2400 load for marlin 336 30-30 and lee 150 fn

[DrCaveman]

Howdy

I know this subject has been beaten to death, but I am having trouble finding specifics regarding my question.

I am looking for a few stories about the very best, most accurate loads you guys have shot out of a micro-groove marlin 336 chambered in 30-30, using the lee 150 gr flat nose mold. I want to stick with 2400 for powder, but am not dead set on that. Unique, reloader 7, imr 4227, varget, and Lil gun would be the other possible powders that I have on hand.

Based on a lot of reading of previous posts, I should prob get my hands on some 4198, but that ain't happening soon. Got what I got.

What I am hoping to hear about is: GC or not? Lube choice? Ideal velocity range (I now understand that the 1600 fps ceiling is garbage)? Ideal boolit diameter?

This last one is an issue because my mold is dropping .307-308 from one cavity and .309-310 from the other. And neither one is round, both are out of round by about 2 thousandths according to my cheap calipers.

I know that each gun is unique, but I figured that this long standing popular gun is more consistent than many out there. Maybe I'm wrong. I should slug the barrel again but I did it once and pretty sure it came out around .309 outer diameter. I don't trust my slugging measurements that much since I don't have a nice micrometer.

Thanks

[TCFAN]

I have been shooting a lot of 2400 in my 2 marlins and one Winchester 30-30's.They all like 16 grs. and the primer does not seem to matter whether it is a regular LR or a Mag. LR primer.

Now the boolit is either a Lyman 311041 or a NOE 311440 all sized at .311 cast from straight WW.I make my gas checks out of aluminum flashing so i don't shoot very many plain base boolits any more.
I have never slugged my barrels.
Based on the way my rifles shoot .309-.310 sized boolits I am going to guess that your booilts from your mold is going to be to small.But every rifle is different to what it likes so you might luck out with that mold...................Terry

[RickinTN]

What Terry said....16 gr 2400 should be a good charge if everything else is good. I have several 336's and have one that does OK with .309. The others won't. I recently purchased a Lee 44 cal mold that was .428x.430. I needed .432. I lapped (following instruction in a sticky on this forum) the mold and it now produces round bullets of about .4325, just enough for a .432 sizer to clean up. I used a drill press to drill the "lap" bullets, and then turned the lap both by hand and with a power drill. If your gas checks fit properly, turn down that part of the lap so it doesn't cut. If your nose is .300, turn it down as well because you only want to lap the driving bands. If the nose measures less than .300, you'll probably want to open it up to .300 or .301 as well. I used Permatex valve lapping compound which I purchased at an automotive parts house for the initial cutting and then automotive "rubbing" compound for the final finish. Go slow with the valve lapping compound as it cuts pretty quick.
Good Luck, and I hope it turns out well,
Rick

[imashooter2]

My 30AS likes 15.5 grains of 2400 with the Lee C309-150-F. The boolit is water dropped range scrap at ~18 bhn, sized .311, gator checked with Ballisticast commercial lube (the blue crayon stuff that everyone says doesn't do anything). Velocity is 1,739 fps average. Ten shots at 100 yards:

http://home.comcast.net/~imashooter2/pictures/april-bench-600.jpg

[DrCaveman]

Imashooter

I take it your mold drops at or larger than .311"? I just opened mine up a bit, and got a batch averaging .311" at apex, about .310" at seam. Maybe more lapping is in order. This is about .002 larger than average before this previous lapping.

What is gator checked?

Does your 30AS have microgroove rifling?

Thanks for success story, I will be happy to nail that at 100 yds, iron sights. Tried 14 gr yesterday, felt it should have been hotter.

[imashooter2]

My 30As is just a 336 with a birch stock and a carbine type front sight. Yes, it is microgroove. My ancient Lee single hole mold drops at .312, nice and round. My rifle slugs at .308 on the nut. I have tried boolits at .310, but groups open up. My Gator checks were from a group buy a few years ago. The claim is that they stay on better than Hornady or Lyman. I believe that one of the board members runs a semi continuous buy on them. Blammer maybe? Someone will be long to tell us for sure shortly. That said, my reason for getting into the group buy was lower cost. I've had plenty good performance from Hornady checks.

ETA: That is with a 3-9 scope on it. I can't see the paper over iron sights at 100. FWIW, that load is as accurate as anything this rifle shoots... factory, hand load, jacketed or cast.

[saintdel]

I advise you to start lower and work up to that 16g of 2400 in a lever gun, some don't handle it well.

[imashooter2]

imashooter2,

Nice job, I'd take consistent ten round groups like that out of my lever guns any day of the week.

PB

Thanks, but I think "trifle over 2 inch" lever guns are common as can be. I'd like to find one of those sub MOA ones I keep reading about all over the internet. [smilie=1:

[DrCaveman]

Imashooter

Did you perform any lapping on your mold, or did it drop that large to begin with? Since you are using range scrap I guess we can't speculate about the alloy mix, so shrinkage is also hard to gauge.

Also, would it make sense to think that water dropping shrinks boolits? Maybe it's a tiny amount, but I'm looking for every thousandth I can get. I'm hoping for a boolit showing .311 in all diameter measurements, so I can push it through my .311 sizer and get true round. I have high hopes for the marlin, since mine and my dad's have been my best shooting iron sighted weapons (using factory jacketed) since I was 10.

And I wouldn't dream of getting any better than 2 moa @ 100 yds with irons. I'm reluctant to slap a scope on this gun, I love its simplicity. Meant to get another one to scope up, but prices have kept creeping up and now I may have missed my window.

Or, maybe lever actions will stabilize in price because everyone wants an AR?

[imashooter2]

My mold came that large from Lee. I water drop most boolits and no, water dropping does not change as cast size. You can get some small increases in diameter using alloys with higher percentages of tin and antimony.

Around here, you can get used rifles in the low $300 range.

[Shakey Jakey]

My 1951 Winchester 94 likes the RD165 in front of 16gr of 2400. Chronos in the low 1700's. Very accurate for what it is.

[sixpointfive]

17.5 gr 2400 powder and the noe 165 bullet sized .311 shot 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards at 1888 fps out of my micro groove marlin 336 30-30. The bullets were tumble lubed.

[sixpointfive]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?183296-311-165-RF-ranch-dog-bullet-wok-with-lee-tumble-lube

[DrCaveman]

Thanks sixpointfive

I have found at least a half dozen old threads dealing with similar concerns, and a few active ones that are pretty close. I also started a 'bore riders' thread to help me get what was happening- which I realize now was also a bit redundant due to old threads already covering that.

My conclusion (so far) is that I need to use gas checks above about 1600 fps, regardless of the other variables like boolit shape, lube, or hardness. It is a fine day of reloading economy when I loathe spending the $.03 to use a gas check because it almost doubles my cost per round!

Poor poor me! Well maybe I should just man up and start punching them out of old beer cans. I have plenty sitting around.