30-30 cast bullet?

[wisconsinteacher]

I have my dad's and great grandpa's 30-30s. I do not plan on hunting with them but I would like to shoot them. Would it be worth looking at lead cast bullets? If so, what weight and powder would you look at? Also, how hard is it to cast bullets? My dad has pounds of lead from old sewer pipes at home.

 

[SJB358]

Check out Beartooth's bullets WT..

http://www.beartoothbullets.com/bulletselect/index.htm

Dave will be along when he see's the word "CAST" and school you. He is the guy I am trying to learn from.

Sounds like a cool project though.

 

[RiverRider]

I would buy some high quality cast bullets, and maybe more than one style or type, and shoot them to see how the rifles like 'em. Since cast bullets generally don't shoot well too far beyond 2000 fps or so anyway I would try the heaviest bullets appropriate and available. Just be careful you don't get sucked into the casting game unless you just really wanna shoot cast bullets a lot! It can be a very time consuming endeavor...expensive, too. If you buy equipment then you feel like you have to cast by the thousands to make your investment pay off, and people who now know you well may come to regard you as the stranger out in the garage.

 

[PJGunner]

I have my dad's and great grandpa's 30-30s. I do not plan on hunting with them but I would like to shoot them. Would it be worth looking at lead cast bullets? If so, what weight and powder would you look at? Also, how hard is it to cast bullets? My dad has pounds of lead from old sewer pipes at home.

Shooting cast lead can be an addiction. How do I know? Well I'm 74 years old and I've been doing it since I was 16. First was to feed my S&W 38/44 Outdoorsman in .38 Spl. and the second gun was my Great grandfather's M94 30-30 carbine made in 1911. Proably the two most popular bullets for the 30-30 are both from Lyman, #311291 and #31141, now called #311041 IIRC. I have both molds and another, the RCBS #30-180-FN which casts a 190 gr. bullet in my alloy. All three bullets take a gas check BTW.
Your sewer pipe lead will most likely be way too soft so you will have to add tin and antimony to the mix to harden it up some.
On te bullets mentioned, I would suggest the #311291 as a first choice. While the other two ae very popular and people have decent groups from them,I've never been able to get #31141 to shoot worth a damn in my 30-30 rifles and I have two of those molds plus a clone by NEI. The RCBS is a fair shooter as well and I use it to duplicate the .303 Savage in my rifles. With a proper alloy you can reach full power 30-30 loads if your bore is in decent shape. I can give you the recipe for my alloy bit it's a bit complicated. 10 pounds of cleaned wheel weights, one pound of linotype a three foot piece of 95/5 percent lead free solder and a one-third cup of magnum/chilled bird shot sized 7 1/2 of smaller. Shot size is important as the smaller the shot the greater the amount of arsenic in the melt. Alloy is great as is for hunting and if you water drop the bulletss thy get harder than an IRS auditor's heart.
You say you don't plan on huntig with them but I'll give odds that if you do get into it with any depth at all, you are going to try it at least once. I've taken 15 deer with the #311291 and 2 with the RCBS bullet. All 17 deer had absolutely no complaints about the effectiveness of those cast bullets. All were one shot kills BTW. Get a copy of the Lyman cast bullet load manual and read up on it. My recommedation for #311291 goes a lot farther than the 30-30. I have a load for my .308 Win. that will do 1.5 MOA at 200 yards if it's not too windy and 2.5 MOA at 300 yards. That's from a Winchester M70 Youth ranger that sits in a Ramline stock. A very expensive rifle as it cost me $1.00 for the raffle ticket at a gun show. The stock was made for a midget so I put in it the Ramline.
There is a learning process to shooting cast so success does not always happen right off the bat. Bullet size is very important. I use .310" for all my .30 caliber cast bullet shooting.
My latest cast project it getting a Browning B78 single shot in 30-06 to shoot the 220 gr. Lyman #31284 bullet. The bullets are made up, the brass is prepped and now I'm waiting until the end of January to do the load work. Right now I'm load tinkering with several rifles for my upcoming elk hunt in Jauary.
Paul B.

 

[FOTIS]

I agree with Scott. I have used Beartooth bullets in the past in various instances with good results.
A few years ago I handloaded the 335 grain .430" bullet in my 444 with great success.

 

[Marcccc]

I am brand new here but not to cast bullets or as we say on another forum cast "boolits". As has been said it can easily become a hobby of its own. I currently cast for 308win, 30-30, 7mm-08, Marlin 444, 35 Remington, and quite a few pistol calibers. Word of warning. Most people start by trying a commercially cast bullet with some hard lube and get discouraged very quickly. One misguided fact is most people believe that a harder cast bullet is better. After many years I have actually found much better results from a softer alloy. The key with cast bullets at rifle velocities is bullet fit and most available commercially cast bullets are sized too small to fit in as many chambers as possible. If this is an endeavor that you really want try I would recommend visiting castboolits.gunloads and read, read, and read some more. It can be very rewarding but does require someone willing to do allot of experimentation. By the way I got into it originally to save money but as you can guess that didn't happen. I am currently pushing a 173gr cast gas checked bullet from a Lyman 311041 mold that is sized to my barrel (.310 diameter) at 2240 fps with zero leading in a microgroove 336 marlin in 30-30.

Here is a 100 yd target

I also use my cast boolits in my 444 for wild pigs

Here is that boolit

 

[Marcccc]

I've never been able to get #31141 to shoot worth a damn in my 30-30 rifles and I have two of those molds plus a clone by NEI.

I used to feel the same about that mold. I purchased 2 diff ones and both shot like crap no matter what I did. One day at the range a gent I knew was selling his so I bought it because he swore it shot great. After casting a few with his and measuring them I found his mold to cast a full .002 larger than either of mine and they shot great so off to eBay the others went. His mold was substantially older than mine so I assume they used to cut the cavities larger. By the way that 311291 you mentioned is so far my best performer in the 308win.

Marcccc

 

[SJB358]

Great to have you aboard Marcccc, that is great info and a cool hog you swatted with the 444!

 

[RiverRider]

Here is that boolit

...and Lordy, those are fearsome looking! Beautifully cast, too.

Good to see another practitioner of the art here!

 

[DrMike]

Welcome aboard Marcccc. No doubt you'll make a fine contribution to the forum. I fearfully watch the cast boolit guys, knowing how addictive such things can be.

 

[SJB358]

Welcome aboard Marcccc. No doubt you'll make a fine contribution to the forum. I fearfully watch the cast boolit guys, knowing how addictive such things can be.

Almost as much as the Winchester's Mike... Scary addiction....

 

[DrMike]

Welcome aboard Marcccc. No doubt you'll make a fine contribution to the forum. I fearfully watch the cast boolit guys, knowing how addictive such things can be.

Almost as much as the Winchester's Mike... Scary addiction....

True, dat. :shock: I'm already looking for another safe.