Another 30-30 dead horse beating, I am sure... moderate target with cast bullet.

[mattw]

I have loaded many rifle calibers from 221 Fireball to 6mm-284, but have never loaded a single 30-30. Dad pass about 1.5 years ago and I have his mid 70's Winchester 30-30 top eject and would like to try some load for it. I am looking for something that is fun to shoot, but will carry 100 yards for steel plates. I have a mildly bad rotator cuff and do not really enjoy full house rifle loads off hand, off bench is fine. I am thinking 3031 and maybe a 150 round nose... Am I in the ball park with this idea? I have not selected a bullet yet, I am going to have to look at my molds and see if I have anything with a round or flat nose. I still need to get dies and maybe a mold.

So, mid velocity, 150-160 grain bullet and not horrible recoil...

Suggestions?

Thanks Matt

[mac60]

Lee C309-150-F over 10.0 gr. unique.

[Lead Fred]

NOEs version of the Ranch Dog 170, backed by 28gr 4895 (3031 would work as good or better)
1600ishfps out of the 1949 Winnie 94, but it shoots 30WCF, not them Marlin 30-30 rounds :-)

[Jupiter7]

311041(NOE preferably) and 16grs 2400 or 8-10grs unique. Feels like shooting a non-magnum pistol caliber in a rifle. Also like the NOE 311-165RD or the classic 311291 over same loads. Starting loads of H4895, TAC and Varget in the 25-28grn range are easy shooters too, just a tad more expensive for plinking purposes. If 3031 is what you have to work with, plenty of data around for your desired use.

[sthwestvictoria]

Lee 150grain ACWW, aluminium GC with 19.0grains AR2205(H4227) for 1775fps.
THis is my go to mild load. However there are also loads with 29.0grains 170grain ACWW and AR2208 (varget) for 1908fps and lighter loads with 150grain ACWW, 8.0grains AP70N (hodgdon universal) for 1200fps.
Or AR2206H (H4895):
http://i60.tinypic.com/jhpism.jpg

[clum553946]

135 lfp (I use Missouri Bullets) 10.7 Unique. Light recoil, plenty of punch for plates.

[Sensai]

IF you can find it, get yourself some TrailBoss. For plinking and targets out to 100 yards it's great. It gives low recoil and good performance with just about any weight bullet in the 30-30. I use it with the 150 grain Lee FP for your stated purposes. :grin:

[imashooter2]

I like the Lee C309-150-F over 15.5 grains of Alliant 2400 for 1,703 fps average.

[barrabruce]

low recoil 311241 150pb with @ 4 grns bullseye drip lubed out of mould.
think @ 900-950 fps.
will hit steel at 300 mtres but it's mostly all hold over.
think 22 lr tragedy with a big bigger noise when it hits.

had fun with 311466 and lee 170 as well witthout those peaty gas checks.

thats what I like. ymmv.

I only got a sigle shot thou.
about as cheap to shoot as local sourced cheap 22 lr.

all the above are good also if you think you need more bang.

[Horace]

Another low recoil load,4.5 grains of Red Dot with a RCBS CM 150 plain base .311''about 1000 fps out of a Savage 99 303 Savage.

Horace

[sghart3578]

I use the Lee C309-150F also. I use it a lot. I tumble lube and load them over 2.7 gr of Bullseye for a plinker. For a 100 yard load you could try 8 gr of Unique. My grandsons and I shoot for hours with this load.

[Ramjet-SS]

Unique with a 170-190 grain cast FP GC allot of fun to shoot.

[fecmech]

A good plinker for me is 6 grs of Bullseye with any 150 gr bullet and you don't need a gas check. Duplicates a .22 long rifle at 1200 fps and will ring steel all day.

[Pb2au]

32 cal buckshot resized to .311", tumble lubed in alox. When sized, it creates a flat belt along the middle of the 'boolit'.
Seat this over 5 grains of unique. I seat it to the point where the radius just meets the mouth of the case. Ultra light crimp.

[MT Chambers]

Lyman (and I) really like 311041 and 18 grains of IMR 4198 for approx. 1600 fps.

[rintinglen]

311-466 and 17.5 grains of 2400 makes for a dandy load. I have a 4 cavity NOE that is one of my absolute favorites. I have loaded hundreds upon hundreds of these and they are great.

[rosst]

170-190grn. boolits at 1600fps have a good mixture of thump at both ends, not to much and not so little as to be wimpy.
used 7.0grns Unique for years for subsonic loads for goat culling, while effective with a suppressor for that purpose and cheap to run ... range is very limited requiring constant rangefinder readings and use of the scope dial or mildot style reticle at anything past 70 yards . .. with 1600fps shooting is a breeze out to 120 yards without using rangefinfer etc.
RCBS 180 FN is my mold of choice at the moment.

[Salmoneye]

Try this data:

http://www.gmdr.com/lever/3030w170_dat.htm

Other calibers and weights:

http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

[FergusonTO35]

My 336T really likes the Lee 309-150-F over 26 grains 4895, also the C309-113F with 18 grains 4227. I'm sure a 94 would like 'em as well!!

[FLHTC]

I like the Lee C309-150-F over 15.5 grains of Alliant 2400 for 1,703 fps average.

I've gone up to 17.5 grains of 2400 with a 150 grain bullet and got some excellent accuracy.
That is now my "Go To" load for my 30-30s thanks to rintinglen

[pls1911]

30-30 and 45-70 are rifle rounds i load... a lot, 5-700 each per year.
Reloader 7 at 25-26.5 gr. is an ideal powder for cast bullets 150-175 grains per year and will drop a deer or pig to 150 yards with a shoulder shot... and the recoil is quite moderate.
SAECO 315, Ranch Dog 165 , Lyman 311041, or RCBS 180FP all will do nicely if they're big enough (.310 or more), and hard enough.
I use 50-50 ww /roofing lead. It casts soft (9-10) and oven heat treats hard (mid 20s bhn) without the brittleness of Linotype.. This alloy is great to 2000 fps (I normally shoot at 1800-1900), hits hard and does NOT break up like linotype.
I'm a died in the wool Marlin guy, and these are fabulous shooters, never having leading issues.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

In a couple of 94's, one a carbine and the other a regular rife, I use 3031. I started with 25 grains knowing that the max load is around 30 grains. I found that grouping was the best at 27 grains; moderate recoil, burns clean. A number of other powders work as well; lots of data around in many manuals. Bullet used- 311291....311041 will also work. As previously stated you can go up a bit and see what your gun likes. LLS

[pls1911]

Second post here... You mentioned concern regarding recoil.
I gave my brother a scoped, late '70s 336 in 30-30 a couple of years back, along with a couple of hundred cast bullet rounds made up with SAECO #315s and 25.5 grains of Reloader 7. He was skeptical when I told him he's likely make his Brownings in .270 and 243 safe queens. Why? Because the report was gentle compared to the high pressure muzzle blast of the other two, and the recoil was not much different than an AR-15... very gentle.
The first weekend at the ranch, he took three pigs. At 100 yards under the kitchen feeder, one right between the eyes, one shoulder shot broadside, the other corn holed at 150 yards running dead away. Three shots, three pigs in about a minute.
All dropped in their shadow. A convert? OH, YEAH!!!
"Dang, these little guns are actually fun to shoot!!"
His other rifles have only seen the light of day for periodic or semi annual cleaning.
Others of his friends have become converts as well, to the point I tell 'em were to go buy cast bullets. I can't feed em all...

[lovedogs]

For slow loads with both 150 and 170 grainers use Trail Boss. For fast loads use 3031 for both weights. This is what works for me.

[quilbilly]

15 gr. of 5744 works great for mine and is a joy to shoot all day long.

[Dan Cash]

10 grains 2400 undeer about any .30 cast bullet you have on hand. Good for 250 yards and no recoil.