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Thread: Silent 30 cal loads

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy




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    Silent 30 cal loads

    Does anyone out there have any suggestions for 30-06 or 30-30 silent cast loads for a 150-160 grain bullet? thaks Randy.

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    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance Four Fingers of Death's Avatar
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    look at the articles Paco Kelly writes on cat's sneeze loads if you can find them. Great fun. I have PM'd you an article by C Harris, I hope it helps. Mick.
    "I'll help you down the trail and proud to!" Rooster Cogburn.

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    Boolit Master wills's Avatar
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    Have mercy.
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  4. #4
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    Generally you will get better performance with slower powders than the pure pistol powders, and topping them with PSB which is a plastic shotgun filler. An example would be some low ratio of 4227/PSB, using enough 4227 to get to 1100 fps or below, and filling the case up with PSB. ... felix
    felix

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    Boolit Master FISH4BUGS's Avatar
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    Careful if you use a suppressor

    If you REALLY want to be quiet, load subsonic and get a supressor for the gun. HOWEVER, cast lead bullets will crud up your can very quickly! I got the OK from the supressor manufacturer (Tom Bowers - makes a GREAT 380/9mm can) to shoot cast 147gr 9mm and all the cast 100gr 380's I wanted through the can.
    Some 5-7,000 rounds later (these were shot through 3 submachineguns - a MAC9mm, a S&W 76 9MM and a MAC 380) the supressor started not supressing so very well. It was LOADED with lead. He changed his mind about recommending that it is OK to shoot lead through a a can. He cleaned it up (thanks Tom!) and sent it back.
    The lesson? NO LEAD THROUGH A CAN.

  6. #6
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    "Two Lite Loads You Can Use With Buckshot
    One of my all-time short range favorites is the "Bullseye Buckshot Load." The old Lyman Ideal handbooks called this combination the "cellar and small game load" for the .30-40 Krag, .30-06 and .30-30. It consists of 3.0 grs. Of Bullseye; one "0" buck, lightly lubricated with Lee Liquid Alox, seated in the neck of a .30-30, .300 Savage, .30-40 Krag, .30-'06, .308 Win., 7.5 MAS, 7.5 Swiss or 7.62 Bussian case. Before firing it, raise the muzzle of your rifle so that the powder is next to the primer. I think you'll be surprised how accurate this pip-squeak combination can be at 25 yards.
    Here is one refinement I've made to the above load that I like to call "Bodinson's Bullseye Buckshot Load." I take a size "00" buck, place it in a .30 caliber gas check, run it through a .308 sizing die, and lube it with Lee Alox or graphite. The result is an appealing little bullet that shoots well with 3.0 grs. Of Bullseye and doesn't lead the barrel."

    I have toyed with the above enough to tell you it is worth, playing with..
    here are some other points of interest::

    http://www.overturf.org/guns/reduced_loads_gunsmag.html

    http://www.overturf.org/guns/reduced_loads_gunsmag.html

    http://guns.connect.fi/gow/arcane1.html

    http://guns.connect.fi/gow/arcane2.html

    http://www.jouster.com/cgi-bin/reloa...ames;read=3497

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by sixgunner452
    Does anyone out there have any suggestions for 30-06 or 30-30 silent cast loads for a 150-160 grain bullet? thaks Randy.
    As mentioned the only way to get really quiet (none are "silent") loads is to use a silencer/suppressor with subsonic loads. That may be more trouble and expense than you're wanting to spend. Having a suppressed firearm is interesting though.

    As also mentioned you may want to check out Paco's sight for really reduced and quiet loads for cast bullets. I have tried them in 8x57 and '06. I cast the bullets (311299 and 323471) of pure lead and put a very light coat of LATL on them with no CG used. With 1.3 gr of Bullseye both ran 230-250 fps with good accuracy and stability. It was fairly quiet, on par with my RWS M54 .22 cal air rifle. I found that with that heavy bullet I was using most of the available military sight adjustment to zero out to 50 yards. 2.7 gr of Bullseye increased velocity to 540 fps or so but still required 20+ MOA of sight adjustment to zero at 50 yards. Noise was on par with .22Long and subsonic .22LR.

    I have been also working (now and then but haven't pushed the experiments to completion) with buckshot and .32 cal pistol bullets at really slow/quiet velocity. I having good success with Speer/Hornady .32 HBWCs and Lee 314-90-TL with small doses of Bullseye. I'm using well fireformed cases with flash holes drilled with #28 drill. I do not size the necks but prime, add powder and press the lubed .314 bullets into the case with my thumb or press them against something solid to seat them. Again it requires considerable sight adjustment to zero these loads at even 25 yards. I'm not listing any loads as so far I've stuck a couple bullets in the barrel (they push out easy) so I've not got them perfected yet. Noise level is more than a CB cap or the air rifle but less than a .22 short.

    Larry Gibson

  8. #8
    Boolit Man
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    I use that OO buck in a gas check too. Works out real well if you don't mind the extra step in the process....

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    Silent loads

    I would like to start off by saying I really appreciate all the replies, there is alot of food for thought. Someone mentioned Paco's Back Issue articles, does anyone know where they have gone? Also, Didn't Paco say it's better to use a heavy for ther caliber bullet when trying to achieve silent loads? Thanks again for all the replies, Randy.

  10. #10
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    I used a heavy 7 mm bullet in the 7t/cu carbine to cull some deer off a golf course. They were more effective and quieter than any .30 caliber loads i tried. Sounded less loud than a .22lr to me. I had shot the gallery loads using buck shot or pistol bullets for grins in the past. I had loaded some 30 carbine cases with 180 cast bullets and small charges of powder ,but gave up on that when I found the 7mm load.

  11. #11
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    I have noticed something about boolit weight and noise. In some cases a heavier boolit is better and in some cases not. I have found that using full weight cast boolits in a 30-30 I had when playing with these the heavier boolit with similar loads sounded quieter to me. I did need to use just a touch more powder to prevent sticking one in the bore.

    In a .45 Colt Rossi the opposite was true. For some reason enough speed over sticking in the bore when I used the same load under a heavier boolit would yeild a louder report.

    I think that the jump in boolit weight was too drastic and I was useing BE or Green Dot. I did not play around too much with these and I'm sure if I had tried a larger powder selection it might have gone differently.

  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance Four Fingers of Death's Avatar
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    sure did!

    Quote Originally Posted by sixgunner452
    I would like to start off by saying I really appreciate all the replies, there is alot of food for thought. Someone mentioned Paco's Back Issue articles, does anyone know where they have gone? Also, Didn't Paco say it's better to use a heavy for ther caliber bullet when trying to achieve silent loads? Thanks again for all the replies, Randy.

    From memory, heaviest boolit available, longest barrel available (will work anyway, but weight of projectile and length of barrel give max hit at the business end).

    I lost his article and can't find it again, I guess I'll just have to pony up and buy his book.
    Mick.
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    "Slap some bacon on a biscuit and let's go! We're burnin' daylight! " - Will Anderson (John Wayne) "The Cowboys."

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  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4fingermick
    From memory, heaviest boolit available, longest barrel available (will work anyway, but weight of projectile and length of barrel give max hit at the business end).

    I lost his article and can't find it again, I guess I'll just have to pony up and buy his book.
    Mick.
    That is correct, Paco's article refered to using military rifles with long barrels (29"ers), dead soft cast bullets that were heavy for caliber and small doses of Bullseye Powder. I believe his favorite was a M96 Swede. I was successful with his techniques using the 8x57 and the '06 but I used 24" barreled rifles. As I said earlier a lot of sight adjustment is necessary.

    Larry Gibson

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    Boolit Master
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    Just like to revive this old thread since its still open.

    I read that Bman likes to use a gas check on a round ball.uiu
    I may be wrong but i believe gas checks should not be used for light or quiet catsneeze loads since the gas check can be scraped off the projectile and left in the bore.
    The smaller powder charge hits the base of the bullet and is consumed and in a longer barrel the gas pressure drops to close to zero and the lead bullet is carried from the barrel by its momentum and on to the target.
    With some long barrels i have heard a high pitched pip noise like a cork being pulled from a bottle. This noise was a vacuum inrush of air as the bullet actually created a vacuum in the tiny thirty caliber bore same as a plug being quickly pulled thru a pipe and popping when it left the pipe because of the vacuum inrush of air.
    My whole point is that there being no gas pressure against the bullet base all the way to the end of the barrel , the gas check can very well get scraped off and left sideways wedged in the rifling.
    You would see a bullet strike on the target and see no need to check the bore except to see how much crud was left from the small powder charge.
    Anyone else see any significance to this?
    I do believe in using gas checks for heavier loads over 1800 fps.
    Even over 1400 fps. But subsonic, NO way!
    Just wanted to maybe refresh this wonderful thread and get somebody else's thoughts
    Hey, maybe you been lucky and the gas checks have all stayed on.I'm happy for you, but this is just food for thought.
    Knowledge taken to the grave is just wasted.
    Share your thinking, if you have a mind to.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master mehavey's Avatar
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    >
    > " . . .OO buck in a gas check . . . "
    >

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	311_Ball_30Cal_GC_32-20Sized.jpg 
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    Darned if it doesn't fit/hold
    (.311 Ball/32-20/.311 Sizer)

    Gonna have to try a few in
    the Blackhawk 30 Carbine.
    Last edited by mehavey; 05-12-2019 at 06:27 PM.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master brewer12345's Avatar
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    Eh, I am lazy and like oddball cartridges. I bought a browning rifle in 22 short because I always wanted a nice rifle in that cartridge. I discovered that cci 22 cb shorts are inconsistent as to cycling the action, but are quite accurate and quieter than a pellet gun.
    When you care enough to send the very best, send an ounce of lead.

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance Four Fingers of Death's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by brewer12345 View Post
    Eh, I am lazy and like oddball cartridges. I bought a browning rifle in 22 short because I always wanted a nice rifle in that cartridge. I discovered that cci 22 cb shorts are inconsistent as to cycling the action, but are quite accurate and quieter than a pellet gun.
    I saw your footnote about the beekeeper. My son did a demolition course with the Army here and they were given a TShirt at the end. It read Army Demolition and Bomb Disosal or something like that and underneath it said "If I'm running, try and keep up."
    "I'll help you down the trail and proud to!" Rooster Cogburn.

    "Slap some bacon on a biscuit and let's go! We're burnin' daylight! " - Will Anderson (John Wayne) "The Cowboys."

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    Psycholigist to Sniper; 'What did you feel when you shot the felon Sargeant?'
    Sniper to Psycholigist; 'Recoil Ma'am.'

    From my Irish Ancestors: "You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was."

  18. #18
    Boolit Master brewer12345's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Four Fingers of Death View Post
    I saw your footnote about the beekeeper. My son did a demolition course with the Army here and they were given a TShirt at the end. It read Army Demolition and Bomb Disosal or something like that and underneath it said "If I'm running, try and keep up."
    That is hilarious!
    When you care enough to send the very best, send an ounce of lead.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master 44Blam's Avatar
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    I load a 30 cal 90 grain boolit in my CZ52 under some W296...
    It is obnoxious as hell with the flash and bang - kind of the opposite of silent.

    BUT I was thinking of loading them in .308 - I bet they can be quiet there...
    WWG1WGA

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check