Been having a lot of fun for over a year now with my 13" Encore Virgin Valley-Bellm chambered 30 Bellm. Accuracy and performance are very good: 2350 fps is very do-able with 125 Nosler Ballistic Tips, and this one consistently groups under an inch at 100 yards with a Tasco Pro-Class 6x 30mmtube 40mm AO handgun target scope.

Anyone else enjoying this interesting little cartridge? I will have some ammo pics up in the next day or so. It looks a lot like a short squat 30 Herrett.

Hello Sean VHA #60013,

I've been thinking about getting a barrel in this chambering. Where exactly did you get your barrel? Are you reloading for it yourself? If so where did you get the dies, and what load works best for you.

This round intrigues me. Think I'll have to get one! Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by jabradyjr:
Hello Sean VHA #60013,

I've been thinking about getting a barrel in this chambering. Where exactly did you get your barrel? Are you reloading for it yourself? If so where did you get the dies, and what load works best for you.
This round intrigues me. Think I'll have to get one! Thanks!

Greetings! I got this barrel off of Ebay about a year or so ago. I purchased it for a product test, and CNC ammo of macedonia Illinois shipped me some loaded ammunition for the test. I have the product test posted on the product tests page on my website.

You can purchase Bellm made .30 Bellm barrels directly from CNC Ammo. Their website is:

CNC Ammo

I do load for it. I use Alliant Reloader 7 and the 125 Gr. Nosler BT. I am away from the loading bench, and can send you a specific load later on when I have had time to consult and verify my memory with my records

Greetings again! After consulting my records, 27.5 Gr of Reloader 7 was my most accurate load for the 125 Gr Nosler BT, using brass provided by Mike Bellm and CCI primers. Here are some more pics:


Here, left to right, are the 44mag, 30 Herrett, and .30 Bellm next to one another. Note how fat the .30 Bellm is. That short fat powder column is what I attribute to it's accuracy, along with the fact that all .30 bellm barrels are chambered by Mike Bellm



The 30 Herrett and .30 Bellm top view.


Reloading dies by CH4D.




.30 Bellm cartridge and CH4D dies.

Thanks for the info Sean! I've been wanting a barrel in this chambering. That is a very cool looking cartridge. 1st picture I've seen of it.

Thanks again!

I'm another 30 Bellm fan. My rig is an Encore with a 14 inch stainless barrel by OTT (On Target Technologies). I have an Eotech holosight mounted on mine at the present time. Most of my hunting here in Illinois is close up, and I love how quickly the holosight can be brought on target. I am just beginning to work up loads with Reloader 7 too. Things look very promising. Mike at OTT will cut a chamber to match the dummy rounds you supply. I went that route because of OTT's reputation for accuracy and that CNC had a backlog of Contender orders and I had an Encore frame. I did buy some brass and dies from CNC. They are great guys to work with too. I had Ole Georgia Jim make a special forend for this one inch bull barrel. Mike Bellm did the trigger work and it is as crisp as breaking glass. He also rechambered another barrel to 357 maximum for me. I have too many projects going right now, but the 30 Bellm is a priority. A friend of mine had one of the first 30 Bellm barrels and has used it to make 15 one-shot kills on deer from 10 to 200 yards. He has been using CNC 130 grain loads. I wish the brass weren't so darn expensive! But, it takes some doing to make a 30 Bellm case from the 444 Marlin.

scienceguy

I might have a chance to pick up some Bellm reloading supplies. More like I might have the chance to bet a little bit of brass.

How much does brass and ammo run?

-Spencer

quote:

Originally posted by ShopCartRacing:
I might have a chance to pick up some Bellm reloading supplies. More like I might have the chance to bet a little bit of brass.
How much does brass and ammo run?
-Spencer

Spencer, ammo, brass, data, and barrels are all available from CNC cartridge. For pricing, here is their website and contact information:

CNC Cartridge

Hope this helps!

Maybe I am doing it wrong, but I don't see any Bellm stuff on there.

All I need is a ballpark price as to what 20 rds of brass and ammo would cost.

-Spencer

quote:

Originally posted by ShopCartRacing:
Maybe I am doing it wrong, but I don't see any Bellm stuff on there.

All I need is a ballpark price as to what 20 rds of brass and ammo would cost.

-Spencer

Spencer, Sorry I was not clear: they do not sell the barrels brass etc on the website, but their phone number and contact info is on the website, and they take phone orders with credit/debit cards. Hope this helps!

Let me pharse it another way:

Sean,
How much did you pay the last time you bought 30 Bellm brass?



-Spencer

quote:

Originally posted by ShopCartRacing:
Let me pharse it another way:

Sean,
How much did you pay the last time you bought 30 Bellm brass?

-Spencer

Sorry! Didn't catch that part of the question in my quick read through the first time Last time I checked, the loaded ammo runs $39 or so a box in new brass, $19 or so reloaded on your brass, dies are around $75.00 or so, and newly formed brass is about $1.25 ea.

Ahhh, thats more like it.

It was at a local auction. I ended up passing on the lot, somebody probably had a Bellm and paid more than I was willing to.

I think it went for like .80 - .90 per each case.

Oh well.

-Spencer

Update on my 30 Bellm......The Eotech I had mounted on my OTT barrel died, the elevation adjustments no longer function. I mounted instead a Bushnell Elite 3200 2 X 6. Every load I tried with Reloader 7 and Nosler 125 Ballistic Tips and Hornady 130 Single Shot Pistol bullets shot into an inch/inch and a quarter. The fourth load I tried was 27 grains of Reloader 7 and the 130 Hornady SSP. This load proved to be that "magic" combination, shooting 5/8 inch groups. My chronograph averaged 2340 fps, with a shot-to-shot variation in the low 20's. Temperatures were in the 90's, which probably contributed to the higher than expected velocity, but the empty shells fell from the chamber, no sticking, no primer cratering, just a slightly flattened primer. This load is probably near max for my gun. I also tried 27.5 grains with the 125 Nosler. These shot very well too, but primers began to flatten more than I care to see. I began with loads using 25 and 26 grains of Reloader 7. Groups tightened up quite a bit when I got to the 27 grain loads. Can't wait for deer season to roll around.

Don't you just love that OTT barrel

OK, I'm sold on the .30 Bellm -- and it's going on my wish list. As much as I like the Herrett, the Bellm does appreciably improve the ballistics and offers excellent accuracy potential as well. And, that 125 grain BT offers picture-perfect performance at the velocity level the Bellm operates at.

Sean

Glad your happy with the barrel. Your site has some incorrect information:

"It should at this point be noted that the prior owner of this barrel publically claimed groups no better than 2" at 100 yards. After doing some research and discussing the claim with Danny Campbell of CNC, it was discovered that the previous owner of the barrel had been using a Leupold 2x pistol scope for all shooting."

I had a Burris 2-7X scope on this 30 Bellm barrel before you bought it. Guess you need to give me some shooting lessons.

quote:

Originally posted by Greg K:
Sean

Glad your happy with the barrel. Your site has some incorrect information:I had a Burris 2-7X scope on this 30 Bellm barrel before you bought it. Guess you need to give me some shooting lessons.

Greg, Greetings! It has been an excellent barrel Hey, just for clarification before I change the text of the write-up, are you saying Danny is entirely wrong and you did not ever use a Leupold 2x in your shooting this barrel, or are you saying you also used a Burris 2-7x in your shooting of the barrel in addition to the Leupold 2x Danny told me about?

At any rate, it has been a wonderful barrel to work with

I never had any other scope on that barrel other than one Burris 2-7X.

quote:

Originally posted by Greg K:
I never had any other scope on that barrel other than one Burris 2-7X.

Greg,

THank you for the clarification. I will alter the text accordingly.