loading for a 30-30 lever

MacAR said:

Is that decently accurate? I ask because I've heard of people using a small rb in 30-30's for small game shooting, but haven't ever tried it myself. Shoot me a PM if you'd rather.

Mac

Click to expand...

Surprisingly accurate, but keep the speed down. It doesn't take much to strip the rifling with that round ball, there isn't much gripping the sides of the barrel.

If the .311 is too big, run it through a push through sizer. That will help with the grip on the barrel too. Just make sure to keep the sprue up in the sizer, out when loaded.

If you want to lube before loading, just roll the round balls in some LLA or 45/45/10.

Wanna go squirrel hunting with a 30/30 ? This is the load to use.

In every 30-30 I've ever had, save my Contender, the 170s out shot the 150s by a significant margin. Just about any lr primer, 3031 powder and accurate trimming so you can get uniform crimps and not crumple shoulders. I like the 165 Leverevolutions.

The Bushmaster said:

Speer 170 grain Hot-Core (HCFN) over 32 grains of W-748.

Click to expand...

My original .30-30 load was the Speer 170 and H322, and while it did OK, I thought there might be more. I tried a few different powders... RL7, IMR4895, H335 (of all things...) and, finally, IMR3031, which worked well enough. I ran out of Speer bullets, and tried some Winchester SilverTip bullets, when they were selling them as component bullets. THAT was the hot setup! They doubled my accuracy to about 2" at 100yds. Once those went away, I tried the Hornady 170's... which did about the same. I was always a big Speer bullet guy, but my Marlin just didn't like them.

Charlie98 said:

I was always a big Speer bullet guy, but my Marlin just didn't like them.

Click to expand...

Did that one have Microgroove rifling?

merlynski said:

Did that one have Microgroove rifling?

Click to expand...

It did.

merlynski said:

Did that one have Microgroove rifling?

Click to expand...

Charlie98 said:

It did.

Click to expand...

That may have something to do with it. I have seem to remember anecdotal evidence about problems with Microgroove rifling and some bullets, can't remember where or when though.

Well... and I don't know about that. Everyone talks about problems with MG rifling... I've never had problems that would point directly at MG rifling, but that very well may have been the case. That particular instance opened my eyes to trying different bullets if you don't get the results you are looking for.

All kinds of different opinions pop up when I search for it, your conclusion seems to be the commonality, try different bullets.

Charlie98 said:

Well... and I don't know about that. Everyone talks about problems with MG rifling... I've never had problems that would point directly at MG rifling, but that very well may have been the case. That particular instance opened my eyes to trying different bullets if you don't get the results you are looking for.

Click to expand...

That's a standard in every gun. If it's doesn't like the bullet. Try a different one.
My wife's microgroove shot everything well except 7 dollar per box monarch.
It even does well with cast bullets. Fouling effects micro groove barrels more quickly than others.

Well... in my case... this was my first lever-action in a rifle cartridge. I had read all the hoary lore about how levers were not accurate, for a zillion different reasons, and the .30-30 in particular. I just assumed 4" @ 100yds was good, or at least reasonable. I tried different powders thinking that would produce different results.. but it didn't. The Speer bullet? ... Speer makes good bullets, right? Well... they do, of course, but the stars just didn't line up.

I've actually got a box of Noslers upstairs to try... it's all I could find. You never know...

Charlie98 said:

Well... in my case... this was my first lever-action in a rifle cartridge. I had read all the hoary lore about how levers were not accurate, for a zillion different reasons, and the .30-30 in particular. I just assumed 4" @ 100yds was good, or at least reasonable. I tried different powders thinking that would produce different results.. but it didn't. The Speer bullet? ... Speer makes good bullets, right? Well... they do, of course, but the stars just didn't line up.

I've actually got a box of Noslers upstairs to try... it's all I could find. You never know...

Click to expand...

Midsouth shooters supply has Hornady 150rn and flex tips in stock.
I have had good results from the 150 rn.
Your Nosler bullets should be great though.

Charlie98 said:

Well... in my case... this was my first lever-action in a rifle cartridge. I had read all the hoary lore about how levers were not accurate, for a zillion different reasons, and the .30-30 in particular. I just assumed 4" @ 100yds was good, or at least reasonable. I tried different powders thinking that would produce different results.. but it didn't. The Speer bullet? ... Speer makes good bullets, right? Well... they do, of course, but the stars just didn't line up.

I've actually got a box of Noslers upstairs to try... it's all I could find. You never know...

Click to expand...

I eagerly await your results. I have not loaded any 30-30 in many years. I did cast up some 150gr flat nose for fireforming .30 Herrett. Let me see what I can find.

I have been loading 30-30 for almost 50 years. (Dang, I am getting old.). I have multiple loads and multiple guns. From 10” Contender to 24” Winchester Model 64. The 30-30 is similar to the 22LR in that you can try many different loads and suddenly the gun likes a specific recipe much better than the others.
I have a Savage 340 bolt action that I bought many years ago. I found out it liked the Speer 110HP. They were readily available and cheap for a college kid so I loaded up a bunch. Multiple squirrels, rabbits, and rock chucks met those bullets one summer. Longest confirmed hit on a rock chuck was a measured 440 yard. It was on a railroad right of way and we counted the sections of rail from where we were to the rock the chuck was on. Came out to be 440 yards. That same rifle loves the factory Remington 170HP load. Shoots clover leafs at 100 if I am on my game. Once shot a deer at about 150 yards with that bullet. I heard the thwack when the bullet hit. Deer just stood there. I was an impatient kid. It didn’t go down so I let another one fly. Thwack thud. DRT on the second shot. When skinning out the deer, the hits were about a 1/2” apart. The heart had two holes through it. I shot a standing dead deer.
Enough of reliving the past. I have several hundred loads done up recently with cast bullets, Speer Hot-Cores, and Nosler ballistic tips. Win 748, Reloader 7, and IMR3031 are in most of my loads. Have a model 94 ready to test and some loads for the 14” Contender to try. Just need to get another round tuit and go.
Good luck with your reloads. Here is a photo of the Nosler BTs I loaded a couple of weeks ago.

Well after today’s range test I guess I’m on the lookout for some IMR 3031.

DMW1116 said:

Well after today’s range test I guess I’m on the lookout for some IMR 3031.

Click to expand...

Was it your cast 2400 load? If so. Did you clean all the copper from your bore? What pistol powders do you have?
If not. Your leverevolution powder is my new 150 interlock load for hunting because of equal accuracy and better velocity to 3031.

I always used Sierra 170g flat nose bullets with 3031 for powder.

Bfh_auto said:

Was it your cast 2400 load? If so. Did you clean all the copper from your bore? What pistol powders do you have?
If not. Your leverevolution powder is my new 150 interlock load for hunting because of equal accuracy and better velocity to 3031.

Click to expand...

No I haven’t messed with the 2400 yet. I had a batch of 150 grain Interlock round nose put together and went to test them. I got about halfway through them and ran out of time. They were pretty well all over the place. One interesting thing is I hit a push pin holding my target with the lowest charge. Those interlocks must expand great. It expanded before it reached the cardboard and left a hole about an inch across.

Even if the last three charges tighten up I’ll try the LEVERevolution powder. I’m using H335 and it has one objectionable quality in my 336 I kinda want to avoid. No matter the load it makes a huge fireball.

DMW1116 said:

I’m using H335 and it has one objectionable quality in my 336 I kinda want to avoid. No matter the load it makes a huge fireball.

Click to expand...

I was looking for alternate powders for both the .308 (in my M1a) and .30-06 (in my Garand.) I use H335 for 5.56mm reloading, and there was data for it... so I gave it a try. Even out of the M1's 24" barrel I was getting a fireball... and that with starting loads. It produced reasonable results, comparable to my standard load of IMR4895, but this isn't Hollywood... I don't need the pyrotechnics.

I don’t know how I didn’t notice before but someone beside me pointed it out last time and now I can’t unsee it. I have a 110 grain FMJ load I use for range ammo and it’s a minimum charge. The fireball is quite large. Those 110s are zipping along even with a minimum charge.

Does anyone know if it’s possible to shoot the barrel out of a 30-30 in a single lifetime? With all this load testing and each test being 25 to 30 rounds, should that be a concern? Based on yesterday’s groups, if I did shoot the barrel out, would I notice?

DMW1116 said:

I don’t know how I didn’t notice before but someone beside me pointed it out last time and now I can’t unsee it. I have a 110 grain FMJ load I use for range ammo and it’s a minimum charge. The fireball is quite large. Those 110s are zipping along even with a minimum charge.

Does anyone know if it’s possible to shoot the barrel out of a 30-30 in a single lifetime? With all this load testing and each test being 25 to 30 rounds, should that be a concern? Based on yesterday’s groups, if I did shoot the barrel out, would I notice?

Click to expand...

You would wear your arm out on the reloading press first

DMW1116 said:

Does anyone know if it’s possible to shoot the barrel out of a 30-30 in a single lifetime?

Click to expand...

I'll be honest here, I know of no person that has worn out a 30.30 barrel.

I don't recall anyone I know that has told me of someone wearing out a 30.30 barrel.

I suppose that it could be done, but....

Well it’s not like it’s a goal, but if I start doing a lot of load testing then the round count gets up there pretty fast. 308 Winchester is generally considered to have good barrel life so I can only imagine 30-30 is better. 7.62x39 barrels can last into the tens of thousands so I figured I was fine but I thought I’d see.

Well... if you start mag-dumping your 336... then we can talk about it. In reality, however, I find it unlikely... lower velocity, low cyclic rate, powders that are not likely to cause throat erosion.

DMW1116 said:

Well it’s not like it’s a goal, but if I start doing a lot of load testing then the round count gets up there pretty fast. 308 Winchester is generally considered to have good barrel life so I can only imagine 30-30 is better. 7.62x39 barrels can last into the tens of thousands so I figured I was fine but I thought I’d see.

Click to expand...

Death of any barrel is heat. Finding single base extruded powders for your application is not hard. 4227 might work just fine.

Bfh_auto said:

Was it your cast 2400 load? If so. Did you clean all the copper from your bore? What pistol powders do you have?
If not. Your leverevolution powder is my new 150 interlock load for hunting because of equal accuracy and better velocity to 3031.

Click to expand...

Plus one on the leverevolution powder.