Ranch Dog bullets

[tom barthel]

I'm considering buying the Ranch Dog TLC 311- 165 Rf for use in my .30-30 improved NEF Handi-Rifle. I noticed he designed and tested the bullet for Marlin rifles only. Does anyone have experience with this bullet in a Handi .30-30? My rate of twist in 1 in 10. My main powder choice is surplus IMR 4895 and WC 844. The WC844 is supposed to be about like H335. I am now working with the LEE C309-170F. I really like the Ranch Dog .44 bullet.

[sundog]

Tom, there is some 30-30 data on castpics.

[Denver]

i have the RD TL 165 6 cavity mold. It works great in my Marlins and Winchesters, but will not chamber in my HiWall Traditional Hunter when seated and crimped in the crimp groove. The rifling starts engraving the nose well before the round is fully chambered. Can't say how it might work in your rifle. I could send you a few to try if you like.

:Fire::castmine::Fire

[dk17hmr]

I just got my RD mold. I plan on shooting them in my 30-30 NEF, as of right now I have shot it in a Remington 722 in 300 Savage and my brothers Marlin 30-30. Both cases look promising with this bullet. I also plan on using it in my 30-06's, 1 is a 1903 Springfield the other is an M1Garand, and my 7.62x54r Mosin Nagant.

Should work well in the NEF

[tom barthel]

Denver, I thank you for your kind offer. That's one of the things that makes this site great. I've finally decided to go ahead and get a mold. I have the .30-30 improved and four .308 rifles. I also have two .30-06 rifles. I'm sure the bullet will work out in one if the rifles. I use the LEE C309-170F now in all the thirty caliber rifles. I just like the nose on the Ranch Dog design. I've got to find the mailing address for Ranch Dog and send him a money order. I don't do credit. Don't have or want a credit card. I figure if I want something, I'll pay up front. Right now I can afford a two cavity mold so, I'm going to get one.

[Ranch Dog]

Tom, I sent you a email.

[tom barthel]

Michael
I got the e-mail. You will have my money order next week.
Thanks
Tom

[siamese4570]

Tom: The RD 30-165 works in my handi 30-30. I did have to trim all my brass to the recommended trim length, otherwise the boolit would just barely touch the rifling when crimped in the top groove. Hope this helps. Where you at in oklahoma? I'm in broken arrow.

Siamese 4570

[Junior1942]

How well do those 30-30 Handi barrels shoot cast?

[siamese4570]

Junior: Not to well yet, but I had problems with the mold and had to send it back to LEE. Good news is that they sent me a new one to replace the first one. They said it was casting out of round boolits. Did get one group of about two inches at 100 yards with the ones that I cast with the first mold. I'll keep you posted.

Siamese4570

[leftiye]

I'm having the same worries about my 45-70 Handi. Even more so about Paper patched. Guess I'll just Have to "try it you'll (maybe) like it." I hope.

[Junior1942]

I'm having the same worries about my 45-70 Handi. Even more so about Paper patched. Guess I'll just Have to "try it you'll (maybe) like it." I hope.Check this article out. http://www.castbullet.com/shooting/1871.htm It's about my 22" 45-70 Handi. My 32" 45-70 barrel with the same loads as in the article, shoots 1 to 1.5 MOA with target peep sights.

[Tom W.]

Mine shoots cast really well, but I'm wanting to rechamber it to 30/30 a.i. if I can find someone near by that can do it without charging me two arms and a leg....

[curator]

I have good results shooting cast in my 1990's vintage Handi-rilfle in .30-30 AI. I am using a LBT 312-180LFN bullet that I cast from wheel weight aloy and water-drop quench from the mould. This bullet is very accurate using 33 grains of AA2520giving a velocity of 2350 fps. The flat nose on it makes it very effective for white-tail hunting. Getting the Handi to shoot cast required .312 (actually .3115" diameter bullets since the "recommended" .309 diameter bullets were all over the place.

[tom barthel]

Tom: The RD 30-165 works in my handi 30-30. I did have to trim all my brass to the recommended trim length, otherwise the boolit would just barely touch the rifling when crimped in the top groove. Hope this helps. Where you at in oklahoma? I'm in broken arrow.

Siamese 4570

I live in Muskogee.
I went ahead and loaded up about 15 rounds for further evaluation. I trim ALL my brass. I'm starting out with 30 grains of IMR4895 and a CCI large rifle primer. My rifle hasn't blown up yet. Use caution in working up any loads for your rifle. I think I'll wait for a couple of warm dry days before going shooting. I rented an AI reamer and made mine an improved chamber. I now wish I had left it alone. There is NOTHING wrong with the .30-30.

[tom barthel]

I have good results shooting cast in my 1990's vintage Handi-rilfle in .30-30 AI. I am using a LBT 312-180LFN bullet that I cast from wheel weight aloy and water-drop quench from the mould. This bullet is very accurate using 33 grains of AA2520giving a velocity of 2350 fps. The flat nose on it makes it very effective for white-tail hunting. Getting the Handi to shoot cast required .312 (actually .3115" diameter bullets since the "recommended" .309 diameter bullets were all over the place.

Thanks curator. If I get that result with my rifle I'll try a few as cast. I'll have to shoot some empties first.

[beemerjimmy]

I've had excellent results (accuracy) with the Lee 170 boolit with 7.9 gr. of Trail Boss.

[Bluehawk]

Junior to answer your question.
I LOVE the handis I own several and barrels. currently I have 22hornet;223;30/30;30/06; 38/55;and 45/70 I did onw one in 308 (Ultra some years back but got rid of it like a dope ) My closest freiad has all of the ablove plus 25/06;270 Win ; and 35 Whelen .
As much as I like them it come down to the individual barrel IMHO. My 22 hornet shot cast fine on a borrowed mold but I havn't got around to buying one for my self and I went back to J bullets for that one . My buddies hornet willnot shoot cast worth a hoot. MY 30/30 does not shoot cast very well , and tha is after trying three different weights and shapes and God knows how many powders and charges . Shoots the sierra 150 Round nose allday into under and inch at 100yards with either Varget , H4895 , or 3031 Currently Im using 31.6 of 3031 and its a great load so im not going back . MY 45/70 will shoot ONLY Water quenched WW bullets fomr the Lyman 385RN mold if i keep the velocity at right at 1500 less or more speed will not shot well , my gun also will not shoot anything over 400 grains at all jacketed or cast but shoots jaclketed bullets well in the 350 grains or less category . My 30/06 willnot sytart shooting weel until 180 bullets are put in there ( im going to try cast in that soon the 180 RCBS FN may shoot well )
MY friends 35 Whelen shoots cast bullets nicelly allong with his 45/70 his shoots the RD 425 bullet exceptionaly well MINE ont ???
From what i have seen and read its a crap shoot as to which youru barrel will shoot You just have to get one and try it out I went back to my levers for cast in the 30/30 JUST my experience

[Junior1942]

. . . . From what i have seen and read its a crap shoot as to which youru barrel will shoot You just have to get one and try it out I went back to my levers for cast in the 30/30 JUST my experienceThanks, Bluehawk, that was good info. Looks like I'll go to another 30-30 platform. Maybe a T-C Contender.

[Bluehawk]

Junior
I got rid of all my Contenders a few years ago. I had the same problem with them IM NOT PUTTING EITHER OF THEM DOWN! Both the Handis and TCAs are all good firearms . I had pretty much the same cals. in the contender 22 hornet; 223 45/70 ; and 35 Remington The 35 Remington barrel I had might just have been the most accurate firearm I have ever owned . I t got too expensive and i had the same problem with their barrels as I did with the handis, as far as cast is concerned , BUT barrels cost as much, for the contenders as getting a whole new handi . I figured i would save money buy buying barrels and handis and if it didnt work out id still have SOMETHING!
Like I mentioned the 30/30 barel I have now will just not shoot the cast, but its a tack driver with those bullets and I cant imagine not being able to do almost everything i'd ask a 30/30 to do with those bullets A little more expensive than cast BUT again once I got that load im set for tha barrel . I have 26 bullets left out of that box, loading them up this week , then i'll order another box of 100 next time they go on sale, at one of the places like Midway or Natchez etc and with all the other guns I have and other cals that box just might last me the rest of my life . Once i get a firearm with one good load i dont change it . IF it wont do what i want it to do in a certain situation I go to another rifle or handgun .
I have the luxury of owning two more 30/30s, both Win 94s so I dont have to worry about if I want to use cast in that Handi . I went out a few years ago and bought a Cowboy Commenerative 94 that had never been fired just to have a gun that no J bullets had ever been used in ( after reading articles about "Beater rifles and " Heart Attack Rifles " I wanted one just for cast using the 180Rcbs fn ,)
All in all I LOVE the handis BUT your taking your chances on wether it will shoot cast or not .BUT if it does Not it will CERTAINLY shoot something after experimenting with it .
My 38/55 was a problem for a long time after owning it .Quirks with how the rifles wer made were certainly a problem . BUT thanx to a lot of help and suggestions from guys here it now shoots cast wonderfuly well . I took a deer with it last year with a 260 grain .380 bullet at about 45 yards . Took an awful lot of rounds to get it shooting but now its fantastic and I have that one load that i never figure on changing . I had bought commercial bullets to figure that one out used everything from 377 to 381 till I finally got it worked out . AS soon as Ranch Dog starts taking orders again I will order one of his molds for it it will probably work out the best. BUT the gun just had to be worked with

[Junior1942]

More good info, Bluehawk. I'm wanting to make the ideal thicket gun. Ideal for my purposes, anyway. I'm thinking a cast bullet 10" Contender in either 30-30 or 44 mag. Looks like it now might be a 44 mag. I will shoot the Lee 310 or the RD 285. I'm hoping maybe 1400 fps with either of those bullets from the 10" barrel. A 75 yd shot will be a long one.

I want a gun I can wear in a holster and cover with a poncho if needed. I want nothing in my hands to create movement while stalking. I'll probably put a 1x to 1.5X scope on it.

[Scrounger]

I can never get comfortable with pistol scopes and fast isn't going to be possible at all. If I were going to play that game, I'd go with a Red Dot scope. Eye relief isn't a factor and a plus in low light situations. At the ranges intended and for deer size targets, 0 magnification is not a handicap. Got an extra Red Dot sight I bought recently from a guy in Louisiana if you need it.

[Junior1942]

Scrounger, that red dot I had doesn't work so well in low light situations. One that was small and with good optics would be ideal for what I want.

[725]

Junior,
Just another suggestion, but a good revolver Redhawk, 29, or the like with a "One Ragged Hole" peep sight on is fast, accurate, and cheap. Some like 'em - some don't. They work.

[Bluehawk]

JUNIOR that is the exact reason I went to Contender pistols a number of years ago as the hunting demanded it where I was hunting .
I was hunting an area where the tree stands were Built long before I hunted there thwy wer set up in areas where the shots were either at about 15 feet or 100 yards from the same stand . The other option in tha area were walking into second growth areas where you would stnad on game trails and had shots of about 20 feet to 25 yards. but heading to these areas you might get a shot at 50 yards sometimes if you jumped something .
I started with getting a 35 Remington Barrel for the one frame I had . BY FAR the most accurate firearm I have ever owned. No matter the load or bullet weight I never had that gun shoot over an inch at 100 yards from the bench . It shot he 180 Grain SINgle shot pistol bullets the best BUT the did not perform wel either on game or in test mediums .I figured that they were mainly sillhouete bullets so gave up on them . 200 grainers were great too settled on them . I was out of casting for a while then and only cast I tried were 158 SWCs for 38s and 357s . They were very accurate but I never considered them for hunting .
Then I got smart and decided the best woud be to pick up another barrel in 45/70 WOW was that a fun gun to shoot!!!!! 12 in ported "Hunter : stainless barrel.
FIrst time to the range with stock grips was an eye opener . I had shot a lot of heavy recoiling hand guns but was not prepared fot this . I bought some reloads from my rifles some 385 Lyman cast bullets shooting at about 1600 from long barrels and some 350 Hornadys loaded with 55 Grain of 3031 First shot raiseda blister , second shot tore the blister off, third shot drew blood / Fourth shot had blood all over the gun . ( ghot smart and went to the car and put two band-aids onver the hand web and kept shooting ( I"M REAL dumb sometimes )
Ended up shooting 20 rounds that day before I coud not feel my hand any more .
Went home and ordered a "Past" shooting glove and Pachmyer grips for the contender Than and switching to 300 Grain HPs at about 1800 chronoed from tha barrel made it almost pleasant to shoot . AND it was very accurate when I could concentrate . I carried it for a few years then stared hunting another area where the pistols became more of a handicap than a help so SOLD all of them
Never shot a deer with that barel though
MOral of the story is , YOU alreaddy have equipment and brass and bullets for 45/70. It is IDEAL for what you want , you can get the gun in 10 in or 12 in barrel YOU just need a good shooting glove some Pachmeyer grips and some judicious loading and you will have your ideal gun . I would not buy the 44 in your positoin id get the 45/70

[Junior1942]

Bluehawk, a 45-70 Contender pistol would have about 3x more recoil than I'd want to handle.

Unless I come across a cheap 10" 44 Contender barrel I believe I'll just use my SBH 44. I can get 1225 fps MV w/the Lee 310 using WC820. See http://www.castbullet.com/reload/lee310.htm

That ought to knock ol' Mossy Horns on his butt out to 50 yards, and I'd have a fast 2nd shot if he started to get up.

[Bluehawk]

Amen to the recoil IM not recoil intorlerant BUT that was enough for me .
Right now if I want to go that route I have a nice Ruger BIsley cut down to 5.5 in in 45 Colt shoots 300 grainers VERY ACCURATLEY at about 1200 fps and I canhandle the recoil on that pretty well carries nice too. I can do well with that out to about 40 yards or so after than I dont have enough practice

[Junior1942]

Junior,
Just another suggestion, but a good revolver Redhawk, 29, or the like with a "One Ragged Hole" peep sight on is fast, accurate, and cheap. Some like 'em - some don't. They work.I have one of those on my SBH, and I like it. I also made a fiber optic front sight. See http://www.castbullet.com/makeit/44jb.htm