30 rem

[starmac]

Is anybody shooting cast in the 30 rem?
What boolit are you using? I have the 311041 and the 311291, and they both have to be seated too deep to cycle and when I do the brass almost covers the whole front driving band, and the gas check is out of the neck.

[frnkeore]

What type rifle are you dealing with, a Mod 8/81, 14/141 or Mod 30? I don't have a 8/81 but, I have the other three.

Make sure you slug the barrel. 30 Rem barrels run from .306 (2 rifles) to .307 (1 rifle), groove and all have .300 bores, on my rifles. You need bullets with U or ES sufixes. U = .310/.309 - ES = .307/.306 dia, depending on alloy and mold. My factory jacketed Remington bullets are .307.

Is it the nose or the bands that keep the GC below the neck?

Frank

[texassako]

I have not tested them yet, but the Lee C309-170-F fit my 81 well. I also want to get Accurate's 31-150G because it is very similar to the 32-155L I had him make that is great in my .32 Rem Model 8.

[Scharfschuetze]

In my Remington 141 Delux I use the Lyman 311041 with very good results. I've never slugged the barrel, but boolits sized to .309 shoot very well in it which seems to support frkeore's measurements. Whoever had it before me knew a thing or two about sights and installed a nice aperture rear sight and blade front sight. With that combination, it will always shoot better than 2 MOA out to 200 yards. Technique is critical for a slide action for best results off of a bench. It really comes into it's own shooting off hand at reactive targets and is (heresy I know) faster and slicker than my Winchester Model 94.

[starmac]

It is a model 14. Using a 291 it cycled, but the front band hits. The 311041 locked the gun DOWN a soon as I slid the action open. I had to pry the boolit into the case a little to release it. I am glad I was using dummies with no crimp, or that could have been a problem.
I was sure hopeing one of these would work, but looks like I'm in the market for a new mold. lol

Scharfschuetzer, are you seating the 311041 at the crimp groove, and does your gas check stay in the neck?
The old guy that owned this gun had it drilled and tapped, and wears a 2 3/4 redfield with a post reticle. I probably would not have drilled it, but I am glad it came to me that way, as it makes a fast handling, easy carrying walk about gun for these eyes. lol

[Scharfschuetze]

Starmac,

I'm crimping right into the crimp groove. The gas check's base is just at the top of the shoulder, so all is good there.

My nose just barely kisses the lands at the beginning of its ogive (.302") when inserted into the muzzle and the band just above the crimp groove is .3095" as is the body of the boolits I just measured.

OAL of my loaded round is: 2.552"

They chamber and load through the magazine without any issues.

That low powered Redfield with a post reticle sounds just perfect for your Model 14.

[Char-Gar]

I have an early (transition) model 141 I got from Glen Fryxell. Like most 30-30s it doesn't have any free bore, just a chamfer at the front of the chamber where the bullet enters the barrel. This makes cast bullets with full diameter shoulders in front of the case mouth difficult to chamber if not downright impossible.

A fellow can cut a free bore with a throating reamer or use a bullet that has no full diameter section sticking out of the case. I have gone with the later option as 311407 Mod, when crimped in the band just below the two .302 nose riding bands gives no full diameter section in front of the case and feed through the rifle slick as can be. It also deliver good accuracy.

[starmac]

Mine will chamber either bullet, but will not cycle them through the action unless i seat them deeper than the crimp groove. The nose on the 291 and even the front driving band does make contact when chambering. I am going to play with the 311041 some more, but will for sure have to seat deeper than the crimp groove, but I think I can keepthe gas check partially in the neck and it has plenty of neck tension.

[starmac]

I resized both the 311041 and the 311291 down to 308 and I can load the 291 at recommended coal, the 041 I still had to shorten up just a bit, but they both cycle and feed like butter now. I had previously sized at 311, and they didn't want to start out of the carrier, the 311041 still will not until I shorten it to 2.520 instead of 2.525, both are just a hair past the crimp groove, but the gas check is in the neck now.

[Scharfschuetze]

Good news Starmac. Those old Remingtons are just more fun than a barrel of monkeys and deserve to get shot more often. In fact, with the impetus of this thread, I loaded up a tray of 30 Remingtons last night and I'm going to the range later today to test out some surplus Russian powder under the Lyman 311041 boolit.

[madsenshooter]

I have an older model 14, best I could measure its odd number of lands and grooves, it has a .311 bore diameter. Best working bullet I've found so far is the NOE 316155 sized down to .311. It has a very large diameter nose and it actually feeds through the cantankerous critter, if I load them about the same length as factory rounds. When I said best working above, I should have said best cycling. I haven't shot enough of the bullets to hit anything yet!

[Scharfschuetze]

No, no "B" after the model number. I believe there were three or four different levels of "Delux Mode 141s" and it sounds like yours is an upgrade from mine. I think that the higher the letter, the higher the grade. While I have a nicely checkered walnut but stock, my forend is the standard grooved version that continued on into the early Model 760 Gamemasters that replaced the 141s. Please post a photo of yours. I'd like to see that checkered forend.

My 141 Gamemaster was made in 1937 and given its great condition, it enjoyed a careful and knowledgeable owner prior to my acquisition of it. While the blueing shows the wear of many seasons afield, it is mechanically perfect, the bore looks like it just came out of the factory and the stock and checkering were never abused.

By the way, I had a great time at the range yesterday with the old "Gamemaster" and even though the weather was pretty blustery, I was still getting nice groups going right at 2 1/2 MOA at 100 yards with the Lyman 311041 boolit. I was experimenting with a Russian surplus powder and working out a load to standardize on. The powder burns much like 3031 and I think that I'm just about there with probably one more trip to the range to refine the powder charge and get about 2 MOA at 1,800 fps with standard deviation numbers between 10 and 15. Not bad for powder that only cost $2.00 a pound on a bulk order!