Ruger 30 carbine bullet selection

[T-Bird]

I have a Ruger Blackhawk 30 carbine circa late 1960's 7.5 in bbl that I would like to get a good cast bullet load for. I experimented last summer with LY311410 (results not good) and a LY 32/20 bullet that is a gas checked 115gr that I can't remember the mould no. for. The 32/20 bullet shot fairly well (3-4 in at 50 yds) but in my never ending quest for "perfection" I am looking for a better bullet (more accurate and not as hard to size ) and powder combo. I have tried AA#5 for reduced loads and have used 2400, AA#9. Lil gun for regular loads.I was trying to get a good reduced load esp. because this is the LOUDEST gun I have ever fired. Any help will be appreciated. Shoot Straight, T-Bird

[Newtire]

Hi T-Bird,
Since you don't have to worry about automatic function, I would go with the Lee soup can 113gr. RF. I shoot the round nose 120 & 130 gr. Lee in an M-1 carbine and those 2 are the most accurate. I had good luck with the 311316 in hollow point version with the nose reformed with a pointy nose punch in my Lyman sizer. Had lousy luck with the Lyman 311410 also. You might also try one of the little 311252 roundnose 77 gr. I had good short range luck with that thing out to 50 yds in my 30-30. Buckshot did some shooting with that thing too as I recall, Cheap shooting and no gascheck. Roll em in some LLA (lazyman's lube) & load em up. very small amount of powder I'll bet. I used 5 gr. Unique in the .30-30 but that's a bigger case than the .30 carbine. Not an expert on the small cases but would bet just a couple of grains of RedDot. Watch out you don't stick one in the bore of course!

[FISH4BUGS]

I have a 4 cavity Hensley & Gibbs 30 carbine #250 113gr rn gc mould. I bought it because it was virtually new and went relatively cheap on EBay. It was one of the FEW things that actually sold cheap at auction. I don't have a gun for it yet. I am looking for an old model 30 carbine Ruger in case you get tired of yours. That muzzle blast IS ferocious, but that is what makes it fun to shoot. I had one many years ago and liked it. Sort of clears out a few lanes next to you at the range. Similar to the 22 Jet.
If you would like to experiment with this bullet, I would cast a few hundred (Lyman #2 formula - 5 lbs WW to 1 lb linotype) and swap with you for a few hundred of something else. You would need to size, lube and gc the bullet, but if you want to swap something, (44, 45, 380, 38 bullets) we can talk. I would also trade for gas checks (35, 30, 44) if that works for you.

[T-Bird]

New, what is the lee "soup can". I've seen it discussed in this forum before but have never asked what it was. T-Bird

[Mohillbilly]

I used a Lee lite 32 SWC tumblelube sized down,and loaded with blue dot. that shot good from my NM blackhawk, Automag III, and the carbine. It's a shame Lee discontinued the six hole mold but the two holer is still availble....

[beagle]

T-Bird....I've shot thousands of the 311008 Lymans in mine with great results. Think I've tried about every bullet in it except the Lees and the 311008 ids the best that's available.

The 31133 and the HP version of the 311008 are my tow favorites with the 311008 slightly outweighing the 31133 in accuracy./beagle

[versifier]

T-Bird,
The soupcan is the Lee C309-113F #90362. There is a Group Buy taking orders now for a 6-hole version. It may be the most versatile .30 cal boolit in the Lee lineup.
So far, I've had good luck in my 10" Contender with the soupcan cast from WW and sized to .310 with 7.3gr Unique OAL 1.522". I have a lot more testing to do with it, though, with other powders. Dale53 and Buckshot both shoot Rugers like yours and may be able to help you more with loads for it.

[Will]

I had poor groups with 2400 and 311410 until I cut back to 10.5gr then groups tightened up. The same load works well with the lee 309-113-RF as well as the lee 309-120 R1. With the lee bullets I can go up to 12gr and still get good groups. I've found 2400 and 4227 to give me the best results.

[Leftoverdj]

I've shot 311410 in a mess of stuff, and have been very happy with it. You do have to remember that it's a plain base and more than very moderate pressures will destroy accuracy. Five grains of Unique is about right in the .30 carbine.

[nighthunter]

T-bird .... I have 2 Blackhawk 30 Carbines. One 2 screw and one 3 screw. Both shoot cast beautifully. I have a Mountain Mold 311 115 grain FNGC (80% meplat) that I size to .309 and load with 11.7 grains WC820. The 2 screw is scoped with a 2x6 Burris and will shoot into 3 inches at 100 yards repeatably. The 3 screw will do less than 3 inches at 50 yards with open sights. Not too bad for these old eyes. I also have the GB 311-120 and have good results with it also but not as good as with the Mountain Molds bullets.
Nighthunter

[Newtire]

I had poor groups with 2400 and 311410 until I cut back to 10.5gr then groups tightened up. The same load works well with the lee 309-113-RF as well as the lee 309-120 R1. With the lee bullets I can go up to 12gr and still get good groups. I've found 2400 and 4227 to give me the best results.

Hi Will,
Is that a load you use in an M-1 carbine? Sounds like your success is the same as mine but will try that 311410 loaded down as long as it functions the action.

[T-Bird]

I'm just now checking back to the forum and I appreciate the replies. Beagle, the 32/20 bullet that I referred to is a gas checked version of the 311008. What loads have you had success with? With 50 yd. groups, at around 3 in. with a 2 power scope, I may be having all the success that I can expect with this pistol.But I would like better. If the cal was .45 or .44 the groups would at least LOOK better!
Left, what else have you shot the 311410 in? Will it work for slow 30/30 loads?I don't think this bullet is stable with whatever twist this pistol is, I tried several loads and powders and I couldn't get anything to shoot below about 5 in at 30 yds. Night, iron sights are apparently things past for me. With trifocals, I can see either the gun or the target but not both! Shoot Straight T-Bird

[Glen]

With PB bullets in the .30 Carbine Blackhawk (e.g. the 311008), I've been able to get good accuracy up to about 1450 fps or so, then groups go south after that. Most of my .30 Carbine Blackhawk shooting now is done with the 311316, either the SWC or the HP form, at 1550-1600 fps with Acc. Arms #9 powder. Excellent varmint gun!

[Will]

Newtire;
I'm using it in a GI 30carbine and it will work the action in my gun. The soupcan will sometimes hang up unless I size it down to .308 and polish the nose with steel wool. My best 3 shot group was 3/8" @25 yds with GI sights.

[beagle]

Tbird.....I've used the Lyman 311316 in my some but steer clear of it because of the cost of GCs.. The #302 Saeco is a good GC bullet also but like the 311576 Lyman and the 311410, it's a RN and I wanted something with a flat meplat so I chose the 311008.

You might look at some of Paco Kelley's articles on the .30 Carbine. He takes the .30 Carbine to new heights of bullet weight and velocities.

I've shot his 311440 loads as well as some 7.62 x 39 130 SPLs from RCBS, some 30-150-CMS RCBS bullets and my favorite heavy bullet, the Lyman 311465HP.

You can do a lot with the .30 Carbine Blackhawk from 1,000 FPS plinking loads to some of Paco's rip snorting 311440 loads. JUst depends on what you need and are looking for. Most of my shooting is paper punching and 100 yard plinking and the .30 Carbine can't be beat for both purposes./beagle



I'm just now checking back to the forum and I appreciate the replies. Beagle, the 32/20 bullet that I referred to is a gas checked version of the 311008. What loads have you had success with? With 50 yd. groups, at around 3 in. with a 2 power scope, I may be having all the success that I can expect with this pistol.But I would like better. If the cal was .45 or .44 the groups would at least LOOK better!
Left, what else have you shot the 311410 in? Will it work for slow 30/30 loads?I don't think this bullet is stable with whatever twist this pistol is, I tried several loads and powders and I couldn't get anything to shoot below about 5 in at 30 yds. Night, iron sights are apparently things past for me. With trifocals, I can see either the gun or the target but not both! Shoot Straight T-Bird

[Leftoverdj]

Left, what else have you shot the 311410 in? Will it work for slow 30/30 loads?I don't think this bullet is stable with whatever twist this pistol is, I tried several loads and powders and I couldn't get anything to shoot below about 5 in at 30 yds.

.30-30, couple of 7.62x39, several .308, .30 Carbine, .30-06. Always found a load that gave acceptable small game accuracy, 1.5" at 50 yards or better, in the 1000-1200 fps range. I was looking more for cheap and easy plinking than absolute accuracy.

I can't imagine the twist being a problem. What could be a problem is chamber throats smaller than groove diameter. That's death on cast bullet accuracy. Slug the throats and the barrel to check. Other than that, the possibilities that I can think of that would cause that kind of inaccuracy are charges heavy enough to damage the base of the bullet and sizing too small for the gun.

[beagle]

The .30 Carbine is pretty forgiving as far as twist is concerned.

It stabilized the 30-150-FN and the Lyman 311440....as long as I maintained 1200 FPS.

With the heavier, longer bullets, this is hard to accomplish as you're doing a juggling act with bullet seating depth, velocity, and most important...pressure.

Then, the throat in Ruger chambers is short and abrupt. This works against you. With the longer, heavier bullets, I finally, resorted to sizing the driving band to .309". This allowed the bullet to be seated out farther and I could finally make 1200 FPS with the 311440.

I'd see no twist problems with the 311410 based on my experiences with a wide varierty of .30 bullets in the .30 Blackhawk./beagle

[T-Bird]

Thanks guys. I think I'll ask for a "soup can" mold for Christmas. I need a new mold anyway. If y'all (I'm from Ala.) don't think the twist is a problem with the 311410, I'll play with it some more. Thanks again and shoot straight, T-Bird