Molds for 308, 30-06, 30-30 and other 30 caliber bullets

[RogerDat]

I was told that the old Winchester 30-30's were designed to use a 170 grain bullet. I see a lot of 308 bullets tend to be a bit lighter. I see in Lee molds a range of 150 grain to 200 grain. At NOE I see mostly bullets running to the heavier side in .310 molds.

I bought a Lee DC MOLD C309-170-F for loading 30-30 based on that recommendation. It was for a family member who plinks with the grandkids from time to time but no real accuracy testing is expected. It worked so good enough.

I know that a given firearm may love a weight or profile that does not follow the "norm" but as I consider buying a mold or molds for 30 caliber I am wondering if folks can recommend weights or molds that have given them good results. Really looking at broad coverage of different rounds with decent accuracy.

I suppose with the low cost of Lee 2 cavity molds I could purchase a couple of molds in the same profile as the 170 grain I already have. Just wondering what weights would be most promising for loading the broadest range of 30 rifle rounds.

I expect that I would powder coat rifle bullets.

Link is to Lee 30 molds but I would certainly consider NOE or MP or Lyman. Possibly Accurate molds, never done business with them but folks who have recommend them. I'm inclined toward a mold in .310 when I was looking at NOE. I figure sizing down is easier than making them bigger.

https://www.titanreloading.com/lee-m...t-molds/30-cal

[Tom W.]

My 30/30 and 30-06 are both single shot rifles that have been rechambered to A.I.
I've found for plinking the Lee 309-160 is the most accurate. I have an original Ranch Dog 170 gr fn that shoots well, but not as well as the Lee . My Lee mold is an old single cavity that I bought when I was in my 20's......

[ShooterAZ]

Roger, don't overlook RCBS, They make some excellent 30 Cal molds. The 30-150-FN and 30-180-FN are really good ones, and the 30-165-SIL is one sweet boolit in 308W and 30-06 target loads. Accurate is great to deal with, and makes fantastic molds as well...Lots of choices!

[lotech]

If I was going to pick one mould for all .30 caliber rifles (particularly if the bullets were to be used in a tubular magazine), it would be the RCBS 30-180 FN that has already been mentioned. Cast of wheelweight alloy, bullets weigh around 190 grains. Such bullets have provided good accuracy for me in .30-30, .300 Savage, .30-40 Krag, .308, and .30-06.

[popper]

Use? Feeding is important, as well as bullet fit. If hunting, primary is hunting type and weight. Target only, pointy nose.

[RogerDat]

Use? Feeding is important, as well as bullet fit. If hunting, primary is hunting type and weight. Target only, pointy nose.

With a gas check I feed the bullet through a Lee push through sizer base first to seat the gas check. Pointy nose don't work as well as round flat or flat nose. I have done pointy noses that way and with a fairly hard alloy such as hardball or lyman #2 the tip barely flattens at all. Little flat spot on the tip is all.

I hadn't considered RCBS molds.

NOE at the bottom of this page has some ranch dog tumble lube molds. Flat nose mostly with one heavy pointy nose.
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.p...qjejrpsim025l5 While I do PC for rifle as a rule I have had good luck with RD and tumble lube design in some other calibers. Most notably the Lee 158 gr. SWC works well tumble lubed as cast or even a bit better sized with PC.

Have been using the mold models suggested to read reviews etc. and I must say there are many positive reviews of the molds suggested.

[Bazoo]

Regarding my winchester 94 made in 1970;

I had an RCBS 30-180-fn and it was a joy to work with. It made great bullets. They wouldn't chamber without rifling interference. Never tried it for accuracy or in anything else, as I didn't have anything else 30 caliber at the time.

I have a lee 150 FN and it fits my rifles throat and shoots okay. I prefer a heavier bullet, but also it just don't look right. Looks short but it feeds without issue through my 94.

I like the 31141 however, and my 94 does too. I have a Lyman 31141 and it's a different profile than the NOE version. I prefer the Lyman, but haven't shot any of the NOE, just got a few samples.

Added,

I forgot to mention that I tried some 311291 bullets in my 94 and they wouldn't chamber when seated to the crimp groove.

The lee 309-150-F I have was sent to me by a member here, and he sent some samples of PC bullets with the mould. The bullets he sent wouldn't chamber without jamming hard into the rifling. Hard enough that they wouldn't extract without leaving the bullet in the throat. The bullets work fine with tumble lube or grease though.

[Walks]

Been shooting the Lyman #31141 & #311291 as long as I remember. Cast the #311291 & 311413 from Old Ideal 1cav molds, the #311041, #312284 from "modern" 2cav molds.
All shoot well in both my Model 94's (1962 Carbine & 1981Trapper).

Both Pointed bullets shoot well in the 20" but not the 16". I've often thought the bbl was too short to stabilize the long, heavy 215gr #312284.

The #311291 chambers in both 94's without a problem, the 1981 Trappers has to have the bullet crimped over the front driving band. Guess it has a shorter throat. It will chamber in the 1981 Trapper but has to be forced into the shorter throat. Still shoots okay.

Okay, enough rambling. My Favorite bullet for the .30-30 is the #311291, it seems to shoot best in both 94's and Very well in my Handi-Rifle. In fact I used to shoot into a half inch group at 50yds with a Williams FP Reciever sight. The #311041 is a close 2nd. The old #311413 Spire Point is also great for punching Paper and rolling cans.

IMR3031 is my goto powder.

The RCBS #30-180-FN & #30-150-FN have given good results too. The Lee #C309-150-F has worked ok, haven't tried the 170gr version.

Well I hope you can find something usefull from my ramblings.

Bad night, on pain meds this morning,sorry.

Rog

[FredBuddy]

I'll try to over-complicate this discussion.

The Lee 150 and NOE 165 RD, both powder coated
do not chamber in my 2 Marlin 30-30 (nose too big).
They work fine in other 30-30's, 30-06 and 30-40 Krag.

Ideal 3118, NOE 127 RF lubed or powder coated
work fine in almost everything and are useful around
here for close range varmint work.

If you want a heavier hunting boolit that will chamber
in almost any .30 caliber rifle and you want to powder coat it,
then you will need a mould that will give you a nose at about
.298, .299.

Search posts by Outpost 75 for his excellent advice
on this subject.

[gwpercle]

For Winchester model 94 30-30 , 7.5 Swiss (K-11) and a 03-A3 Springfield 30-06
First came the Lee C309 - 113 - F for light plinking loads and to conserve lead , in all 3 , my kids loved it in 30-30 .
Next came the Lee C309 - 170 - F specifically for the 30-30 use , it worked so well in 30-30 it was soon used in all three . Cast of 50-50 COWW and lead it makes for a sweet deer/hog boolit .
I find myself using this one the most and have no burning need to buy another mould , I rather like flat point boolits and do not shoot past 100 yards ...mostly 50 yards .

These two moulds pretty much do it all for me .

Gary

[RogerDat]

There is a lot of good info here. Thanks!

[fcvan]

My first 30 cal mold was a Lee C309-150F as it was on sale, and I had a friend who shot 30/30. It loaded and shot well sized .309 using Javalena lube. When I tried it an 03A3 it shot really well. I wasn't powder coating at that time.

I bought a Lee C309-120R for use in a Blackhawk chambered in 30 Carbine but also shot well in the M1. Loads ran lower velocities, but I was mostly shooting reduced loads the the Ruger. That thing has the worst bark . . . but I still like it.

Dad had bought a Saeco 321 95gr RN for the M1 Carbine but had never used it as the Rem. 110 Plinker was cheep in bulk quantities. I cast some up, ASBB powder coated and sized to .310, and they came out 95 gr. These little beauties work GREAT without a gas check in the Carbine and pistol.

My next mold was a Lee C312-155-2R for use in 300 BO. My first loads were 50-50 Lee liquid Alox/Mineral Spirits with 2 thin coats sized to .310. That shot really well for my initial BO loads. Powder coated, not so much. I ESPC coated and the coating jammed into the rifling. I never tried ASBB coating where I know I could get a good thin even coat. Maybe someday.

I bought a NOE 310-150-3R SPGC for use in the 300 BO. Love it! I built a jig for ESPC using fender washers, make and use my own gas checks (Thanks PatMarlins) sized .310. I will try seating checks before ASBB PC and sizing and also coating then seating the checks while sizing. We shall see. I am getting about 2150 fps from the BO, 2250 fps with .308W (16" bolt action, 16" AR10 semi-auto) and slightly higher through an M1A 22" bbl., but I didn't chronograph that load. I loaded some up for the 03A3 but also did not chronograph that day. I have a paper-punching trip planned soon, but all .308W loads were 'minute-of-soda-can' off hand at 100 yards.

Last mold was a Lee 309-230-5R for subsonic 300 BO loads. I am tempted to load some in the .308W but it is low on my list due to the other great loads already for the caliber. Dad says I should try at least 190 gr for his 03A3. I have seen some really great loads for that weight. Last note, lubed loads lost accuracy at lower velocities, powder coated gave me 200-250 more fps and slightly greater accuracy, at least with the NOE 150 SPGC mold. YMMV