30 caliber, 150 grain

[MT Gianni]

Lyman #311440

RCBS 30-180-FN

Could someone explain why going by the confusing responses here what makes the RCBS bullet better for hunting with then the lyman one? Im late to the party, havent loaded for a rifle yet, but my "winter" project is trying to figure out a cast hunting bullet for my 30-30. I dont group 170 gr JSP very well, but the 150 grain JSP and JHP just shoot like laser beams for me, and the theory here is a good one.

I have used each of them on whitetail and they both work but so does the RCBS 150 fp. I had problems pushing either the 311440 or the 180 fp past 2300 fps. They wanted to expand too quickly. Slowed to 30-30 speeds they are sure killers.

[braddock]

First up got to say my hunting days are all but over, 80 years of abuse to my knees and a diseased heart have seen to that.
That said I still enjoy shooting holes in paper, cans etc, etc.
I cast and shoot for 30 cal and 357 and use to for 223 rem.
My guns are either lever action or one is a ruger #3 but it's 223 so don't count.
My 30/30 mod 94 likes heavy for cal bullets and I bought some that were meant to be 200 grn but weighed in at 190 grns due to their BHN of 22 plus,
I used 2400 17 grains and the velocity was around 1650 - 1700. The gun liked it, I didn't as the recoil was above and beyond the call of recreation so I backed off to 170 grain FP with Sages plain based gas checks using Rx 7 and the gun just loves these at just over 2000 fps, best groups around 4" for my eyes at 100 yards so I've fitted the old gun with a weaver sidemount and will be trying for groups in a week when the Ukrainians are done practicing on the range I go to.


I inserted this image to demonstrate it can be done. Scope is a budget 1x4 with IR.

My latest Lever gun is in 308 and it likes the same 170 grn CB as the 94 but it loves the lee 150 grain CB lee sells for the 7.62x39 which I've modified by drilling through the longitudinal axis of each of the 6 cavities then reaming it to 0.250" and fitted alloy plugs so the cast boolit ends up with a 1/4" meplat just like the Ranchdog designs. Rifle is a Browning BLR 81 btw


Scope is a 1x4 Nikko Stirling with illuminated red dot reticle that I bought for my last hunt this coming fall, won't be using cast but will be using 150 grain Barnes ttsx for driven boar in Eastern Europe.
The win 94 will probably be going as a backup gun and that will have the 170 grain CBs for ammo.

[Rapier]

This is a cast bullet site, not jacketed bullet site, just to start with.

Many of us have a conglomeration of moulds made by different companies and of different designs. It is obvious to me if a poster is using a lever action, they should be using flat points or at the very most a round nose bullet design, and not spire points, unless the lever gun is a single shot, at which point, it makes no real difference what style bullet you use for a one shooter.

RCBS makes a series of their Silhouette bullets in 6.5, 7mm, 30 cal, etc. They are basically a flat point, bore rider, with sufficient bullet base size to hold to the lands and grooves, they have differing meplat sizes. The 145 gr 7mm, is one of their more accurate design, the 150, 165 and 180 gr 30 cals are also very accurate, like into the 1/2" group size at 100 meter range of accuracy.
I have shot various guns and calibers using the RCBS designs for many years in cast bullet matches and for hunting, they give good service. Plus if you wish, you can double size them, nose and base being different sizes.

Accuracy is actually everything, putting the bullet exactly where you want it, is always deadly.

Regards Lyman VS RCBS only. Lyman used many designs, by various cast bullet shooters, so saying a Lyman mould, actually does not mean all that much, except that Lyman made the mould. Do not mistake this as a criticism, I own several dozen of the Lyman iron moulds myself of various designs and calibers. The RCBS silhouette design is a newer and somewhat improved design over some of the Lyman older mould designs.

98% of my cast bullet moulds are iron just to be clear.

[braddock]

I also appreciate it's a forum for cast boolits, but the reality is it includes a section for what could be termed jacketed bullets right after the section "casting and Reloading for Shotguns".
BLR 81 has a box magazine so anything goes. Spire points also ok in tubular mags when the bullets have polymer tips, don't take my word for it, Hornady been promoting them for years for use in lever guns.
It's the 21st century and we are blessed with many more choices than yesteryear it would be a sin not to take advantage of them.
FWIW the bulk of my shooting is with CBs, if I could reliably get CBs up to the same velocity as copper I'd be using it but, like many things, legislation and landowners preferences are going a long way to outlaw lead, especially on this side of the Atlantic and much more so on Continental Europe.

[Digital Dan]

Don't have a 150 grain .30 mould, but do have a couple of ~180 grainers. My .30-30 is quite comfy pushing the Lyman 311041 to ballpark 2,100 fps. 12 BHN, boom-flop.

[braddock]

I bought some 180 grn CBs that made about 187grns by the time they had gas checks and a liberal dose of mule snot, trouble is I have a trapped nerve on my recoil shoulder and the recoil from the 94 with those at about 2000 fps was spiteful so I pulled them.
My favourite CB in the 94 is now a 165 grn PB FN hardcast that scales around 169 with a PB GC and mule snot. They make about 2000 fps, give or take, and I've fitted a really good recoil pad that tames the recoil, I use RL 7 for powder and I was amazed to get 2 and a 1/2" groups with a williams peep sight. I think that was at 50 yards but it's still good for me.
I now have a Lee 312 155 grn 6 cavity mold that is intended for 7.62x39 guns but I've modified it to take the spire point off and cast it with a meplat of 1/4" like the famous ranchdog boolits. The boolits come out at 143 grns and about 148 - 149 when gas checked, I had planned to powder coat them but we'll see as I have a lot of alox in my cabinet.

[braddock]

Here's a link to a thread I started last year that tries to describe my mold mods.
https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...-Modifications