Looking for .30-30 Target Loads 311291

[Tom in Pittsburgh]

I have a nice, vintage M1893 Marlin long rifle in .30-30 with a very nice bore. Has the old Ballard-style rifling (wide grooves, narrow lands) -- supposed to be just the ticket for cast bullets.

I also have some 311291 cast bullets sized .309" (weigh in at around 180 grains). I am looking for an accurate 100-yard paper-punching load.

Tried Trail Boss (6.0 and 9.0) with poor results.

What do you guys suggest?

TIA

Tom

www.vintage-gunlore.com

[Throckmorton]

I get good results with Unique,although my boolits are 170 grainers.sometimes it's the boolit,the powder,phases of the moon.........

hve you tried those boolits in your chamber? Mine engraves a 180,so I stick with 170's.
Sorry,my books don't show loads for the 180 weight.

[Jon K]

Slug the bore(breech end) first, before looking for a load. Then try different diameters.........the gun will tell youu what it likes.

Jon

[1874Sharps]

I will bet that IMR 3031 will deliver for you. If you are looking for something a bit economical to shoot, perhaps it is not what you want, but it has delivered great accuracy for me in general in the 30-30 using a variety of boolits and bullets.

[358wcf]

Sir-
I'm shooting a Win94 30wcf w/25" barrel (NRA Centenial Musket!) and Williams receiver sights at paper-
I'm having very good luck sizing my Lyman 311041 (170gr flatpoint) to .311- this gives a very good bullet to bore fit, and leaves absolutely no leading at all. WLR primers ignite 10.0gr Unique in the cases- this is a mild, quiet, and easy to shoot load that puts every round in the black on the target, every time.
Absolutely nothing special about this load, except it's consistency- it always works well-
For hunting, I am using the same boolit hollowpointed by Erik Ohlen in Oregon. My normal alloy of 20-1 is soft enough that the boolit expands nicely even at these low velocities. Small game and varmints don't stand a chance against a marksman with an accurate 30wcf-
Enjoy your quest, and keep us posted, friend!

358wcf [smilie=1:[smilie=1:[smilie=1:

[Don McDowell]

18 grs of 5744
15 grs of 2400
7grs of unique
12 grs of bluedot

They all work but the 5744 load is my favorite.

[yeahbub]

Hmmmm. . . . . . Tom, have you thought of paper patching that 311291? With that bore riding nose, it would be an excellent candidate for it. Actually, a PP boolit isn't necessary, but I got tired of all the muss-n-fuss of lubing, the expense of gas checks and the like. Having no metal fouling to remove from the bore was an excellent side benefit as well.

I used to use the 150gr Lyman 311466 sized .001 over groove dia, gas checked and lubed with a good lube. I used a flat nose punch and set the stop screw on my Lyman 450 a bit high so a flat would be made on the nose of the boolit large enough to make them safe in the tubular mag when I pulled the handle all the way down so the ram would touch the top of the die nut.

I haven't had much success with Trail Boss either. I've done pretty well with 16gr of Alliant 2400 and the 311466. My best results in a Win. '94 was with 30.5gr of Accurate 2015 and use that for a working/hunting load. I haven't chronographed it, but I think velocity is 1800-2000 fps. YMMV.

You have an interesting website. I'll be reading up on several things - "cartridges" in particular. BTW, just out of curiosity, when was that Marlin made? It would be great to work with a fine historical piece like that.

YeahBub

[Le Loup Solitaire]

+1 to 1874 Sharps. I have successfully used 3031 in two Winny 94's-a SRC and a rifle. Started at 25 grains and worked up. 27 grains gave me the best accuracy. You can go as high as 30-31 grains and that's max with 311291 (or 311041). Recoil is moderate and load/powder burns clean. LLS

[Tony65x55]

30gr/IMR3031 delivers for me at full power but for plinking and/or light target play I use 7 gr. Bullseye under a 170 flat point. One hole accurate at 50 yards.

[NickSS]

I mostly use the Lyman 311041 bullet sized in a 312 die and loaded with 18 gr of IMR 4198. This load has put 10 rounds in the X ring of a 25 yard slow fire pistol target (slightly over 1 inch. I never got good results with cast bullets in any of my six 30-30s until I sized them to .312" Now my rifles shoot better than Jword bullets in the same rifle. Another great load with the same bullet is 8 gr of Red Dot or 19 gr of Unique. They shoot about the same at 100 but not as well at 200 yards where my club holds monthly shoots.

[NickSS]

Sorry that 19 gr of Unique should have read 9 gr pf unique