Memories of the .30-30 - Part 2 - The Ammo

[ke4sky]

Continued from Part 1 - The ammo

(This article appeared in the Cast Bullet Association's Fouling Shot magazine.

Early jacketed bullet factory loads prior to WWII gave spotty performance. Controlled expansion bullets such as the Remington Core-Lokt and Winchester Power Point Bullet brought the .30-30 into its own as a game rifle. Modern 150-gr. loads shoot a little flatter in open country, and expand easier on deer. The 170-grain soft-points are still the bullet of choice in heavily-wooded country where the man with only one rifle may also be called upon to do take bear, elk or moose at short range. The .30-30 isn’t recommended today for larger game than deer, but Frank always said “it always worked just fine for anybody who could get close, shoot well and didn’t have his head all confused from reading too many gun magazines!”.

Before WWII the ammunition factories offered reduced power small game loads for the .30-30. These were assembled with a 100-gr. bullet and about 6 grains of fast-burning powder which provided ballistics very much like the .32-20 Winchester. However, hand loading was much more common, because factory ammunition was expensive.

Depression-era hunters often used 100-120 grain cast bullets intended for the .32 S&W Long or .32-20 with a light charge of whatever pistol or shotgun powder they had lying around. Frank told me that common practice was to force a 0 or 00 buckshot through the bullet sizing hole in the handle of an Ideal tong tool. Since store bought powder was expensive for a kid rationing meager funds he learned to pour a tiny powder charge salvaged from a misfired .22 LR round into a primed .30-30 case, pushing the sized buckshot flush into the case mouth, smearing a little cup grease or tallow over it. This provided a nearly silent load which shot OK for small game or varmints to about 50 feet.

Any powder which could be gleaned from misfired handgun, shot-shell or .22 ammo was salvaged, blended in a jar and portioned carefully with a home-made dip measure, made by soldering a .22 Short case for roundballs, or .22 LR for bullets, onto a wire handle. Every precious scrap of lead pipe, shot or recovered bullet was salvaged, blended and cast into bullets on the gas stove.

Cast Bullets Provide Useful Utility. If one cartridge should be identified as ideal for utility with cast bullets, it would be the .30-30 Winchester. It achieves full, normal ballistics and hunting performance with cast bullets which compares favorably with factory jacketed loads. Doing so is easily accomplished using off-the-shelf, bullet designs and cheap wheel-weight alloy which is available everywhere. Mattern described several classes of loads for the Springfield. Frank Marshall applied a similar logic to the .30-30 in assembling either sub-sonic plinking and small game loads, “.32-40 class” target loads or heavy “deer” loads.

A rimmed case of modest capacity works much better for reduced loads than larger rimless cases, such as the .30-’06. The .30-30 case is almost idea because its reduced capacity improves ballistic uniformity with these light charges. Rimmed cases avoid the common problem experienced when using rimless cases for light loads, in which primer blast drives the case forward, setting the shoulder back and shortening the body length. Rimless cases used repeatedly for reduced loads eventually experience excessive headspace which leads to misfires or case head separations, unless flash holes are enlarged. However, if you mix these cases up and assemble a full load in them it may cause an accident, so using an unmodified, rimmed case for light loads makes more sense. Round-nosed bullets less than 150 grains are best for non-destructive small game loads. At subsonic velocities they make little noise and destroy little more meat than a .22 LR.

Some pistol and shot-shell powders available today do not behave safely in severely reduced loads, so I don’t recommend less than 4 grains of any powder in the .30-30. The best current powders for minimum .30-30 loads are Clays, Bullseye, Tite Group, 700X, Red Dot, Unique or WW231. Use only soft, lubricated lead bullets of 150 grains or less.

Best accuracy in my .30-30 rifles has been with the 122-gr. NEI #82, which actually weighs 130 grs. when cast of wheel-weights. I usually load these without the GC, tumbled in Rooster Jacket and sized to .311 with 5 grains of Bullseye for 1080 f.p.s. in a 20-inch barrel and 1” five-shot groups at 50 yards. Below 1300 f.p.s. even soft cast bullet alloys do not expand, but only rivet somewhat if bones are struck, so flat-nosed bullets are best.

If you don't cast and want to use a jacketed-bullet in your .30-30 small game loads, use 110-gr. SPs intended for the cal.30 M1 carbine. Never use round nose or pointed FMJ bullets in tubular magazines! Seat bullets to 2.4” OAL and use the Lee factory Crimp Die with any uncannelured bullets to securely prevent them from telescoping into the case under compression of the magazine spring. No not attempt to use larger .312 diameter jacketed bullets intended for the .32 H&R Magnum because they may not chamber unless case necks are outside turned or inside reamed.

Do not attempt to load less than 5 grains of pistol or shotgun powders in the .30-30 with any jacketed bullet, because you may stick a bullet in the bore. A .30-30 charge of 5 grs. of Bullseye gives about 1000 f.p.s. with the .30 carbine soft-point and should not be reduced.

Do not exceed 6 grains of the faster pistol or shot-shell powders in the .30-30. A charge of 6 grs. of Bullseye is a useful small game load with flat trajectory to 100 yards and ballistics like the.32-20 Winchester, 1200 f.p.s. with a 110-gr. softpoint,(about 100 f.p.s. less than a lubricated cast bullet of similar weight), 1300 f.p.s. with the 122-gr. NEI #82 and 1450 f.p.s. with the 94-gr. Meister LFN (on the ragged edge of leading, but accuracy is OK for 2” five-shot groups at 50 yards if you only shoot a few).

A 6 grain charge level is appropriate as a starting load using "medium" burning rate pistol or shotshell powders such as Unique, SR7625 or PB. With these powders do not exceed 7 grains in the .30-30.

“.32-40 class” target and woods loads; Wheel weights + 2% tin (13 BHN) alloy enables reliable expansion of flat-nosed bullets when loaded above 1600 f.p.s., approximating “high velocity” loads suitable for 1893 Marlin and 94 Winchester, (but NOT Ballards!). Suitable .30-30 charges with the Lyman #31141 or RCBS #30-180FN are 16 grs. of #2400, 18 grs. of 4198 or 21 grs. of RL-7. These make satisfactory deer loads if you stay inside 100 yards and place shots well. The effect on game of firing these in a rifle is nearly identical to using full-power .30-30 loads from the Contender pistol with a 10” barrel.

Softer 1:20 tin/lead expands reliably in loads equivalent to black powder loads in the .32-40 down to about 1300 f.p.s. Suitable .30-30 charges are 12 grs., of #2400, 14 grs. of 4198 or 16 grs. of RL-7. When velocities are kept below about 1400 f.p.s., well lubricated plain-based bullets or gas-check designs may be used without the gas-check providing good results.

Heavy (Deer) Hunting Loads - The .30-30 Winchester operates at a maximum average pressure of 40,000 cup. Normal factory ballistics are closely approximated with published loads in curreent data manuals such as Speer No. 13. The same powders used successfully with jacketed bullets achieve similar velocities with cast loads, when loaded using a 10-15% charge reduction from the jacketed load. Such full charge cast bullet loads approach 2000 f.p.s. and should not be exceeded.

For deer hunting the .30-30 performs best with heavier, flat-nosed 170-190-grain bullets such as the RCBS 30-180FN or the Lyman #31141. If greater penetration and slower expansion are desired, substitute a round-nosed bullet such as the #311291. For deer sized game cast bullet alloy hardness should not exceed BHN15 and velocities should exceed 1800 f.p.s. to ensure normal bullet performance. Weight retention and penetration of cast bullets are reliable to the maximum velocities attainable in this cartridge. Hunting accuracy equal to factory loads for up to a dozen rounds is adequate with proper lubrication. I “double-lube” heavy hunting loads which push alloy compatibility using 50-50 Alox-Beeswax in the grooves and tumbling the entire bullet after sizing either with Lee Liquid Alox diluted 50-50 with mineral spirits, or Rooster jacket.

I’ve bagged about a dozen deer using cast loads in the .30-30. Most were shot at ranges from 50 to 150 yards and didn’t require finishing shots. It is normal to trail them a short distance, but none were lost. This is no different than my experience using factory .30-30 loads.

While box magazine and break-open guns can safely handle pointed bullets, jacketed spitzers have heavier jackets than perform well at .30-30 velocities. While it is true that the Savage 99, Remington 788 and the Contender pistol are stronger than the average lever-gun, I no longer recommend .30-30 loads which exceed factory pressures.

I confess to having used heavier-than-standard .30-30 loads in my Remington 788 and Contender pistol, but I do not anymore, and don’t recommend that you do either. That’s because there is risk of a mix-up if you have more than one rifle. Don’t take a chance.

[RKrodle]

Another good article. Got anymore?

[gamekeeper]

Very Interesting post.

[w30wcf]

Yes, a very interesting article for sure on the classic, vintage All American .30-30!. THANK YOU for the post.

w30wcf

[JDL]

Most excellent! I love reading about the old .30-30.
JDL

[BigSky56]

Ive had good luck with the 30 WCF taken deer, elk and stock killing cats and bear with 170 gr handloads cast & jacketed it works everytime. danny

[Griff]

Good readin', thanks for posting.

[w30wcf]

A nice pic of the early reduced power small game load that Ed mentioned.

.30 W.C.F. "Short Range" cartridge from the John Witzel collection.

The case cannelure was needed to keep the pure lead bullet from telescoping into the case while in the magazine.

w30wcf

[Hobie]

John,

I keep thinking there's supposed to be a book coming out. I think of it every time I see you post...

[w30wcf]

Hobie,
Well....there is.....one of these years. Have it pretty much finished with a chapter or two to go. A few months ago I found out about a .30-30 "Sealing" (180 gr. lead bullet) cartridge made by Dominion in Canada back in the late 1950's. Recently found a couple of specimens and tested one for velocity - 1,280 f.p.s.


Perhaps I now have all of the .30-30 factory variations(?)

The fellow that quoted me on printing it has retired and closed shop. I will have to look for another printer...perhaps 2009.......

Thank you for asking.

w30wcf

[DerekR]

A few years ago I happened into a deal on a 500 ct box of cast bullets for the 32/20. They are 115 Grain plain based. I ran them through a Lee .311 sizer and experimented with various charges of Unique. My Winchester 94 liked 7 grains. The load is cheap and accurate. I have found it shot reasonably well in every 30/30 I have tried it in. By the way, these were commercial cast, and rather hard, so I found a coat of Liquid Alox eliminated lead fouling.

[w30wcf]

DerekR,
I also shoot a .32-20 bullet in my .30-30's. I've tried a number of loads to replicate .32-20 performance in the .30-30 and these are the ones that have worked well for me:
5.5/231
6.0/Unique
6.0/Trailboss
6.0/Universal
6.0/4756
7.0/Blue Dot
7.0/HS7

w30wcf