Why Do You Choose A Certain Weight Bullet?

[UtopiaTexasG19]

I was reloading some 30-30 Winchester this morning for my Marlin 336 and thought of something that had never occurred to me. The Hodgdon Chart shows 5 different weight bullets for the 30-30 Winchester from 110gr to 170gr. I have always loaded towards the lower weights to save money as I just target shoot and do not hunt. I have always assumed that the heavier grain bullets were for hunting but now realize this may be a very wrong assumption. In a range from lightest to heaviest why do you reload a particular weight and why did you pick that particular weight? Thanks...

[Rocky Raab]

I always begin with the most common or the original factory weight. I reason that the designers of the cartridge knew what they were doing, and that the gun designers optimized the twist, sight heights and such for what the cartridge designers had standardized. It has always worked for me.

[btroj]

Like Rocky said, follow the original intent of the designers.
While you can use 110 gr bullets in a 30-30 they are of limited use. For plinking or fun they work but don't expect to use them for hunting.

[303Guy]

I originally took the view that cast are slower so to compensate the boolit should be heavier. It leaves enough boolit should the nose be blown off during expansion and gives enough boolit weight should the nose over-expand and just plain gives more penetration.

Then I ran into magazine fit problems so now I use as heavy as the magazine and throat allows. (Boolit bases are seated to the shoulder).

The other factor is boolit alignment in the throat. The longer the boolit the better.

Also, is to have enough boolit to fill the throat if the rifle is of generous throat design (or wear).

Yet another consideration is having enough boolit sectional density to ensure good combustion of slower powders I deem a good idea for lead boolits for 'gentler' initial launch down the bore.

Then there'e the lead consumption factor. I've compromized to save lead and have dropped down from 208gr to 192gr for my 303 Brit. It also happens to be the weight one particular mold drops at (but I could have reduced it if I chose).

[9.3X62AL]

Lotta good info above. "What they said".

[turbo1889]

For “plinking loads” I want a nice little short squatty boolit that will shoot accurately with a light charge of powder and punch a hole in the target and use up as little of my lead supply as possible.

For “working loads” and serious target loads I choose to use as heavy of a boolit as is practical all factors considered for a particular firearm and cartridge. Those factors include both how much physical space is available to accommodate the boolit both in the magazine, during feeding, and in the chamber when in battery. It also, however, includes practical external ballistics considerations as well. There does come a point where going heavier with the boolit leads to a reduction in effectiveness compared to a lighter boolit and the cartridge has been effectively been loaded beyond its capabilities. A humorous picture that illustrates what I’m talking about:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6020/5967910201_cabbea7811.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/54455625@N04/5967910201/)

[Marlin Junky]

Allow the rifle to select the boolit. Start out by doing what everyone else is doing; i.e., follow the herd weed-hopper. :holysheep

MJ

[dverna]

MJ

Perfectly said. I want accuracy out of any load I use. I have different accuracy criteria for different uses but saving 5-10% on lead is of no consequence to me.

For Cowboy Action shooting, I also wish to reduce recoil,. so that means light bullets; but I expect 1.5" 10 shot groups at 30 yards. That is not difficult to accomplish with 125-130 gr bullets in the .38 cal Marlins or 1873's I use.

For long range shooting wind bucking ability gets to be important and there the heavier J bullets do better.

In the 30/30, I have only shot 150-170 gr bullets (cast or J). I have never even thought about any other bullet weights. If I HAD to use a 30/30 for varmints a lighter pill would be good but I have enough other "flavors" to pick the right gun for the application.

Don

[sqlbullet]

The only thing I would add it mold availability. In 30 caliber there is no shortage of molds at all, and so you can pretty much pick and choose. I have followed the same lines of thought as others here. Heavy/slow for full performance ammo, light and fast powder for plinking.

In my 10mm I wanted high production molds in a SWC design. That pretty much left me with the Lee 175 gr in a 6 cavity mold. Later I acquired a 205 gr RFN by mountain mold in trade, and really wish now I had that mold in 6 cavity.

So other factors may become relevant over time. But, they are almost always going to be very specific to a given gun/situation. The general rules listed above are accurate for my general application.

[Maven]

"In a range from lightest to heaviest why do you reload a particular weight and why did you pick that particular weight?" UTG19

For the .30-30Win., partly what Rocky Raab said, partly what I've read (Frank Marshall, Jr.'s articles in "The Fouling Shot"/CBA), partly trial & error testing of some of the .30cal. molds I then owned or acquired.

The particulars: I had a new Marlin #336 (Microgroove) .30-30Win. ca. 1989 whose slugged bore measured .309". I had Lee C309-180-R and Lyman #311291 and #31141 (flat nosed version of -291) on hand, but later acquired Ly. #311466 (Loverin), Ly. #311284 (elongated, heavy iteration of -291), and Saeco #315 (tapered, Loverin with a truncated cone nose). All were cast of WW + 1% Sn, air cooled, sized to .310" and seated over 15 - 16gr. WC 820 (AA #9) or 18 - 20gr. IMR 4198. As I save my targets, I was quickly able to determine which of these shot best. In some cases, it was blatantly obvious which designs the gun DIDN"T like.

Among the losers, and this is contrary to what most have found, my Marlin didn't shoot Ly. #311291, #31141, or #311284 well at all (neither did my .30-06) even when sized to .311". However, both Ly. #311466 @ ~165gr. and Saeco #315 @ ~178gr. shot like a house afire (not bad in the '06 either!) and are two of the CB designs I would also choose if testing a new-to-me .30cal. rifle, e.g., the K-31 Swiss.

[1Shirt]

All good responses. For me, I say if you have time try them all and stay with what ever is best for you depending on your wants and needs.
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[canyon-ghost]

I target shoot too, another paper puncher.

Light weight bullets are accurate at shorter ranges with flatter trajectories.

Heavyweight bullets can be shot farther, albeit with a higher arcing trajectory.

The super lightweights are sometimes only meant for 50 meters, depending on caliber. Some of the heavyweights for hunting do substantial damage at that range and just keep on going if they are loaded hot enough.

[Shiloh]

Needed one long enough to fit the Krag throat. The 314299 fits the bill and is close in weight to the original bullet. Mine drops around 208 gr. vs the original 220 gr.

Shiloh

[G. Blessing]

Hmm. a lot of little variables based on previous experiences I think.

I depends really....
For a new(or at least new to me) gun, I grab a couple boxes of factory stuff, assuming that they had some idea what they were doing, for a basis. lighter for target shooting because its cheaper to throw less lead down range later. Or something medium to heavy if its going to be a hunting gun, based on range and trajectory/drop needed....

Pick the most accurate of the factory stuff, while sighting the gun to Me.
Then i try to match that load hand loading.
then i play around to get it more accurate, going up or down in weights to get what i need in that allusive perfect balance of accuracy at range/trajectory, and recoil energy vs. impact energy down range... while playing with powder choices without blowing the gun up...

For more specialized things I've done, like my 30-30 moose load, I had picked a load in 30-06 that i was replicating. That dictated the bullet weight, then i had to make everything else work with it to be as fast as I needed it.

Lately, working up a hunting load for my.45 rifle, its been that the bullet profile i want to use for he task,(or CAN use in a lever action) is only available in certain weights... so i pick following the "lighter is cheaper for plinking" approach, then try to get the most accurate, yet hardest hitting at my chosen range as i can.

I do a lot of, "well this weight does this task well in this other cartridge, so if I can get comparable speed, it should be good in this one too" Then make it shoot good in the chosen gun if at all possible.

G.

[G. Blessing]

While you can use 110 gr bullets in a 30-30 they are of limited use. For plinking or fun they work but don't expect to use them for hunting.


Doesn't that depend on what he'd be hunting with it?

G.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
Back in the 1960's when I started, TW were free, & I considered the possibility of using them in my rifle for hunting . So I chose the heaviest GC design I could get.
This was the Lyman 168 gr. in 7MM.
For pistols I followed the most popular principal. 158gr in 38 cal. & 250gr in 44 cal.
The rifle never changed, but the pistol did.
Pistols became OK to hunt with, so now it is a 180 gr. in the 357, & the 265gr. RD in the 44.
Tried the 325gr. in the 44 but it was just too much for me.
Shooting cast was so much cheaper than factory fodder in the 1960's that it allowed me to shoot almost as much as I would have liked to.
Hum, seems that last point is even truer now.:Fire::Fire:

[Bret4207]

I tend to look at design before weight. In the 30 cals for instance I load from 75 grs to 220, but that is a variety of styles and designs. I don't want a spire pt for hunting for example, I want a FN.

[alamogunr]

HI,
Back in the 1960's when I started, TW were free, & I considered the possibility of using them in my rifle for hunting . So I chose the heaviest GC design I could get.
:Fire::Fire:

What are/is TW?

[UtopiaTexasG19]

Tire Weights...

[white eagle]

I'm a hunter always have been
I choose a boolit with that in mind
always my first consideration

[Tom W.]

I'll beg or buy a few and see how they shoot in my handgun or rifle. I've found some that don't shoot worth a hoot in my Ruger BH, and one in particular that it really likes. The same goes for the J-word bullet in my 7mm Rem Mag.

[Bob Krack]

I'll beg or buy a few and see how they shoot in my handgun or rifle. I've found some that don't shoot worth a hoot in my Ruger BH, and one in particular that it really likes. The same goes for the J-word bullet in my 7mm Rem Mag.
Hi Tom,

Which boolit in particular does your Ruger BH like?

Your friend,

Bob