Loads for 30-30 win. lead cast bullets?

[Caster]

Yeah, micro groove barrels can be a real pain sometimes, trying to get them to cooperate is like pulling teeth. I wish they'd quit using them.

[Westwindmike]

I must be lucky. My Marlin 30-30 Micro Groove shoots pretty good and doesn't lead. I'm shooting straight WW, water dropped, sized .310(slugged at .3075).

[jeff43]

Sounds like these lead bullets may be more trouble than they are worth may just sell them if anyone is interested.

Jeff

[Westwindmike]

Sounds like these lead bullets may be more trouble than they are worth may just sell them if anyone is interested.

Jeff

No!!! Lead boolits are great shooters in 30-30's. You just need to get the proper powder to use them. Like Caster said, get a pound of Unique and have fun. Or Trail Boss, Red Dot.

[Caster]

*sigh*

People give up so easy. It's so worth it, but it takes effort. I just got back from the range today. I shot 100 rounds through my .308 Ishapore. I'm out about....8 bucks. How many times can you shoot your .308 for 7 or 8 dollars?

30/30 is the same way. Neck size only and anneal your brass every 8 or 10 loadings and you'll be amazed at how many times you can load that brass. Especially with Unique powder, the pressures are very low. How do you think the cowboy action shooters afford to shoot so many thousands of rounds? Don't give up.

[jeff43]

*sigh*

People give up so easy. It's so worth it, but it takes effort. I just got back from the range today. I shot 100 rounds through my .308 Ishapore. I'm out about....8 bucks. How many times can you shoot your .308 for 7 or 8 dollars?

30/30 is the same way. Neck size only and anneal your brass every 8 or 10 loadings and you'll be amazed at how many times you can load that brass. Especially with Unique powder, the pressures are very low. How do you think the cowboy action shooters afford to shoot so many thousands of rounds? Don't give up.

How many grains should I use with these 134 and 120 gr. bullets using Unique?About everything you see is for the heavier lead bullets like 170 gr.These are .311 diameter also

Thanks Jeff

Edited March 5, 2012 by jeff43

[Caster]

Try 8g to start.

[jeff43]

Try 8g to start.

Ok,just didn't know where to start.I didn't want anything blowing up or to get any leading.

Thanks Jeff

[Caster]

Well, if the guns in good order it ain't gonna blow up. Now as far as leading, only shooting will tell. Report back after you try a few dozen. If it's leading or accuracy sucks, changes are easily made.

[jeff43]

Well, if the guns in good order it ain't gonna blow up. Now as far as leading, only shooting will tell. Report back after you try a few dozen. If it's leading or accuracy sucks, changes are easily made.

It may be a few days until I get time to try it.I'll have to pick up some powder.Thanks for your help!

Thanks Jeff

[Caster]

You are most welcome.

[jeff43]

Got some powder.Is that 8 grains for either weight bullet?

Thanks Jeff

[Caster]

Yeah, it'll be a fine starting point. Understand, it'll be fairly low pressure, you're not going to hurt anything, BUT, be mindful of how far you go. Unique loads are funny at first. You'll want to keep going, but things can turn ugly quick, just like any other powder. You can start as low 7g if you like. For the lighter bullets you have, I would stop around 10.5g-11g max. Work up in .5g increments, if you don't find the accuracy you're looking for, stop and start all over again with another powder. Trail boss or AA 5744 would be my next stop from there. Don't worry though, you'll find a beautiful plinking load in that range. AND after load them, stop and consider how cheap you got out! Oh, and when you get your first ones loaded and are ready to shoot them, brace yourself. Maybe only load one at a time for safety. You'll be so tickled you may not stop laughing. I have let people shoot my Ishapore .308 loaded with a 168g gas check cast boolit over 10g of Unique and they call me a liar and start looking at the brass trying to figure out what's going on. If you've never shot these before, you're in for a treat. If you have young'uns, this will be GREAT for them to cut their teeth on. AND to boot, it's still plenty powerful to dispatch any critters or even a deer if you mind your distances. I'd keep it under 75 yards for what you have. Have fun and please let me know how things go!!!

[Westwindmike]

Well said Caster!

I'm shooting guns that sat in the safe for years due to either cost per round or how much they kicked. Cast boolits and powders like Unique have brought them out again.

[Caster]

Well said Caster!

I'm shooting guns that sat in the safe for years due to either cost per round or how much they kicked. Cast boolits and powders like Unique have brought them out again.

Certainly, and there's more: With lead, it's virtually impossible to wear out a barrel & with the pressures so low, there's very, very little chance of doing any appreciable wear to any other part too. With the loads Jeff is working on here, i would say his old 30/30, if it's in good shape now, should go 20 to 30 thousand and 99% of the wear and tear will be handling and cleaning. This is how you get out your great grandpaw's old gun you've been too scared to shoot and breathe a little life into it.

[jeff43]

I tried some loads today with 8 grains then 9 grains of Unique,and accuracy SUCKED at 25 yds.About 6 in. group.Looked like low pressure signs I guess,primer looked rounded and not flatened out.I shot a couple of factory 170 gr,after that and they grouped fine 3/8" at 25 yds.So no leading,bore looked good.

Jeff

[jaysouth]

Take a look at this link. Scroll down until you get to the powder that you prefer. It will list charge weights and resultant group sizes. Use this as a guide.

I would start at 7 grains Unique and work up in 1/2 gr. increments. If you can't find an accurate load, try another powder like bullesye or something else. Again refer to the chart data for the most accurate powder in these tests.

So far I have missed any discussion in this thread of velocity. You want to keep your velocity around 1,000 feet per second to prevent leading from cast bullets of unknown hardnessf, and get optimum accuracy. You can look at the table for each powder and get an idea of where your most accurate load is.

Scrub your barrel very well to get all the copper fouling out before shooting lead.

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

Edited March 15, 2012 by jaysouth

[Caster]

Take a look at this link. Scroll down until you get to the powder that you prefer. It will list charge weights and resultant group sizes. Use this as a guide.

I would start at 7 grains Unique and work up in 1/2 gr. increments. If you can't find an accurate load, try another powder like bullesye or something else. Again refer to the chart data for the most accurate powder in these tests.

So far I have missed any discussion in this thread of velocity. You want to keep your velocity around 1,000 feet per second to prevent leading from cast bullets of unknown hardnessf, and get optimum accuracy. You can look at the table for each powder and get an idea of where your most accurate load is.

Scrub your barrel very well to get all the copper fouling out before shooting lead.

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

Whaaaaat? 1000? Wow, I'm really doing it wrong then.

[Westwindmike]

Me too. My 7-30 Waters "plinking" load is 1350fps with nary a speck of lead in the barrel. Very accurate too. My 30-30 loads are approaching 1700 but I haven't actually chronoed them.

[jeff43]

Me too. My 7-30 Waters "plinking" load is 1350fps with nary a speck of lead in the barrel. Very accurate too. My 30-30 loads are approaching 1700 but I haven't actually chronoed them.

Mike,are you shooting a Marlin 30 30 with a micro groove barrel?Do you get good accuracy/

Thanks Jeff

[Jonnin]

Whaaaaat? 1000? Wow, I'm really doing it wrong then.

I think that is fair given the "unknown hardness" factor. You probably know your hardness within some margin of estimate. Mine are booking right along with no leading same as yours, but they are quite hard compared to pure lead. I do not think I would fool with the softer stuff in a rifle, I do not even care for it in a handgun. Maybe a BP effort would be OK, a smoothbore of some sort.

[Westwindmike]

Mike,are you shooting a Marlin 30 30 with a micro groove barrel?Do you get good accuracy/

Thanks Jeff

Jeff, I'm shooting a Lyman 311041 cast boolit with gas check. I cast them from straight wheel weights. My Marlin Micro Groove barrel slugs .307 and I shoot .310 to .311 slugs through it. It does quite well.

[Caster]

First, trying to stay on top of hardness numbers will drive you barking mad unless you are dealing with proven alloys which most of us are not.

As far as velocity limits, it has more to do with proper set up than anything. You can drive pure lead to 2,000+ before you get nose deformation and other issues by paper patching.

With plain base bullets the thing to watch most is size and having a perfectly smooth base. Any little tears or voids in the base will allow propellant gas to find a spot to start melting. The vast majority of leading is due to hot gasses either melting the base or gas cutting from an improperly fitted bullet.

For rifles, unless I am purposely making a subsonic load, I don't start with one.

This is such wild, almost alchemical area where information can be easily misinterpreted it's hard to know what to do. Everyone does things differently, I don't know much but what I know has been learned from trial and error and time sent swearing while scrubbing lead from my bore due to a bad choice. The REALLY maddening thing is that the load I have developed for me, it won't work for the next guy. Even if he has the same kind of rifle.

Jeff, don't give up. I suggest you pick up a pound of AA5744 at your next gun show if Unique isn't working for you. If you're not getting any leading then the size v/s barrel is right on. You just gotta find something the rifle likes. It's worth the effort. I know because I am a lazy sob but I still do it.