Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 30-30 Loads for Glenfield lever gun

I just bought two boxes of Sierra 150gr. bullets that I'm going to load for my brother's rifle. I have never loaded 30-30 ammo in all my years of loading, but in these times he needs a little help.

I've got Winchester brass and primers, the Sierra bullets above and most of the usual powders that would be mentioned. I would like to not have to use my prime powders, so I am seeking loading experiences with powders such as RL7, H335, A2015 and A2520. A couple of loads were mentioned in the "Good 30-30 Loads" down in the big game rifles section, however, any good experiences with these powders would be appreciated.

I've heard good things about RL7 & H335 for sure in a 30-30, and probably A2520, but I've not used any of these in either of my 30-30's. In my Mod 64 the most accurate load I've ever used was with Sierra 150g Pro Hunters and Leverevolution @ 2400fps. If you're referring to the Pro Hunter bullet, I recommend pushing them fast, they're a little hard, and need extra speed for expansion, based upon several tests I did with them last year. Very accurate!

I've only used one of the powders mentioned, the
AA2520. My most accurate load for my daddy's old
Marlin and Sierra #2000 bullets was 32.5
I've tried the Lever powder and ammunition with the
FTX bullets, but I didn't do well
I've done the best with W748 , AA2520, and RL15.
The RL15 got hard to find and I haven't seen any
in a while. The AA2520 was plentiful and cheap when
it first appeared around here, but it's been scarce for
a while here. I have adequate 748 and it's a good
powder for 30/30, .308win, and. 223
If you find something that works well for you,
I'd advise buying a goodly amount of it before it
becomes scarce, or gets discontinued as seems
to happen all too often to me
Good Luck

IMR 3031, H-335 and RL7 have been good to me with 150 grain round nose bullets. Don't try to hotrod the loads. They work just fine at standard velocities.

They are Sierra #2000 150gr. Pro-hunters. Thanks for the heads up, I would not have thought of them as being a very hard bullet.

I've got RL15 and Varget but I don't want to give up a pound of either for this project. I'm looking to clean up some single cans or in the case of H335 a bunch of it.

I've never used any of those in any of the 30-30s I've owned over the years, except H335, and results with it were mediocre. I've owned 6 Marlins and one Win, and all of them except one shot 4895 with both 150 and 170gr bullets very well, both IMR and H.

The Winchester was real partial to BLC2. Most of them shot IMR4320 well, too, but if you're chasing velocity, that's a poor powder for 30-30. It's also been discontinued, so supplies have dwindled, and when it's gone, it's gone.

I don't know about hardness, all I can say about
them is every animal that received one from me
fell down and expired. All the other stuff is
superfluous to me and my purposes

I've dropped last 5 deer almost where I shot them with Win PowerPoint & Rem CorLokt, all 150gr. Last year I lost first deer I ever lost with a 30-30, with the Sierras, 75yd shot and I know I hit him, and am sure in what should've been a vital shot. Wish I'd busted the shoulder, because the Sierras was do this well at velocity I was shooting em. He bowed up like a Bronc, jumped 8ft straight up. I never found a trace of blood and certainly not the deer. I did a bunch of penetration test comparing them against the others. They are too hard for low velocity. I'm fine in a 30-30 with the others at a MV of 2200fps, but not the Sierras. They need 2400fps+! That's just the truth of how I lost what was no doubt best buck I would've ever taken.

4895 and 3031 are what I use in the imr or the h flavor

I spent the day prepping 220 rds of brass and will be ready to load when the bullets get here. While in the loading room I consulted Hornady, Sierra, Speer and our favorite, Gun Gack 1.

All the powders I listed in the start of the thread had listed loads with the exception of A2015. I'm going to replace that option with Varget. All are capable of 2200 + fps out of a twenty inch barrel. From there the targets and chronograph will make the choice as it usually does.

It's been years, but I always used 3031 in 30-30s. But FYI Accurate #1 Loading Guide from 1994 has 2015BR data for 30-30/150s starting at 26.1 gr @1929fps & max as 29gr @2192fps from a 20" bbl. The jug of 2015BR I have from back then (it was made in China) has been comparable to today's data in 22BR, 6PPC, & 358 Winchester.

Thanks for posting that data. I looked and found Accurate/ Western data 8.0 on pdf. The newest data has the following:

A2015: Sierra 150gr. FN starting load 27.5 @ 2,142----- max. 30.5 @ 2,341 40,892 psi.

A2520: Sierra 150gr. FN starting load 30.2 @ 2,046----- max. 33.5 @ 2,325 38,800 psi.

I'm going to leave A2015 off the test. It's become my 45-70 powder with 405gr. SP. I have a lb. of A2520 looking for a job, so I hope it turns out to be a good performer.

Like I said I've not used those powders in anything, but I'm little familiar with A2520, others said to do well with it? But main reason I'm posting is, you mentioned Varget. It's great in a 30-30. And before all this trouble getting supplies, all I'd ever used is IMR & Hodgdon. And yes, 3031 is hard to beat also. But I got some A4064, just on a hunch last year just because it was available. That powder in my 30-30 has been the most consistent I've ever used. From starting load to max load, accuracy was there, and the gain in velocity is like a blueprint. That tells me pressure is a perfect rise along with velocity, and like I said it's accurate in my rifle low to high. Well, this year I started using it in my 30-06. Same thing and even better! I just bought more! So, I have a lot hope for you in your rifle with A2520. And if it becomes available, try A4064. It's no speed demon, but GOOD & CONSISTENT!