3030 squirrel loads?

[luna butte]

alright, i loaded three rounds twice. with 4.8grains Bullseye (lee dippers are my friend) and shot em at 20 paces. they seemed to be accurate enough for me. i didn't measure the 6 round group but it was close to 1.5" maybe 2" , standing without a rest. i could not see any trace of lead and all that was there for fouling was a couple unburned powders. i am pretty happy with the results and i would like to thank you all for helping me get started with this project.

oh, at 20 paces my group was just below the bull and very much centered on target. it should be a simple sight adjustment and be right where i want to be.

now all my son and i need is a warm sunny day and the greydiggers will pay for all the grain they got out of the barn this winter. yee haw.

[Gadzooks Mike]

Luna, you're gonna need a lot of them wheel weights! That's how my son learned to shoot, and we kept loading the same 20 cases over and over. I say "we" but he was doing the shooting and I was doing the loading with a Lee loader. Spent about 4 hours at the range until I couldn't go no more. It's not easy to explain WHY it's so much fun shooting lead out of a 30-30 using pistol powder, but it sure IS fun. Enjoy the shooting and enjoy the squirrel stew!

[excess650]

Your thread prompted me to do a little more casting on this rainy day. I cast a batch with the Lee 311-100-2R and another batch with a MM .309-140FNPB. Both of these look like they'll work in my CZ-527 7.62x39 as well as 30-30s, 30-06s, 7.5x55, and 32-20. The 30-06s and 7.62x39 are the only rifles wearing scopes so may be chosen for tree rat control.

[skeet1]

If I wanted a squirrel load for the .30-30 I think I would use the Lee Soup Can and some Unique.

Ken

[Blammer]

hmm 30-30 huh?

why not use a 30-06, 1850fps with the 311284 boolit.

works for me

[luna butte]

nice Blammer, though my 06 is actually a 270 and i am not set up to load for it yet.

oh man! this load has got to be the funnest thing to shoot ever. i packed my 3030 all day and let my horseshoeing clients try it out. most of em didn't see the practicality of it though one guy grinned real big after shooting it and said

"you ever see the old video of the fat guy that catches a cannon ball with his belly. i bet this load will knock a squirrel clean across the road. "

we had a good laugh.

from a rest (my pickup mirror) at roughly 25-30 yards i stuck three of em into less than an inch, not touching but about as close to it as possible. it was great and i am pretty sure that the primer pop is louder than the charge.

[KCSO]

My best squirrel load for the 30-30 is a 90 grain Lee rn bullet made for the 32 acp I push it with just 5.0 of trail boss or 4.0 of bullseye and it groups under 1" at 25 yards. For the heavy bullet you have I have a standard plinking and traing load of 10 grains of Unique for out to 150 yards and I drop down to 6.0 for small game and close range.

[Bret4207]

"Horseshoeing clients"??? If you're a equine foot doctor you'll fit in here just great!

[JWFilips]

Bret

The Lee TL314-90-SWC is almost identical to the Hornady, except you get to cast them yourself. I've a 6 cavity mould and cast them by the thousands, litterally, using mainly recovered range lead with 2% tin added. I TL in LLA and then pass them base first through a .314 Lee sizer. Then I can use as is with my .32 S&WL, .32 H&R or any of my .31 cal rilfes. I push them through a Lee .311 sizer for most of my .30 cal rifles. I also use a .31 M die with the .30 cal rifles. Even then I do not hesitate to pick up a 500 count box or two of the Hornady's when the price is right.

Larry Gibson

Sorry to resurrect and old post but I want to ask Larry Gibson why past them through the Lee sizer die base first?

[jimwill48]

Very load I use but use the Berry .32 HBWC but guess you can't get them anymore. Will get the Hornady HBWC when they become available again. Last winter ended up shooting 5 possums in our persimmon tree in our fenced front yard because my lab tree'd them and wouldn't stop barking. One shot each at about 15 yards = dead possum.....

Bret

If you don't mind single loading either the Hornady or Speer .32 swaged HBWCs shoot extremely well in my .30/.31s also. They do feed from the right side of my Mausers if only one cartridge is put in the mag. Accuracy is excellent if you don't push them to hard. I stick with 2.7 gr Bullseye with case capacity up through .308W and 3 gr Bullseye in those up through the '06. That WC is very deadly at 800 - 900 fps on rabbits, squirrels and othe vermin. Great for plinking also.

Larry Gibson