Sizing down .316 to .310 and 200gr for 30-30

[Wolfdog91]

So was dinking around today while loading up some 115gr pill for my brother 30-30 and just wanted dtonsee how hard it would be to size one of my NOE 316-213 rn HP's from .314 down to .310 and see how much it would mees it up....wellll honestly it want hard at all and the bullet looks ad good as always
One of these is sized to 314 the other .310 you tell me which
.
So now I'm curious.... How many do these major resizings and what's your findings? Seems the PC ones don't deform or anything as much as the plain lead ones.

Also , anyone happen to have loaded any 200gr+ pills in 30-30 ? Think this would be a heck of a thumber for brush work. And seems lubing + PC will allow me to run it something soft and with that deep hollow point... Deal is for me to seat it as deep as it needs looks like it will be below the should line a bit. Now after alot of reading a lot of people say that not good especially with cast bullets because it will melt the lead .....but with a gas check and power coat.....idk doesn't seem like I could be as much of an issue.... Any one got experience with this ?


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[Wilderness]

Hello Wolf - you're on my wavelength.

My favourite .30-30 bullet is #U321297HP (.32 Special) sized down from .322" to .312".

I lube and gas check in Lyman .323" die, then resize in Lee dies, nominally .314" then .311". Springback gets me back to .312" - .3125". Lubing the bullets before the serious sizing ensures that the grease grooves do not collapse, though with PC I can't see that it would matter. Bullet in hard alloy (about 11% non-lead) is 175 gns with gas check and lube. Bullet lengthens about .025" from this sizing.

I shoot them at .312", with minimal neck clearance. I do lightly skim my cases with Forster ONT just to catch the odd thick neck - the rest just get the high spots scraped off. Max neck thickness is then .010". I find they shoot very well like that, since the neck is providing precise guidance into the rifling - otherwise the throat of a .30-30 is very abrupt and not much help for guidance unless the bullet is actually seated into the rifling. Groups at 2200 fps are each side of 2" at 100 meters, powder 748 or LVR.

My hollows are less severe than yours, starting at about .115", going to half bullet depth, and reducing bullet weight by 10 grains. They work very well on pigs, penetrating well enough for even shoulder shots on the big fellows.

As regard heavier bullets, the same mould in soft alloy (maybe 3% non-lead), and without the hollow, gives 192 gns. I cut the load of LVR by a grain which reduces velocity to 2100 fps. Group was still good but soft solid bullet nowhere near as effective on hogs as hard HP - pretty poor really.

With those big hollows of yours I would imagine a harder bullet might be better, something around #2 alloy or stiffer. Penetration will be be better, bullets lighter, and groups probably better.

My bullets intrude into the powder space, but only as far as the gas check. Hopefully with slow powder the bullets are safely into the neck before a real head of pressure builds. I did try filling the spare space with some Precision Reloading shot buffer, but it made no difference to grouping.

Larry Gibson has pressure tested data on #311041HP and RCBS 308-180-FN (near 200 gns) with LVR in .30-30. It looks like LVR is the secret for punching out the heavy stuff in .30-30 - see Posts 45 & 50.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...LeveRevolution

[rockrat]

One on the left in the pic would be the .310

[MostlyLeverGuns]

200 grain bullets should work in the 30-30 just fine, they work in the .303 Savage, which actually has a .308 diameter barrel like the 30-30. The 303 Savage made its reputation with 190 grain factory loads and was held in high regard for heavier game, considered superior to the 30-30 in its day, the the 300 Savage was introduced, surpassing both the 303 Savage and 30-30 by quite a bit. I would size down the bullets only as small as needed to chamber easily maybe .311 or .312. The capacity of the 30-30 and 303 Savage are essentially the same, should be able to get 1800-2000fps without problems. NOTE: the 300 Savage and the 303 Savage are VERY DIFFERENT cartridges, do not confuse.

[Texas by God]

Gas check below the shoulder hasn’t bothered me so far in the .300 Savage, .308 Win, 8mm Mauser and similar short neck cartridges. If that bullet runs through your brothers 94 and shoots true - go hunting!


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[405grain]

Wolfdog: The problem that I see here isn't sizing down the driving bands, it's the nose. Before you load up a whole batch of cartridges you should make sure that they're going to chamber. I love bore riding bullets, but when I powder coat the bullet nose they don't love me back.

As far as shooting heavy cast bullets in 30-30, go back straight to the source and check out page 91 of the 3rd edition Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook. You probably already have it, but if you don't you can download it here: https://marvinstuart.com/firearm/Man...-%20Reduce.pdf

[GhostHawk]

My top choice for .30-30 is the Lee 185 gr gas checked.
No issues chambering and only a few grains less punch than yours.
Still if it works, it works.

[20:1]

I'd choose a different bullet design that would allow me to crimp the bullet in a crimp groove if I was using a lever-action, or other tube magazine rifle. That taper crimp could be a problem.