Reloading 30-30 for a Winchester 94

[holmes221b]

I have not reloaded rifle ammo before, I have exclusively reloaded 7 different pistol calibers. Looking in the reloading manuals I find most of the reloads are FMJ and use anywhere from 20gn to 30gn+ powder. I noticed that trail boss can be used for 160gn lead RNFP and it takes 6.5 to 9 gns. Anybody have any input, I do not hunt but only target shoot.

 

[horseman1]

I enjoy loading for 30-30. You will need to trim the cases once in a while as they tend to get a little long after a couple firing/resizing operations. Dont know if you have been trimming pistol brass or not. So, you will need a trimmer of some type. The type of trimmer and how much money you want to spend on one will depending on the volume you plan to shoot. I dont go through that many, so I use the Lee trimmer which is inexpensive and does a good job, but is a little slow compared to other solutions to the trimming problem.

You will need to lube the cases, so you will need some case lube. There are a lot of good ones out there. I one of the few here who use Hornady Unique (which I suspect is just mink oil).

I have nev er loaded 30-30 with Trail Boss, so I cant help you there. Looking at my load data it seems I have used the following powders for jacketed bullets at 150 and 170 grains:

Hodgdon 4198
Hodgdon 4895
IMR 4895
Accurate 2495

I found pretty good loads with them. I was almost sure I had used IMR 3031 as well, but didn't see it listed in my records.

I'm sure more folks will come along soon with some experience with trail boss and lead for the 30-30.

 

[PapaG]

I love Trail Boss in the 30WCF. Just follow the Hodgden instructions to determine load. I have come up with one for my Marlin that puts the 165 grain plain base dead on at 35 yards with th rifle zeroed dead on at 100 with my 165 grain soft points.

 

[holmes221b]

thanks for the info. Do you have any problem with leading using trail boss?

 

[HOWARD J]

I was using Hornady's new 30-30 FTX bullet 160gr soft plastic nose made for 30-30 rifle with load tube--it will not set off primer in the case in front of it. 28.5 gr of H335 & the primer was starting to back out of case
I switched to 29 gr of H335 & the primer did not move----this is still a light load---check Hornady reload manual for a heavier loads.
other powders you can use for 30-30:
748
H322
vihtN140
IMR3031
IMR4964
760
H414
IMR4350
IMR4895
H4350
Re12
H4831
AA2460
& others

Remember----if you tube load on the 94 rifle--you must use flat nose bullets or Hornady new FTX bullet--a spire point may blow up the gun unless single shot load thru ejection port

 

[beefyz]

I went another route. Shoot nothing but reduced loads all with various lead alloys, mostly 135s,165s/170s with powders like Trail Boss, Unique, Red Dot, Universal, 4227, 2400, 4756, 5744 etc etc. Its a blast; easy on the wallet and the shoulder and ears. At the range guys adjacent to me hearing one of the rounds go off start screaming at me" You got a squib" or "Be careful, you just stuck a bullet'. Sometimes the report is like a cap gun. Naturally, all for fun, killing paper targets, busting clays, jugs, etc out to 50 yds, but then again for some with better eyesight than mine , have worked on loads out to 100yds. Brass is hardly stressed and some are on their 5th reload and counting. Most of these loads are in the 900-1,200fps range. An additional benefit; with a gas check and a bit more testing I've worked up loads to 2,000fps. Some patience and knowledge is required;get the wrong boolit ie improper bhn and /or load to hot and yes you can turn your smoke pole into a sewer pipe.

 

[holmes221b]

I want to thank all who replies, it was very helpful. Now I need to start reloading and have some fun.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

thanks for the info. Do you have any problem with leading using trail boss?

In the order of things the powder itself is low on the list for causing leading. Proper bullet/barrel fit, proper pressure for the bullet hardness and the correct kind and amount of lube come before the powder choice.

I'm loading a 165gr RNFP bullet from Missouri Bullets for a fun load in my 30-30. I am using mostly H4895 and it's working well but there is nothing wrong with Trail Boss either. I did load up a handful of those 165gr bullets with a charge of 9.0gr Trail Boss and they shot alright but not as good as H4895 which was more accurate.

There is a lot of old loading data out there from when lead bullets were your only choice and there were very few "real" rifle powders available. For the bullets you have you can load Red Dot, Unique, Herco, 2400 and a few other handgun/shotgun powders there have been around forever. It's too bad SR-4759 is being discontinued or that would be my choice hands-down! Even though I have had good success with H4895 I'm going to change over to AA-5744 because it's most like SR-4759 which I like using. The only problem I see with AA-5744 other than availability is the price. It's expensive!

 

[The Bushmaster]

32 grains of W-748 under a Speer Hotcore 170 grain FN will give you right at factory velocity. A Lee FCD is a must as .30-30 cases are easy to crush the shoulder during seating and crimping. Crimp using a Lee FCD

 

[ArchAngelCD]

32 grains of W-748 under a Speer Hotcore 170 grain FN will give you right at factory velocity. A Lee FCD is a must as .30-30 cases are easy to crush the shoulder during seating and crimping. Crimp using a Lee FCD

The OP is asking about loading lead bullets, not a Speer jacketed bullet.

 

[4895]

I have loaded a few rounds of lead in .30-30. I bought a Lyman "M" die to bell the case mouth a bit since the lead bullet will shave a bit when seating into the case neck. I guess you could use a Phillips screwdriver to gently flare the case mouth while turning the case. I have only ever loaded 20.0 grains of H-4895 with a 165 grain LRNFP bullet and loved it. No leading and hardly any recoil. Great for shooting old soda pop cans and clay pigeons up to about 50 yards. They fall pretty quickly after that but I like that load. YMMV.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I think you will find that cast bullets and pistol powders are going to do what you want in the .30/30.

What pistol powders do you have?
My favorite is Unique. If you are using a NON-gas check bullet, 7.5-10.0gr of Unique will do what you want.
Like others said, the first thing you'll want to do is get a Lee case trimmer set so that you can trim the cases. Secondly, you'll want a Lee Universal case neck expander die. Trimming the cases to a uniform length will allow to uniformly expand the necks after sizing and decapping the cases. (this needs to be done first, then trimming, then expanding the neck just as you do for a pistol case. You can get by without crimping the cases if you only single load them into the chamber. If you are going to magazine load them they need to be crimped lightly into the crimp groove like revolver ammo, but for opposite reason. Revolver ammo is crimped to keep the bullets from "walking out" of the cases during firing of other rounds in the cylinder. With the .30/30, they need to be crimped to keep the magazine spring tension and recoil from pushing the bullets into the cases.

I've always used my own cast bullets. Mostly Lee molds as they are the least expensive.
But there are some good cast bullet manufacturers providing bullets.
I recommend a flat-nose of 155-170gr for the .30/30. Bullets heavier will have too long of a forward nose-section to allow proper function (too long for action), and lighter bullets will work, but won't provide as good of load uniformity as the heavier bullets. I particularly like the Lee 120gr RNGC for a lighter than normal bullet. It gives spectacular accuracy from my Glenfield M30. It has a long foward driving band that when seated and crimped places the forward edge of the band very close to the lands in the barrel. A very good design. I prefer 10.0gr of Unique with this bullet for around 1,500fps.

You can use the Lee powder measures to throw the charges. What ever means you use, you MUST WORK WITH ONLY ONE CASE AT A TIME, and use two loading blocks to avoid double charging a case.
IT'S VERY, VERY EASY TO DOUBLE CHARGE A CASE as the small charge of pistol powder occupies such a small portion of the case. Use a small pen light to verify powder level of each and every case.

For practical purposes, I don't load/shoot jacketed bullets in the .30/30 any more. Due to expense of bullets and velocity potential of .30/30 I use either the Lee 150gr FNGC sized to .311". For hunting I use 30.0gr of Reloader15 for ~2,250fps.
For "plinking" I use either Unique, GreenDot, or RedDot at 7.5gr for around 1,100fps. There's nothing much more enjoyable than an afternoon with a 1lb coffee can full of cast bullet loads for the .30/30.

I personally haven't been able to warm up to TrailBoss. I've too many other good powders to bother with it. Besides, IT STINKS when you shoot it.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Damn sorry there ArchangelCD...Well...Not really.

 

[holmes221b]

Thanks to all, I just have to find which powder is available in my area.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Damn sorry there ArchangelCD...Well...Not really.

Was that really necessary? What did I say to invoke that answer?

 

[The Bushmaster]

I don't know...What did you say?

 

[David4516]

I find that cast lead shoots to a very different POI than jacketed. I usually just stick with jacketed bullets for .30-30, my two favorites being the 170gr flat point and the Speer 110gr JHP.

With the 170's I use 30gr of H335

With the 110's I use IMR 4198, but I forget the exact amount. This load is light recoil and very accurate, at least in my rifle.

As others have mentioned, you need to watch out, it's very easy to crush the case when you seat/crimp. If possible do it in two steps. Also when you use case lube only apply a light layer. That brass on .30-30 cases is pretty thin, too much case lube and it will actually leave little dents in the case.

I also like to expand the case mouth before I seat a bullet. I used to use a hammer and a small metal punch to do this, just gave it a very light tap. Now I have a Lee universal case expander die. Just got it recently, have not yet tested it on .30-30

Good crimp is important if your gun has a tube magazine, so the bullets don't get squished into the cases...

Not sure if any of this info is of any use to you, but I hope so. This is a great cartridge to reload for, one of my favorites, have fun!