savage 340 30-30 cast load help.

[k_dogg030486]

Ok i got a savage mod 340 in 30-30 win. i love this little bolt gun. i have the 155 gr lee mold for the 7.62x39. im sizen to 311. im looking for a nice light plinken load for this right know im using 16 gr 2400. i have on hand 2400, red dot, clays, and varget. thanks for any help.

[GooseGestapo]

I used IMR3031 with the Lee 150grFNGC (cast to 160gr w/gc) lubed with 50/50 alox-bees wax lube.
IIRC; I used 28.0gr to 30.0gr I used 31.0gr with a Speer 150gr FN. This was with a Savage M340 I had back in the early '80's.

I've taken deer with the above cast bullet load and couldn't tell the difference between it and the 150gr Speer. In fact, the deer shot with the cast bullet was hit a tad higher, just under the spine through the rib cage and dropped on the spot.

I would try 14.0-16.0gr of #2400, and start at about 28.0gr of Varget and find where your rifle prefers for accuracy. You should be able to roughly duplicate the velocity of factory ammo with the Varget. Good accuracy and speeds of ~1,600fps with the #2400. 7.5gr of RedDot will be a delightlful "plinking" load at about 1,200fps. Same load of clays should be about the same as these two powders are very, very similar.

My current favorite .30/30 load is the above mentioned 150gr FNGC over 32.0gr of RL15 for about 2,200fps. It shoots accurately and has dropped every deer shot with it. Not sure why I use anything else, except for flatter trajectory at longer ranges.......

[geargnasher]

Ok i got a savage mod 340 in 30-30 win. i love this little bolt gun. i have the 155 gr lee mold for the 7.62x39. im sizen to 311. im looking for a nice light plinken load for this right know im using 16 gr 2400. i have on hand 2400, red dot, clays, and varget. thanks for any help.

I'm assuming that's the tumble-lube boolit? I don't remember right off hand, but if it is, I doubt you can do a whole lot better than exactly what you're doing for what you want. You could work the powder charge around a little bit and observe the groups, or add a fluffed tuft of Dacron per Larry Gibson's directions, or even switch to about ten grains of Unique or try the Col. Harrison Red Dot load, but doubt you'd improve your results much, you're already doing what I'd recommend. If you're looking for better economy, hassle-free loading (no filler), and mild, clean, accurate loads, Unique is tough to beat, and Red Dot works too. Stay away from Clays in that caliber, and Varget is way too slow and will burn dirty at the pressures you're likely going to be able to run with decent accuracy. Plus, Varget is comparitively expensive and it takes a lot more of it to do the job.

Gear

[richhodg66]

I like my 340. killed my first "small bore" cast bullet deer with it last fall using the 31141 and 25 grains of the old B West 36 powder, but IMR3031 or similar should do well.

Those are neat little rifles, I wish someone would start making it again. Seems like with the popularity of the 7.62x39, if they chambered it in that, they wouldn't be able to keep them on the shelves.

[excess650]

I mean no offense to those of you with 340s, but I doubt a newly made 340 would be received well. There are far better choices of actions that don't have split bridges which preclude low, center mounting of scopes, and most actions bed with a pair of action screws so the barrel can be floated or not. The 340 uses a crude sheet metal strap wrapped around the barrel as the front barreled action retainer.

Ruger makes the 77 in 7.62x39 as does CZ in the 527. There were Mini Mark X Mausers, and I believe Charles Daly was the brand name on some of the later ones.

Baikal makes a break open singleshot (had been imported by Remington as the "Spartan") that is capable of excellent accuracy, and relatively inexpensive.

That said, I know of folks who get excellent accuracy from their 340s.

[Rocky Raab]

My low-speed plinking load is 7.0 700X in that rifle. I tried a dozen fast powders all at 7.0 grains, and 700X shot the best. A different M340 might like a different powder, of course. RedDot is a good one to try.

My other two loads with the 170 GC Lee bullet are 16.0 2400 and 20.0 5744 -- two near legendary cast loads.

[frnkeore]

I've found only one thing wrong with the Stevens/Savage 325/340 rifles and that is the extractor. They are good strong rifles (some factory chambered in 225 Win).

My best load was 33.5 gr WC852F (H380 speed), 2122 fps, with the 311291 and 1.25 groups.

The barrel can be floated on these rifles by drilling and tapping (10x32) the rear of the action and then drilling through the stock, if done right the screw will align with or very close to the rear trigger guard screw. The worth that you will have to do is tweek the trigger guard to match.

Frank

[k_dogg030486]

yea but when you working on a strick budget and the gun only cost you 200 for it a spair mag and 3 boxs of shells from a local gun store a few days ago i wasnt bitchen. i know there many other better guns. i got this b/c A. it was cheap. B. its fun. C. got a hella lot of 30-30 brass.

[Hang Fire]

I really like my Stevens Model 325 (predecessor of the 340) in 30-30. It is an excellent little cast boolit rifle and very accurate at 2,000 fps with most .30 cal boolits the mag will allow as to OAL.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/TANSTAAFL-2/ASteven30-30model325-1.jpg

[Bodydoc447]

My local gun store had a Savage 170 pump gun in 30 WCF last Friday. Is that one I should be snatching up or passing on for cast?

Doc

[k_dogg030486]

Doc depends if price is right and bores got good rifling id snag it. i know im working with the savage 340 this week with some red dot in 155 gr and also the 90 gr swc ( for s&g's).

[k_dogg030486]

I really like my Stevens Model 325 (predecessor of the 340) in 30-30. It is an excellent little cast boolit rifle and very accurate at 2,000 fps with most .30 cal boolits the mag will allow as to OAL.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/TANSTAAFL-2/ASteven30-30model325-1.jpg

yea the one gun store had a bun of these in it w the knife/spon handle like u got here and i went in a week later and they were all gone. seems that the one older gental man bought them and all the older .222 rem they had gotten in also... i was a little dissapointed to say the least.

[Kraschenbirn]

You might think about try starting with 20 gr or so of AA5744 under that Lee boolit. I'm shooting 20.5 gr - no filler - with the old Lyman 311466 (162 gr. Loverin) for around 1980 fps and sub-2" 100-yd. groups.

Bill

[excess650]

The Savage 170 pump is a modified shotgun and doesn't have a particularly stellar reputation. I recall one of the guys here on CB worked for Savage and expounded upon the problems associated with the 170. Just because a rifle is chambered for the 30-30 and cheap isn't necessarily a good reason to buy it. A Savage 219? probably worth looking into.

My Marlin 336CB 30-30 likes 17-19gr AA5744 under the tapered Saeco #315 (175gr).

[krag35]

I use the Lee 180 rn in mine with 24.0 gr of IMR 4895 and a CCI 300 Lg PISTOL primer.

[richhodg66]

The Savage 170 pump is a modified shotgun and doesn't have a particularly stellar reputation. I recall one of the guys here on CB worked for Savage and expounded upon the problems associated with the 170. Just because a rifle is chambered for the 30-30 and cheap isn't necessarily a good reason to buy it. A Savage 219? probably worth looking into.

My Marlin 336CB 30-30 likes 17-19gr AA5744 under the tapered Saeco #315 (175gr).

I got one of these not long ago and my initial range trip with it indicates to me it is the most accurate .30-30 I've ever shot. It's a big, heavy rifle for a .30-30 it seems to me, but the price was very right (about $150 less than what I routinely see them going for on gunbroker) and it came with a scope already mounted so it was a turn key project.

It does seem to be ornery getting the slide unlocked after firing. Someone told me you have to push forward on it then pull it back and and that seems to do it every time so far. Everybody talks about how cheaply made they are, but this one has a pretty decent piece of walnut on it and is steel and solid, sure doesn't feel cheap in the way Remington 710/770s, Savage Edge or any of the bottom rung rifles they're selling now do at least not to me.

I want one in .35 Remington, but those are tough to find. I've heard that the rimless case solves a lot of the functioning problems guys have with the .30-30s.

I also like the 219 and will have one someday. Very graceful gun in your hands, more so than most of the break open singles you see.

[27judge]

the 340 was my second centerfire rifle my first was a model 92 32-20 win given to me by my grandfater he bought it new.my dad gave me the 340 for my birthday i was 14 years old in 1952 .wow the ground hogs and a few deer with that old rifle still stays with me today.it sits in my gunsafe along with my mod 92 to be passed on to my sons later.just thought id throw this in as the old gun has been with me for 60 years and i still shoot it. i like the lyman 291 and a med load of unuiqe tks for your time ken