Hi All: I am looking for an all out accuracy load for the 30-30. I don't care what bullet or shape. I'm open to any and all ideas. I could sure use your help. Thanks.

I hope you have an old 788 or other bolt action; you will want to use Sierra 168 grain match bullets. Vary powder charges to find the most accurate one using 170 grain load data. You can increase those loads if you want to experiment if you have an old 54 or 788.

Hi dpcd. Maybe I should clarify. I am looking for the most accurate recipes you have found. Not necessarily a potential match load. I figure the many good folks here might offer up some ideas before I head off to reinvent the wheel. Hope that says it better. Thanks for your service.

quote:

Originally posted by Tanker:
Hi dpcd. Maybe I should clarify. I am looking for the most accurate recipes you have found. Not necessarily a potential match load. I figure the many good folks here might offer up some ideas before I head off to reinvent the wheel. Hope that says it better. Thanks for your service.

150gr Berry plated, blue dot 12.3gr.,case F.C, primer Wlrm 8/15/2006 Fantastic, 1750fps.
roger

Can plated bullets really be driven that hard?

27.5 grs of H322 and a 170gr bullet (I use Sierra's 170 FN) is the "accuracy load" for the two 30-30s that I have.

Unless you have a good bolt action with a scope, all loads listed in any manual will be "accurate". Model 94s with open sights are not conducive to sub MOA groups, and I have 6 of them. I use a lot of 3031 and 170 grainers. 125s out of my Contender. 150s work well too; really, it makes no difference with barrel sights.

quote:

Originally posted by at liberty:
Can plated bullets really be driven that hard?

AMEN ! Cover three holes with your thumb at 100 yards. roger

If you do that with a lever action with open sights you must have laser vision. My eyes are good but not that good.

Winchester case- Fed large rifle match primer- 38.2gr LVR-150gr nosler partition

I get around 2485ft/sec out of my 840

With so many 30-30 rifles of every conceivable type in the hands of so many folks, there really should be an opportunity to discover some truly fine shooting combinations.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
If you do that with a lever action with open sights you must have laser vision. My eyes are good but not that good.

An old Mod. 340 w/ scope roger

35.5 grains of H322 and 125 grain Sierra Pro hunter. W-W case lit with a Federal 210. Same load from 2 separate H&R handi rifles. Groups easily under an inch and hell on deer. Note if you go past 36.0 grains you start to run the risk of the HR ejector not having the moxy to eject the case. No other pressure signs , but 30-30 cases are thin walled will not take much pressure.

While I shoot the 170s in mine, I was surprised looking recently in the Speer manual at the speed of 130s loaded with 2520 . I am going to give that a go and if it goes well I will revisit the thread and post some results

30-30s can suffer from a junk chamber throat. The SAAMI spec is for the neck diameter extended then terminating in a steep funnel. These chambers will not shoot. Some 30-30s have a real throat and modern leed. They can shoot very well. Figure out what you have before you spend too much time on the project. Cast the chamber. Developing loads for a rifle with little accuracy potental is a waste of time and money.

Comment...SAAMI has specs for chambers that have little potental for accuracy. 30-30, 32 SPL, 32-40, 45-70, and a bunch of others are afflicted. 38-55 SAAMI specs a poor chamer design and an undersized bullet. A bore diameter bullet might not even chamber. Forget about a cast bullet that fits the throat, not possible. I suggest looking at the SAAMI specs before you buy a rifle or a chamber reamer. You could avoid a lot of headache and disappointment. Mike Bellum's site explains this better than I can here.

there is no Magic bullet here, if you want an accurate load in any rifle you have to do the homework and discover what shoots best in "your gun"..Most mod. 94s I have owned over the years actually best with one of the factory loads. A rifle of any make or model is a inity of its own, and whoever coined that term was smack dead on...

Today I use the new Lever Revolution powder because I pick up about a 150 FPS over all existing powders and it shoots great in my accurate mod 94s in 30-30 and the 25-35 Win. This powder shoots as well as the factory stuff I have been using..The 30-30 is about the only gun I own that I shoot factory ammo in simply because it goes on sale from time to time up here at $6.00 a box and buy a bunch of it at that price.

'Inity'? What in the world is an 'inity'? Perhaps related to an 'entity'? Seriously, spell check and a dictionary should be required for posters on this website. The truth hurts.....

quote:

Originally posted by Shootshellz:
'Inity'? What in the world is an 'inity'? Perhaps related to an 'entity'? Seriously, spell check and a dictionary should be required for posters on this website. The truth hurts.....

Really???

quote:

Originally posted by Shootshellz:
'Inity'? What in the world is an 'inity'? Perhaps related to an 'entity'? Seriously, spell check and a dictionary should be required for posters on this website. The truth hurts.....

i see someone is an asshole all over the web, not just in the PF....

to answer the opening post, i've got a load that shoots great in my marlin m336. i'll try to post it tonight or sometime this weekend....

quote:

Originally posted by Shootshellz:
'Inity'? What in the world is an 'inity'? Perhaps related to an 'entity'? Seriously, spell check and a dictionary should be required for posters on this website. The truth hurts.....

vell! howa bout dat? roger

quote:

Originally posted by Shootshellz:
'Inity'? What in the world is an 'inity'? Perhaps related to an 'entity'? Seriously, spell check and a dictionary should be required for posters on this website. The truth hurts.....

You should go away!!!This is not a spelling bee.

I hesitated to comment on this issue as it is not germane to the topic but since it is my thread I'll offer an overdue point. I agree that it is important to maintain the correct use of the language. If we allow it to degenerate too much we may lose all remembrance of it's proper form and function. On the other hand the fun often becomes compromised if we become too critical of one another. A member should be able to post without feeling undue pressure. We come from all over with vastly different backgrounds. There is nothing here that serious. This isn't a test. All the sniping and nitpicking just degrades the whole concept. This should be first and foremost fun. So go ahead, rip me a new one for that thought.

Sure it can be a problem if many words are not spelled correctly. Or if many sentences don't communicate the ideas and thoughts.

But the basic premise of the forum and AR is to offer and share experiences and thoughts and ideas. So that should be Job 1.

I have a buddy that is a absolute car man. He knows his stuff on cars and racing and design too. He is a mechanical engineer. Someone ripped him for a misspelling of a single word on our car board. That despite the wordsmith had nothing to offer and I imagine my friend has in excess of 10,000 posts there.

Did I say that he really is in his day job a real life NASA rocket science engineer too. LOL. It is true. We are all busy guys and this is not our Job 1. Typing isn't for me for sure.

Not just for Ray, who was already here the first time when I was here in about 2000, but for all of us. There will be some errors that aren't significant in the overall scope or details. Ray sure has a world of knowledge - heck he was here when the 30-30 was originally introduced Almost. He sure helped a lot of guys in loading and in hunting too.

I am going to try some of those loads when we get them posted because I only have a few boxes of the Winchester 170 grain Silver Tips left for my several 30-30s. So post them if you can share them.

This is my target load, shoot a@100m with my High Wall. 18grs N110 behind a 165grs copper plated lead bullet, made by H&N:


Martin

I have a Contender Carbine chambered in 30/30Win that shoots SMOA with a 150 grain Interlock bullet over 32 grains of IMR4064. This runs about 2300 ft/sec from my rifle. BTW, this bullet is seated .010" of the lands in my barrel and will not run through a Marlin lever gun (tried it and wasn't pretty). Also have to advise against using spitzer style bullets in firearms that have tubular magazines.

If they will feed, one spitzer/pointed bullet in the tube, one in the chamber.

If the first one flies true the second will not be needed anyway.

Oh yeah, load data, somewhere between 29 and 33 grains of 4895 with 150 NBT.

Tanker, as I mentioned above - we've had really good results with a load for my Marlin M336:

32.5 grains of Reloader 15 with a 150-grain Speer HotCore (appropriate for .30/30 - not spitzer); COAL 2.550".

As mentioned, this works very well in OUR .30/30 - your mileage may vary; in the interests of safety, I'd strongly suggest backing off 10% from that and using it as a starting point.

You know, Ray brings a lot to the table in experience and knowledge to have to listen to some troll try to take him to school on his spelling.
A fellow that couldn't figure that word out IN CONTEXT has to be pretty stupid.

quote:

Originally posted by TexKD:
I have a buddy that is a absolute car man. He knows his stuff on cars and racing and design too. He is a mechanical engineer. Someone ripped him for a misspelling of a single word on our car board.

Did I say that he really is in his day job a real life NASA rocket science engineer too. LOL. It is true. We are all busy guys and this is not our Job 1. Typing isn't for me for sure.

I know a guy who is smart and dyslexic; he's an electrical engineer. He prepared a report. Somehow in all places where the word was supposed to be "warehouse" the word "whorehouse" was substituted. He didn't catch it and had a whole lot of explaining to do.

quote:

Originally posted by Tanker:
With so many 30-30 rifles of every conceivable type in the hands of so many folks, there really should be an opportunity to discover some truly fine shooting combinations.

IME - No!

Each individual rifle has bullets and loads they will like/dislike. That 2nd post, you dished, was probably the best advice you'll get. Do the load work-up to find the most accurate load for your rifle.

Hi Ray:
Having been an ardent handloader for many decades, I have discovered that often there are loads that will perform well in a multitude of arms. Sometimes it is necessary to do some tweaking for optimal results in individual pieces.
My intent here is to potentially discover some new or interesting combinations that may provide alternatives or reassurance in the many choices available in this endeavor.
There are many purposes behind the search for each combination. I like to learn of the ones I may not have considered as well as the results.
If there were not some transferable application for many load combinations then there would be little need for "Pet Loads."

In my lever guns, they both seem to prefer the 170 gr bullets to the 150's. I've not tried the new leverevolution flex tipped bullets in them, as frankly, I don't shoot them anymore.

In my Contender pistol, I shoot spitzer bullets, 125 gr and 150 gr Sierra flat based bullets over W-748 powder. I've also got a load with a 150 gr Nosler Btip with same W-748 powder. The Contender loads are all sub moa.

To Shootsshellz,

I realize you consider yourself some kind of internet tough guy in singling out Ray for a single spelling error.



But let me give you a piece of news. You're just coming off as a little snot nosed juvenile turd. Ray has been and done more in his lifetime than you can even fantasize about.

But trolls will be trolls. You go back to school next week, right?

Oh and by the way, you misspelled "shells".

IMR 4895 with bullet of your choice.

quote:

Originally posted by Tanker:
Hi Ray:
Having been an ardent handloader for many decades, I have discovered that often there are loads that will perform well in a multitude of arms. Sometimes it is necessary to do some tweaking for optimal results in individual pieces.
My intent here is to potentially discover some new or interesting combinations that may provide alternatives or reassurance in the many choices available in this endeavor.
There are many purposes behind the search for each combination. I like to learn of the ones I may not have considered as well as the results.
If there were not some transferable application for many load combinations then there would be little need for "Pet Loads."

Tanker, I wish you well (& some luck) in finding the accurate load your wanting.

But IME, I've just seen too many rifles exibit an individual like/dislike of bullets and loads that I can't explain. I just don't trust in the "transferable reload" theory. However, I do believe that the individual rifle has more to do with accuracy than the bullet or load. Such that time and $$$ spent on the rifle can result in accuracy improvements that you can't make up for with a reload.

AND it will really come down to finding a load for your rifle - Not the others you are hearing about.

Maybe if you could give us some details and history of your rifle. What bullets and loads have you already tried and how did they do.

Hi Ray:
I originally posted this load request due to time and testing constraints that could be, in my opinion, simplified with the help of our friends here. Like I had stated, why reinvent the wheel?
I know you put little credence into the notion of a universal load but I have found that they often exist. While planning a prairie dog shoot in the early '90s I had to find ways to simplify. I would be loading thousands of rounds. I had four rifles in .223. Two custom and two factory. I started my search not at the bench but in the works of others. I went through back issues of "Varmint Hunter Magazine" and "Pet Loads". I got good ideas on where to start. I developed two loads that were accurate in all four rifles. I have since tried them in three more rifles and a pistol and again proven accurate. In an effort to find an accurate .38 Special load, again for prairie dogs, I found the beginnings in "Handloader" magazine. I then worked up a load that was wonderful. I tested it in six other .38 and .357 revolvers. They all shot exceptionally well. I again had a universal load worthy of the effort in producing quantity. At that same time I also worked up loads for the .221 and the .220 Swift. The .221 was for two XP100s. Again success. The Swift loads though loaded in the '90s for one gun were tested two weeks ago in two others. Yep, you guessed it, it worked. There are other cases but these should suffice in showing why I believe in "transferability". It has happened too often for me to be luck. It is however, a matter of knowing where to start.
In case you are wondering about "accuracy." Yes it is a relative thing. In custom varmint rifles I expect 1/4" to 3/8" for 5 shots. In factory 1/2" will work unless it's a 40X. For varmint revolvers 2" is max. at 50 yards and should be less.
You asked about what I have been working on. I don't want to cloud the original request with my own efforts. I really want to hear what these folks have to offer. Beyond my current project there are different uses that will be realized for other guns. The ideas from members may provide the answers for future needs.
I will give some basics of what I'm working with now but I'm far from done. Right after I posted this thread I purchased a jug of Leverevolution powder to start my testing. I'm seeking high velocity, high accuracy and pressures within industry standards. I am using spitzer bullets of 150 grains. So far I have tested four charges with three bullets but only one rifle. The test rifle is a Browning 1885. It was selected due to it's heavy barrel and stability when scoped. It is factory in every way including the horrific trigger. So far the limited results are quite gratifying. Groups have been in many cases sub inch. I am awaiting three more boxes of bullets to test. I will continue testing with a second 1885 along with several other lever and bolt guns. I will let you know how things conclude.

The most accurate handload I've found for my Marlin 336 uses Hornady 160 gr. FTX bullets, IMR 8208XBR powder, R-P brass, and WLR primers. My rifle does best with a max load, so work up to it. LE powder does give about 100 fps more speed, but 8208 does better for accuracy in my rifle, and I've found it to be very consistent in varying temperatures.

My most accurate 30-30 load is with Sierra 150gr bullets and Federal 210 Primers.
36.5gr of 748
2.54" OAL

Will kill small piece of paper at 100 yards and deer at even longer ranges.