Got molds, now what load?

[stringstretcher]

Well I received my molds, RCBS .30-180 FN GC for my 30-30- and RCBS .35-200 FN GC for my 35. I melted down 100# of ww today to get ready. Hopefully my Ranchdog 35 mold will be here tomorrow. Now, help me get started with a load for each. All I want to do is hunt with both my Marlin 336's and if I have to will do casting with soft point tips over ww. I will be shooting at max 100 yards so help me set a starting load up.

[johnly]

For powders, I'd start off with RL-15 and 4064

In my 24" 336A I get 1948 fps with 39.0 of 4064 and a 200 gr. J-boolet and 1998fps with 40 gr. of Rl-15. Both loads are working maximums in my rifle, your results may vary.

John

[DJWright]

Make sure you have a copy of the Lyman cast bullet loading manual. Lot's of good info. Good shootin!

[stringstretcher]

DJ, I have that as well. I am really looking forward to getting started on the right foot in my casting and shooting. Thanks to everyone here for bearing with me on my quest and asking so many quesstion. I have learned so much here and really appreciate all of your help

[DJWright]

Good for you! You will love it all. I shoot most all cast bullets these days. maybe 20,000 a year. No way could I afford to shoot store bought jacketed stuff. Just got back from the gun room, lube sizing some 300 gr. LBT .45 Colt rifle bullets. It's addicting. O, one thing that will save you many hours and produce a better product, is get a 'Star' lube sizer. I have several all set up with different dies for different bullets. Also get the heater to go with it. I have them each mounted on a thick board, and mount the board to my bench. Once you use one, you will toss any other brand away.

[jimkim]

With the RCBS .30-180 FN in my 30-30, I use 30.0gr of IMR-4350, 13.0gr of Blue Dot, or 10gr of Unique. I also have a load that calls for 25.0gr of Win. 748 but I haven't tried it yet.

[NHlever]

I'm hunting this year with 35.0 grains of AA 2105 behind the RCBS 35-200 cast from air cooled wheelweights. The same load works behind the Hornady 200 RN, and happily shoots to the same point of impact. Some groups out of my 336C have been under an inch at 100 yards, and always have been under 1 1/2". I have the Saeco 180 grain FP in .30 caliber, but for some reason haven't developed hunting loads for it. I did shoot a couple of deer years ago with the similar Lyman 311041. These days I've been using 7-10 grains of Unique, or moderate charges of 2400 behind that bullet in my 30-30's.

[stringstretcher]

Got my Ranchdog mold in yesterday, so this one will be included in the mix. This is his 35 Rem mold and hope to have a great shooter with them. Any and all info will help me sort through all this so keep the load coming

[Junior1942]

In my Win 94 30-30 w/RCBS .30-180 FN GC I use Varget for 1900 - 1950 fps.

[jlchucker]

In those two calibers, both for jacketed and cast bullet loads, Winchester 748 and IMR 3031 have been my go-to powders for years. I've had decent luck with RL-7, and lately have tried AA5744 with the cast bullets in both calibers. AA5744 makes for a pleasant shooting load, but once my can of powder's gone, I'll probably just stick to 3031 or 748. Accuracy seems to be more consistent with those powders.

[Larry Gibson]

So ok, lots of good powder choies for both cartridges. I use 4895 in both. I use 30 gr under the 31141 in my M94 carbine 30-30 for 1950 fps. Same load runs 2125 fps out of my 24" M94. An excellent deer killer and very accurate. My .35 Remington is a rebarreled M91 mauser. I also use 4895 in it under the RCBS 35-200-FN (my bullet of choice for big game hunting). I use 37 gr of 4895 for 2135 fps out of the 26" barrel.

Try adding 2% tin to your WWs and then cast and aircool. Size a minimum .311 for the 30-30 and I size the 35-200_FN "as cast' at .359 in a .360 sizer. The newer, softer WWs are alright for hunting but they make a better alloy if mixed with lead at a 50/50 mix. With these I clean the barrel after every 5 shot group when testing to maintain accuracy and know what they'll do out of the cold clean barrel for hunting.

Larry Gibson

[Three44s]

I started to panic:

Nobody was slowing you down and giving you advice on what to add to you WW's to make them kosher for a rifle .......

BUT ALAS .... I get to the bottom ..........

AND LARRY rescued you!

Kudos to Larry Gibson!

******************

I like TIN ...... for another reason. .......... it helps mold fillout ....... more heat also helps out ... but even where it's not necessary like in revolver practice loads ..... sometimes just 1/2% to 1% can make ALL the difference in the world when you just aren't getting complete fill ........

A big welcome to casting .......... may your boolits always please you!

Three 44s

[largom]

With the RCBS 35-200 in my Marlin 35 Rem. I load 33.0 gr of 3031 for 1840fps. with an alloy of WW&lead. One deer so far this season.
Larry