Wheel Weights for 30-30

[shepherddogs]

With the price of ammo going through the roof, I started thinking about maybe casting in slower rifle calibers. Using straight wheel weights and Hornady gas checks, how fast can you push a 150 grain 30-30 bullet? I know there are unknowns involved but whats a ballpark figure? Thanks for any info.

[felix]

See the 223 post just adjunct to yours. ... felix

[JIMinPHX]

I get 2300fps with no problems using RE-7, Moly lube & WLR primers.

[runfiverun]

i actually push my cast boolits in one of my 30-30's faster then i do my jacketed ones.
it also goes faster then my 308.
the rub is the accuracy and is why the faster vel's in the 30-30.
the 308 loses accuracy faster for me.

[medicstimpy]

I use 30cal cast in an M14. Since you have to load them to near FMJ loads to get it to cycle, they do fly pretty fast. No problems when using Lars's Red Carnuba lube.

With the lower pressures and velocities and not having to have enough gas pressure to cycle a lever vs. semi-auto, cast boolits work great in a 30-30. :) Personally I like the RCBS Shilouette boolit myself. Works great in both the '94 and the M14. Yes, they are all pure water quenched W-W's.

[MakeMineA10mm]

With the price of ammo going through the roof, I started thinking about maybe casting in slower rifle calibers. Using straight wheel weights and Hornady gas checks, how fast can you push a 150 grain 30-30 bullet? I know there are unknowns involved but whats a ballpark figure? Thanks for any info.

Well, I'm still in the research and collecting equipment stage for 30-30 cast loading and shooting myself. To directly answer your question, my research says you can easily get 1900fps to 2100fps. There was an article in a Handloader magazine about loading 30-30 w/ cast that included 150gr LFN load data, and the author got to that with no leading whatsoever. He also shot some of these boolits into water and found that straight WW flatnose boolits expanded perfectly at those velocities (around 2000fps). Basically, we get perfect performance (as good as jacketed bullet factory loads) with no difference in velocity so sight settings are the same and trajectory is just as flat, and we get all that for a few pennies per shot! Makes me wonder why anyone shoots anything but cast boolits in the 30-30!?!? :wink:

[Larry Gibson]

With the price of ammo going through the roof, I started thinking about maybe casting in slower rifle calibers. Using straight wheel weights and Hornady gas checks, how fast can you push a 150 grain 30-30 bullet? I know there are unknowns involved but whats a ballpark figure? Thanks for any info.

Pure WWs are a little on the soft side. They work fine in the 30-30 up through 1800-1900 fps for general shooting. I generally add 2% tin to WWs to make them cast better with less rejects. You can shoot these bullets at this velocity about all day long without cleaning the barrel. I shoot such a bullet in my M94 Black Shadow 30-30 loaded over 18 gr of 4759 with a 3/4 gr dacron filler for 1850 fps. Accuracy is excellent all day long.

Many of us harden the WWs by adding linotype in 60-40 or 8/20 proportion. This allows the velocity to go up into 2100-2200 fps for general shooting. Generally you can shoot quite a few of these before cleaning the barrel becomes necessary.

For hunting many of us soften the WWs further by adding lead, generally in a 50/50 proportion, and then water quenching the bullets out of the mold. This hardens them to withstand velocities of 2100-2200+ fps yet keeps the alloy maleable so it will expand on deer size game. Generally when using these bullets at those velocities it is necessary to clean the barrel every 5-10 shots.

Larry Gibson

[DLCTEX]

I use straight WW and WD. Lube with 50/50 + carnuba. No problems.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I have been casting and shooting Lyman @311291 made out of straight WW for a long time out of two 94 Winnies, a rifle and a src. I use a gas check and size them .309. Powder used is IMR 3031. An old Lyman handbook lists 30 grains as giving 2250 fps which is around factory velocity. With a good lube that should not allow a leading problem. I started at 25 grains and worked up to 27 grains which gave me good accuracy as did 28 and 29. I chose to stick with 27 grains so as to not push the guns and save a bit of powder. Don't have a chrono so don't know what the exact velocity is, but as long as the grouping is good, am satisfied. LLS

[opentop]

60-40 or 8/20 proportion

Clarification please? Do you mean 80/20 and is that 80% ww to 20% lino?

Thanks

[JIMinPHX]

He also shot some of these boolits into water and found that straight WW flatnose boolits expanded perfectly at those velocities (around 2000fps).

That must have been hard water he was using.[smilie=1: Flat nosed WW boolits @ 2,000fps don't seem to expand much for me, even if I don't quench them. The corners round off a little & they become slightly more cylindrical, but they don't expand unless they hit something hard, like bone. The only time I see much expansion is if I hollow point them or if I jack up my pure lead content or if I push them really fast, like 3,000fps. Unfortunately, by the time I get them going that fast, accuracy is not good, even in configurations where I manage not to get barrel leading.

[GabbyM]

he probably wasn't getting much hardening from the water drop. That's a huge variable to include in any test. I use my gas oven and an old rusty cookie sheet to heat treat.

[JIMinPHX]

he probably wasn't getting much hardening from the water drop. That's a huge variable to include in any test. I use my gas oven and an old rusty cookie sheet to heat treat.

Water dropping brings my bnh up from around 12-13 to around 23-24.

[Boerrancher]

I shoot a alloy of 50% pure, and 50% WW air cooled out of my 30-30 and 30-06. My two favorite boolits is the C309-180-R, and the C309-150-RF from lee for my 30-30. I tumble lube with JPW and load 30 gr of IMR4064 for both boolits. I am getting around 2100 fps with the 150 gr boolit and around 2200 fps with the 180 gr one. Both these loads shoot sub MOA 3 shot groups. If I let the rifle cool for 10 min after the 3rd shot, and then shoot 2 more shots I have a 5 shot group that is sub MOA. I have no issue with leading. I have put around 500 rounds through both the 30-30 and the 06 and have yet to run a patch down them much less anything else. I need to add that I make my own gas checks out of 16 thou. soft aluminum, and use a Winchester LR primer.

A friend of mine shoots a 20 to 1 alloy of pure to tin out of his 30-30 and does quit well around 1700 fps with the Lee C309-180-R boolit. Always remember that a 22 long rifle is made of pure lead and travels at 1200 fps. The larger the diameter of the projectile, the greater the bearing surface and technically the faster you can push it with out leading, provided you have it sized properly. I have found that on average 1700 fps is about as fast as you can push a pure lead gas checked boolit. Another thing to remember is that oft times harder is not always better. I have leaded up guns with harder boolits at lower velocities than I have softer boolits. For me, a water quenched WW boolit is a 2600 fps boolit out of my 300 win mag. I personally don't seen the need for something any harder unless you are looking for a lot of speed out of high velocity rounds.

Most any of the rimmed American designed cartridges, 30 cal or bigger, you will not need anything harder than a 50/50 blend of pure and WW to shoot them at maximum velocities. This will also hold true for a number of European rounds as well.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe