which gun for cast boolits?

[hornsurgeon]

ok, i've always cast for whatever gun i happened to have, which may have been putting the cart before the horse. i want to do things a little differently now.

i want to get a gun for shooting only cast boolits. prefer something lightweight, can deer hunt with, low recoil, and accurate. also it must be relitively inexpensive to buy and to shoot. i'd also like something with fairly commonly available stuff like a 30 cal, not 35 rem or 348 even though i love those rounds.

i've heard good things about the various savage bolt action 30-30's. or perhaps a lever in 30-30, winchester 94 or one of the marlins. (which one???) or ??? what do you suggest?

[rockrat]

I would say a lever in 30-30 or maybe one of the Marlin XL7's (think thats what its called). Bolt gun I think is under $300. Maybe in 308. Should work fine.

[hornsurgeon]

i guess what i'm looking for is "look for XXXX lever 30-30 because of XXXX" or "stay away from XXXX because of XXXX". you know, what models, years, barrel/rifling type, etc.

[Rocky Raab]

Savage 340 in 30-30. Add a decent aperture sight and you're set.

[OBXPilgrim]

Ditto the Savage 340 in 30-30 if you want a 30-30. Don't have one, but heard from several that do. Looks to me like the later ones were drilled tapped for a side mount scope base - two screw holes near middle of receiver, and some have two screw holes for a peep sight near the rear of the receiver, if you want all your options open.

The 840 and 325 model Savage are similar, but slightly different configurations.

If you like to tinker, try the H&R/NEF Handi Rifles. I've got two, but many barrels. One of my favorites is the 444 marlin. Had plinker loads with the Lee 310gr RF - that's a fun thumper. It can be loaded up to the range that it would not fall into your "low recoil" requirement, but downloading can make it fun. Some Handi's come with iron sights if you want to keep it light. Lots of folks like the 357 mag, and ream them to 357 Max, but you can still shoot 357 Mag & 38 special (and 360 Dan Wesson). The older 357 mags have iron sights.

[rockrat]

One of the 30-30 Handi's would be good as well as the Savage 30-30 bolt guns (don't know about cast, but first 3 rounds down the tube with 170gr PP's was under an inch). See if you can find a mid 50's 336A. Ballard rifling and D&T'd IIRC. I passed one up for $200 about 3 years ago, still kicking myself for that. You could get one of the XLR 30-30's, recent gun, and it should do well.
You could have the Savage guns or even a 30-30 Marlin/Win, rebored by JES to 38-55 and it should work very well.

[txbirdman]

If you can find a Remington 788 in 30/30 that's the one in my opinion. Otherwise go with a 30/06.

[R.C. Hatter]

Get yourself a M-77 Ruger lightweight .30/06, the old model with the tang safety. if you can locate a used one in good condition. Put a decent scope on it and presto, you have a nice, relatively, inexpensive deer/cast boolit rifle. I have one that was a refugee from a pawn shop. The money I saved on the rifle, I put into a 3x9 Leupold scope and
have been well satisfied with it for several years now. Generally, you'll find Ruger provides more bang for your buck, in my opinion.

[bohokii]

i personally wouldnt cast for 30 rifles i'm just too big of a wimp

if i were so inclined i would go for a lever in 45-70 and cast for that

maybe even a 44mag or 45 colt lever gun as well

[runfiverun]

when i finally found a savage 340 in 30-30 i traded a 94 for it.
bolt action 30-30 with cast is about the top in a 30 cal gun.
the 94 is a close second.
in 35 it's the 358 win both of these can be pushed to j-word velocities with no fuss and no special tricks.
it's the twist rate that helps so much,if i were gonna do a 308 it'd have a 12 or 14 twist bbl.

[AZ-Stew]

It's easier to find a good shooting load for cast when you start with a relatively small case with respect to bore diameter. No fillers required. Larger bullet diameters are easier to cast well than smaller ones. Lower velocity cartridges allow the use of either plain-base or gas check boolits.

All together this points to the rimmed cartridges in .30, .32, .35, .44 and .45. All are available in rifles that are relatively easy to find and inexpensive. I use a Remington M-788 in .30-30. I also have one in .44 Magnum and a Winchester M-94 in .45 colt. All will shoot cast well, as will my son's Ruger #3 in .45-70. Were I to buy another rifle for cast, it would be a .45-70. Just beacuse.

Regards,

Stew

[stephen perry]

I feel for rifle .30 cal is the way to go for starting Cast. Another to consider starting Cast with is the 03A3. Much has been written on 03A3 cast bullets and loading. Would seem a natural.

Stephen Perry
Angeles BR

[Ole]

I would get a lever rifle in .357 Max. Three rifles (.38 special/.357 mag/.357 Max) for the price of one.

[JIMinPHX]

I can't think of a 30-30 lever gun that I don't like. Any of them are good for cast. Some guys don't like the microgroove barrels, but I've had good luck with the one that I tried. The classic old Winchesters do have one little quirk that you might want to think about. They eject the brass straight up, which is not the best thing if you are going to mount a scope. But then I don't feel the need for a scope, so its not an issue for me. The Marlin 336 is a side ejecting 30-30 that works well & is an off the shelf item at Wally World.

If you are on a really tight budget, then get a Handi Rifle. They are cheap. They shoot well if you know how to use them right. You can always get more barrels later if you want other calibers too.

Don't bother getting anything in a magnum rifle caliber for shooting cast. You can push boolits out of a 30-30 at 2300fps. You might squeeze another 1 or 2 hundred fps out of a .308 or a .30-06, but you will burn more powder to get the same results in the larger capacity cases. Even if you had a magnum 30 cal, you would be hard pressed to push the velocity much over 2500fps with good accuracy.

I'm not pointing you away from magnum pistol calibers. They work just fine with cast. A rifle in .44 mag is a good deer gun with cast. .357 mag rifles are looked down upon by some people as a deer gun, but inside 100-150 yards, I find no fault with them.

Some people find the larger calibers easier to cast. .30 cal is about on the dividing line by some standards. They're not as tough as something really small like a .22, but a .357 or a .44 might be a little easier to get good fill out with when you are just starting out.

[gnoahhh]

I used a Savage 340 for years, after inheriting it from my Dad. Worked well with cast (and jacketed) bullets. Gave it to a nephew to remember his Grandfather by. If I were setting out to buy/build a dedicated .30 cast bullet rifle I would go one of three ways: 1) Another 340 in .30/30. 2) Scare up an old Winchester M54 bolt action in .30/30 (Best cast bullet rifle I ever owned). 3) Savage 99 in .30/30 or .303 Savage- the ones I have are tack drivers with cast bullets. One could also build a dandy cast shooter on a small Martini action or one of the current crop of single shots out there. Never having owned one, I understand the Rem 788's in .30/30 are great. Lots of guys used them in CBA Production Class back in the early days.

Some (most) of the options I listed can be pricey but if looked at as an investment as well as a shooting iron, they aren't bad. The 340 is the most common, but as good as they function they are homely things to behold. Not something to get the blood boiling in a real rifle loony. And scope mounting is problematic, being limited to a cheap sidemount due to it's split bridge reciever. Savage 99's are a problem only in that the models chambered in .30/30 and .303 Savage long ago were never drilled for scope mounts, and it's a sacrilige of the first water to do so to one now. Plenty of Bubba'ed ones out there that have already had that done to them though. Later (1950's-up) Savage 99's were drilled at the factory, and can be had in .300 Savage (an ok but not great cast round due to it's short neck) and .308 (always a great cast round but not optimal IMO due to it's increased capacity). The king of them all would be one in .358. I can't imagine a better cast bullet deer hunting round.

On any of your options don't ignore receiver sights. Some mighty fine work can be done with them.

[Bret4207]

I'd get something in 35 caliber first off. 30 is fine, but 35 has lots more selection. A 357 MArlin or Rossi would be nice. A 358 Savage 99 would be nice too. A 35 Remington Marlin, pre- microgroove if you want it easy, would be really nice, but you seem to think brass is hard to find. I don't now why, it's as common as many other calibers.

[jlchucker]

I don't own one, have never seen one except in photos posted or advertisements, but those Baikal/Spartan single shot rifles have been passing through my mind as a cast bullet only possibility. They make them in .308 and 30-06, both calibers have been highly regarded for cast-boolet shooting. Has anyone tried one of these for cast-only purposes? Too bad they don't offer them in rimmed calibers like 30-30 or 45-70--or even a rimless like 35 Remington.

[Rocky Raab]

And the one that hasn't been mentioned yet - a Krag. GREAT cast bullet round, but finding brass for it these days might be a challenge.

[JIMinPHX]

If you want something really cheap, then you might want to get a Mosin Nagant. They are old bolt action Russian army surplus guns. You can find them in good condition for $100 or less. They shoot a fat .30 caliber boolit (usually like .312 diameter). There are a few varieties to choose from, long, short & short with bayonet. They are a bit on the heavy side to carry around for hunting, but if you get one with a good barrel, they are good shooters. Brass for them is not exactly under your feet every time that you turn around, but you can find it if you look. I've seen boxer primed brass from Winchester and S&B. I've been told that PP makes it too. I forget who else. These guns are easy to find right now. Big 5 Sporting Goods puts them on sale for something like $79 for a few days, every few months or so. A lot of other dealers seem to have them lately as well. I think that they are a standard item with people like J&G. Any shop that handles Mil-Surp should have a crate full of them to choose from.

[Ricochet]

A lever action .44 Magnum isn't a bad choice. Good woods rifle for deer.