Ultra Quiet 30-30 Loads

[felix]

Are we talking the sound of a 22 rimfire? or of a gas powered pellet gun?

The latter, hopefully. That is the only reason for the word "quiet". Notice that high speed pellet guns have a muffler installed, mostly because of the need for air pressure reduction. ... felix

[Knightflyer]

I was reading through this old thread as it's an interest of mine, but was sad to find it ended before results were posted of how quiet he managed to get the thing. I've got a kid who is rather sound-sensitive, so the lower I can keep it, the happier he is.
-KF

[JSnover]

Knightflyer, Here is a great thread on the topic. May not give you precisely what you're looking for but it's a good place to start.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-reduced-loads

[smkummer]

I was experimenting with red dot in 223 and 30-30 in my back yard for quiet ammo. I was using 311252 bullet (32 auto) for 30-30. Red-dot was more consistent than 231 when we got down to 3 grains or less. Meaning we starting sticking bullets with 231 when red-dot kept pushing them out. I stop my experimenting when 22 cci quiet became available again.

[Drm50]

I have a "chart" that came out of a magazine back in 70s, maybe Petersons. It's title was something
about getting year round use out of your deer rifle. I have fooled a good bit with 30/30, 308 & 30-06
light loads. The 1000-1200fps loads I used Horn 1/2 jacket plinkers, noise level about as a 22 but not the crack. The 500-600fps I used 32cal balls run through 308 size die. I have also loaded balls
in 35 Rem & 375H&H. In straight cases 357, 44, 45 and 45/70. All accurate at 50' or less. The 45/70
was only one that required either filler of Dacron or paper disc over powder. The powder laying down
length of case would give un uniform ignition and wouldn't group. I loaded some cast lead balls in
3006 with IMR-4064 trying to see how fast I could launch them. I was shooting them out of a Rem
721/ reciever sight. I had no chrony but on paper 1500fps+. Most of the loads for balls were pistol
powders. The bullet loads for the bottle necks ( jackets) were all IMR-4198.

[john.k]

I found to get quiet loads ,you need a long barrel.....in a 303 with a 30" barrel ,its easy to get quiet subsonic loads,a lot quieter than a 22 Subsonic.The fastest powder,soft lead,not heavy for cal,120gn in 30,and the rest is simple...I keep the velocity up a bit,say over 700f/s,and there is no risk of a bullet sticking.............In any case,when I fire a bullet,i know if it hits somthing.....in other words ,I keep my eyes open.

[oldtrucks]

Knightflyer I apologize for not following up. I spent the last few years moving and building a new place and got about 1/2 way through this project before I had to set it aside. Now that things have settled down some I'll try and find the data I have and finish this up. I'll post my findings once I have all the chrono data

[quilbilly]

I don't know if it is as quiet as you want but it is pleasant to shoot. I am using an 80% load density of Trail Boss under the Lyman 130 gr plain base boolit. The MV is about 1300 if memory serves from my chronograph. Coyotes hate that load and it rings the gong at 200 yards. I have had problems with load densities below 70% of Trail Boss because they gave me extreme variations in several calibers.

[Tackleberry41]

I worked up subsonic loads in my 30-30. Was a picky bolt gun that never liked cast anything. I used Solo1000 as I have a bunch of it. No filler, work fine. Load data would not do much good as a little variation length or bullet and everything changes.

And yes you can make subsonic 44 mag. Special data is a bit slow, I found a mid point between min mag and max special that keeps a 290gr cast subsonic in a Rossi single shot. very quiet.

[Texas by God]

.310" rb/#1 buck over 3 grs Bullseye is a nice short range quiet 30-30 load. Single load only. Same load in a .44 mag with a .433"rb is fun too.

[Tom W.]

I use 6.6 gr. of Bullseye and and a 160 gr cast Lee boolit with a gas check. I can't comment on the noise as I wear hearing protection when shooting and have ruined hearing anyway. In my rifle it's very accurate at 50 yards and recoil is light.
So far it's my favorite fire forming load.

[worker]

@quilbilly what is the barrel you get that velocity from?
Also how do you measure 80% density ?
One more question, how quiet is it compared to a .22

thx

[beagle]

One thing that I noticed when I wrote the article titled: Whisper Loads on Castpics is that all of my subsonic loads were very accurate at ranges of 50 yards./beagle

[Salmoneye]

.310" rb/#1 buck over 3 grs Bullseye is a nice short range quiet 30-30 load. Single load only. .

I can keep that load on a 9" skillet all day long at 50 yards with my 26" barreled Marlin 1893...

I seat the .310" ball flush in the case, and they load fine from the magazine...

Pure heck on pests in the garden...

[OverMax]

Deliberate suppressing of barrel report. Kind of leery to suggest here. i.e. As stuck in it's bore bullet is a possibility.

Thinking a fast burning pistol powder {reduced charge weight} might be your answer although with 30-30 brass? Such thin wall brass w/ long neck as 30wcf is. Down range accuracy beyond muzzle would likely deteriorate.

[outdoorfan]

Interesting topic, but everyone has a different idea of what "quiet" is. I developed a load (a pain-staking process) in my .357 Rossi trapper that sounds about like a medium hand clap. Around 1 grain of Red Dot packed tightly against the primer and maybe 350 fps, and that 125 grain hollow point is accurate to at least 40 yards, if'n I can keep track of the bullet drop. Now, that's quiet!

But I agree with the other poster that simply used the CCI Quiets anymore, which is what I do. My goal was to not have the neighbors know I was shooting.

[quilbilly]

@quilbilly what is the barrel you get that velocity from?
Also how do you measure 80% density ?
One more question, how quiet is it compared to a .22

thx

I am using it in a Mossberg 464 lever gun. The noise is more like a 22 Mag. rimfire with recoil about the same as the magnum.
As for measuring, I use sugar and a flashlight then make a brass dipper for the amount from some sort of a rifle cartridge case.
Not exactly technical but it works well. If you get much below 80% load density, pressures and velocity get very erratic with Trail Boss. Late edit - I checked my old records for the 30/30 and an 80% load density is little bit over 2 CC.

[Knightflyer]

I am using it in a Mossberg 464 lever gun. The noise is more like a 22 Mag. rimfire with recoil about the same as the magnum.

I'm using a 464 also. I was firing 165 gr boolits over around 5 gr of titegroup. It wasn't bad but I figured I could do better. My experiments are on hold at the moment as one of my teens went rather nuts and I moved all my stuff 2 hours away to a good friend's house. Better safe than sorry. But I miss being able to throw some cartridges together whenever I feel like it. This too will pass soon enough.

[mazo kid]

How quiet do you want, and what is your ultimate goal? A couple of years ago I was looking for a quiet, low velocity round for my .223. A friend suggested this: appropriate round ball, lubed with LLA, pushed through a Lee sizing die, lubed again, then seated over .8 gr. Tite Group held against the primer with a tiny tuft of Dacron. This in an unsized case from your rifle. Noise? What noise? The only sound was the striker hitting the firing pin. You could see the ball in flight. Accuracy was acceptable to 25-30 yards. At 1 gr. the sound was less than a 22 Short. Perhaps this may be of value if you work up your own 30-30 loads. Start a bit higher to make sure your ball is clearing the barrel and work down to what you want. You are on your own when trying this, I will not be responsible for any damage.

[Knightflyer]

I like this Mazo. I'll have to give a try when I get over to my stuff. I'm trying to set up a weekend to go 'visit' my equipment, lol. Actually, I'll probably just use my buddies, since his is setup and ready to go. That way all I have to dig out is brass & powder. He said he has a lifetime supply of primers he bought from another friends estate.