"Chester 94

[Knarley]

I recently bought a mould for my 30-30 winchester @ 200 gr. The gun won't cycle them which is fine, they are pointy anyway. Will be shooting targets for cowboy shootin' in single shot mode with them. Question... Will the gun be able to handle 200 gr. boolits or would I be better off gettin some lighter ones. I figured the heavier ones would carry further. If 200 is O.K. I could use some recipies.
Thanks guys,
Knarley

[Swamprat1052]

I never shot anything that heavy in a 94, I think a 170 gr. was about the heaviest I ever shot. You're right you dont want pointed bullets in the magazine. I am having fun with the 113 gr. Lee Soup Can boolits in mine. They cycle through just fine. Thats the only cast bullet I have used in it. I plan on getting a 150 or 170 gr. flat nose mold before long.

Swamprat

[stillhunter]

Suggest 30 Gr 3031 with 165 gr Lyman 311291 or equivalent CB. It shoots beutiful in my '94. Can't see where the xtra 40 grains will gain you anything.

[Trailblazer]

I have loaded up to 32 grains of Winchester 760 with a 200 grain Saeco bullet in a 30-30. Do a search on this forum. I think I remember discussion of 4350, 4831 and maybe H380 being used also. The slower powders will work in the 30-30 with a heavy cast bullet.

[KCSO]

In most 94's the problem is the short throat demands a bullet seated pretty much into the case. I have shot a home made 190 gr. round nose in my 30-30 and it worked fine, but it had a smallish nose diameter and a shorter shank.

[McLintock]

If you're going to use it for the long range side matches in lever action rifle caliber, they're very seldom over 200 yards, more like 160-80 or so. You don't really need a 200 gr bullet, and loading it single shot will really be super slow in a fairly fast class. As an example, last years Winter Range, which is the U.S. Championships, was fired at about 160 yards and the winning time was about 21 1/2 seconds, fired with an '86 in 45-70. Get a shorter bullet, like the others are suggesting, it'll do quite well and you'll be able to keep up with the pack. Even more important is having a 9 round mag so you don't have to reload more than one round on the clock. You also want a very accurate load so you can use all the target for sighting and don't have to be precisely in the middle to assure hits. Just a suggestion.
McLintock

[calaverasslim]

I cast and load the RCBS 150gr FP w/check in front of 10.5 of Unique. Out to 150 yds, this accurate and hard hitting. Hunting and CAS. I have taken White Tail with this one. I believe that with a little reading and research, I can find a load using either Winchester 231 or IMR Hi-SKOR 700X. I suspect a load using tite-group also which is a much cleaner load.


Good Luck