This is a new experience for me. I just purchased a Rossi Rio Grande 30-30 20" barrel. Mounted a Burris 3-9x40 scope. I did not clean the barrel from the factory (shame on me.) The barrel slugs @ .3085 and the bore is .296. Yesterday I cast Noe's .311 165 gr RF which I understand was designed for a Marlin. The boolits (COWW + little tin) were water dropped. I placed AL gas checks and sized at .310 with lube of about 50/50 FWFL & 2500 plus. The 4500 was running dry of FWFL and I had added the 2500+. Each boolit had about 50% of each lube. The boolits averaged 168.5 grains total. The boolits measured 14.0 BHN yesterday with my Cabin Tree tester. My load was 23.7 grains IMR 4895, WLR primer, mixed brass 1x fired. I had to seat the boolit deeper (oal 2.445") than the crimping groove to get the cartridges to chamber. No crimp was applied. I shot them singularly because of zero crimp.
Normally I would break in a new barrel with j bullets but none are to be found. I also would let the boolits season. Time was of the essence since I only get to shoot a few times a year and all the components including the rifle just arrived. It's 52 miles each way. So this is the first time I've broken in a barrel using lead boolits.
If the pictures show up the first one to hit the target totally keyholed (first target lower left). The same with the next 3. The first 2 shots were off paper. I was sighting in the scope and the bullets gradually began to straighten out. The second target the first one to hit it keyholed (lower left). The second target upper group has 13 shots and most appeared to have entered straight. Although the first one on the bottom left had no stabilized. The yardage was 25 yards. Total 20 shots fired. The section I cut out of the target was a group from another rifle.
I have not cleaned the rifle yet but looking down the barrel using a light I see minimal to zero leading at the chamber end or the muzzle. There was a slight lube star on the muzzle.
Advice and speculations please. Thanks
My crony's battery died but the 3 I recorded were 1550-1600 fps.