30-30 Marlin micro groove, what bullet mold to cast with

[retiredPO]

Tried reloading with a store bought cast bullet, and my Marlin hated it, I read that the Mirocgroove dosent like the same bullets other 30-30's like,... dont want to spend a lot of time and money trying multiple molds, when
the answers probably lie within your expierence....
I appreciate the help.

[gon2shoot]

Size is probably your problem, store bought is probably plenty hard but, micro grooves like an oversize boolit like .311 ish.

[Doc Highwall]

Actually your gun will like them, the problem is the size of the bullet. The first three rules of shooting cast bullets are, Bullet Fit, Bullet Fit, Bullet Fit, with out this the powder gases have a chance to go around the bullet before it gets into the barrel. Bullets are best if they are .001"-.002" over your groove diameter.

Have you slugged your gun?

Two bullets I would recommend are Lyman’s 311041 (I would look at N.O.E. moulds first, for a proper diameter mould.) or a Ranch Dog 311-165 mould but you will have to find a used one.

Read the lever rifle section here at cast bullets and get some more ideas as to what will satisfy your needs.

Are you going to use these for plinking or for a hunting load?

[uscra112]

Microgroove often needs boolits a thou to two larger than what works in Ballard rifling. And always needs a boolit that is full diameter for 60-75% of its' length. The venerable 311041 is a good one, also the Ranch Dog 165 grain, which Ranch Dog is out of the business but you can get a clone from NOE. Al designated it "165Gr. RF 2 cavity GC (RD) (311-165G-2C-RF-GC) " when I ordered one last month.

[Nobade]

I have had wonderful luck with the SAECO #305. It looks just like a #311041, but with .314" driving bands and a .303" nose. Shoots like a champ in six different microgroove 336 rifles I have tried it in. Size it just enough (if at all) to be a slip fit in a fired case.

-Nobade

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Yep.. with Marlin always think fat. Microgroove think fatter.
Having suffered through too many Marlins and old Winchesters I realized it was far easier to find out what is the fattest boolit that will chamber witout undue stress on the lever. If that did not shoot real good then try .001 less diameter. Happily this has not caused bad leading problems.
Used to start small and go up.. but 10 shots of too small can really lead a barrel.
Too fat has so far not caused me any lead mining chores. Lead boolits easily squeeze down in the grrove. As your are starting with a low pressure load and working up there are no pressure problems. If you reduce diameter then you reduce pressure. Not so if you start small and go fatter.
Sadly many molds generally cast too small with 50/50 mixes. So happily we can "Beagle" and lap and other mold adjustments. Even better are the Group Buys that generally address the need for fatter boolits. Ranch Dog molds are a nice help for Marlinitis.
Mike in Peru

[retiredPO]

Wow. Had to leave for a few hrs,... thank you all,... let the search begin.
ref, hunting or plinking, probably both,.. I did try the 160 gr ftx and holy cow did the gun love them.
dropped a doe (buckled her knees and never moved) at 300 yrs. Normally would never of tried that shot, but
I was soooo confident with the marlin with that bullit after sighting it and playing with it at distance..

[popper]

The RD311-170RF works in my 336, the 165 didn't do as well as it was for winnies. I don't know which design NOE uses. Mine likes the FTX also but I have more fun with cast, + $.30 vs $.07 ea.

[6pt-sika]

I shot ALOT of 30-30 cast bullets in both Micro , Pre Micro Ballard and Post Micro Ballard rifles guns made by Marlin . And I first started with .309" with so so accuracy , later I went to sizing at .310" with a shade better accuracy . A little later yet I tried sizing some air cooled WW 311041 HP bullets and bumped the nose to much so I tried a .312" die and that problem was solved . I then shot them sized at .312" and got the best accuracy I ever got with any 30-30 bullets I cast . So after that i tried all my other molds for the 30-30 sized at .312" and they ALL imrpoved in an almost dramatic fashion !

I used to cast all of the following for the 30-30 ,

Lee 309-150GC
Lee 309-170GC

RCBS 30-150
RCBS 30-180

Lyman 311041
Lyman 311041 HP

Saeco 30-150GC

And the Ranch Dog 311-165GC .

For me the Lyman 311041 and the Ranch Dog 311-165GC were the cream of the crop . I shot a few thousand of these two combined at silhouetts , paper and deer .

The others I shot a fair amount at paper . They all did well enough for metallic silhouettes or deer .

I might add I used exactly two powders with ALL my 30-30 cast bullet loads . SR4759 at first and then later when I read Vebturino's book I changed over to XMP5744 .

[TXGunNut]

Had a 336 in 30-30 that for some reason didn't like the 311-165 RD but I suspect it had crown issues. I'll get another 336 in 30-30 and will try the RD and the NOE GB 311-041. The RD 359-190 worked great in my 35 Rem 336 so I know it's a good design. In addition to NOE, Lee is offering some of RD's designs on a special order basis.

[RickinTN]

Tom @ Accuratemolds just this week catalogued the 31-170S for me. This is a copy of the Ranchdog C311-170 with the standard lube grooves "tweaked" a bit. Dimensionally this bullet fits my several Marlin micro-groove throats and leades very well. I ordered my mold @ .312 with wheel weight +2% tin. Looking forward to getting it! I think I recall, but don't let me put words in his mouth, that Ranchdog himself said this was a better design than the 311165 but didn't catch on as well for him because most of his customers preferred tumble lube bullets.

[Gunnut 45/454]

My Marlin 336 Microgrove shoots the Lee 113gr, 150gr,170gr just fine. Actually better then Jwods! Sized .309"!

[OverMax]

Lyman mold -311291 resized and gas checked to .311 dia.> clip/on wheel weight lead for a proper cast material will work just fine for your application Sir.

O/M

[1Shirt]

Like the 150 lee at .311.
1Shirt!

[retiredPO]

Again,.. Thank you for the help.... I had a guy build me a lead trap, I love the older guns, and shooting paper for distance,
have a trapdoor 45-70 that I cast for, and a 1861 .58 cal that I hunt with... ... so while I keep the FTX in the gun for now,
I definately will be shotting the cast when I can get it accurate. I just bought my first mihec hp 453 wow, is that cool.
wish I would of got into this game earlier in life.

[Doc Highwall]

retiredPO, welcome to the forum! Better late then never just make sure you have a good set of glasses for reading.

[retiredPO]

As a matter of fact I keep multiple pairs,.. besides the eyes,.. the mind, and a few other things are starting to fade.
I see your from Conn. I was born and raised in the Valley. Ansonia, left for Iowa in 73. Miss the culture, not the
crowds

[blixen]

I've been having good luck with the LEE DC MOLD C312-185-1R (bought for .303). I size to .311.

It's seems like a bad idea because I have to seat the boolit's base down below the shoulder because of the Marlin's chamber. But it shoots very well with light loads--Red Dot, Unique, etc. I'm working on stiffer loads. I'd like to try a 90-100 gr. .32 pistol boolit that I read here shoots well in the 30-30.

[edadmartin]

Hi, havent posted for a while so maybe this has been answered.Anyway my 92 marlin 30-30 is slugged at .3115 im looking for a good used lyman 311041 but wonder does that mold drop at .312-.313? Now if im going to powder coat should i stick to the lyman or should i look for a mold that drops a smaller diameter to allow a thou or 2 for powder coating ?

[Edward]

My 51 waffletop likes Lees 170gr FN super accurate 2400/3031 /unique all work greats sized 311 BHN 14-16

[OverMax]

Old school ballistics.
If the bullet drops out any mold and measures .311 to .314 dia with a caliper across its grease groves. No further resizing for your 30-wcf is required. Just snap on a G/c for high velocity loading's Seat and shoot.. Low velocities under 1000 fps. No need to gas/check period. Just make sure your using Clip on Wheel Weight as your molds lead in both high & low speed categories.

[northmn]

I used the same bullet Blixen uses, the Lee 185 grain for the 303. I used a flat nose punch when I sized it and got a flat nose on it with the softer lead. It was a very good deer bullet.
The only bullets I ever found that did not shoot well in my 30-30's were precast I purchased. They weighed 170 grains and the gas check base seemed to be too large for my gas checks.

DEP

[flint45]

Been shooting cast in micro-groove for a long time I just shoot them two sizes over if bore is .309 size to .311 has all ways worked good for me good luck and good shooting

[jlchucker]

Tried reloading with a store bought cast bullet, and my Marlin hated it, I read that the Mirocgroove dosent like the same bullets other 30-30's like,... dont want to spend a lot of time and money trying multiple molds, when
the answers probably lie within your expierence....
I appreciate the help.Buy a 311041 Lyman. Then toss your store-bought boolits in the melting pot with an equal amount of lead from old lead pipe or chimney flashing (pretty much pure lead). Mold up some boolits. Take your Marlin to a gunsmith and have him slug the bore. then size your boolits .002 larger, and lube with some decent lube. My own preference for lube is White Label 50-50, which seems to work well in all of my levergun (and 30-06 calibers). For starters FORGET the velocity listings in your loading books and start low). Work up gradually until you get the best groups after shooting. Write down in a notebook what works how with what loads. I started casting in the mid-1970's with the 30-30, and never realized for 20 years that there was supposedly a problem with cast boolits and microgroove Marlins.

[RickinTN]

The NOE version of the 311041 bullet will cast plenty big for sizing to .311, at least mine does. I'm not sure an original Lyman mold would cast large enough. I think Al usually keeps the 311041 in stock but don't quote me on that.
Good luck,
Rick

[MostlyLeverGuns]

My old 311041 (single cavity 1964) threw .309 bullets and I finally got a 311407 that threw a .3115 that solved the accuracy problem with my 1963 marlin 336. Now I use the NOE 311-195-FN RCBS, I have used the RD 165 at .311 and the RCBS 150 FN at .310 that also work in my Marlins. Not much luck with .309's in the Marlin's - starting with .311 might save a lot of work.