Mark_Mark
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band saw! the little buggers are worth it
Advice on reduced 30-30 loads
- Thread starter Woodbridge
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I think mine measures something like 24” for the sight radius. 23.xx or close enough I just round to 24”. The RPP sights don’t have clicks but 1/4 turn moved the POI roughly one inch at 100 yards. The trouble is the total vertical movement on my rifle is only ~11” at 100 yards. That works great for jacketed bullets but switching over to cast powder puff loads means I need about double that. It’s a very accurate sight and gets the most out of the rifle for jacketed loads but I can’t use it for both.
AJC1
Member
I enjoy mine, and I thought they would be a good fit for you.
I got the Williams sights and am now able to zero my cast “Short Range” load at 50 yards. I mistakenly called this a Miniature load, but that is the 110 grain jacketed bullet.
I do need to test and see if the new sights go low enough to zero with jacketed loads, as I took quite a bit off the front blade sight with a file, perhaps too much.
I need to revisit the H335 load and see if it might be just a tiny bit more accurate. Limited initial tests indicate it might shoot just under an inches at 50 yards.
After a thorough scrubbing I believe the leading I found in later loads was left over from the initial session with 2400 powder. It came out lead free and remained so after the next session.
I do need to test and see if the new sights go low enough to zero with jacketed loads, as I took quite a bit off the front blade sight with a file, perhaps too much.
I need to revisit the H335 load and see if it might be just a tiny bit more accurate. Limited initial tests indicate it might shoot just under an inches at 50 yards.
After a thorough scrubbing I believe the leading I found in later loads was left over from the initial session with 2400 powder. It came out lead free and remained so after the next session.
I’m revisiting my reduced 30-30 loads and think there might be some merit to switching over to H335 from W231 for safety reasons.
I use a load of 5.7 grains of W231 under a cast Acme 135 grain RNFP. I’m a little concerned with possible double charges. I don’t actually know what would happen but I think I’d have loads of fun cleaning out another case of heavy leading at best.
I tried a charge of 16 grains of H335 and found it had high potential but haven’t revisited that load. That load came from the Lee Cast pages pictured in the first page of this thread. A double charge would only be 32 grains and while quite a surprise is still below the max charge for 130 grain bullets in the chart. I’m sure I’d have a mess to clean but it wouldn’t damage the gun or me, probably. Also a double charge would be hard to miss.
I use a load of 5.7 grains of W231 under a cast Acme 135 grain RNFP. I’m a little concerned with possible double charges. I don’t actually know what would happen but I think I’d have loads of fun cleaning out another case of heavy leading at best.
I tried a charge of 16 grains of H335 and found it had high potential but haven’t revisited that load. That load came from the Lee Cast pages pictured in the first page of this thread. A double charge would only be 32 grains and while quite a surprise is still below the max charge for 130 grain bullets in the chart. I’m sure I’d have a mess to clean but it wouldn’t damage the gun or me, probably. Also a double charge would be hard to miss.
I can sympathize with wanting to be able to see a double charge. But I combat this by throwing a charge and seating the bullet. I don't set them down until the bullet is seated.
Shotgun powders work too well in reduced loads for me to accept the accuracy loss.
I try to find a powder that is at a happy pressure at the velocity I'm looking for.
700x burn rate give me 1000. Unique gives me 1200, blue dot 1500, etc.
These aren't exact numbers. But are close.
I typically keep uncharged cases upside down when making this load. 30-30 and 308 cases don’t fit my shell holders right side up anyway. I’ve only tried the H335 load at 25 yards and then had two left to shoot at 50. They were 3/4” apart at that range but that could have been luck. A test array from 16 to 17 grains of H335 may be in order. The W231 load typically shoots a bit over an inch at 50 yards. The H335 load may or may not match that. Having two load options wouldn’t be bad either, given the supply issues still lingering.
That's true.
I have in my wife's Marlin. The nose diameter of the coated bullet was too large. Her rifle is pretty tight though.
Ah, good info. I’ve basically converted the Marlin to shoot cast so I’m experimenting still. As long as the Acmes keep shooting like they do, there’s no reason to swap. I want to try their 150 too but there’s really no reason. The 135s do everything I want.
I could try to dig some up and send them to you if you like.
I also have MBC smooth cast .311. I had the same issue.
I'm in the process of doing a work up with Lee 170s. They actually fit.
That’s a generous offer. I bet if I tried them I’d end up liking them and having to buy more though. They’re 2x the price of the Acme bullets after shipping and all. Thanks for the offer but for the goal of an accurate practice load I think I’ll stay with the Acme Bullet.
The nose fits in the throat without touching.
The hitec coating was just enough to make it not chamber. Lubed ones of the same design cleared.
I finally broke down and loaded a test set of H335. 16 to 16.6 grains for a start. We’ll see how they do tomorrow. That should put me in the 1400 fps range. If I get good accuracy I may well stop with these. I’ve already tripled my powder cost.
AJC1
Member
That's a rifle powder that may well need pressure for good performance. I'm curious if you get good ignition and any unburnt powder. What's case fill look like.
Perhaps so. The pressures given on the Lee chart on Page 1 of this thread are between 11,000 and 15,000 psi. I don't know if that's enough or not. I only tested that one batch, but don't remember any unburned powder on the table. I didn't look for it though. Higher charges of H335 from this gun pushing 110 grain jacketed bullets make giant, basketball size fireballs. I'll see how it does and look for unburned powder. Based on very limited testing, this powder has as much accuracy potential as the W231 load. That load is pretty awesome for my purposes. The large hole at the snout is my only shot on this target from the 336 during my father/daughter zombie shoot. The others are either 22 or 9mm (body).
![IMG_0925[1].JPG](https://www.thehighroad.org/data/attachments/1052/1052184-0e3a2c8bbb9cf6262faae2fa73765b8c.jpg "IMG_0925[1].JPG")
AJC1
Member
I finally will be getting mine for Thanksgiving. A 30-30 reloading adventure thread is brewing.
Oh this should be loads of fun. Henry? Cast? High velocity military type loads (110 grain FMJ as fast as possible)? I kinda want another 336 or Henry to tactilol all up with a MLOK rail, LPVO, and aftermarket skeletonized stock. All in digital camo of course, or arctic camo.
If it weren't for the popularity of the AR and AK platform, a 30-30 pushing a 125-grain hollow point to 2,500 fps would definitely be the way I'd go. It's right on the edge between intermediate and high-powered rifle.
If it weren't for the popularity of the AR and AK platform, a 30-30 pushing a 125-grain hollow point to 2,500 fps would definitely be the way I'd go. It's right on the edge between intermediate and high-powered rifle.
P Flados
Member
DMW,
In my Contender, I have played with light, mid range & full power stuff with cast in 7 TCU (10"), 30 Herrett (10" & 14") and 30-30 (14"). I used a lot of Pomo (bulk version of Red Dot) for the lighter stuff. Some of these performed quite well.
WC 844 (milsurp version of H335) is my "go to" for full power or near full power cast loads in these guns.
I tried WC 844 in 300 BO with pressures in the 30 ksi range. I was actually having function problems with unburned powder. Some of the unburned stuff was getting into the chamber and getting the action closed would sometimes be a problem. This led me to give up on lower pressure WC 844 loads.
I noted earlier you were concerned about a double charge with 5.7 gr of 231 under a 135 cast bullet. With any small charge in bottleneck rifle case, extreme care is appropriate to avoid double charges, but double charges are not always over the limit. I ran 11.4 gr through Quickload and it said 34 ksi, well under the 42 ksi limit. Around 6.5 gr is where Quickload says a double charge (13 grs) reaches the SAAMI limit.
In my Contender, I have played with light, mid range & full power stuff with cast in 7 TCU (10"), 30 Herrett (10" & 14") and 30-30 (14"). I used a lot of Pomo (bulk version of Red Dot) for the lighter stuff. Some of these performed quite well.
WC 844 (milsurp version of H335) is my "go to" for full power or near full power cast loads in these guns.
I tried WC 844 in 300 BO with pressures in the 30 ksi range. I was actually having function problems with unburned powder. Some of the unburned stuff was getting into the chamber and getting the action closed would sometimes be a problem. This led me to give up on lower pressure WC 844 loads.
I noted earlier you were concerned about a double charge with 5.7 gr of 231 under a 135 cast bullet. With any small charge in bottleneck rifle case, extreme care is appropriate to avoid double charges, but double charges are not always over the limit. I ran 11.4 gr through Quickload and it said 34 ksi, well under the 42 ksi limit. Around 6.5 gr is where Quickload says a double charge (13 grs) reaches the SAAMI limit.
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Interesting. That's good to know. I don't think I'll give up my W231 load, but I may need to alter my procedure. I start with the cases upside down in my loading block. I charge them one a time, using a dipper and trickling up. Then I set them next to the press to receive bullets. Once they're right side up, I don't touch them again until I seat bullets. I also check with a flashlight in the cases for either empty or overly full charges. I consider an unknown squib just as dangerous as a double charge, maybe more so.
That's a way of going about negating the risk of a double charge that I hadn't thought of.
I do the empty cases upside down, charge and seat bullet. Before charging the next case.
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