casting for 30-30

hitch.bd

hitch.bd

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Hi guys, I'm trying to find a decent mould for a 30-30 Winchester mod 94. I have only just started casting and have yet to fire anything I have casted...other than the #000 buck I cast from a .36 cal ball mould.
I bought a Lee .357 mould from a nutter on this sight...it was "well used" and the sprue plate fell off in short order. Aluminum is too soft I guess. I now have a steel RCBS single cav mould it seems to be holding up well but I am waiting on getting a lubrisizer die for the .357. I am looking for a little info on what brand/grain of mould to get for the above mentioned 30-30 Win. It would just be for target plinking as that is all I use the old girl for any more! She still has the heart but my eyes like the scope on my 30.06 for hunting!
They say a little knowledge is dangerous ...so turn me into the boogie man please!!!
regards, Brad
 
The 30-30 is a very forgiving caliber to load for. All my 30-30's love the Lyman 311041 sized to .311 and with the appropriate lube it will keep inside an inch at 50 yards all day. I have a hollow point version of the 31041 (older production) that I have harvested many deer with over the years.

RCBS makes two nice ones 30-150-FN and there 30-180-FN, I have had good success with both.

Saeco 315 is a good bullet also.

As far as molds go the lee 6 cavity aluminum is ok as long you keep it clean and well lubed. The single or two cavity molds from lee are junk and last at most one year before being hopelessly useless.

A 4 cavity Lyman is a great mold but since it is steel it is very heavy and you need to take a break once in a while to regain your strength again.

I have a collection of Hensley and Gibbs molds and by far they are the cats meow. Most of them are from the 50-60's and will be buried with me, lol.

Just my 2 cents worth.
 
Another vote for Lyman's 311041, at 173grs. depending on alloy, very accurate in all my .30 cal guns, too bad they don't make it in 4 cavity. This gas check mold used to be # 31041, and may be Lyman's best selling mold ever( along with #429421, 457122, 452460)
 
I have 4 Lee molds that shoot quite well out of my 30-30. 90366 and 90368 are the flat nose ones and 90367 and 90369 are the round nose ones(single shot). All gas checked.
The issue people have with lee molds can be sprayed away with a can of dry graphite. You get a new Lee mold and generously lubricate it with spray graphite and it will perform very well for 100s if not 1000s of bullets. I touch it up every once in a while under the sprue plate and such. Some people use candle smoke, others have their own process, but if you use dry graphite you will be amazed. I have 28 Lee molds that work flawless coated in graphite.
I have one lee mold that doesn't work flawless 90491 hollow point 405gr 45-70 cal. It was 2nd hand and wasn't coated in graphite so the band for the hollow point to fit in got mushroomed by lead sticking in it. I cleaned out the band but its sloppy and gets lead in it again quickly. $5 yard sale experiment.
 
You do not say if you are going to hunt with it or just shoot paper

for both i would get the RCBS 30-180-FN mould (you need gas checks)

pro's

Flat nose so you can still use it in a tube mag

from what i have read can be very accurate

180g retain energy more, so more knock down power

lots of powder choices
trail boss for a light plinker 1000fps
to other powders to 2000fps plus
just work up a load and stop when you get the best groups

can be used in 308/30-06/300win etc later on
 
I use my old Lyman 311284, wheelweights cast 210 gr and .310" diameter, no sizing, lubed with 50/50 mixture of Crisco and Johnson's Past Wax, and loaded to 1400 fps with IMR3031.

Redneck load, for sure, but accurate and cheap, and you can ask my friend, Matt, what it does to bears at 90 feet.

Ted
 
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For fun plinking and indoor range shooting, I use Lee 93 gr. bullets over 5 or 6 grains of 700X. Very nice load to shoot and a lot of the time I don't even resize the case. As said above, the 30-30 is very forgiving, especially if you aren't loading bazooka power loads. :)
 
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I use Lyman 311291 and 31141, sized to .309", no gas checks, with 6 grs of 700-x. Makes a fun shooting plinking load and is reasonably accurate in my rifles (an old 1894 Winchester and a newer 94 Winchester). This load does tend to leave the case necks quite sooty, but it wipes off easily with a bit of Hoppes on a cleaning patch.
 
just having some fun said:
You do not say if you are going to hunt with it or just shoot paper

for both i would get the RCBS 30-180-FN mould (you need gas checks)

pro's

Flat nose so you can still use it in a tube mag

from what i have read can be very accurate

180g retain energy more, so more knock down power

lots of powder choices
trail boss for a light plinker 1000fps
to other powders to 2000fps plus
just work up a load and stop when you get the best groups

can be used in 308/30-06/300win etc later on
Click to expand...

Thanks for your info and help.
ps. I did say it is just for paper because my eyes like the scope for hunting!
 
Thanks to all of you for your quick replies! I see a variety of ideas on sizing...from not sizing to .311 down to .309 dia.. Do you run them thru the lubrisizer?
lube or don't lube, how do you decide what size to go? Thanks again, Brad
 
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