Lads
loading 30-30 for the first time, Anything different about this piece of brass vs conventional bottle neck cases.
Anyone have a powder suggestion. The Rifle is a beauty Henry Heavy barrel... thx FS

I've been loading the 30/30 for a long time, since I was a kid.
For most of this time I loaded 150 grain bullets with IMR3031.
Recently I've experimented with TAC which is very accurate and my new go to powder for the 30/30.
The only thing to watch for with the 30/30 and many other cartridges for that matter is make sure your dies are adjusted correctly so that you seat then crimp at the very end of the stroke otherwise you end up with problems.

I have loaded the 30-30 with Christ man everything from bulls-eye up through 4831.
and bullet weights from 90 grs to almost 200 grs.
pretty hard to screw up, but the brass is thinner than your normal 308 type stuff.
if I use my 30 cal. neck sizer on 30-30 cases I only get an inner diameter of .309

so that's something to look for.

oh one other thing I do is seat the bullet then crimp in another step, that's just something I have got in the habit of doing over the years.

Another one who's loaded for the 30-30 for a long time. I crimp as a separate step for no particular reason I guess other than maybe because I started out with a Lee loader way back when.

The Lee crimp die is a good thing to have on hand to prevent bulging .30-30 brass and to make a secure crimp for tube magazine lever actions.

Bullet wise I always favored 170 grain bullets mainly because elk were also on the menu but whatever you choose will likely work fine. There's no need for fancy bullets in a .30-30 they ironed out any problems long ago.

Regardless of what a few who likely never used one may say the .30-30 is still a very useful cartridge in this day and age if kept within realistic ranges.

Watch the crimp! If you don't have your dies adjusted correctly and over crimp, you sharpen the shoulder and they won't chamber. I have a couple of shells with this condition sitting on my reloading bench to remind me.

Crimping as as separate operation is CRITICAL with any caliber. Think about it: If you set your normal seating die to BOTH seat to the right depth and crimp at the same time then you are simultaneously trying to push the bullet deeper into the case while squeezing the case mouth against it. This cannot help but scar the bullet.

Instead, back your die off so that the crimp ridge does not engage the case mouth, adjust the seating stem to seat to the desired depth, and seat the bullet. Next, back the seating stem off and adjust the die so that the crimping ridge engages the case mouth to the desired degree and crimp the mouth.

Or, you can keep the seating die set only for bullet seating and use a separate die like the Lee Crimp die (or another conventional seating die) for the crimping operation.

But remember: Case length must be totally consistent for crimping with any tool to be properly done. Always trim for consistency.

Started loading 30-30 in 1966.
There is nothing different about it from any other cartridge. Even crimping not that hard and do not overdo it.
For the one powder; 3031. easy to remember.

I learned to reload with a 30-30, 25-35 and progressed to a 250-3000 Savage 99 and followed with all the rest..

I liked the 170 also, and also because I shot elk with all three above calibers..I in later years had a taper crimp die made and still use it..I used IMR-3031 for years as did most. Today Ive been using Leverevolution and others, Check your loading books, the 30-30 works with lots of powder, not finicky at all..I hunt deer and elk with my 30-30s from time to time, mostly cow hunts these days as Ive shot my share of big bulls and have become a subsistence hunter to keep my heart doc happy.

The 30-30 is a much better killer than most declare, and apparently have not used it or used it wrong. Ive only shot one elk that I recall at about 300 yards and it worked, but I was pushing the string on that one,most were shot at around a 100 to 200 yards max. 170 gr. rem corelokts were aways my favorite handload and factory load..150s are fine on deer..

Keep in mind that you can watch the sales and buy 30-30 factory ammo for $6.00 to $8.00 a box, I'll buy a dozen boxes at that, and its as good as you can load as a rule or close.

BTW Rem in factory loaded ammo now makes a 150 gr. Barnes X bullet for the 30-30f. The are very accurate in both my 30-30s, and Im sure they will shoot through a deer broadside an perhaps a elk, well see this year perhaps.

I used IMR-4320 back in the '60s. Today would use IMR-3031. Never saw anything slightly challenging about loading .30-30. Have an idea I'd use 170 gr Partitions for everything.

30-30 ammo hasn't been $6 or 8 a box in decades that I have seen.
Cheapest I see is $12-13.
If anyone sees any, let me know; I need some.

$6-8 is equivalent to $12-13 today if not more!

I guess I am the "odd man out" because I use IMR4064 in my TC Contender 30/30 carbine with 150 grain Hornady IL bullet. This load of 32 grains yields 2325 ft/sec from my gun and gives me MOA accuracy. I don't know if I would use this bullet in a lever gun though. I have found the 30/30 easy to load for compared to some other cartridges I have used. I don't crimp the necks since I shoot them in a single shot.

What rifle are you going to use the cartridge in? I have a early 1990's JM M336 that was never a tack driver. Best groups are two inches at 100 yards, and it is about a 3 MOA affair at 200 yards. Cast bullets won't group within two foot by two foot at 100 yards.

I tested about 500 rounds through the thing before measuring the distance it took the bullet to travel to touch the throat. My rifle, the bullet has to jump two tenths of an inch before it engages rifling. Which explains why cast bullets won't and never will shoot well in this rifle. It also explains a lot of other things about this rifle.

In so far as powders, I came to the conclusion that low extreme spreads and standard deviations were critical for accuracy in a lever action. N153 was best, AA4064 was better at 200 yards than it shot at 100 yards, and IMR 3031 is an excellent choice. Modern IMR 3031 is short cut, not the Lincoln logs I remember. So it throws just great.

Sometime back at a sporting gds in Gooding they had a trailer and a employee for some outfit selling ammo at below wholesale price. I bought 12 boxes of PMC Spitfire 30-30 for $6.00 a box, they were factory loaded with what must have been 150 gr. Barnes X flat points. They were great bullets. Since that time I have not been able to find them, apparently they have been discontinued, but all is not lost I bought some Remington 150 30-30s loaded with Barnes flat point, hollow points, at a sale at a country store for $11.00 per box and Rem corelokts for 9.00 so bought a supply of both. I sure putting away a hoard of once fired 30-30s..Catch a sporting goods or whatever that sells ammo and they are going out of business, and buy all the ammo you need in bulk..

DPCD, you need to get out there and shop..

I use LeverEvolution powder and the Barnes 150 TSX bullet. Out of my rifle I am getting 2400 FPS and sub inch accuracy. The 150 TSX has a very large hollow point and opens very well even at pretty low velocities. I tested down to 1100 FPS in water jugs, which is well below what I ever anticipate even considering for shooting deer, since I consider 100 yards the absolute max distance I will shoot a deer with a 30-30

Started loading for the 30-30 in 1970 when I bought my first one. Agree that it's hard to beat 3031 for powder and over crimping will definitely bulge the neck. I started using the Lee factory crimp die when they became available.

I also prefer the 170 grain bullets, although I have dropped deer with 150 grain bullets as well. Probably 6 of one, half dozen of another between a little more velocity and 20 grain heavier bullet.

I've been reloading for 13 years. 3030 is great for loading up some rounds to go shoot. My dad's gun he bought new 94ae before he past. It's a shooter. I put a scope on it.went and shot last week it shoots about an inch at 100 yards. I loaded 35 grains leverevolution and 170 gr spears with Winchester primers. And the brass were mixed head stamped. I did crimp the bullets

quote:

Originally posted by SlamFire:
Cast bullets won't group within two foot by two foot at 100 yards.

I tested about 500 rounds through the thing before measuring the distance it took the bullet to travel to touch the throat. My rifle, the bullet has to jump two tenths of an inch before it engages rifling. Which explains why cast bullets won't and never will shoot well in this rifle. It also explains a lot of other things about this rifle.
.

cast bullets WILL shoot in that rifle.
your problem wasn't the rifle it is bullet design, alloy choice, and diameter.

find yourself a ranch dog mold [night owl enterprises-NOE] and size to 311 or 312.
all Marlins have that throating issue, it is how they chamber and throat their lever guns, and they all have that same gap there.

I agree with the above comment. Cast bullets do shoot in Marlin micro-groove barrels, they just need to be sized correctly.

Yes, cast bullets does well in every Marlin Micro-Groove I've tried them in. My preferred load is the RCBS 30-180FN pushed with 35 grains of H-414 for 1970 fps. Gives 2 1/4" groups at 100 which isn't benchrest standards but, kills any deer I want to put into the freezer.

I contend the 30-30 is a good 200 yard round with proper bullets, shot both deer and elk with factory and handloaded ammo. If you can shoot then take those 200 yard shots. MOstly iron sights scare folks off at 200 yards, but that isn't a problem if you just try them and sight them in properly..Ive made a couple of 300 yard shots on deer, and Ive never wounded a deer with a 30-30 or 25-35..I have wounded a couple of animals with larger bores, not that it means anything, just happened and they were not long shots..but nothing got away, but a long tracking job is not fun..