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I'm itching to get my CZ Hornet and Marlin 30 30 back into action! I want to come up with some reduced power loads for small game with both guns, and I love the killing efficiency of flat pointed bullets. Can anybody recommend me some molds for plainbased, flat pointed bullets in 22 and 30 caliber? I want to get 1200 to 1400 fps with minute of squirrel's head accuracy in each gun. Thanks a bunch!
Lots of choices for the Hornet - I like the NOE 225107, its a 37 grain flat nose that my 218 Bee really likes.
For the 30-30 you can't beat a 311008, its a 115 grain flat nose - either a lyman mould or go for the 6 banger from NOE to really crank them out. Put that over ~8 grains of Unique (or equivalent in other powders - I mostly use 8.2 grains of Universal Clays) and it shoots with the recoil of a .22 rimfire in my Winchester. Its my go-to chicken load in lever gun silhouette and very accurate.
I used the Lee 113gr FP at 800-1100fps using Red dot for my squirrel loads in my 30/30. Todd/3leg
For the Hornet, NOE makes a 45 grain WFN I have had great success with using two grains of Bullseye.
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The Lee 113 grain soup can works well in .30-30.
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I use the 311008 and 5 gr of clays in my 30-30. 5 gr was the first charge I run with this boolit and I never saw a reason to experiment further.
1200 fps, quiet and accurate.
I don't have a hornet yet.
A 45 grain WFN sounds great, but I'm not familiar with NOE as a mold maker. Could I order that mold and the Lee 113 grainer from the same place and save on shipping?
My favorite light load for my 30/30 has been the Lyman 130 gr plain base boolit and an 80% load of Trail Boss for about 1350 fps. It has been deadly on coyotes and keeps the gong ringing at 200 yards all with its iron sights. Recently I acquired one of the Mihec 130 gr convertible molds (convertible to flat point or HP) and can't wait to use it this winter on coyotes with the same Trail Boss load even though it is a gas check mold.
I too have a 22 Hornet in a Contender carbine and I have been very happy with its pelt-saving performance with 53 gr CB's (older Lee Mold) using 9.4 gr of 4198 giving it about 1800 fps.
ElCheapo;
"I'm itching to get my CZ Hornet and Marlin 30 30 back into action! I want to come up with some reduced power loads for small game with both guns, and I love the killing efficiency of flat pointed bullets. Can anybody recommend me some molds for plainbased, flat pointed bullets in 22 and 30 caliber? I want to get 1200 to 1400 fps with minute of squirrel's head accuracy in each gun."
I shoot lots of TL314-90-SWCs sized .311 out of my 30-30s over 2.7 gr of Bullseye. They run 820 fps out of a 20" barrel and hold "minute of squirrel's head" accuracy out to 50+ yards and are deadly on small game. The 311008 or the RCBS 98 gr SWC over 2.7 to 3.2 gr Bullseye are also excellent. I've found if I want that level of consistent accuracy with a 1200 - 1400 fps cast bullet a GC bullet is the best choice with the 311316 loaded over 8 gr Unique.
Your CZ 22 Hornet should have a 14" twist. I've fiddled with several 37 - 40 gr cast sans the GC and found best accuracy comes at subsonic velocities when they are loaded over Bullseye. A soft cast 225438 gave the best accuracy loaded over 1.5 gr Bullseye for 1060 fps. A FP can be swaged on that bullet during sizing/lubing with a correct top punch. The FP 225107 also gives good subsonic performance cast soft, TLd with LLA and shot "as cast" sans the GC loaded over 1.3 gr Bullseye. However, both bullets give better, more consistent accuracy with GCs.
I load a noe 311008 over 4gr of titegroup for 970fps, or i quench them and use 6.3gr for 1400fps
FYI my old cz hornet is 0.223" and 1:16 twist.
Modern ones don’t know.
I would put a tight patch down the barrel and mark a start point with a ink pen and a reference marker on top or the rod
Push it though one rotation and mark again.
This will give you your twist rate.
This will help you calculate/decide the bullet length that will stabilise in your twist rate.
Hope it helps
If you happen to have a .30-30 with 1:10" twist, which some Marlins and older Savages and H&Rs are, I have had wonderful results with Accurate 31-155D with 4-5 grains of Bullseye. In the 1:12" twist Winchester 94 I bump the load to 6 grains of Bullseye.
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I like The 308403 dipped lubed with 50/50 bw/vas I’ve been playing with for a while.
Just de/re-prime and a scoop of bullseye and finger seat the bullet on top.
Works for me ..but I only got a single shot..:D:D
That 30/30 using the 130 gr plain base boolit and load I described above just accounted for a small spike buck that made the mistake of crossing my yard. 35 yards DRT. Now I can concentrate on duck hunting on a nearby bay.
I didn't see any need to switch boolits when I wanted a small game load for my 30-30. I use the Lyman 311041, tumble-lubed w/o gas check over 4.5 grains of bullseye. Deadly on the local squirrel population w/o being overly damaging and it shoots quiet.
Just finished cleaning up my 1970 Marlin 336 and I'm itchin' to get shooting! Best thing about this gun is the trigger. Should be no problem nailing squirrels/groundhogs and other small game with it. I think I'll stick with the 311041 that I'm gonna use on deer, and just use enough Accurate #2 to get around 1100 fps. No need for gas checks, and I'll probably keep the loads subsonic for this application. Haven't done any work to my CZ 527 22 hornet, other than smoothing up the bore with hundreds of jacketed bullets that I fired while hunting groundhogs. Not sure what bullet weights will shoot best in it as I don't know the twist rate at this point.
Just a reminder...you will need to clean out the copper fouling out to get the beat accuracy with cast bullets.
The Hornet will be a challenge.
I was surprised how little challenge there was with the Hornet. I got what I was looking for (fox squirrel head accuracy at 25 yards) immediately and quit experimenting. Those Bullseye loads with the plain based bullet I use in the 219, or the Bator with gas check and six grains of 2400 I use in the Stevens 322 are fun and accurate and great killers on small game.
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Just nosing around on the forum a bit, seems some folks don't like reduced loads with ball powders. I like ball powders because they work great in a powder measure. Being a shotgun nut, I also have goodly amounts of Red Dot, Green Dot and Herco on hand to use but they sure don't flow through a measure as consistently as Accurate #2 or #9! I was able to get good accuracy out of my full power 30 30 loads, but unfortunately didn't get a shot at a deer on either of the 2 days I had to hunt. Still nice being outside hunting though. It's been a while!
Just remember that bullets that go fast, will go slow too. I like the 165 Ranch Dog in a microgroove Marlin at 1900 fps. It also goes where I point it at 1100 fps.
Just remember the first Hornets were made on .22RF barrels hence the tight grooves and 1-16 twist.Cast should be easy at the correct speed.