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Thread: Looking for some 30-30 mouse loads

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold badboyboris's Avatar
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    Looking for some 30-30 mouse loads

    Hello all, it's been a while since my last real visit, but I'm back. So here it goes, for those of you that reload for the 30-30 lever action, have any of you ever experimented with mouse loads?

    I found a load on here years ago, it was a 30 carbine 115 grain cast Meister bullet, over 13.5 grains of H4227. I then took a single sheet of TP paper (1ply) and cut it into 4 quarters, I then pushed one of those quarter sheet squares against my charge in front of said primer. Seated the bullet and it was magical.

    Load was incredibly accurate out to 50 yards tops. I found the sweet spot to be between 20 and 30 yards out of an older Winchester Ranger.

    I guess I'm looking for similar loads if anyone else would like to share. Mainly interested in 30-30 loads.
    Many thanks....

  2. #2
    Boolit Master 15meter's Avatar
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by 15meter View Post
    Are you using 110gr bullets?
    Secondly - my sons are heckling me because I may have a few Krag sporters! Yours looks great!

    Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy
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    Maybe use some of these for a place to start. They're using a heavier bullet in the 30-30 loads

    http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm

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  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master


    Larry Gibson's Avatar
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    I use any of 3 bullets [TL314-90-SWC lubed then sized down to .311, 313631 lubed, GC'd and sized .311 and the 311316 lubed, GC'd and sized .311] for "cat's sneeze loads" which, apparently, are quieter than your "mouse fart" loads. I load the 314-90s over 2.8 gr of Bullseye for 800 - 900 fps and the GC'ed bullets over 7.2 gr of Bullseye for 1450 - 1500 fps depending on barrel length. Accuracy is excellent and no wad or filler is used.
    Larry Gibson

    “Deficient observation is merely a form of ignorance and responsible for the many morbid notions and foolish ideas prevailing.”
    ― Nikola Tesla

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    The Lee 113 grain is a dandy but not all rifles like it. I would be happy to share some if you want to try them. The RCBS gas checked 150 shoots really well with mild loads and the only additional expense is less than a .22 LR round amount of lead per shot.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy

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    If you are being lazy (sometimes I am lazy) a 110gr Hornady and 7gr of Titegroup averaged 1,422 fps at 80F from my 26" M94 30-30 Centennial.

    No filler needed, and I just used a std LR primer. SD was only 8fps.
    Scrounging for pb...

    USMC 0351

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    I had no idea of the relative difference between "Cat sneeze" loads and "Mouse fart" loads!

    Sorry, nothing to add on 30-30 reduced loads since for my purposes, any load of that nature would be easier in the 32-20 and wouldn't waste valuable LR primers. I have way more SR primers on hand.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    The Lee 113 and the Lyman 311008 with 7.5 grains of Green Dot work good for me. Velocity for both loads is a bit north of 1400 fps. The same charge of Green Dot or 8.0 grains of Unique with the Lyman 311291 are also good loads, but I have no chrono data for them.
    Maineboy

  10. #10
    Boolit Master scattershot's Avatar
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    Click image for larger version. 

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    This one has worked well for me. 165 cast/ 5.5 grains of Red Dot. No filler.
    Last edited by scattershot; 01-05-2024 at 12:35 PM.
    "Experience is a series of non-fatal mistakes"


    Disarming is a mistake free people only get to make once...

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    One of my shooting partners has shot a lot of silhouette 50m chickens with 150 gr cast bullets and 6.0 Titegroup powder.

  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    One more thing: LP pistol primers are a great for mild rifle loads. In fact, they work better for many of them. I love LP primers for my Unique .45-70 loads.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  13. #13
    Boolit Buddy Pereira's Avatar
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    The only thing I've tried that I would consider a light load.



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    Monte Walsh "You have No idea how little I care".

  14. #14
    Boolit Master Shawlerbrook's Avatar
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    There were some great old threads over on Marlinowners about this .

  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
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    5 gr of most any fast pistol powder under a light bullet is quiet. Use heavier bullets to get subsonic - real quiet. http://www.gmdr.com/lever/lowveldata.htm
    Whatever!

  16. #16
    Boolit Bub
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    Quote Originally Posted by scattershot View Post
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    This one has worked well for me. 165 cast/ 5.5 grains of Red Dot. No filler.
    I have had similar results with a 170 grain cast and 6.0 grains of Red Dot.

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    On the other side of things, I wonder how hard you can push the Lee 113 with decent accuracy? I imagine it would flatten a coyote at 2000 fps.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  18. #18
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    Texas by God's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FergusonTO35 View Post
    On the other side of things, I wonder how hard you can push the Lee 113 with decent accuracy? I imagine it would flatten a coyote at 2000 fps.
    It shoots very well at that speed from my wife’s .30 Carbine!
    It won’t feed well in my 1916 30-30, though.
    It might be a good choice for a lever action.


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  19. #19
    Boolit Buddy
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    I've used 6.5gr of Unique under a Lyman 3118 bullet. Seating depth took a little playing with to get them to feed. Running them through a lubrisizer with a top punch to break the top corners might make them easier to feed, but I didn't have one at the time, so had to play with seating depth instead. I did use a slight roll crimp on them.

    When I take newbies out, they all seem to gravitate to the "cowboy gun". It's got plenty of poop to hit a 8" steel plate at 50 yards.

  20. #20
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Texas by God View Post
    It shoots very well at that speed from my wife’s .30 Carbine!
    It won’t feed well in my 1916 30-30, though.
    It might be a good choice for a lever action.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Thanks, it feeds just fine in all my rifles. Never had much success using it with lite loads, however my .357 carbines with .38 Specials are a better choice for that purpose. I'm thinking H335 might be a good choice for it, fast but not pistol powder fast.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check