Favorite .30-30 hunting bullet?

[Tom W.]

The Lee mold that you mentioned was the first one that I bought, many long years ago. A single cavity at that. Now, while I've never shot anything with my 30/30, I used to load up two boxes every year for my now deceased hunting buddy, and he's killed quite a few Alabama whitetails with my handloads in his Sears lever action. My youngest son did use my rifle to hunt deer with, and he, too has taken quite a few with said boolit. Cast from COWW with a gas check and sized w/ a Lee sizer it did well. I still use the mold and sizer for both plinking and fire forming cases with my 30-06 A.I. and recently started shooting the 30/30 again, but at paper.... Hoping to get it rechambered this month to 30/30 A.I.

[richhodg66]

i use it in all .308 calibers. coww and 1 or 2% tin

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product...3gvr9e9jov01p2

I bought one of these from Ranch Dog when he was still selling them, great bullet. I haven't used it in a .30-30, but it worked great in a .308.

[Texas by God]

Gasp! Remington Core-Lokt 170'grain round nose. Gasp! Has been a deer-slayer since time immemorial....

My first deer in nineteen hundred and seventy two took one of these in the neck and fell in the tall grass so quick that I thought I missed! One buck That I shot last season did the same with Lee C309150f cast of WW. 30-30 Win, 46 yrs apart.

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[richhodg66]

No doubt those Core Lokts are good bullets, I've used a few myself, but for the past nine years, it's been cast or arrows for me and from here on out, anything 7mm or bigger is gonna use cast. I used cast in muzzle loaders for years before than, but that isn't a big trick.

Funny about those Core Lokts, guys go out and buy "premium" bullets that cost $2 apiece, I doubt any of them do better on deer than the good ol' Core Lokts do.

[Tatume]

I like the Lee C309-170-F. Accuracy is top notch.

[Geezer in NH]

311291, been killing NH deer for 40+ years in my family. Few bear also. 50/50 lino/sheet lead for at least 30 years.

However I have not used it I use a PRB out of flintlocks of pure lead for the last 25-30 years.

[Gray Fox]

richhodg66: I have that mold and a 99 in .308 as well as a Ruger Scout Rifle. What is your overall length with that boolit? It would seem like you either crimp in one of the lube grooves or the gas check is below the case neck. What is your approx. MV with the load? GF

[richhodg66]

I haven't loaded any in a while so would have to figure out OAL again. The load was 28 grains of IMR 4895 and a little tuft of Dacron on top of it. I was aiming for 1800 FPS, don't own a chronograph, so not sure. That bullet went through about three feet of deer though it didn't hit any real bone, never found it.

[MT Gianni]

I have shot whitetail with the 311440, 165 Ranch Dog, and the RCBS 180 fn. 30-30 or 308 at the same velocities. Where you hit is more important than the bullet though I am in favor of a large flat meplate.

[Tom_in_AZ]

311291, been killing NH deer for 40+ years in my family. Few bear also. 50/50 lino/sheet lead for at least 30 years.

However I have not used it I use a PRB out of flintlocks of pure lead for the last 25-30 years.

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[nekshot]

They're basically the same bullet except for the slightly rounded nose. How do you file a flat on it and keep it consistent?

drill a hole in a piece of wood that allows the tip of boolit to stick out and file it off. Files nose off like a hot knife in butter and keeps them square. Then I can put them in the forster case trimmer and put a HP in them.

[richhodg66]

OK. I have several molds with flat noses for .30 calibers, so no need. I would like to hunt with the Ideal 311284 I shoot in some rifles, always considered casting some with soft noses, but maybe this would be better.

[shootsblanks]

The bullet i used last fall was the noe version of the rcbs 311 180, mine weigh 196.5gr with a check and lube from acww, i load them to 1750fps with h4198 (got them going 1900 with varget but they started to lead). Average group is 2" at 50 with irons (my shooting buddy puts them in 1" with my rifle)
Deer was hit center of the lungs at 75 yards, ran about 20, 1.5" entry and 1.5" exit wound.

[pls1911]

Your question has many answers, most are equally correct.

The 165 Ranch Dog or current NOE equivalent is tough to beat if your throat can handle the ogive. I like the larger meplat for the slap factor... it's very audible and the effect is real. I several older, pre microgroove Marlins where the throat is a bit short which requires seating a bit deeper than I prefer, but it's workable.
The Lyman 31141/311041 has an unmatched history and seems to be the slug against which all other 30/30 slugs are measured, so how can you go wrong? It's as reliable as they come, and can be modified a bit to be optimized for about any 30/30.

I picked up an OLD 4 cavity gas check SAECO #315 mold which casts about .312 and 160 grains in my alloy, has a profile similar to the 31141 but a bit slimmer nose and a bit smaller meplat. Sized .311 in soft lead heat treated to 18-20 bhn, and remarkably casts +/- .5 grain (that's .5, often less) across all four cavities! It shoots very well at 1800-1900 fps in all my Marlins from 1893's through mid 70's 336's as well as the random Winny or Savage, and drops deer and hogs like a stone with shoulder shots, normally inside of 80 yards.
It's my go to bullet because it works well in all my rifles and those of my family.
Is it optimized for any of 'em? Certainly not!
But it's cheap to shoot, and kills with authority in over 50 lever guns in four families.

You will do well with any of the above with careful casting, consistent loading, and proper bullet placement.