Hi
studying my handloads in 3030 and different loading i've discovered that cast bullets gives much better penetration and wound holes in the soacked paper and my deer simulating device" 2mm plastic sheet+2 raws of newly cut branches+ 14 inch soaked paper + 2 raws of sticks(�inch in diameter)+ 2 mm plasic sheet" many of my cast bullet loads had completly penetated the device with larger wound canal and landed deeply in the wooden box behind while only a few factory loaded could penetrate it 170 gr nosler and 150 gr pmc starfire. please tell me your opinion about this matter.
best regards
danny

Danny. I did some testing along those lines years ago, comparing Federal's 170 30-30 round vs Lyman's #311291 loaded to full 30-30 velocity. I used a couple of stacks of very wet newspapers with a total thickness, IIRC, of about 20 inches. Paper bundles were set out at 100 yards. There was literally no difference in the performance of the two types of bullets. Bullets were cast of straight 1970's era wheelweights. (They're a bit harder than current wheel weights.) Even the gas checks stayed on.
You might want to see if you can get hold of a sheep's shoulder blade bone and front leg bone from your local butcher and test the cast bullet on those. I've used the #311291 on deer off and on for years in 30-30 for without any problems, but I am very careful to stay away from the larger bones. I got a shoulder shot on a large coyote once using that load. Hit him in the shoulder blade and ended up with an almost two piece yodel pup. He was very close, maybe 35 feet away when I shot him. Keep those bullets in the rib cage and you should be OK.
A bullet I've been playing with lately in the 30-30 is the RCBS #30-180-FN. It weighs out at 190 gr. in my alloy and shows lots of promise. A popular cartridge years ago was the .303 Savage which when loaded by Winchester, used a 190 gr. Silvertip bullet. The cartidge was very similar to a 30-30, but had the reputation of being a better killer on game, if you can imagine that. What I am trying to work out, is this. Was that old .303 Savage really as good as they say it was?
Supposedly, velocity was about 1900 FPS, but reversing things and using .303 Sav. data in the 30-30 has given velocity in the 2000 FPS range, give or take 20 FPS. (People looking for .303 Sav. data have been told to use 30-30 data. It is interchangable. FWIW, the two .303 Sav. rifles I had both gave closer to 2000 FPS than the advertised 1900 FPS.)
Go ahead and hunt with your cast bullet. Just remember to stay away from those heavy bones.
Paul B.

[ 06-22-2003, 01:33: Message edited by: Paul B ]