30-30 loads

[stone]

as a few of you might of seen already i hav recently aquired a 30-30
i am now looking for loads for 30-30
heads i hav are 130's and 170's flat point/nose
varget is a choice of powder i hav already, as i use it for my 30-06
but a little help needed please
many thanks
stone

 

[JAYB]

Richard,

I have no clue about 30-30 loads but I do know that Muir has a load of experience with them. He is busting a gut to get on the site but he has just changed his computer and is having some difficulties which we are trying to resolve. Hang in there he is coming.

John

PS They work fine on Buffalo, American Bison that is.

 

[sikamalc]

And Red Indians

 

[Muir]

Hello! Just made it back on line with some decective help from JAYB. Seems Mozilla Fire Fox doesn't jive with this site.

Hey! A 30-30! Now that is one fine deer cartridge. I took a quick look at the Hodgdon's site and they list 32 to 36 grains for the 130 grain and 29 tp 33 grains for the 170 grain. I have never used Varget myself: I like 3031 and 4895. With cast bullets I like AA5744 which I'm certain is not available in the UK.

Cast bullets are great in the 30WCF. (30-30) In fact, it's been years since I used a jacketed bullet in a 30-30. For the last 20 years I've used home cast bullets, exclusively. Remember when loading to always always use flat point or round nosed bullets to avoid detonation of the cartridges in the magazine. Also, a crimp is advisable which means that you should trim every reloading.

You'll find that the 30-30 is a very accurate cartridge tho the mechanics (bedding) of some lever guns make accuracy a 3-4 minute affair. Those barrel bands can play hell with accuracy. I have noted that your rifle has been shortened which will aid the accuracy despite the band. I have a 16.5" Winchester Model 94 Saddle Ring Carbine that is very accurate. It is light and handy, too. Like your rifle it sports a reciever sight. I carried this for grizzly bear defense in the mountains of SW Montana while camping. I shot 190 grain hard cast bullets at 2200 fps. With it I could get off 5 aimed shots in (as a we say) a New York minute! (fast!)

I was amused to see the fiber optic shotgun sight attached. I'm guessing it shoots waaaaay high. When mounting a reciever sight one usually needs to put on a higher front sight -especially when the barrel has been shortened. Your gun must group prety high indeed. Easily fixed, though. A Williams "low" streamline ramp will allow any height front blade to be installed.

I'd love to hear more about your Winchester and how it shoots. ~Muir

 

[stone]

Thanks for that muir
so far i am only using the ammo that it came with as i am waiting for a crimping die to arrive before i start to delve into loading an exceptable load
i am using 170 FN , i hav no idea on which powder or how many grains of powder are in the cases so shall cut open a case to see if my mate can recognise which powder is inside and also weigh it
i do know the ammo i hav are homeloads but hav no further info on this
so for me it might be starting all over again using the trial and error method
it is a interesting point you hav made about the trimmming
will i need to trim each case accurately on a case trimmer as i don't hav one of these, is this something i need or can i do this manualy?

yes the 30-30 was shooting high about 8-10", but now i hav adjusted the fibre optic sight and raised it a little, i am zeroing at 40 yards as i am not expecting to many follow up shots past this range plus the fibre optic sight is starting to get a little large after this point and also changed that green sight for a thinner red one which seems to be a little better
grouping so far free hand is about 4-6" and but can get that down to about 2 1/2" by shooting off sticks and is about 2-3 " high remembering that the fibre optic sight covers around a 3" circle of the target
once i hav got used to how the 30-30 shoots and the fibre optic sight then i am expecting only slightly better results with the grouping and should be able to get the piont of aim down a few more inches
from there i will start to check how it prints at all different ranges fro 5 yards up to about 100 as this will be more than sufficent for my needs but only time will tell on that

i hav never heard of a williams "low" streamline ramp so better start looking into that , this is the first rifle that i hav ever had that i wanted to change the appearance of to suit my needs , so a little daunting but definately a fun learning curve
regards
stone

 

[Muir]

Stone: I think that the trial and error method with the 30-30 will be easier than you think. With that long, bullet cuddling neck and moderate powder supply it should deliver good accuracy no matter what, and improve from there. Trimming isn't that big a deal, either. Buy a Lee "Cutter and Lock stud" unit and a 30-30 trimmer rod. The whole rig here in the US is about $11 and I'm sure one could be had across the Big Pond. It will trim only 30-30, of course, but it is cheap and very consistent. A quick twist at every loading session and you've got it done. As to the crimper, I'm surprised that the set of dies you have doesn't crimp. Most 30-30 dies are built to crimp due to the proliferation of tubular magazine rifles chambered for the round. ( I have had verious bolt guns chambered for it: a Swede Mauser convert into a target rifle, a Remington 788, and a Model 54 Winchester)

Look for that Williams sight ramp and know that Williams makes fiber-optic "Fire Sights" to mount in the ramp. Brownells (www.brownells.com) sells them and I'm sure ships world wide.

You might want to think of casting bullets. I know it's an odd hobby over there but the set up cost is minimal and it will supply bullets for cheap, forever.

If you have any problems loading for that gun please toss me a line. PM or otherwise. ~Muir

 

[8x57]

South Yorkshire Shooting Supplies www.rimfiremagic.co.uk sell Williams sights for underlever rifles. A very similar sight is the Lyman aperture sight, more expensive but more adjustable. Lyman can be purchased direct from the company over the internet.
South Yorkshire are a good company to deal with, polite helpful service and very prompt in despatching goods.

 

[Offroad Gary]

http://www.centerfirecentral.com/calibers/3030/30-30.html

 

[gundog]

30/30 Loads

I have been using Hornady 110 RN Box number 3015 with 36gr of BL-C-2 Hodgsons good groups. I have seen on the Hornadys web site that levereverloution bullet heads will be available 2009

gundog

 

[stone]

Cheers guys
you lot hav realy giving me loads of options to look at
thanks
really looking forward to loading a few of my own to try
muir
the reason why i hav ordered a crimping die , as the set that came with the 30-30 was mising this
but thanks for the info on trimming ,
shall look forward to having a play in the new year should hav plenty of time then and post a few results
cheers
stone

 

[charadam]

Stone,

Which bullet weights/makers are you interested in?

If you can narrow it down to a couple or four, I will send you the Ammoguide recipes (there are 276!).

All the best,

Charles

 

[Muir]

Cheers guys

muir
the reason why i hav ordered a crimping die , as the set that came with the 30-30 was mising this
cheers
stone

Depending on the die set I think you'll find that the seater will also crimp at the end of the ram stroke if you wish it to. It's easy to tell: Just take a fired case, raise the ram all the way to the top of the stroke and screw the seater die down til it stops on the case mouth. Then back the ram off and turn the die in a quarter turn and raise the ram all the way. If it turns the case mouth inward, it's a crimper. If so, you can seat and crimp in the same operation, but I like to do it separately.

As to the "Leverution" rubber tipped bullets. Really! What's the point of shooting "ballistic tip" bullets from an 18" 30-30 carbine zeroed at 40 yards?? All that ballistic coeffecient you're paying for will be wasted! JMHO, of course! ~Muir