30 Caliber

LAH · January 4, 2016, 10:09 PM

The left bullet for my 30-30 & the right for my 30-06.

stubbicatt · January 5, 2016, 07:10 AM

Do they shoot well?

When I look at the bullet on the left it appears to be a two diameter bullet, the nose section smaller than the shank portion.

Those are some significant crimping grooves. Do you find that you have a very heavy crimp with these bullets? Does a very heavy crimp help them to shoot well?

Beagle333 · January 5, 2016, 09:01 PM

I believe those were actually scraper grooves, weren't they?

LAH · January 5, 2016, 09:50 PM

They do shoot well. The Lyman 311440 [left] is a great 30-30 bullet. It hits hard for the 150 gr. weight.

The NOE 311284 [right] I purchased for my 30-06. I've not took time to shoot this bullet much but it did work fair with IMR 4895.

I do slightly crimp the smaller bullet for the 30-30 but the larger bullet uses no crimp in the '06.

Mike / Tx · January 6, 2016, 05:03 AM

First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all.

Good to see you back Lynn, hope all is well with you and yours.

That one on the left there DOES look like it hits hard. I have a similar mold but couldn't tell you right now if it is that one or not. I tried some out of my little Ruger 16.5" barreled .308 loaded to what I thought was about 30-30 velocities. WOW, they shot awesome, but all I recovered was pieces. I'm sure it would have done better on something a bit less resistant than a bucket full of damp sand, but I would hate to have thought I put one into the shoulder of a deer and it did that.

What is your powder choice for the 30-30? I have a 14" Contender chambered in 30-30 AI I am thinking about trying them in next, well once I get some more poured up anyway.

Got to run good to see you all again especially you Lynn. You and your coffee pot need to come around more often.

LAH · January 6, 2016, 06:00 AM

Thanks for the kind words Mike, retirement keeps me busy. I've shot IMR 3031 with most my cast 30/30 loads. I'm still working with this bullet but have excellent results with the RCBS 30-180-FN using 22 grains. That bullet engraved the lands on it's nose an would stay under 2" at a hundred sometimes going a 1/2 inch less. While the Lyman doesn't engrave the lands it is a snug fit. I love my thurty thurty. It's one of the first post 64 Winchester's to come off the line. I'm on my phone now and have a funeral to preach today but when things settle down I'll try to post a few more pics.

BTW I do check in from time to time to be sure Beagle & you are behaving.

Beagle333 · January 6, 2016, 06:25 PM

I was behaving..... it was all Mike's fault! (whatever it was....)

LAH · January 6, 2016, 09:57 PM

Quote:

I was behaving..... it was all Mike's fault! (whatever it was....)

Well Mike's from Texas.

Mike / Tx · January 7, 2016, 05:06 AM

I see right now how this is gonna be....

I have to say I have been behaving nicely, and playing well with others, even if I have say so myself.

Right now I am in the middle (argg) of getting a couple of batches of cast .410's done up to send over to a local fella as a PIF sort of thing. Got all set up and ready to size some on my Saeco and wouldn't ya know it I can't find the darned top punch....got some ordered from NOE hopefully be here ASAP.

Meanwhile, well took last night off since the inlaws are here, I'm also going to send out another little care package of mixed .358's to a fella over in NC to see if he can find something that will work in his S&W model 28.

They both are just getting into casting and are hoping to find something that will work before spending the extra for custom molds.

I worked for about an hour on Sunday before I was ready to chunk several MP, Lee, and a couple of Lyman molds out in the back yard. Fortunately for me though, I'm a calm cool headed fella and after taking a little walk around the shop to adjust the radio and try for the fifth time to win some concert tickets by being the 12 caller, (yeah right,) I decided to simply jack up the heat and whatcha know, I got handfulls of nice looking bullets just a jumping outta the molds.

So this evening I'll be rooting around to see what I already have poured up in .358, lubing and sizing those, and getting them ready to head East.

See there and ya'll thought I was just sittin around here thinking of ways to stir the pot...

LAH · January 7, 2016, 07:03 AM

Sounds like ya busy in Texas. I'm away from the pot at present trying to line out three 700 Remington rifles for an up coming p-dog hunt. One has yet to be fired (by me) and will probably need bedded. Also have a 03A3 cleaned & an ready for some boolits & who knows which road that will lead down? So not in much meanness here either. Maybe it was Beagle after all.

Mike / Tx · January 7, 2016, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Maybe it was Beagle after all.

Had to be, he likes to stir the pot and then just say he was fluxing things up.

Seriously though, I enjoy the kindred spirits here, as much or more than, well as I do elsewhere.

We might not always be on the leading edge of things but what we discuss and work through is meaningful to those who pursue this craft.

Oh and keep me updated on those 03A3 loads. I have oh around 5 of them in various forms around here, I would like to get going with something.

LAH · January 7, 2016, 09:12 PM

To begin with I'm going to try "The Load" in my 03-A3, 16 grains of 2400. Will also try a reduced load with Promo. I have a NOE clone of the RCBS 30-180-FN to try first. Hope to get at that before too long.

I did manage some range time today with two of my 700 Remington rifles. Got prairie dogs on my mind.

Beagle333 · January 8, 2016, 10:58 AM

I'm wrestling with two 98/22 Mausers that I have decided oughta shoot cast. But they don't want to. So I have enlisted help from a few folks and am troubleshooting these two and trying to figure out why they are leading with my cast bullets.

I have powdercoated them, lubed them on top of that, and rolled them in Ben's Liquid Lube (alox and Johnson floor wax) on top of the other stuff, and they still lead up from end to end.

'Gotta cast the chambers in Cerrosafe (been getting tips on how to do that without getting it all in the locking lugs and unwanted places) and I have a no-go gauge on the way from Brownell's to check the chambers. Then I'll work my way through the other things that might cause it as well.

LAH · January 8, 2016, 04:00 PM

Maybe the barrels are rough? I have a 223 which looked perfect but I knew it took way too long to clean. Once I removed the copper my gunsmith looked through the bore scope & let me see. That barrel is horrible. One land has a section gone from it. Haven't tried cast in this one but it still shoots condom bullets great for a factory gun. Any way just a thought.

Beagle333 · January 8, 2016, 05:51 PM

I loaded some nice NOE 326471 (I believe they were) that were powdercoated, then lubed halfway up with TAC#1 (Randy Rat's lube) and also rolled them heavily in Bens Liquid Lube and let that dry. They still load smoothly and chamber fine and when ejected, show no marks at all on the bullet. They are loaded over 13gr of RedDot and the COL is 2.860 and gas checked with aluminum checks. The alloy should be about 11.5 bhn.

And I know those powdercoated bullets work. I use that color and coating in my 30-30 all the time with no problems. The bore is always shiny afterward.

I looked all through the barrel with my endoscope before shooting them and it looked pretty clean and smooth. Perhaps I didn't get 100% of the copper out, but I thought I got most of it.

I'm going to experiment with sizes after I cast the chamber and make sure the headspace is correct.

LAH · January 8, 2016, 09:43 PM

You'll figure it out. Love those boolits.

Beagle333 · January 9, 2016, 11:08 PM

Well... the castings tell the tale of one of them at least. One is nice and smooth, but one of them has quite a bit of "chatter" of some sort in the bore. This is the one that tears the powdercoating just by chambering and then ejecting the round.

stubbicatt · January 10, 2016, 06:01 AM

Oh Beagle. That second barrel has to be a disappointment.

Perhaps leave that one to shoot jacketed bullets, and the other for your cast bullets. Or trade it on another that has a cast bullet friendly bore.

Mike / Tx · January 10, 2016, 06:26 AM

Well I don't know if it would help or not but you could try fire lapping it. From the looks it ain't gonna hurt it.

Then again if you aren't set on keeping the thing all original, there are some great barrel makers out there as well....

Beagle333 · January 10, 2016, 11:38 AM

I have my VZ24 at the 'smith now getting turned into a custom 35 Whelen, so this one doesn't get the full conversion right now. I guess I can just buy some jacket rounds and use it. Maybe I'll try to convert it to 8mm 06 and see if that'll get most of it out of there, or just shoot the one with a smooth bore (when I figure out why it isn't shooting cast either) and lean this one against the wall until I save a few pennies for sporting it out.

Or.... maybe I'll hit the $1.3B Powerball on Wednesday and not worry about any of them!

(gotta drive to GA and get a ticket)

LAH · January 10, 2016, 03:18 PM

Impressed with the castings. Guess you figured how to keep it out of the lugs?

Beagle333 · January 10, 2016, 06:33 PM

I made a small funnel with a cut up Dr. Pepper can and some metal duct tape. I had already cast my 30-30, so I knew how much Cerrosafe it took to do the chamber and I heated that much in a Lyman ladle with a torch and just quickly dumped it in the funnel. (Barrel was plugged with piece of cleaning patch) I'll take a pic.

stubbicatt · January 10, 2016, 07:49 PM

Beagle, what did you plug the barrel with so the cerrosafe didn't run out the muzzle?

Beagle333 · January 10, 2016, 09:43 PM

I had a 1/4" aluminum rod (36" long) and I put a small piece (single layer) of cleaning patch over the rod and then when I had pushed the rod to the correct depth from throat (from the muzzle end, of course), I taped the aluminum rod to the barrel while I did the pour. I hung the gun up from the roof on a wire wrapped through the trigger guard and around the stock so the rod wouldn't bang the ground.
Then, about 5 minutes after the pour, I took the rifle down and removed the tape and used the rod to tap the casting out the breech.

LAH · January 11, 2016, 09:24 PM

Thanks Beagle, never did one.

January 5, 2016, 09:01 PM	#3
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	I believe those were actually scraper grooves, weren't they? __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile.

January 6, 2016, 05:03 AM	#5
Mike / Tx Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2000 Posts: 2,101	First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all. Good to see you back Lynn, hope all is well with you and yours. That one on the left there DOES look like it hits hard. I have a similar mold but couldn't tell you right now if it is that one or not. I tried some out of my little Ruger 16.5" barreled .308 loaded to what I thought was about 30-30 velocities. WOW, they shot awesome, but all I recovered was pieces. I'm sure it would have done better on something a bit less resistant than a bucket full of damp sand, but I would hate to have thought I put one into the shoulder of a deer and it did that. What is your powder choice for the 30-30? I have a 14" Contender chambered in 30-30 AI I am thinking about trying them in next, well once I get some more poured up anyway. Got to run good to see you all again especially you Lynn. You and your coffee pot need to come around more often. __________________ LAter, Mike / TX

January 6, 2016, 06:25 PM	#7
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	I was behaving..... it was all Mike's fault! (whatever it was....) __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile.

January 7, 2016, 05:06 AM	#9
Mike / Tx Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2000 Posts: 2,101	I see right now how this is gonna be.... I have to say I have been behaving nicely, and playing well with others, even if I have say so myself. Right now I am in the middle (argg) of getting a couple of batches of cast .410's done up to send over to a local fella as a PIF sort of thing. Got all set up and ready to size some on my Saeco and wouldn't ya know it I can't find the darned top punch....got some ordered from NOE hopefully be here ASAP. Meanwhile, well took last night off since the inlaws are here, I'm also going to send out another little care package of mixed .358's to a fella over in NC to see if he can find something that will work in his S&W model 28. They both are just getting into casting and are hoping to find something that will work before spending the extra for custom molds. I worked for about an hour on Sunday before I was ready to chunk several MP, Lee, and a couple of Lyman molds out in the back yard. Fortunately for me though, I'm a calm cool headed fella and after taking a little walk around the shop to adjust the radio and try for the fifth time to win some concert tickets by being the 12 caller, (yeah right,) I decided to simply jack up the heat and whatcha know, I got handfulls of nice looking bullets just a jumping outta the molds. So this evening I'll be rooting around to see what I already have poured up in .358, lubing and sizing those, and getting them ready to head East. See there and ya'll thought I was just sittin around here thinking of ways to stir the pot... __________________ LAter, Mike / TX

January 8, 2016, 10:58 AM	#13
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	30 Caliber I'm wrestling with two 98/22 Mausers that I have decided oughta shoot cast. But they don't want to. So I have enlisted help from a few folks and am troubleshooting these two and trying to figure out why they are leading with my cast bullets. I have powdercoated them, lubed them on top of that, and rolled them in Ben's Liquid Lube (alox and Johnson floor wax) on top of the other stuff, and they still lead up from end to end. 'Gotta cast the chambers in Cerrosafe (been getting tips on how to do that without getting it all in the locking lugs and unwanted places) and I have a no-go gauge on the way from Brownell's to check the chambers. Then I'll work my way through the other things that might cause it as well. Last edited by Beagle333; January 10, 2016 at 10:52 PM.

January 4, 2016, 10:09 PM	#1
LAH Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2002 Location: In The Hardwoods Posts: 1,188	30 Caliber The left bullet for my 30-30 & the right for my 30-06.

January 5, 2016, 07:10 AM	#2
stubbicatt Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2007 Posts: 1,707	Do they shoot well? When I look at the bullet on the left it appears to be a two diameter bullet, the nose section smaller than the shank portion. Those are some significant crimping grooves. Do you find that you have a very heavy crimp with these bullets? Does a very heavy crimp help them to shoot well?

January 5, 2016, 09:50 PM	#4
LAH Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2002 Location: In The Hardwoods Posts: 1,188	They do shoot well. The Lyman 311440 [left] is a great 30-30 bullet. It hits hard for the 150 gr. weight. The NOE 311284 [right] I purchased for my 30-06. I've not took time to shoot this bullet much but it did work fair with IMR 4895. I do slightly crimp the smaller bullet for the 30-30 but the larger bullet uses no crimp in the '06.

January 6, 2016, 06:00 AM	#6
LAH Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2002 Location: In The Hardwoods Posts: 1,188	Thanks for the kind words Mike, retirement keeps me busy. I've shot IMR 3031 with most my cast 30/30 loads. I'm still working with this bullet but have excellent results with the RCBS 30-180-FN using 22 grains. That bullet engraved the lands on it's nose an would stay under 2" at a hundred sometimes going a 1/2 inch less. While the Lyman doesn't engrave the lands it is a snug fit. I love my thurty thurty. It's one of the first post 64 Winchester's to come off the line. I'm on my phone now and have a funeral to preach today but when things settle down I'll try to post a few more pics. BTW I do check in from time to time to be sure Beagle & you are behaving.

January 7, 2016, 07:03 AM	#10
LAH Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2002 Location: In The Hardwoods Posts: 1,188	Sounds like ya busy in Texas. I'm away from the pot at present trying to line out three 700 Remington rifles for an up coming p-dog hunt. One has yet to be fired (by me) and will probably need bedded. Also have a 03A3 cleaned & an ready for some boolits & who knows which road that will lead down? So not in much meanness here either. Maybe it was Beagle after all.

January 7, 2016, 09:12 PM	#12
LAH Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2002 Location: In The Hardwoods Posts: 1,188	To begin with I'm going to try "The Load" in my 03-A3, 16 grains of 2400. Will also try a reduced load with Promo. I have a NOE clone of the RCBS 30-180-FN to try first. Hope to get at that before too long. I did manage some range time today with two of my 700 Remington rifles. Got prairie dogs on my mind.

January 8, 2016, 04:00 PM	#14
LAH Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2002 Location: In The Hardwoods Posts: 1,188	Maybe the barrels are rough? I have a 223 which looked perfect but I knew it took way too long to clean. Once I removed the copper my gunsmith looked through the bore scope & let me see. That barrel is horrible. One land has a section gone from it. Haven't tried cast in this one but it still shoots condom bullets great for a factory gun. Any way just a thought.

January 8, 2016, 05:51 PM	#15
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	I loaded some nice NOE 326471 (I believe they were) that were powdercoated, then lubed halfway up with TAC#1 (Randy Rat's lube) and also rolled them heavily in Bens Liquid Lube and let that dry. They still load smoothly and chamber fine and when ejected, show no marks at all on the bullet. They are loaded over 13gr of RedDot and the COL is 2.860 and gas checked with aluminum checks. The alloy should be about 11.5 bhn. And I know those powdercoated bullets work. I use that color and coating in my 30-30 all the time with no problems. The bore is always shiny afterward. I looked all through the barrel with my endoscope before shooting them and it looked pretty clean and smooth. Perhaps I didn't get 100% of the copper out, but I thought I got most of it. I'm going to experiment with sizes after I cast the chamber and make sure the headspace is correct. __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile.

January 8, 2016, 09:43 PM	#16
LAH Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2002 Location: In The Hardwoods Posts: 1,188	You'll figure it out. Love those boolits.

January 9, 2016, 11:08 PM	#17
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	Well... the castings tell the tale of one of them at least. One is nice and smooth, but one of them has quite a bit of "chatter" of some sort in the bore. This is the one that tears the powdercoating just by chambering and then ejecting the round. __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile.

January 10, 2016, 06:01 AM	#18
stubbicatt Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2007 Posts: 1,707	Oh Beagle. That second barrel has to be a disappointment. Perhaps leave that one to shoot jacketed bullets, and the other for your cast bullets. Or trade it on another that has a cast bullet friendly bore.

January 10, 2016, 06:26 AM	#19
Mike / Tx Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2000 Posts: 2,101	Well I don't know if it would help or not but you could try fire lapping it. From the looks it ain't gonna hurt it. Then again if you aren't set on keeping the thing all original, there are some great barrel makers out there as well.... __________________ LAter, Mike / TX

January 10, 2016, 11:38 AM	#20
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	I have my VZ24 at the 'smith now getting turned into a custom 35 Whelen, so this one doesn't get the full conversion right now. I guess I can just buy some jacket rounds and use it. Maybe I'll try to convert it to 8mm 06 and see if that'll get most of it out of there, or just shoot the one with a smooth bore (when I figure out why it isn't shooting cast either) and lean this one against the wall until I save a few pennies for sporting it out. Or.... maybe I'll hit the $1.3B Powerball on Wednesday and not worry about any of them! (gotta drive to GA and get a ticket) __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile.

January 10, 2016, 03:18 PM	#21
LAH Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2002 Location: In The Hardwoods Posts: 1,188	Impressed with the castings. Guess you figured how to keep it out of the lugs?

January 10, 2016, 06:33 PM	#22
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	30 Caliber I made a small funnel with a cut up Dr. Pepper can and some metal duct tape. I had already cast my 30-30, so I knew how much Cerrosafe it took to do the chamber and I heated that much in a Lyman ladle with a torch and just quickly dumped it in the funnel. (Barrel was plugged with piece of cleaning patch) I'll take a pic. Last edited by Beagle333; January 10, 2016 at 07:48 PM.

January 10, 2016, 07:49 PM	#23
stubbicatt Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2007 Posts: 1,707	Beagle, what did you plug the barrel with so the cerrosafe didn't run out the muzzle?

January 10, 2016, 09:43 PM	#24
Beagle333 Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2012 Location: Auburn, AL. Posts: 2,332	I had a 1/4" aluminum rod (36" long) and I put a small piece (single layer) of cleaning patch over the rod and then when I had pushed the rod to the correct depth from throat (from the muzzle end, of course), I taped the aluminum rod to the barrel while I did the pour. I hung the gun up from the roof on a wire wrapped through the trigger guard and around the stock so the rod wouldn't bang the ground. Then, about 5 minutes after the pour, I took the rifle down and removed the tape and used the rod to tap the casting out the breech. __________________ . . . Have a Colt and a smile.

January 11, 2016, 09:24 PM	#25
LAH Senior Member Join Date: March 22, 2002 Location: In The Hardwoods Posts: 1,188	Thanks Beagle, never did one.