Versatile .30 hunting bullet?

[Shotgun]

OK, I"m a newbie to posting with this group. I live in Northern Michigan, so my shots are generally not long ones. I'm looking for a general-purpose .30 cal. hunting bullet, with a good-sized meplat, to load into .308 Win and .30-06 rounds for use in bolt guns. I'm not going to specify a bore diameter or weight (something in the 165-200 gr would be preferred) as I want a bullet that'll give me decent accuracy within 100 yards from most bolt actions. Right now I have a Rem Mod 7 in .308, a Rem 700Ti in .30-06 and a gem of a Brno ZG47 also in .30-06. Others may follow. I know I am asking one bullet to be all things, but I'm willing to accept reasonably modest performance as the trade-off for access to one general-purpose bullet. On the other hand, if there is such a thing as a great general-purpose bullet I'd be very interested.

I understand that there are likely many other threads on topics like this, but my searching skills are...inadequate. Feel free to hyperlilnk me to good threads.

Thanks for your help.

[rockrat]

Ranch Dogs 30-170. Has a good meplat

[Bob Krack]

Ranch Dogs 30-170 has it all going for it. You won't be sorry.

Bob

[runfiverun]

rcbs has a 150 and a 170 that are good also.
as does lee they make a 170 that works well.
and the 311041 is a favorite.
your best bet is in the throat area.
a boolit that won't chamber or is seated halfway into the case can/will generally cause problems.
as well as a nose that is too small.

my best all round boolit is the rcbs 150 fn-gc.
it casts nice,takes a check/sizes easily.
and is very accurate in my 30-30 bolt and a couple of lever guns ,my 1917, my wifes savage 30-06 and in my boy's 98/11 7.5x55.
it won't chamber in my ruger 308 though, the body is too long.

[Larry Gibson]

311041 is the time and game proven favorite.

Larry Gibson

[winelover]

There is an active group buy on one such bullet right now. Check it out.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=150129

Winelover

[leadman]

I second the Lyman 311041. Shoots good in all of my 30 caliber rifles and handguns.

[largom]

I'll third the Lyman 311041. It weighs 154 gr. with my alloy minus lube and check and shoots great.

Larry

[1Shirt]

311041 is great, even better if it is a soft nose short depth HP w/hard rear.
1Shirt!

[StratsMan]

Speaking of which, there is a 311041 on FleaBay right now... The number is not in the title, tho... I searched "Lyman 311*" and found it... Per the rules here, no links to those auctions...

It's a single cavity, mold only, with 6 days left on the bidding...

[redneckdan]

Go with the MiHec mold over the ebay offering. You won't be sorry.

[castshooter-too]

rcbs180fngc

[9.3X62AL]

It would be difficult to find better genersal-purpose 30 caliber rifle boolits than the Lyman #311041 or #311291. Most mould makers have repros of these designs available.

I cast mine as BruceB Softpoints for hunting use. Their as-cast weights in 92/6/2 homogenous alloy are in the 170 grain ballpark.

I'm in the middle of testing the Lee 200 grain boolit in the 30-06, on hiatus now due to summer heat. So far, it keeps up with the 2 lighter boolits in terms of accuracy to 1900 FPS, out to 200 yards.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Lyman #311041.Robert

[onceabull]

If you can get something close to ,or the real thing,Lyman 311440 would be my choice..BUT, Paco K. and I are growing OLD together,and still using this one... Onceabull

[1Shirt]

You, Paco, and Me too!
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[afish4570]

Speaking of which, there is a 311041 on FleaBay right now... The number is not in the title, tho... I searched "Lyman 311*" and found it... Per the rules here, no links to those auctions...

It's a single cavity, mold only, with 6 days left on the bidding...

Once you have used a 6 cav. Lee mold that Ranch Dog sells custom molds for....the production will amaze you. I hate to use my old single cavity molds anymore or I spent too much time casting with such a limited yield. I am a happy Ranch Dog customer and don't mind saying so. afish4570:cbpour::cbpour:

[HiVelocity]

I too looked for an "all around" .30 caliber bullet and settled on the 170 grain Ranch Dog bullet. Readily available, 6-cavity and gas check configuration.

You can load it in the 30-30, 308, 30-06 (lots of handload data on this site) AND you won't have to wait a year or more for a Group Buy.

Ex: 170 grain RD bullet in 30-06: 22 grains of 4759, est vel ~1800. Its what I'm using tomorrow (Deer season starts tomorrow here in SC).

HV

[hicard]

I was going to recommend the Lyman 311041 but the Ranch Dog 30-170 would be my first recommendation. You can really crank them out and it is a perfect choice for what you want to do.

[softpoint]

Another vote for the RCBS 180 fp. I use it in 30/30, .308, and 30/06

[Smoke-um if you got-um]

Ranch Dog's 170 FP is excellent. Bought it to use in my 30-30 but ended up using it in a Savage 30-06 SS bolt gun. Accuracy was excellent in this rifle with 27.5gr 5744. I had to adjust the cartridge O.A.L. a couple of times to find where it would feed properly but it was worth the effort. This particular rifle will shoot it sub M.O.A at 1900-1950 fps. I shoot it as cast and finger lube with undiluted liquid alox for my hunting rounds. To keep the top end clean so it won't pick up lint and grit from my coat pockets. I just tumble tube the practice rounds cos they go to the range in a box. I seat the gas check with a Lee sizer that is the same diameter as the as cast bullet. Some believe in liquid alox, some do not, opinions vary all over the place. This particular combo does not lead at all in this rifle. It has many hundreds of these loads thru it and I have yet to find any leading. I use the old Lyman #2 formula for all my hunting rifles. Enjoy and good luck.

[Bluehawk]

ANOTHER for the RCBS 180 FN GC MY one 94 Win LOVES it SHoots well with VARGET

[Sagebrush7]

All the Ranch Dog C311-170 are gone. You can still get the 165 gr, don't wait!

[kir_kenix]

Another vote for the RD, either in the 165 or the 170 form. The 311041 is another great choice. Both are accurate shooters that perform well in game. Can't go wrong with either of them.

[Blammer]

Here is my versitile hunting boolit.

It kills deer.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2010%20Deer/DSCN8323.jpg

It kills squirrels

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2008%20Deer/DSCN7412.jpg

311284 out of my 30-06

it's the middle two
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits/2_30cal.jpg

[JDL]

Blammer, how fast are you running them and how far do the deer usually go when shot with the 311284? What alloy and do you modify the nose or use it as dropped from mold? Thanks

[fatnhappy]

I'm partial to the 311290 mostly because my .30-06 prefers it over other designs. A 311284 or 314299 would fall into the same weight range.

At the end of the day, the older I get the heavier I like my hunting bullets. I believe you'll be well served to pick anything from 170 grains on up that shoots well.

[missionary5155]

Howdy
I am stuck on the RCBS 180 grain RFN GC for all my caliber .30 hunting except in the .300 ACC. Cast of 50/50 plus a little tin from my 06 it smacks like a hammer and makes a very nice exit hole for leaks. I do not do any shoulder shots but would not hessitate if that was all there was. I hunt river bottoms and thick stuff so I seldom see anything past 50 yards.
Mike in ILL.

[Blammer]

1850 fps per my chrono, its WW alloy air cooled I do nothing special to them in the way of heat treating or adding "special" alloys.

I use it as it's dropped from the mould, no nose modifications.

The deer I shot above ran about 75 yds, typical for a heart shot doe around here.
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2010%20Deer/DSCN8333.jpg
the squirrels on the other hand are bang flops. :)

[castshooter-too]

Bluehawk; whats your starting load for varget in the 30-30 if you dont mind me asking?

[singleshot]

The RD boolit has as good a ballistic coefficient and better terminal performance vs any 30 cal boolit I've used. I highly recommend it if you can get it.

[Shotgun]

Guys, many thanks for your replies and suggestions. I do have a related question. Being lazy and cheap I'm thinking about casting my .30 cal. bullets out of straight WW, either as dropped, water quenched or oven hardened. Any suggestions on casting methods of WW for the bullets you've suggested? Also, one of the posters referenced soft-nosed bullets. I very vaguely recall reading an article in one of the gun magazines about pure-lead noses topped (base end) with harder lead. Is that the process you have in mind or something else. If you can just refer me to a thread here I'd be thrilled. I have about 500# of pure lead and nearly a ton of WW ingots...

[JIMinPHX]

Water dropped usually give me a little bit better accuracy, but not that much. Air cooled gives me much better expansion. Soft tipped would be the best of both worlds, but they are not the easiest thing to make.

I've had good luck with the 150-gr Lee flat point @ around 2,300fps for hunting & 1,200fps for plinking.

[Reverend Recoil]

My vote is for the Lyman 311299 and 311284. They both shoot well and feed from the magazine better than a flat point bullet. The Lee C309-200-R may work well but I have not tried that one yet.