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[DeadWood]

Have only been handloading for awhile in .223REM and .40S&W. Decided to start loading for my Win.94 and looking for information came across this site. I was very pleased with the amount of info and got me thinking of some day hoping to cast my own so i registered and am here to learn.

currently have OregonTrail 170GR TrueShot(w/gas check). Hoping to develop a load this winter. Besides that want to find a good plinking fun round for this weapon to shoot 50-75yds at the max maybe 100 using good priced boolits. I was told about our local caster withing a 10 min. drive from me.

http://www.snscasting.com/

Hoping i can start using his boolits to get started for both the .30-.30 and .40S&W.

What does everyone think of this site/boolits??
What questions should i ask if purchasing from him for these calibers?
I noticed they didn't have gas checks and from what little i know believe i need them for the rifle but NOT my handgun(SDM)??
If i don't buy from him what other places should i look for?
What grain boolits should i be looking at for both calibers?
Powders to start with for both?

Going to be asking alot of newbie ?'s if i can't find them searching the threads first!

don't plan on doing any casting yet.....hoping to become familiar with loading cast boolits first then move to the next phase

[Throckmorton]

For plinking with yor 30-30/170 grain it's hard to beat 10 grains Unique.Very accurate at 50 yards...that's the farthest I've tested so far.Other pistol powders can be used but I have not tired them since I always have Unique on hand,and why fix what ain't broke ?

with a lot of rifles you must get ALL the old crud,especailly jacket material out of there.YOu would not bellive how terrible my marlin shot until I did that,and now it'll drive tacks with cast boolits.
A lot of folks shoot non-gas checked rounds,mostly at under 1600fps,but some drive them faster,leading up depens on each gun and load combo...some do,some don't it seeems.

WELCOME ABOARD

[Four Fingers of Death]

Welcome aboard. This is a great site, I think I spend more time here than actually relaoding, casting and shooting. You'll go broke saving money here.

[missionary5155]

Good morning & WELCOME !
I guess the first rounds I reloaded were 357 mag. First dies I bought were 32 Win. Special for a Marlin my uncle did not want sitting by his Brownings back in 1967... Shot some fox & groundhog with that rifle. Michigan (South West) did not have a cartridge deer season back then.
But as you know reloading IS the best & Cast boolits in a lever gun is like cinamon on a baked apple.. THE BEST !
You will want to know the Throat diameter of your Winny. If it is an older one the throat area could be .310+ so a standard hard cast NO gas check boolit will give you some grief. The boolit is a piston that must seal the gases BEHIND the boolit.
But once you have the right diameter (#1 why I cast my own) for that rifle you should be able to come up with all sorts of accurate loads that will give you all the versitility you need to hunt "wabbits" to BIG white tail & pigs.
So take a dial micrometer with you and measure the boolits.. bases and sides. Ask what material are they made of ? Are they water dropped ? Many Buisness casters make thier wares TOO hard. (#2 why I cast my own)
And then be sure the feller KNOWS this is for a lever gun with tube Magazine.. no pointy boolits ! Shape is important ! (#3 reason I cast my own)..
Great piles of info is waiting for you to dig up.

[DeadWood]

For the Win. .30-.30 rifle.

Do all boolits need a gas check? or if i make my own specificly for this weapon taking into account the I.D. of the barrel i won't need a gas check?

will the Oregon Trail boolit i have shoot accuretly (given i find the right powder and charge)?

[canyon-ghost]

Gas checks are only slightly more accurate at velocity (over 1300-1800 fps). If you don't target shoot, a plain based bullet will do all the hunting you want.

[BruceB]

DeadWood;

Another "welcome!" from the Nevada side of creation.

You do realize, I trust, that if you get really involved in the casting segment of the hobby, it becomes another case of "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here".

Your .30-30 is just about the perfect project rifle to begin your cast-bullet career. Best of fortune to you, and keep us advised about your progress.

Nice to have you here.

[mooman76]

Welcome Deadwood.
I agree with BruceB completely. The 30-30 is probably the easiest bottlenecked rifle cartridge to load cast bullets for. Great place to start with lots of options too!

[WHITETAIL]

DeadWood, :grin:Welcome to the forum!
And I agree that the 30-30 is the eazyest
to start loading for in rifles.
I use a 170gr. fn in my Winchester.:redneck:

[Four Fingers of Death]

Many Buisness casters make thier wares TOO hard. (#2 why I cast my own)

This is what the punters want! All commercial casters I have struck (and most shooters who cast their own as well) seem to think that the harder the boolit, the better it will be. Hard to get them to try softer as well (pun not intended :) ), they are convinced that hard is best, even if they have never tried any other metal than lino, which is generally thought to be the holy grail of boolit metal.

Does anyone use the 311291? I thought that this was a good boolit in the 30/30. I haven't got around to casting for this calibre yet, even though I have 4-5 rifles in this fine old calibre. Still getting rid of the factory ammo and jacketed bullets I picked up in trades.