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300 Blackout, 210 grain, 1100fps, recovered from damp sand:




And pretty accurate:

50 yards, squares measure .4", 5 shots, BHN - 10ish

Pat, a fellow named Paul Matthews president published a book “The Paper Jacket” a little more than 20 years ago that was my path to success. My rifle had a distinct preference for PP lead rather than jacketed bullets.

I fiddle with cross strip patch on target ML guns as well. Paper can be your best buddy some days, but with some trial, error and close attention naked lead can perform quite well.

What paper is used ? One wrap or more? Any trouble with the paper during seating ? Guess case needs a good chamfer and bell.. Any adhesive involved to the the paper to adhere to the lead ?

Those look like a pure pb swaged bullet ??

I see the book is still available and I have a copy on the way !

Thank you !

I patch cast and swaged bullets with equal results. Onion skin paper, weight being a measure of thickness. 9# onion skin mic’s at .002”. Dress pattern typically mic’s .0015”. 2-3 wraps works, precision cutting of the paper works. No glue. Wrap the patches wet and let dry. A light wipe of lube is your friend. I use 50/50 beeswax/Vasoline. Dims are the important facto, heavy flares not required. A taper crimp die is the best, and roll crimps suck.

Looks like solid gold in a few words.. I definitely pay heed ! Thanks for the info.

To carry this a bit farther, what would be a good bullet mold for a .30-30? Seems like a good place to start !

And would you get one using gas checks or plain base?

I use the Lyman 311041 for the .30-30 w/gaschecks. BHN roughly equivalent to wheel weights (12), or a bit softer. Have shot them at velocity a hair over 2150 FPS with groups a wee bit bigger than 1” at 50 yds, that with a Win94 Trapper.

Same bullet w/o gaschecks has put 5 into less than .2” at 50 yds from my Contender with the .30 Sneezer

Thanks Dan, appreciate you sharing your knowledge with an old newbie !

As I mentioned elsewhere I had casting equipment back in the early '70s.. Many molds, all for pistol though.. Somehow all that stuff disappeared over the years so will start the accumulation again.. More time now anyway.

311041 is a good general use bullet in 30 cal rifles. i haven't hunted with them. i lube and install gas checks using a .311 sizer. i have tried others and found none better. as for alloy, wheel weights plus a little tin.

generally 4198 is a good choice.

If I were in your very shoes right now, I'd go to the Cast Boolit Forum and trade that lead wire for clip-on wheel weight (COWW) ingots. COWW alloy does just about everything unless you're wanting to cast HP's, then you might want to stick to a Pb/Sn alloy. Otherwise save the headache of mixing metals. Over the last year I've been messing with the .30 Carbine, running gas-checked bullets cast from air-cooled COWW right up to 2000 fps without and leading. The last few years I've hunted strictly with .357's., .44 Specials, and 45 Colts and have figured out that, at least with the latter two mentioned, you don't really need expanding bullets for game the size of deer and hogs.

35WN

Introduction to the 311041 destined for the Mod 94:


50 yard target, just foolin' around. H335 is not my favorite powder for the .30-30.




The bullet does better in my T/C Contender sans gas check.


The Sneezer shoots....


And I dabble with all manner of toys.

Beautifully cast bullets. If you will, are you running them through a 450 to size and lube or ? Have you settled on a particular lube..

Yes, the Sneezer shoots !! I'm sure you've ruined a pigs day with that or even fed the gators.

The 94 does pretty well too. I have an '54 marlin 1/2 tube .30 and a Win 64 I'm going to run some lead through..

Wonder if a 14 twist barrel would stabilize the 311041?

I have a blank laying on the bench that could chamber in either a .30BR or a .308

Pat, .457 size die and pan lube with SPG. The Sneezer bullets are sized to .309 and lubed with ALOX

Twist rate and the 311041? 12: in a Mod 94, the Sneezer is 12" also. 311041 that I cast is .990" long and weighs 176 gr w/o gas check.

Greenhill formula says it will work in a 14" twist at 1800 fps. There isn't much wiggle room. Says that a minimum twist is 14.5"

Thanks again.

Not positive why I have the 14 twist Shilen.. Thinking I was going to experiment with some 125 noslers. Must have gone a different route..
Anyway, it's not much good for anything else, be a fun project. See if it likes lead..

The 311041 is a good choice for the 30-30, I used it years ago at roughly 1950 fps to take several whitetail with boringly efficient results. That was in a peep sighted M94 Ranger which has since gone down the road because of it's horrible trigger. My only 3 cal now is an old JC Higgins M51-L 308 that shoots better with the NOE version of the Saeco #315, 180 gr tapered shank, flat point. I've seen some say it works well in the 30-30 also. I've taken several deer with it in the last 3 years, no rodeos, no recovered bullets.

The RCBS 30-150-FNGC works very well in the .30-30, too, when cast from wheelweights, with Hornady gas checks attached, lubed with 50/50 Alox/beeswax, and loaded over 15gr. SR4759. However, these examples were commercially cast by Montana Bullet Works (I’m gettin’ lazy), but also propelled by 15gr. SR4759 at about 1,680 fps. Results at 100 yards:



At 6 pounds, the trigger pull on this Savage 219 is nearly equal to the rifle weight, but releases crisply.

You best watch out for DD he is a trick shooter for sure.

I started out by reading everything i could find about cast bullet shooting and after 15 years or more i still don't know everything.

But is fun to play the game,sometimes you win and others you just melt them back down and try again.