Newbie 3030 help

[Elbow]

I am brAnd new to this. I have a Winchester model 94 carbine made in 1939. My friend slugged the bore and it is .309. I want to hunt whitetails with this and make my own boolits. I have a few questions. What size lee mold should I get I want a flat nose 150 or 170 grain gas checked bullet. Second can I use pure wheel weight lead to make these boolits for hunting or should I add some pure lead which I also have. Finally what would be a good deer load useing BLC-2 powder. Thanks craig.

[Alchemist]

Elbow,

First off, welcome to the site. There is a vast resource of information here. The following link will take you to a thread you may not like, but need to read. It will give you a little insight as to why you should do a little homework.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?222520-Why-some-new-members-will-do-better-than-others-here

Not trying to be cantankerous, mean or rude...but it might seem that way. No offense intended.

[Love Life]

Let me check my reloading manual and see if BLC-2 will be a suitable powder for what boolit you plan on using. I'll report back.

Welcome to the forum. Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, enjoy the people, and contribute.

As for sizing, if it slugs at .309 then a .310 or .311 sizing die should get you where you need to be.

[btroj]

BL-C2 works very well in a 30-30. I would go with a 170 gr bullet and size to .311.
Wheel weights are fine. I prefer to cut 50-50 with pure lead but that is just me.

You have one of the most natural cast bullet shooting rifles there is.

[w5pv]

Welcome,have fun and Merry Christmas

[462]

Any of the four editions of Lyman's "Cast Bullet Handbook" will give you much information regarding casting, reloading, and cast boolit loads, and should be in every boolit caster and shooter's library.

[olereb]

I agree that you should read up here and get a loading manual but since I have 2 94's I will mention that I size mine to .311 and they work great with no issues.

[barrabruce]

I started with a lee 170 fp and the lee 150 fp. The 170 seemed to be more accurate after I lapped the nose to fit my bore.
The 150 also goes well.
I got a differnent rifle but the much the same.

Haven't tried bl2 but adi 2206h works well for me and lots prefer 2208(varget)

Lots of stuff on 30-30 here to read about.

My search foo is bad but look around and you'll find heaps.

[Elbow]

Stupid question if my gun slugs at .309 and I buy the lee 170 gas check flat nose mold is the mold 309 or do I have to get the .311 mold , in other words what is sizing?

[Wayne Smith]

You have no idea what that mold will throw when measured to three decimal points with your alloy until you cast in your mold with your alloy. Unless you use exactly the alloy Lee uses as a standard and the mold is cut exactly right - both unknowns - yours will be different. One hopes yours is larger because you can't size up, only down.

A sizing die is cut more precisely than a mold and squeezes that boolit that may be .002 or .003 too big for your gun down to exactly what you need. This is why you need a slug of your gun measured with a micrometer. For most of us it is the sizing die that gives us our final diameter, and lubes the boolit to boot. This is done in a lube/sizer, of course! Your other option would be a Lee type sizer and pan lubing, both of which should be searchable on this site.

[turmech]

I would go with the 170 grain Lee if it were me. I have never used BLC2 in the 30-30, but it should work fine as it is very versatile and there is a lot of data on jacketed use with it. Checking the Lyman #4 I did not see it loads with BLC2 listed ( the 170 grain Lee is not listed at all, but the Lyman 170 ish one are). The 30-30 is one I would feel comfortable using the starting loads listed for the same weight jacketed and going from there.

I shoot the Lees in a Winchester and a marlin 30-30. I use a .311 sizer which seats the checks but does little if any sizing. The bullet is basically left as cast.

As others have said the search function will give you endless reading on the 30-30 and the Lyman cast bullet manuals are a must have. I would also recommend this Free PDF book. http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm

[rintinglen]

BLC2 is a good choice for the new 30-30 reloader. You can not accidently over-load a case and you can get factory level velocities. With a 170 grain cast boolit, you can use the data from Hogdon's web site for the 170 grain jacketed bullet. Start with the starting load, and increase velocity until you reach your desired level of accuracy.