45-70 and 30-30 bullets from bullet barn

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mikeboehm

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well I decided to buy Hard cast bullets from the bullet barn. Now the 45-70 which bullet do u recommend. Also since I'm new to this type of reloading what's the difference between gas checked and not gas checked. then some bullets have one two or three lube grooves which is better and why.


now I'm looking at the 165 grain bullets for the 30 30 at Bullet barn. anyone use these
 
With gas checks you can run them faster....

Lube grooves really do not make a big difference as far as I know.

Make sure you read up on he loads, as they are less than regular bullets.
 
I ordered the 390gr gas checked bullets in 45-70 and the 250gr 45LC from them in November (and still waiting for them.....).

However, your reloading manual and the Hodgdon web site will contain data on reloading CAST bullets. Use that data for lead bullets.

Gas checked ones can be driven a little faster. How much faster is a matter of opinion, I have found. Some manuals will contain specific info on GC bullets, and I've found the guys here to have a lot more useful info on the subject than the 'net
 
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The bullet barn people are great folks, but their bullets are harder than a woodpeckers nuts. Most of us don't need alloy that hard. Most important thing is bullet fit.
 
I actually prefer how hard they are compared to some other 30/30 casts I've tried. The 165gn dlg rnfp shoots very nicely in my '94 carbine. A favored load with them is a push from 8gn of Unique. Zero leading, and they penetrate well. I ring a heavy steel gong I set up at 90 yards 5/6 times from a full mag consistently. The bullet drop is predictable and consistent.
 
Melnibonean said:
I ordered the 390gr gas checked bullets in 45-70 and the 250gr 45LC from them in November (and still waiting for them.....).

However, your reloading manual and the Hodgdon web site will contain data on reloading CAST bullets. Use that data for lead bullets.

Gas checked ones can be driven a little faster. How much faster is a matter of opinion, I have found. Some manuals will contain specific info on GC bullets, and I've found the guys here to have a lot more useful info on the subject than the 'net
Click to expand...

Read enough older reloading manuals and the velocity number of 1500-1555 fps is mentioned more then once or twice for cast lead requiring a GC or otherwise.

Cheers!
 
I shot a pig thru the shoulder with a cast bullet from the Bullet Barn and recovered it and I would say I could load it again with no problems. All it has on it is marks from the lands of my 30-30. My light load uses Red Dot.
 
How fast you can drive them depends on which gun your shooting and if it has a gas check.
Copper gas check will prevent the bullet from failing and leading up your rifling.

These bullet barn bullets are quite hard but they work nicely i've been using them for nearly 10 years or so without issue , I settled on gas check 405 Grains awhile back and bought like 800 rounds so Im still using them up.

I don't shoot my 45-70 as much anymore so they are lasting quite some time it seems.

Anyhow as far as how hot is too hot.

If your shooting a Marlin Leaver action Id say 405Grn at 1800FPS is your upper limits of the gun I would go no further and even some may say that is too dang much already.

If your shooting a trapdoor or anything like that reduce loads accordingly.

You need a good reloading handbook they will tell you which actions can take what pressures and follow accordingly.

The 45-70Gov is one rifle that i've found doesn't always shoot better at higher pressures like some cartridges prefer.

All it does is beat the heck out of your shoulder and make you shoot worse :p.

So keep things reasonable and work up a nice load and take your time and things should work out for you.
 
I use the 165gr hard cast in my 30-30 with trail boss. About 1,000 fps dirt cheap and fun way to get the winchester out busting tin cans.
 
Hi everyone, just have quick question. Do you find the bullets to hard and will they size to your spec. I haven't slug my barrel yet
I was looking at there 390 gr 45-70 bullet and the picture is not the same as the bullet and just wondering if anybody could post the pic of the bullet
THANKS
 
I asked Andy at BB about sizing to my spec. He can do it but you need to buy enough at one go to justify the special work. If you order up a 1000 sized to spec he said there would be no additional charge. Otherwise there would be a nominal charge. I never pursued it any farther. Also he can only size it down by so much. So any particular needs would require an email to them.

It's a two or three person operation though so they are willing to do special batches if they have the tooling for what you want. If it's an oddball size that they don't have on the shelf they aren't going to order up a die for one specific order though.

Depending on the rifle you may find that you want to stay down around 1100 to 1300fps with the 45-70. That seems to be where the big Sharps are all happiest. For the .30-30 you want to be up around 1800fps to 2000fps and pressure plus temperature of the charge is higher. So a GC bullet is the way to go there.
 
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