Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting Heavy cast bullets & powder for .30-30

Im contemplating a .30-30 rifle and using heavy cast bullets in it. The .30-30 seems ideal for cast, from what ive read on the subject heavy cast bullets seem to have the upper hand over jacket in .30-30

Im thinking of either the RCBS 180 gn FN or the Lyman 173 gn FN obviously dependinmg on alloy weight could range from 170gn-190gn

What powders should produce top velocity with such heavy cast gas checked bullets ??

Any experince would be nice to hear i reckon heavy hard cast should penatrate extremely well indeed.

Regards Englander

Powders in the burn range of IMR 3031, 4895, and H-335 will work fine in the .30/30. Not knowing the use for your loads, my suggestion is to limit velocity to the 1600 to 1800 fps and find the most accurate load. If hunting is your goal, 1800 to 1900 fps is sufficent for close range deer. Lyman's reloading handbook has a wealth of information on cast bullets.-JDL

Englander,
My personal hunting load uses a paper patched bullet with 170 grains of pure lead at 2150 FPS.I use 30.5 Gr IMR#3031.
With a lubed,groovedcast lead bullet,soft enough for efficient killing,I use IMR#4198. The bullet has a gas check and I use a Dacron wad over the powder. It is Lyman #311041 bullet,and I keep the velocity between 1850 and 1900 FPS.
Frank

Englander. I shoot the RCBS #30-180-FN. In my alloy, it casts ougt at 189.9 gr. average, heck call it a 190 gr. bullet. The powders I used was W-748 or IMR-4985. For hunting, you should be able to reach 1900-2000 FPS in a 20" barrel. 30.0 gr. of W-748 is considered max in the RCBS cast bullet book. I don't have my data for 4895 handy, but 25.0 gr. should be a safe starting point.
Paul B.

Englander, I have been thinking about one of those old bolt action Savage 30-30's for years in which to shoot cast bullets. Let us know how your experiment goes. What action are you going to use?