Now this is an interesting test. You’re pressure is up in .300 Winchester Magnum territory.
Was this new brass, once fired or used brass?
I would like to have measured the PRE on these cases. .4221” or .4222”? I don’t know if the 219 Savage has an oval cut chamber as the lever action rifles do. The Winchester and Marlin rifles have the rear of the chamber cur oval to facilitate chambering.
Would make for an interesting comparison of the Quick Load estimate and what you might see at the pressure ring.
I believe, based on the estimates I would have stopped at a 35.5 grain charge.
Have you looked at the locking lugs on your rifle. My father had a Savage shotgun similar to your 219. Dad shot this one a lot with various insert barrels. The .45 ACP and .222 Remington being his favorites. Some of his loads left a mark on the locking lugs and he took it to heart – backing off on his experimenting.
Your experiment says a lot for the extractor on the Savage 219.
We have done nothing similar to this with the standard .30-30.
Dad modified a Lyman 311284, 210 grain bullet mold to round nose. This bullet now weighs 215 grains with gas check and lubed. I load it light and 5.8 grains of V.V. N310 will give us 963 fps from the 26” Buffalo Bill Model 94.
The 220 grain Sierra HPBT Match bullet ahead of 26.0 grains of Hodgdon Varget gives us excellent accuracy at 1,829 fps – 1 ¾” at 100 yards if the light is on our back using the Lyman receiver sight. 2” to 2 ½” if the light is not so good. The target is a 3” black rectangle on off white paper with a half round cut in the bottom of the rectangle. Raise the bead up into the half round.
The 220 grain Hornady JRN bullet ahead of 33.0 grain of Hodgdon Varget gives us 2,084 fps with similar accuracy.
Funny how the round nose bullet perfoms better at higher pressure in this Model 94.
Perhaps of interest, the Peters 180 grain factory .30-30 was advertised at 2,120 fps from the 26” in 1940.
You are now in the company of “Three Fingered Phil” Sharpe – “That Old Thutty-Thutty”, American Rifleman, March 1952. A 31” Hi Wall Phil and his friend loaded to above an estimated 60,000 CUP looking for a ½” group from a .30 caliber rifle. They didn’t get their ½” group but they had no brass problems and no sticky extraction.
