30/30 pill

[brad2506]

firstly hello and thanks for having me !
as this is my first post be gentle with me,
have been digging here for a few hours now but am after some opinions as to whats a good mold for 30/30 to use for hunting pigs, goats and small deer ?

[cbrick]

Hi Brad, Welcome to Cast Boolits. We are "gentle" with everyone here. You'll not find a better or more helpfull group of knowledgeable folks anywhere.

That's actually not that simple a question. There is a huge number of 30 cal molds available but basically you'll want a flat point for good wound channel , also is this a levergun? What weight bullet are you looking for? Part of the answer could be with your pocket book. Are you looking for a four cavity?

One of my personal favorites in 30 cal is the RCBS 180 Gr. flat point but again, there is a huge number of good 30 caliber bullet designs.

Rick

[white eagle]

choices are pretty wide open and will be as varied as the posters giving them
run the search function for 30-30 or 30-30 boolit and I bet you turn a bunch of answers

[btroj]

Go to Ranch Dog outdoors. Awesome 30-30 bullet mould. Others may have favorites but few will say bad things about the RD 311165.

Brad

[onondaga]

My 2 favorites, I settled on the lighter one due to flatter trajectory:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=720790

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=574963

Both of these usually cast bigger than specified and you will likely need that. I cast wheelweight:Linotype at 7:3 and get a BHN 14 alloy that is hard enough for good velocity and soft enough for good expansion

Gas checks are important for accuracy. The Lee lube&size kit polished out .310" is usually great for 30-30 and also installs gas checks great.

I'd love to have the Ranchdog mold. They look super and I've read terrific reports on them. There is a link at the top of the page to Ranchdog.

Gary

[geargnasher]

+1 Brad!

With the 30-30, anything that will cycle reliably through the action and stay under 180 grains with a flat point will work in most leverguns. Most designs over 180 grains will exceed the maximum overall cartridge length without being seated deeper than the case neck, which is not all that desireable.

I've used the RD designs and found the wide nose to be outstanding, but they are usually only available in Lee six-cavity designs and can be a challenge if you're new to casting. The Lee 150 grain and 170 grain flat nose boolits are also good designs and the two-cavity moulds are tough to beat for a beginner, as is the Lyman 311041 and the RCBS mould that Rick mentioned.

Use gas checks, good conventional lube (except for the Ranch Dog tumble-lube moulds designed for use with Liquid Alox lube), and the same powders you would use for an equal-weight jacketed boolit. Top choice powders are 748, 3031, 4198, 4895, AA5744, run them up to around 2000 fps or wherever accuracy is the best, and don't make the boolits too hard, they will mushroom nicely.

Good luck!

Gear

[geargnasher]

Gary beat me to the punch again, he also gives excellent advice here as usual.

Gear

[peerlesscowboy]

The Lyman 311041 is a good one, designed specifically for the .30-30

John C. Saubak

[skeet1]

John C. Saubak is correct this is a great mould made with the .30-30 in mind. I don't have one but I have just started shooting the Lyman 311291 sized at .311 and it shoots very well from my Marlin 336.

Ken

[cavalrymedic]

I've been using two Lee mold for the 30-30. The C308-120RN, and C308-150FN

The little 120 is probably good for hogs and I've had decent accuracy with it. I'm just getting loads worked up for the 150 but it is everything I was hoping for and should do nicely for deer and hogs. I shoot them from a Marlin 336 carbine with no problems other than I shoot so many I run out!

[stubshaft]

Rcbs 150 sp.

[nanuk]

The Lyman 311041 is a good one, designed specifically for the .30-30

John C. Saubak


I bought one of these years ago for a project, then sold the rifle.

appears unused but the box is soiled a bit.

PM me if interested in it

[Smoke-um if you got-um]

The Ranch Dog 165 Flat Point has already been mentioned and I agree 100 %. It is an excellent shooting bullet with any of the several powders suggested. Ranch Dog sells the 6 cavity molds and really the only thing you have to do to start getting good bullets from it is to run the mix pretty hot. I also only use the first 4 cavities of the mold to keep the torque on the sprue cutter less and avoid breaking it. Any of the molds suggested earlier will work well but this one is my favorite. Good luck and have fun.

Mike

[brad2506]

wow what a response, thanks guys
i guess im used to a smaller forum



I bought one of these years ago for a project, then sold the rifle.

appears unused but the box is soiled a bit.

PM me if interested in it

thanks buddy, i am interested but unsure as to what its worth and unfortunatly
im in australia so purchasing may be difficult.

[ubetcha]

Welcome Brad 2506
ther are several members on this forum from Australia and New Zeland.Glad to have you aboard

[sav300]

Hi Brad,welcome.
You have a lever 30/30 or a single shot?
Can send some Lyman 311466 or Lyman 311041.The Lyman 311041 shoots well in my 30/30 single shot martini.

[Larry Gibson]

Brad

Welcome. Take a very hard look at the 311041 if you're using a levery gun. It is the cast bullet for such rifles that all others emulate or are compared to. It also is excellent in other .30 cals such as the .308W or '06 for hunting because of it's flat point. I've been using it for years, tryed most of the others mentioned and keep coming back to 311041.

Larry Gibson

[rockrat]

Welcome to the fire.

All of the above are good choices. One of my first moulds was a 31141 (now 311041) and I also have the RD mould and the RCBS mould. If I had to buy one, then I would go with the RCBS 30-180FP just beacuse of the heavier boolit for larger hogs. If you are not going to shoot real big hogs, then the 311041 is a great boolit. If you are planning on shooting quite a bit, then I would get one of the inexpensive Lee 170fp moulds, get some experience under your belt and then get the RD mould unless you have someone that knows how to use the Lee 6 cav. moulds and can give you some "hands on" experience with casting with one. You can make alot of boolits with one.

[nanuk]

$16 shipping to Au.

I"ll email you pics if you are interested...

PM me

[brad2506]

$16 shipping to Au.

I"ll email you pics if you are interested...

PM me

ok ill drop you a pm

[Suo Gan]

All the marlin Micro groove 30-30's I have do well with Saeco 315, and Lyman 311407. The 94's seem to like 311041 best. But it really depends on what your chamber dimensions are to be honest, then fit the boolit to those measurements. If I were to just pick one and count on it working good, it would be Saeco 315. I have tried pretty much all the designs out there for 30-30, you can see I don't practice what I preach.

[EDK]

I've got a LYMAN 311041 two cavity and a plain base clone in a LEE six cavity. You don't need gas checks for low veloctiy plinkers and them little guys are getting expensive!

Knowing what I know today, I'd order the RANCH DOG 165 grain flat point AND have him convert three cavities to plain base...he has just started offering this modification on his moulds AND he will modify moulds belonging to customers wanting this done. Michael is a good guy to work with.

:cbpour::redneck::Fire:

[pipehand]

Brad, since you are in Australia, you might want to do a search for Cast Bullet Engineering. Jim has several designs you might be interested in.