.30 caliber mold recommendations

[Marlin Junky]

I'm looking for .30 cal. PP mold recommendations. Are the current NEI molds quality merchandise? NEI used to catalog a couple interesting PP designs in .30 cal. and I'm looking for a mold to cast a bullet that may eventually be used to harvest big game. 200 plus grains from a 10" twist '06 at 2500 fps or better with 1.5 MOA accuracy is the goal... are these reasonable expectations?

MJ

[45 2.1]

Yes, your expectations are entirely possible. As far as design, a boolit with minor grooves along it's body with a silight bevel base and a short to medium length nose with a LFN profile at 0.301" body diameter would be a good place to start.

[pdawg_shooter]

I like the Lyman 311284, sized .301 and patched back up.

[docone31]

I love the C312/185 Lee casting. When I size it down to .308 with no gas check, it is a sweet trim boolitt. I paper patch and then size to .311. I use the lowest loading for the weight on the Lee die sheet with 4895.
A daggoned good wrapping. It fits in my cigarette machine and the wraps are great. I use Meade Tracing paper.
The length is 2 3/8 X 1".

[Marlin Junky]

I don't see that 200 grainer from NEI anymore. Maybe I'll have MM cut a PP mold for me.

MJ

[Marlin Junky]

45 2.1,

How much of the bullet, in terms of percent, should be bearing surface? Should I stick with a 60% meplat?

MJ

[Jim B.]

Ranch Dog Moulds sells a line of moulds designed for the Marlin rifles but should work well in any rifle of appropriate calibre (www.ranchdogmolds.com). Their bullets use micro-grooves and would, I think, size down well for paper patching. I am considering one of their molds for my .45-70. The prices are surprisingly low so I don't feel that I am risking much in giving them a try. Jim B.

[uscra112]

I have a 336 in .30-30 myself. It has the "deep cut" Microgroove. My other 336 is a .35 Rem, with the shallow Microgroove, and it does great work with paper jackets. I thought I'd try PP in a .30-30, too.

I bought the .30-30 about 8 years ago, and promptly did a chamber cast. It has a terribly steep leade, which immediately put me off. You may want to look at yours, to see what it's shaped like. Could be that NO PP will work in it, the patches being shredded by that leade before the boolit even makes it into the barrel proper.

Don't take this as a whack against the 336 - I love 'em. My first deer rifle was that .35 Rem. If I ever have to go back to just one rifle, this will be it, and not just because of nostalgia. It's just so darned versatile!

My back-of-the-mind thought for the .30-30 is to do what C.E. Harris recommended in an old Rifleman article I have, which is to ream the throat out to a much shallower leade angle. Haven't done it yet. Like about 200 other projects.

Maybe when I retire - it won't be long now . . . .