Harris Lee CTL312-160 a good choice?

[PBSmith]

I've just read the interesting thread started by Elkins45 (Best All-Around 30 cal Design). My question is similar but with a somewhat narrower scope.

I'm hoping to find a good 30 caliber bullet for use in two different rifles.

One is a .30-30 lever action sold as WesternField by Monkey Ward, manufactured by Mossberg from what I understand. This Model 72's bore slugs at .3015 x .309" and has eight grooves. In preliminary trials the 170-gr LaserCast RNFP (.310) shows good promise.

The other is an 1898 Springfield .30-40 Krag rifle, uncut/unmolested, bearing a 1901 stock stamp. Bore in this rifle goes .301 x .3085, four-grooved. Haven't tried cast in the Krag yet, but 165-grain .308 PSP jacketed (Midway bulk) do well - at 50 yards anyhow.


Been reading here and believe I might like to try the Lee CTL 312-160 (90361) as an accuracy hopeful in both rifles. Paper will be the main quarry, and I will be loading on the slow side of the velocity spectrum unless accuracy dictates faster. G-checked or not - no matter to me.

I'm open to other suggestions, either in Lee or other mold lines

Or is this going to be a sure-fire exercise in futility, each gun wanting its own baby?

Edit: Should have added that one shot will do in either rifle. However, in the WF 72 (a take-off from the Marlin 336) I want to limit COAL at 2.55".

[frkelly74]

I will state the obvious. A pointed boolit will not be good for a tubular magazine rifle. I have used that boolit in 30/06 loads for my garand and have loaded some in 30/30 for my single shot H&R 30/30with no problems. Both apps I sized at .311 by the way. Most of my 30/30 loadings were with a Lee 160 gr 309 boolit which I found reliable and fun to shoot.

[MT Gianni]

Do a pound cast and compare throats. It may or may not work. The suggested bullet in the mod 94 would be a 2 shot, one in the chamber and one in the magazine if it feeds.

[Artful]

You will find several versions of this bullet - Lee, NOE, NEI etc
one thing you will notice the the tip is different and as you are using a
Westernfield 30-30 which I assume has the tubular magazine I'd look for
one with a flat nose (NOE). It is a good all around bullet design

- I've used it mainly in 7.62x39, 300 Whisper(Blackout) and 308 (7.62x51 NATO)

[Wolfer]

My first 30 cal mold was a Lyman 311041. Very accurate in my 3 30-06s a 30-40 Krag and a 30-30

I would be willing to try something different but never saw the need. Maybe I'm just lucky.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

Lyman 311041
Never a bad choice to begin with in any .30 cal rifle.
I would suggest sizing no more than required to chamber to begin with.

Lee C309-170-F
Another good one to begin with.
Some have a nose too large for Marlin's. I have two of these molds, and they have different nose diameters. See what works.

Stay with a flat nose bullet if you only want one mold for both rifles. Flat nose is paramount for safety in tubular magazines. The flat nose improves effectiveness on game regardless of what rifle launches it.

Just my humble opinion ....

[Outpost75]

HM2 and Accurate, maybe NOE also, make a flat-nosed version of the Harris bullet having a 0.155 meplat, same as .30-30 factory ammo and safe in tube magazines. Only issue is whether nose diameter ahead of crimp groove might impinge against rifling in your .30-30 if it has a short throat. I had Tom at Accurate Molds cut 31-155D plainbase for me to fit my circa 1942 Winchester 94. Would be real easy to add a GC heel onto this is you wanted a 170-ish grain GC bullet for. 30-30.

My bullet lightly engraves on chambering like Eley Tenex in a .22 match rifle. I use in '03 Springfield, Winchester 54 and 94 Win.

[PBSmith]

Thanks all for your suggestions. Any ideas where I might buy these various designs from a commercial caster before investing in a set of blocks?

[Hickok]

Thanks all for your suggestions. Any ideas where I might buy these various designs from a commercial caster before investing in a set of blocks?You already have it if you are using Laser cast 170 gr FN. It is the same as the Lyman #311041. Did you get these with gas checks installed?

[PBSmith]

Thank you Mr. Hickok,
No, my sample of LC 170's came to me w/out Gcheck installed. Thought they looked like the 311041 but wasn't sure. Maybe I'll purchase a bag, launch a few through the Krag and see what happens.

[Hickok]

PB order a Lee push through sizer in .310 or .311". Then get some gas checks. Go to the vendor section of this site. Also, the lube that Laser cast uses on their boolits sucks. The easiest way to fix this is Tumble loob the boolits with Lee LLA. The Lee sizer comes with a bottle of LLA.

Like the fellows said, the Lyman # 311041 is a great all round boolit in .30 caliber. The Lee 309-170-F is a good boolit along the lines of the Lyman FN.155914

[singleshot]

I really like the Lee 312-160 for my SKS's and Mosins, though I also like heavier boolits in the Mosins. For 30-30 my favorite boolit is the Ranchdog design you can get from various makers. The Ranchdog has a nice meplat that really smacks game down and is safe in lever actions. It's also designed for the typical Marlin or Win 30-30 throat, which may or may not be the same as yours.

[Larry Gibson]

My first 30 cal mold was a Lyman 311041. Very accurate in my 3 30-06s a 30-40 Krag and a 30-30

I would be willing to try something different but never saw the need. Maybe I'm just lucky.

+ another.

Larry Gibson

[singleshot]

Hmmm, it looks to me like the Lyman 311041 fills the same bill as the Ranchdog 30-30. I can't be sure looking at pictures, but it appears the 311041 has a smaller meplat. I suppose availability and cost might drive the decision. If you had one, doesn't look like the other would be needed.