Light 30-30 cast loads

[Mauser48]

Im looking for a light cast 30-30 load for 100 or less yard plinking and maybe some jack rabbit hunting. I dont cast my own bullets yet so i will need a bullet that is already manufactured by some company. Im using this in a marlin 336 with ballard rifling. I dont know if the heavier 170 grain bullets would be ok or go with something lighter. Would i need to expand the case mouth to except the larger .310 bullet? Im also stuck on shat powder to use. I dont know if i need a magnum pistol powder or a rifle powder. If possible a rifle powder would be better because it is easiest for me to get. Do i need hard cast or standard? Im also looking for a lower velocity round so gas checks are not an issue. Lastly, how do i create a load that will not lead up the barrel? Anyone help is appreciated im not really sure where to start on this one i mostly work with jacketed bullets. Thanks guys!

[Yodogsandman]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?269624-A-30-30-gallery-load

[nagantguy]

Mile and miles have been written here on this very subject. My current favorite fun plinking gong clanging load is a 165 grain boolit over 10-12 unquie.

[Baja_Traveler]

I use a 115 grain 311008 over 8-10 grains Unique in my M94 Buffalo Bill. Practically zero recoil and a great rabbit load out to 75 yards...

[dh2]

http://www.shop.rmrbullets.com/30-Carbine-110-Grain-Jacketed-Round-Nose-500-Count-30-carbine-110-FMJ-500-Ct.htm
my cheap plinker load for the 30-30 before casting was the 110gr 30 carbine bullet pushed by IMR3031. cheap and low recoil

[dh2]

http://lucky13bullets.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29&products_id=156
I was told about these to day they could do it too

[JWFilips]

The OP states he doesn't cast so needs to buy commercial cast Well we all know most of us that use traditional cast boolits in light loads like them fat and soft! Something unknown to commercial suppliers! Maybe Mauser48 needs a starter kit of some "fat" light load 30-30 boolits? Don't you think?

[Bzcraig]

The OP states he doesn't cast so needs to buy commercial cast Well we all know most of us that use traditional cast boolits in light loads like them fat and soft! Something unknown to commercial suppliers! Maybe Mauser48 needs a starter kit of some "fat" light load 30-30 boolits? Don't you think?

Yes sir, I concur.

Mauser48, pm me your mailing address and I will pour 100 Lee 309-113 for you and lube them with 45-45-10 Alox to try. My favorite powder for plinking in 30-30 is Trail Boss.

[rking22]

several years ago I spent many entertaing hours reading about exactly what you seek, plug "Light 30-30" into the search box and pull up a comfortable chair and cold , or warm, beverage.
As stated above you want to look at the cowboy bullets ,not "hard" and plainbase is fine. I like 6 gr reddot with the 130 or 140 gr bullets. Shot gobs of them with 8 gr of Unique and 9 or 10 of Herco. You do not want magnum pistol powder except 2400 or 4227, and they really don't do anything the Reddot, bullseye and unique wont do with a PB cast boolit. trailboss ,tightgroup,titewad ,promo,,, really any of the 12ga shotgun powders can be worked up if need be. Great thing about the 30WCF, very easy to feed :)
above is what has worked for me, but there may be even better choices.

[Mauser48]

Bump. Is 700x a possible powder? I already buy that for 12 gauge.

[JWFilips]

Bump. Is 700x a possible powder? I already buy that for 12 gauge.
While I haven't used that I have seen it mentioned here.
go to the upper right search box on this forum "Google Custom search" Type in "light 30-30 loads with 700x"
For instance it will bring up this
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?198545-30-30-loads-with-x-700-or-HP-38-can-it-be-done

[Janoosh]

If you don't cast :
A google search for 30/32 cal pistol boolits, or 32/20 boolits will help. But not as much as the good members here. Lots of good people here.

[TXGunNut]

Hang around here much and pretty soon you'll be asking about moulds and furnaces. Then sizers and lubes. Go ahead and pick up a hot plate if you run across one on sale. ;-)

[Hammerhead]

I use the .309" Magnus 115 LRN over 6.0 grains of Trail Boss (1100 fps) I coat the bullets in liquid alox to ​eliminate leading. If you don't have Trail Boss, Unique or Red Dot would be my choice.

[cosmoline one]

Bump. Is 700x a possible powder? I already buy that for 12 gauge.

Definately! - See this post:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?260280-H-amp-r-157&p=3018352#post3018352

[scattershot]

Both Hunter and Meister offer a 165 grain flatpoint boolit for the 30/30. You can specify a diameter, too, within reason. They shoot well for me in my Marlin with 6.5 Red Dot and a puff of Dacron. I would imagine about the same load of 700x would be workable. The Red Dot load gives about 1150 fps, more or less, and they are great fun to shoot.

[DrCaveman]

Check this out
http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

Led me to try 6 gr ramshot competition with a 150 rnfp lee, nice small load

[clum553946]

I'm partial to 10.7 gr Unique under the 135 gr. Lfp Missouri cast

[Pb2au]

I would humbly suggest my favorite plinking load.
00 buckshot sized to .311". When it goes through the Lee push through sizer, it becomes oblong. Coat with Lee alox.
6 grains of unique, seat the buckshot boolit to the point where the smooth side is just in the neck, leaving the top radius proud of the neck.
Shoot and enjoy.
The Lee sizer will cost a whopping 20$, with the alox. Since the OP is already reloading, he has the press for the sizer. Buckshot can be bought from our friends at hornady.

[georgerkahn]

I would humbly suggest my favorite plinking load.
00 buckshot sized to .311". When it goes through the Lee push through sizer, it becomes oblong. Coat with Lee alox.
6 grains of unique, seat the buckshot boolit to the point where the smooth side is just in the neck, leaving the top radius proud of the neck.
Shoot and enjoy.
The Lee sizer will cost a whopping 20$, with the alox. Since the OP is already reloading, he has the press for the sizer. Buckshot can be bought from our friends at hornady.
I am very intrigues vis this method! Might you be able to post a photo of a loaded round? Sadly (for me) I don't have a Lee push through sizer -- might you also provide the actual i.d. on this, so I may order the correct die from Titan, Midway, or ???)?
Thanks much and BEST!
george

[longline]

Good morning. I have been successful with the Missouri whitetail #2 165 grain .309 diameter and PBC 150 @ 310 diameter. I load 6.5 to 7.0 grains of Green Dot and CCI or Wini lg rifle primers and shoot these from my Wini 94AE. Good accuracy from 50 and 100 yds. Drops a good 5" over the 50 yds. Not much recoil at all and no leading. Just using what the LGS had available at the time in powder.
Have a good day!

[Pb2au]

I am very intrigues vis this method! Might you be able to post a photo of a loaded round? Sadly (for me) I don't have a Lee push through sizer -- might you also provide the actual i.d. on this, so I may order the correct die from Titan, Midway, or ???)?
Thanks much and BEST!
george

Product info
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/523184/lee-bullet-lube-and-size-kit-311-diameter?cm_vc=ProductFinding

The only kink is seating the "boolit" as the standard seating die can be a bit too short and not reach the boolit. I just got a little creative to find a solution. I will get some pics of my system.
I will get a picture of the finished 30-30 round and post it this evening.

[Janoosh]

Welcome longline.
Mauser48, I use a boolit of @ 125-140 grns for plinking/small game in my 30/30. Greendot powder, any available primer as these are plinkin rounds.
Most of the Major cast boolit manufacturers have these type.
I cast 311410, 308241, 311359, 311316, 313226. These are single cavity molds and it takes time to build up stock.
I buy 32 cal (312-314) lead pistol boolits, or 32/20 boolits because they are sold in bulk. I use an old set of Herters (original ) of 30/30 dies that have a expander for cast. I also use an old 311 m die to open the neck. Most times I don't have to resize the case, just the neck.
Hope this helps.

[Pb2au]

So here is my concoction.....
132889

Here is a top view;
132890
And here is my ghetto solution to seating the bullet.
132891
I take the push through sizing die, put the push stem into it and use it to dead head against and simply eyeball the seating. After I double check with a caliper.
ive also used a 45-70 seating die. It has the length to set up and maintain a more accurate final OAL.
I hope this helps!

[popper]

How many grains in 00 shot?

[Pb2au]

Popper,
If memory serves me right, I believe mine weigh about 52 grains.
I'll throw one on the scale later for confirmation.

[Pb2au]

54 grains is the answer.

[Mauser48]

Thanks for all the help guys! One last bump. I got a pound of blue dot and a little bit of unique yesterday. Which one would work better and how many grains? Thanks!

[Mauser48]

I forgot to add that one of the kind members here sent me the lee 309-113 bullet from the soup can mold. Now I just have to find the right powder charge!

[flydoc]

The Lyman handbook lists loads for 115 grain boolit using unique @7.5 gr (1480fps) up to max of 11.4Gr (1913fps) and 700x loads from 7.0gr(1415fps) to max of 8.9gr (1643fps). Your 113 gr boolit should work with the same recipes.

[Mauser48]

The Lyman handbook lists loads for 115 grain boolit using unique @7.5 gr (1480fps) up to max of 11.4Gr (1913fps) and 700x loads from 7.0gr(1415fps) to max of 8.9gr (1643fps). Your 113 gr boolit should work with the same recipes.

Thanks thats what i needed!

[Mauser48]

Just getting ready to load the lee 309-113 in 30-30. Does anyone have an exact seating depth? Also if anyone has experience with these in 30-06 do you have a seating depth for that? Thanks a lot guys you have been great! I will post pics of the results. Im going to the range friday hopefully my 336 front sight will arrive in time. If not I would still like to bring the 30-06.

[Mauser48]

Oh yeah bump!

[kawasakifreak77]

I'e had pretty good luck with store bought 165gr flat points from Midway & 8 grains of red dot.

[dougader]

http://lucky13bullets.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29&products_id=156
I was told about these to day they could do it too

For $36/500 I ordered the 500 to try. At that price, I wouldn't even bother casting and using up my diminishing stock of lead ingots. I'll try them in my contender 30/30, savage 99 in .308 and the 30-06 model 700.

[kjohn]

Love this stuff! I have fired a goodly number of 93 gr. Lee with 5gr 700X invarious 30-30's, plus other weights. The only thing I find that doesn't work all that well is that the light bullet will flip up too high on the loading gate unless working the lever (94) a bit more slowly.

I have a nicely redone Model 99 take-down 30-30 that I shall have to load for. I love loading and shooting lighter cast loads. I recently scored a 10lb cardboard keg of Unique. 10 gr of Unique under a 150 gr + or - cast bullet is good for a lot of calibers. Can be very accurate.

[Bookworm]

I do something similar. Lee .311 roundball, lube with 45-45-10.
2g Clays will go ~800fps from my Mossberg 464. No recoil, good 25yds accuracy.
I've loaded some with 2.3 & 2.5g, but haven't fired them yet.

[Bula]

Are gas checks needed for these loads? I just scored a few pounds of Unique and I only have one .30 cal mold. It's the Lyman 311041. I've been wanting to try the 10 grain universal Unique load.

[popper]

Bula - keep the base in the neck and use some dacron. It will work but accuracy may be poor depending on alloy and cartridge.

[rhouser]

Bula, only my opinion, but, I try to go naked at cat sneeze velocities. The gas check is much harder than the lead and I have heard stories of gas checks being left behind in the barrel. If that happened, it could get embarrassing. Again, may just be another "old guys tale", but, it also saves me 1.5 cents a shot. If you are up at the 800-900 FPS levels, then let accuracy answer your question. I have some GC boolits that shoot just fine naked.

Just my 2 cents
rch

[Warbird43]

I am new to Cast Boolits and looking for reduced load for plink in with my Winchester 94AE, 20" bbl., 30-30 using 150 Grain X-treme bullets. I have found plenty of data for Alliant Unique, but as most of you know presently Unique is almost nonexistent. FYI: I would like to keep the velocity in the 1800 FPS range. Question has anyone used Clay's with their 30-30 ? I have had a lot of success reloading 44Mag & Special, and 41 Mag for my Henry rifles using Clay's for the typical hunting loads, but not a reduced load for plinking in the 30-30. I would appreciate any feed-back or links that might be helpful. Thank you

[1006]

I do not think a velocity above 1450 is achievable with Clays and the 150 grain bullet. You need a slower powder.

Alliant 2400, or IMR 4227 would work.

I use 17.0 2400 with the 150grain Berry Bullet and get 1780fps from a 16 inch barrel. However, 15.5 2400 was more accurate at 1683fps.

[quilbilly]

It doesn't necessarily apply to you but I have a T/C Contender 10" barrel 30/30 and it absolutely loves the Lee 115 gr RFGC with 8 gr. of Bullseye. I have never chronographed this load (sometime soon though) but it feels slightly hotter than my 32/20 load with the same boolit in another T/C 10" at an MV of about 1300 fps.

[rintinglen]

I am new to Cast Boolits and looking for reduced load for plink in with my Winchester 94AE, 20" bbl., 30-30 using 150 Grain X-treme bullets. I have found plenty of data for Alliant Unique, but as most of you know presently Unique is almost nonexistent. FYI: I would like to keep the velocity in the 1800 FPS range. Question has anyone used Clay's with their 30-30 ? I have had a lot of success reloading 44Mag & Special, and 41 Mag for my Henry rifles using Clay's for the typical hunting loads, but not a reduced load for plinking in the 30-30. I would appreciate any feed-back or links that might be helpful. Thank you

Sometimes you can't get there from here. Clays is much too fast to use for an 1800 FPS load in the 30-30.
I have had great success using 2400, but with a fast burning powder like Clays, Red Dot, 700x et. al., you are going to be restricted by pressure considerations to <1500 FPS, more like 1400 in a 20 inch barrel.

The X-treme website says to load these to a maximum velocity of 1800 fps in 308 Winchester, so I would heed that limit in the 30-30 as well. Powders that have worked for me for similar purposes have been 2400, 5744, and IMR 4759, (though they discontinued it a couple years back, it is still a fine powder for reduced, or mid-range, rifle loads). IMR 4227 also has advocates, but I have no experience. Trail Boss has also been suggested, but only for subsonic loads.

If all you have (or all you can get) is Clays, I would load 6.0 grains, try it and nudge upwards to a max of 7.0 grains looking for best accuracy, and bearing in mind that this is a very fast powder. Your loads will hit low, even at 25 yards, so adjust your sights accordingly. Extra care must be taken to verify your powder charge--6.0 grains doesn't take up much room and you could easily fit a double, triple or even quadruple charge in the case.

[DiamondD]

I am new to Cast Boolits and looking for reduced load for plink in with my Winchester 94AE, 20" bbl., 30-30 using 150 Grain X-treme bullets. I have found plenty of data for Alliant Unique, but as most of you know presently Unique is almost nonexistent. FYI: I would like to keep the velocity in the 1800 FPS range. Question has anyone used Clay's with their 30-30 ? I have had a lot of success reloading 44Mag & Special, and 41 Mag for my Henry rifles using Clay's for the typical hunting loads, but not a reduced load for plinking in the 30-30. I would appreciate any feed-back or links that might be helpful. Thank you

What the others have said about Clays not being ideal here is true. If you don't have one of the slower pistol powders like 2400, Unique or 4227 I would opt for a starting load of IMR-4198 or 3031. Lyman 50th shows a starting load with the 150 Hornady RN jacketed bullet of 20.5 grains of 4198 for 1884 fps from a 24" barrel and 26.5 grains of 3031@1876 fps. I have no experience with the X-Treme bullets so don't know how well that would translate but I'd think that either of those loads would get you about where you want to be.

[technojock]

This isn't exactly what you asked for but for commercially available boolits, they're close. These are copper plated cast .308" 110g cast bullets. I've shot them from my .300 Blackout and .30-30.
https://www.xtremebullets.com/30-CARB-110-RN-p/xc30carb-110rn-b0500.htm

Tony

[Alferd Packer]

Get a cast Bullet loading manual.
.Safer than starting loading from internet.
Read the manual first.
More than once.
Use it to make your first loads.

[10x]

I use a 115 grain 311008 over 8-10 grains Unique in my M94 Buffalo Bill. Practically zero recoil and a great rabbit load out to 75 yards...

What a coincidence. I use this same bullet from an NOE 5 cavity mold, powder coated, sized to 0.310" and it has incredible accuracy, recoil isn't noticeable, and it is quiet.

[popper]

http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm
Shows 13-1400 with R.D. and 170 gr bullet. About 6 gr to start.