Reloader 15 in 30-30? - 24hourcampfire

I'll be loading 170gr Hornady FP Interlocks over Reloader 15 for two Marlin 336s. Alliant's website doesn't list RL 15 charges for 170gr bullets. Can anyone post a starting and maximum charge for this powder/bullet combo? Thanks

Nosler's manual suggests 27.5 gn to 31.5 gn as starting and max loads for RL-15 w/170 gn bullets.
I use Nosler's 170 gn Partition for two 30-30's. They are very accurate, and proven killers.

This should be in the ballpark,

Code

Cartridge          : .30-30 Win. (SAAMI)
Bullet             : .308, 170, Hornady FP 3060
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.550 inch or 64.77 mm
Barrel Length      : 20.0 inch or 508.0 mm
Powder             : Alliant Reloder-15

Step    Fill. Charge   Vel.  Energy   Pmax   Pmuz  Prop.Burnt B_Time
 %       %    Grains   fps   ft.lbs    psi    psi      %        ms

-15.6   84    27.00   1799    1222   25214   5129     81.9    1.532
-14.1   85    27.50   1832    1268   26434   5264     82.9    1.501
-12.5   87    28.00   1866    1315   27715   5398     83.9    1.472
-10.9   89    28.50   1900    1363   29062   5530     84.9    1.442
-09.4   90    29.00   1934    1412   30480   5660     85.9    1.414
-07.8   92    29.50   1968    1462   31970   5789     86.8    1.386
-06.3   93    30.00   2002    1513   33541   5915     87.7    1.358
-04.7   95    30.50   2036    1565   35194   6039     88.6    1.331
-03.1   96    31.00   2071    1619   36931   6160     89.5    1.305  ! Near Maximum !
-01.6   98    31.50   2105    1673   38771   6278     90.3    1.278  ! Near Maximum !
+00.0   99    32.00   2140    1728   40706   6394     91.1    1.250  ! Near Maximum !
+01.6  101    32.50   2174    1784   42736   6506     91.9    1.223  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+03.1  103    33.00   2209    1842   44906   6614     92.6    1.197  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+04.7  104    33.50   2243    1900   47183   6719     93.4    1.172  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+06.3  106    34.00   2278    1959   49571   6820     94.0    1.147  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+07.8  107    34.50   2313    2019   52082   6916     94.7    1.123  !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!

Thanks fellas, I appreciate it.

Chad

After seeing the other replies and the charge levels listed I hesitated to post this, but in John Barsness' article "Handloads That Work" he recommends 34.0 grains of RL-15 with "a 170 grain bullet", getting 2100 fps in 20" carbine barrels and close to 2300 in 24" rifle barrels.

I've been using 34.0 RL-15 as a standard load with Rem 150 RNCL in my 1955 vintage 336 with well over 1,000 rounds through the barrel but have taken it up to 36.0 with that weight and have substituted Speer 150 Flat points for the Remingtons all with no problems. Primer is a Winchester Large rifle standard which is a pretty hot primer.

Tried several groups with 34.0 RL-15 with Remington 170 RNCL and it was fine.

Just posted this for info, use your own best judgement with your rifle.

Back when I started using that load, Alliant listed 34-something grains of Reloder 15 as maximum with some sort of 170-grain bullet in the .30-30. Then the load disappeared.

This has happened with several other loads that Alliant used to publish, in other cartridges. Dunno what the deal is. Maybe newer lots of powder produced more pressure. I have seen different batches of RL-15 produce varied results.

Hope you didn't mind the name dropping. I've used your loads from that article for three or four rifles now and they do indeed work.

I keep that copy of "Handloader" out with my loading manuals as a good reference.

Thanks for the info fellas. I'll start low and shoot through the chrony and base a max from those results.

The 49th Edition Lyman Manual also has RL 15 loadings for the 170 grainer using a 24" barrel.

Powder...RL15
Bullet...170 gr Horn FP
Primer...WLR (large rifle)
COAL.....2.540"

Sugg starting gr........29.0
Velocity................1831 fps
CUP pressure............27,200

Max load gr.............32.0 (compressed)
Velocity................2110 fps
CUP pressure........... 37,400

Originally Posted by Mule Deer

...This has happened with several other loads that Alliant used to publish, in other cartridges. Dunno what the deal is. Maybe newer lots of powder produced more pressure. I have seen different batches of RL-15 produce varied results.

Had a bad experience changing lots of RL-22 in a .270 Win that made me drop use of that powder, even though that first lot produced great velocity and the best accuracy in that rifle.

This is just one more reason to settle down a grain or two under anybody's max. Your load of 34/RL-15 with a 170 grain bullet was what pretty well convinced me that that same charge with a 150 grainer would be a good long term, no worries load in the .30-30.

The older I get the more I understand the wisdom of the old bull in that joke - "no, let's walk down there and **** them all!"

I've used up to 32.0 grains of RL15 with the Hornady 170 gr FP bullet. This combo gives about 2,160 fps in my 20" Marlin 336. I am considering 32 grs to be maximum. This more or less duplicates the best factory velocity I've seen in this rifle (current 170 gr Remington factory loads at about 2,170 fps). RL15 is the fastest powder I've used for the 170 gr bullet in .30-30.

Good shooting!

I loaded some test rounds and the max I went to was 32gr. This is a recent lot of powder (Sept. 09) so perhaps it's a bit faster burning than the RL-15 of old. My current lot of 2400 seems to be on the hotter side and it's a recent lot as well. I hope to chrony/accuracy test these loads tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Thanks for everyone's help.

Chad