Got a pretty good lead 30-40 load......

[Harry O]

But not perfect. The bullet is a Bhn 18 Lyman 311413GC with NRA lube. The powder is 12.5gr of Red Dot (scooped with a Lee scoop, not dropped or weighed). The bullet is set so it will just kiss the rifling of my Ruger No. 3 (Rugers traditionally have short throats). I have loaded some loads with different powders and fillers, but they are too time consuming for the improvement in accuracy. The Ruger has had a recoil pad added (for full power loads, not these) and has a Leupold 2x7 Compact scope.

I fired 60 of them today in three shot groups. After each group, I let the barrel cool (although it did not need much cooling compared to full powder loads, it gave me time to check the spotting scope). At 50 yards the groups were 3/8" to 3/4" (3/4 to 1-1/2 MOA). At 75 yards, the groups were 3/4" to 1-1/2" (1 to 2 MOA). At 100 meters, they opened up quite a bit, being between 2" and 3" (approx 2 to 3 MOA).

In checking the targets I noticed that the 50 yard groups had nice round lead marks on the paper around each bullet hole. The 100 meter groups were elongated slightly. They were starting to tip. I could not tell for sure one way or the other on the 75 yard groups.

I am guessing that a little more velocity might straighten them out. The next scoop up gives a 15.0gr load. What do the people here say? Try more powder?

[45 2.1]

Try a little more powder, but not at the 15 gr. level. Go slowly and you'll find a sweet spot there somewhere.

[KCSO]

You don't say what your bullet is sized to, for my Krag I went to 3105 and the 12.5 load will run under 2" at 100. You might try 311 with the 12.5 before you go up. I use Red Dot in 30-40, 30-30, 30-06 and 8mm and have not had to go past 13.5 to find a group. You might also try Unique starting with 12 grains. You really shouldn't be ovaling at 100 with that 12.5 load, but each rifle is different.

[Newtire]

But not perfect. The bullet is a Bhn 18 Lyman 311413GC with NRA lube. The powder is 12.5gr of Red Dot (scooped with a Lee scoop, not dropped or weighed). The bullet is set so it will just kiss the rifling of my Ruger No. 3 (Rugers traditionally have short throats). I have loaded some loads with different powders and fillers, but they are too time consuming for the improvement in accuracy. The Ruger has had a recoil pad added (for full power loads, not these) and has a Leupold 2x7 Compact scope.

I fired 60 of them today in three shot groups. After each group, I let the barrel cool (although it did not need much cooling compared to full powder loads, it gave me time to check the spotting scope). At 50 yards the groups were 3/8" to 3/4" (3/4 to 1-1/2 MOA). At 75 yards, the groups were 3/4" to 1-1/2" (1 to 2 MOA). At 100 meters, they opened up quite a bit, being between 2" and 3" (approx 2 to 3 MOA).

In checking the targets I noticed that the 50 yard groups had nice round lead marks on the paper around each bullet hole. The 100 meter groups were elongated slightly. They were starting to tip. I could not tell for sure one way or the other on the 75 yard groups.

I am guessing that a little more velocity might straighten them out. The next scoop up gives a 15.0gr load. What do the people here say? Try more powder?

Hi Harry O,
That's the first bullet I shot out of my 06 and it did alright at 50 yds with up to 12 gr. Red Dot and from there the groups just began to open up. Maybe my guess is off but in that .30-30, that might be about it for accuracy with that bullet. Maybe not but just maybe. It got me interested in cast bullet shooting though. I am thinking that thing is a little pointed & may suffer from the nose slumps if you push it too hard. Better you might get ahold of something like the 311466 Loverin style 150 gr. for a light load & boy, now there's a bullet you can push a bit. That new 311407 group buy bullet is real good and the 311041 just can't be beat if you go for some full power style factory velocity loads. Whatever you do, have fun.

[Harry O]

Additional information. The bullet was sized to 0.310". I have to get a 0.309" sizer. The bore was slugged and it is 0.308".

I have a Loverin type bullet and it did not do well in this gun (at 50 yards anyway). I forget the number, but it is a little over 150gr. I could try seating it out to reach the rifling, but did not do that yet. If I did, it would have very little left in the case.

The other bullet I have tried is a Lee 303B bullet. That is a bore riding bullet that was supposed to be for the 303 British cartridge, but the bore riding portion is only 0.300", so it is too small for that. It is pretty good, but not quite as good as the 311413 in the Ruger. On the other hand, the Lee 303B is better in my Krag than the 311413. I think the reason is because there is no possible way to reach the rifling with a 311413 bullet in the Krag. The rifling contacts the 311413 in the Ruger.

All of the above were sized 0.310", lubed with NRA lube and shot with 12.5gr of Red Dot (scooped). I have also tried other powders with filler and they are somewhat more accurate, but they take a LOT longer to load.

[Doughty]

Harry O

I had a Ruger #3 in .30-40 that I shot quite a bit. Finally settled on the 31141. Out of WWs, my 4 cavity dropped them between .314 and .315. I did a test wherein everything was the same except bullet diameter. I started at .310 and went up through .315. In every instance, as I increased bullet diameter, group size decrease. This was true across a spectrum of alloy hardnesses and low to high velocities.

If I had had a bigger diameter bullet I would of tried them also. I figured I could have gotten at least a .317 to chamber easily.

[Harry O]

Old Vic: I have a couple of larger sizers (I think they are 0.313" and 0.314" since I shoot a lot of .32 handguns). That is worth a try. I don't remember what the 311413 drops out at, but it is definitely larger than 0.310".

I did some testing with lead bullet sizes in handguns a few years ago. I found things somewhat similar to you. With lead, larger seems to be better, up to to point where they cannot chamber. I generally run 0.002" larger than groove size any more, rather than the 0.001" that is usually recommended. That seems to work better for me.

Unfortunately some of my other Rugers (at least their handguns) have tight throats. You cannot go any larger than stock on them. On the 44-40 Vaquero I have, I cannot even chamber a bullet that is groove size. I have not checked how big a bullet I can get in this Ruger, though. It might work.

[Newtire]

Hi Harry O,
That's the first bullet I shot out of my 06 and it did alright at 50 yds with up to 12 gr. Red Dot and from there the groups just began to open up. Maybe my guess is off but in that .30-30, that might be about it for accuracy with that bullet. Maybe not but just maybe. It got me interested in cast bullet shooting though. I am thinking that thing is a little pointed & may suffer from the nose slumps if you push it too hard. Better you might get ahold of something like the 311466 Loverin style 150 gr. for a light load & boy, now there's a bullet you can push a bit. That new 311407 group buy bullet is real good and the 311041 just can't be beat if you go for some full power style factory velocity loads. Whatever you do, have fun.

Sorry Harry,
Looked at the post & see it's a 30-40 and not a 30-30! At least my load won't get you into trouble. Upon reading it though, I noticed where you say you weren't seating that Loverin into the rifling. I have found that to be the paramount key to accuracy in the case of my guns. If your gun is a 1-10" twist, you probably will be doing good with a long bullet like the 311299 or 311284. I don't have either one of these but judging from the way my old Springfield likes the 311290 that I have, I'll bet they will shoot.