 'thudy-thudy' so back a few years ago I picked up a NIB Mossberg 464 and set out to use it for a plinker and maybe a training rifle if I could develop a suitable low recoil, inexpensive plinking rd for it.
It's a decent training rifle for kids and women as they recognize it's classic shape and don't feel intimidated by it as some are by an AR. However, in the light carbine, the standard 150grn commercial ammo generates a significant recoil for younger and smaller shooters. So, I went looking for a lower velocity plinking rd I could handload for it, preferably using powder and bullets I already had on hand. I looked around at the powders I had on hand and noted that of my stock, I had an excess of W760. W760 is a great full power hunting powder for the 30-06 but would it work for a plinking 30-30 load? As I really would never put a dent in the 8+lbs I had picked up at a tremendous bargain back a few years back so it made a great candidate for a possible plinking load if I could find a charge that would work well with it. After reviewing Hodgdon's Handloading manual, I found that they do indeed list a reduced power, 2,100fps load for the 30 WCF (303-30) with 150grn bullets. So, I loaded up a dozen with some 150grn SP with Hodgdon's recommended 35.9grns I had on hand and went out to the range. As the bullets were pointed, I loaded one in the chamber and only one in the mag and gave them a try. The recoil was milder with less sharp snap so I figured that an even reduced powder load would work for plinking, however, the a pointed bullet wasn't going to work so I went looking for a levergun friendly bullet that was reasonably priced. I found X-Treme's 150grn plated .308 bullet that has a flat tip; perfect for a tube fed levergun. Even better, they were on sale at the time so I picked up 1000 for $92, only 9.2¢ per rd. Because the W760 powder I had was excess to my needs, I'd collected some 300 pieces of Winchester once-fired brass at our range over the years, and I had traded some brass for a brick (1K) of LR primers some time back, I figured that I was using 'found' components and all I needed to purchase to make up my loads were the bullets. I felt I had the perfect opportunity to shoot 30-30 for under 10¢ per rd of 'new money'!! While Hodgdon shows the 35.9grn charge as producing 2,090fps out of a 24" test barrel, I was using a plated lead bullet and a 20" levergun and didn't want heavy recoil so I started my load development looking at a bit lower starting load. With the X-Treme bullets, I settled upon a 35.4grn charge which produces just under 2,000fps and decent accuracy out of my levergun and therefore it was perfect for what I wanted. Recoil is lower still than with the initial test loads without a sharp snap at all so that was also a plus. Now, a few years later, I've shot up over 500rds of these and they work great. Yes, the velocity is higher than X-Treme lists for plated bullets but a call to them confirms that they regularly hear that handloaders push their bullets at and over 2,000fps with the same great results I've had. The only caution is to be sure not to over crimp and cut through the plating and you're good to go. |
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Can't hunt with a 30-30? It has historically been a popular choice for deer and according to the CPW
To legally hunt elk with a rifle in Colorado, you must use a rifle that fires expanding bullets with a minimum caliber of .24 cal. or 6mm, a minimum weight of 85 grains that delivers at least 1,000 ft. lbs. of energy at 100 yards. By that definition you can hunt with 30-30 but for elk I think it's a poor choice for deer only to maybe 100 yards. Anyway, as for plinking loads I used reduced loads of H4895 per Hodgdon's instructions. I figure it saves some wear and tear on the gun and my 30-30 is over 60 years old so I don't like to fire off too many full loads too quickly. I'm sure it can take it, but I'd prefer to keep it in good condition. |
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My plinking load for 30-30 is lead lubed 170 gr bullets and Trail Boss powder. At 1050 FPS in a vintage Marlin rifle, it has the recoil of a 22 rimfire. It is also very cheap with the local commercial cast bullets I use. That's what Ive been tinkering with lately. Lyman 31141 bullet on top of some light charges of Unique or Trail Boss. |
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My idea of plinking is a 150-170 grain (in my case a 160gr) powder coated lead bullet. I'm currently using Trail Boss with very good results but Unique isn't bad either.
You can use Trail Boss with a plated bullet too. Or even Unique but you'll probably not find published data for the plated bullets and Unique combination. Years ago however one of the NRA magazines published data using Unique and "light for caliber" jacketed bullets. I have used this combination. The Hornady or Speer 100gr short jacket bullets are perfect for this in 30 caliber rifles. My .308 Win using Unique and the 100gr short jacket is very accurate and was what my sons learned to shoot with. The first time my then 8 year old dropped the hammer on his first whitetail with a full power 150gr it was one shot one kill. Nobody notices recoil or muzzle report when shooting at game. The 100gr plinker (as Hornady even calls it) and Unique was the perfect training tool. Motor |
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Since we are talking lever action gun, no reason to go brutal speeds, but instead cast bullets lobbing lead a ways isntead.
Lee has you covered in molds from 113gr up to 200grs, PC coating will solve any leading problem, and since it not a gas gun, you can Taylor the loads way down instead. |
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748 with 110gr carbine bullets... cheap and good shooters. We have 5 Winchesters now between 2 of us. Looking for an Antique now... http://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p727/djryan13/Reloading/5C5ABB32-B9BA-4937-83A5-11441CFBB6C3_zpsbndfi1ec.jpg. Oh yeah that's what I was going to try, but then I came across a Lyman 31141 mold and started to try my hand at casting. Honestly I think I like casting bullets better than shooting them. Weird I know. 
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Quoted:
Since we are talking lever action gun, no reason to go brutal speeds, but instead cast bullets lobbing lead a ways isntead. Lee has you covered in molds from 113gr up to 200grs, PC coating will solve any leading problem, and since it not a gas gun, you can Taylor the loads way down instead. Oh yeah the Lee "soupcan". People speak highly of that design. I guess it's a classic. Some guy on CastBoolits was getting some pretty amazing groups with that bullet out of a Marlin. I dont remember the load, but the velocity was way up there. 2600fps or so IIRC. |
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Oh yeah the Lee "soupcan". People speak highly of that design. I guess it's a classic. Some guy on CastBoolits was getting some pretty amazing groups with that bullet out of a Marlin. I dont remember the load, but the velocity was way up there. 2600fps or so IIRC. Yep, gas check and PC coat is if you want to push speeds, or just mod the mold to make is a flat base with PC coating if your not trying to push it past 2K instead. Truth is , flat base around 1600fps is perfect for new shooter, and even funner for them when they are pushing the load long ways and get to see it arch into the target with the sun behind them instead. As for the light load, just remember to pack the powder tight to the primer with TP/filler. This keep the powder ignition constant, no mater which angle the muzzle is angled. |
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13.0 grains of Red Dot and any decent flat point bullet (lead or jacketed) suitable for .30/30. Google "The Load" by Ed Harris. From the article: " The case must be LARGER than the .300 Savage or .35 Remington." I always considered the 30-30 smaller than those and thus never tried. I think 13gr could be a bit much for 30-30. |
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Oh yeah that's what I was going to try, but then I came across a Lyman 31141 mold and started to try my hand at casting. Honestly I think I like casting bullets better than shooting them. Weird I know. Quoted:
Quoted:
748 with 110gr carbine bullets... cheap and good shooters. We have 5 Winchesters now between 2 of us. Looking for an Antique now... http://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p727/djryan13/Reloading/5C5ABB32-B9BA-4937-83A5-11441CFBB6C3_zpsbndfi1ec.jpg. Oh yeah that's what I was going to try, but then I came across a Lyman 31141 mold and started to try my hand at casting. Honestly I think I like casting bullets better than shooting them. Weird I know. Still playing with my 30-30 NOE mold. I tried some hot loads with Leverevolution but I think it was a bit much for it. Accuracy was crap. Getting OK results with 748 but might try a magnum or pistol powder next. Anyone running 2400 with cast bullets? |
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Still playing with my 30-30 NOE mold. I tried some hot loads with Leverevolution but I think it was a bit much for it. Accuracy was crap. Getting OK results with 748 but might try a magnum or pistol powder next. Anyone running 2400 with cast bullets? Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
748 with 110gr carbine bullets... cheap and good shooters. We have 5 Winchesters now between 2 of us. Looking for an Antique now... http://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p727/djryan13/Reloading/5C5ABB32-B9BA-4937-83A5-11441CFBB6C3_zpsbndfi1ec.jpg. Oh yeah that's what I was going to try, but then I came across a Lyman 31141 mold and started to try my hand at casting. Honestly I think I like casting bullets better than shooting them. Weird I know. Still playing with my 30-30 NOE mold. I tried some hot loads with Leverevolution but I think it was a bit much for it. Accuracy was crap. Getting OK results with 748 but might try a magnum or pistol powder next. Anyone running 2400 with cast bullets? Haven't tried 2400 yet in 30-30. |
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Yes, but in 7.62x39. Works very well at about 1800 fps. Haven't tried 2400 yet in 30-30. Think that's what gave me the idea... I have a poop load of 2400 with a need. Going to run your x39 load with it (eventually) but figured maybe running it in 30-30 might be nice. |
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Quoted:
748 with 110gr carbine bullets... cheap and good shooters. We have 5 Winchesters now between 2 of us. Looking for an Antique now... http://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p727/djryan13/Reloading/5C5ABB32-B9BA-4937-83A5-11441CFBB6C3_zpsbndfi1ec.jpg. |
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This thread got me thinking about some hard cast loads for my 30-30. I see that the Meister Hard Cast 30-30 Bullets come in both 308 and 309 Diameter. Okay to stick with .308 or is .309 better with lead? Or do I need to slug the barrel first? Either would work, but if you're looking for max accuracy, I'd slug it to be certain. Marlins for example, are notorious for slugging at .311 |
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Still playing with my 30-30 NOE mold. I tried some hot loads with Leverevolution but I think it was a bit much for it. Accuracy was crap. Getting OK results with 748 but might try a magnum or pistol powder next. Anyone running 2400 with cast bullets? Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
748 with 110gr carbine bullets... cheap and good shooters. We have 5 Winchesters now between 2 of us. Looking for an Antique now... http://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p727/djryan13/Reloading/5C5ABB32-B9BA-4937-83A5-11441CFBB6C3_zpsbndfi1ec.jpg. Oh yeah that's what I was going to try, but then I came across a Lyman 31141 mold and started to try my hand at casting. Honestly I think I like casting bullets better than shooting them. Weird I know. Still playing with my 30-30 NOE mold. I tried some hot loads with Leverevolution but I think it was a bit much for it. Accuracy was crap. Getting OK results with 748 but might try a magnum or pistol powder next. Anyone running 2400 with cast bullets? Pistol powder is what Ive been looking at for my next batch. Im going to shoot up what I have now and then prep all my cases at one time. Im trying to stay subsonic because my range is limited to 100yds and someday I want a suppressor. Here's some data I found about pistol powders in rifle calibers. http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm |
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Very interested in this, you using something like this one? Would like exact load details if you would share, would still work my way up but interested to see what yours is. Quoted:
Quoted:
748 with 110gr carbine bullets... cheap and good shooters. We have 5 Winchesters now between 2 of us. Looking for an Antique now... http://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p727/djryan13/Reloading/5C5ABB32-B9BA-4937-83A5-11441CFBB6C3_zpsbndfi1ec.jpg. Here's a thread where we talked about it a bit. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/471327_-30-Carbine-110fmj-loaded-in-30-30-tube-mag-.html |
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Very interested in this, you using something like this one? Would like exact load details if you would share, would still work my way up but interested to see what yours is. I started with Hornady 110 FMJ (left can) but switched to Armscor (which don't get that much love here). I got the Armscor at Graf's and they look just like your link. Might be the same???? My load is 35.5gr 748 in mix brass with S&B LR primer. I started with 3031 powder but that doesn't drop as well in the 1050 PM. Thus I switched to 748. I tested the Armscor vs Hornady with my 4x scoped Winchester AE at 75yards and couldn't tell the difference. My friend and I decided to make the switch. Is there a difference? Maybe.. but our goal is to hit 4-12" steel targets with the Winchester iron sights standing from 30-80 yards depending on the mood/weather. Good luck! |
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