Powder Choice for the .30Win

I cast the Lee 170gn flat point, gas check and powder coat. I typically use Alliant 2400 but have had good results with H335 also. If you want some light plinking loads I use unique. I load them with trailboss for some subsonic plinking fun

.30-30? IMR 3031.

The charge weight is right in the name. 31 grains. With a 150 gr., it goes about 2850. The nice thing about it is there is no minimum or 'starting' charge, so your cast bullets can be loaded as far down or up to 33 gr. (Hodgdon's listed max.) with IMR 3031. I'd put gas checks on above 2000.

I used to load rabbit loads to carry while deer hunting. .310 round ball, very light charge of Red Dot or Unique, and a wad of polyfill fiber to hold the charge over the primer. Potted many a squirrel, grouse, and rabbit with them while waiting for deer that never showed up. This was before Trail Boss. I'd use that now light plinking loads or under a .310 ball.

Cast bullets at reasonable velocities... IMR4198 is your Huckleberry, or the alternates AA5744, or RL7. If you really want hunting velocity, IMR3031.

I will tell you, the key to successful cast bullet handloading is to make sure that cast bullet fits the bore of YOUR rifle. .001" can make a difference, as it did in my .30-30 Savage 99.

Charlie98 said:

make sure that cast bullet fits the bore of YOUR rifle. .001" can make a difference

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listen to this man. Nothing will work like you want it to if your bullet isn’t the correct size. If you want to make sure you don’t end up spending money on something that you can’t use, Slug your barrel before buying ANYTHING.
The only trouble I’ve ever run into while developing cast loads is when, for some unknown reason, I didn’t slug the barrel on my xd9. I had a lot of problems with leading and keyholes until I pulled my head out of that dark hole, slugged my barrel at .357 and had the duh moment of realizing that my Bullets were .002” undersized. The moment I started sizing to .358 all problems immediately stopped.

As they say “Fit Is King”, all else follows.
I’ve loaded 3031 in my 35 Rem and 30-30 levers since the 70s. I see no reason to change now.

I would guess because your into plinking loads 4227 would be a lot of fun or 2400. I listed 4227 first is it seems way more readily available. Rl-7 or 10x would be great as would 4198. 3031 is a great powder if your patient and watch for bridging. The length of kernels seem to track from smallest imr 4227 then 4198 and then 3031. In my area the alliant powders are not only more scarce but also more expensive. The list of what will go bang is expansive. Faster powders will give you generally less velosity but more loads.
Fortunecookie45lc did a great video on partial sizing 30-30 brass. Truthfully it does headspace on the rim but some dies will push the shoulder back a country mile for no reason.

My dies size my shoulder back something like .040. I sometimes size them that much and sometimes less. Last batch I sized .010 setback so I had sure functioning still in any situation.

Anyways. I use 748 and 3031. Both with a 31141.

Your over sizing will lead to head case separation very early on. Shortening the case life greatly. No need to move the shoulder back more than 0.002-0.003".

Blue68f100 said:

Your over sizing will lead to head case separation very early on. Shortening the case life greatly. No need to move the shoulder back more than 0.002-0.003".

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I've heard that a lot. And I'm sure it's true in some guns and chamberings. But it's not a 100% rule. Here's a little test I did for 30-30 case life.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/30-30-case-life-test.896133/

Trimming brass 0.040" short is no big deal. But moving the shoulder back that much is.

I am still working on a pile of Laser Cast 170 grain WFN bullets and 3031 is what I like the best as far as accuracy goes.

entropy said:

.30-30? IMR 3031.

The charge weight is right in the name. 31 grains. With a 150 gr., it goes about 2850. The nice thing about it is there is no minimum or 'starting' charge, so your cast bullets can be loaded as far down or up to 33 gr. (Hodgdon's listed max.) with IMR 303...

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IMR 3031 is a great 30-30 powder, but it's not going to give you anywhere near 2850 fps with a 150 grain bullet. That's faster than 30-06 M2 ball (2740 fps at 78 feet) and more than 650 fps faster than Hodgdon's current maximum 150 gr 3031 jacketed load of 30.5 grs.



All the IMR 3031 data for 30-30 that I've seen has got starting or minimum loads prescribed, even my 1980 vintage Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook.

Thanks for pointing that out. Yup, I mistyped that. Meant 1950 fps. Fat fingered it.

This listing from Hodgdon has no minimum:

https://www.hodgdonreloading.com/reloading-data-center

Though I prefer other powders for light loads in .30-30

It's odd that their handgun data is 2.5 grains heavier than their rifle data.

I wonder if it's an error or because there aren't any 120+ year old T/C Contenders out there?

Blue68f100 said:

Trimming brass 0.040" short is no big deal. But moving the shoulder back that much is.

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I didn't mention it in my thread there because I forgot. But I mentioned it in the thread over on cast bullets best I recall, That my shoulder is setback .038, best I recall.

It causes no issues for the shoulder to be set back and blown back out as long as the case isn't headspacing on it. Of course the 30-30 headspaces on the rim.

I didn't section the case I use for a test to see its thickness, but I did check it with a paper clip and it doesn't show any signs of case head separation.

The split was on the shoulder too, so annealing would have lengthened its life.

Bazoo said:

I didn't mention it in my thread there because I forgot. But I mentioned it in the thread over on cast bullets best I recall, That my shoulder is setback .038, best I recall.

It causes no issues for the shoulder to be set back and blown back out as long as the case isn't headspacing on it. Of course the 30-30 headspaces on the rim.

I didn't section the case I use for a test to see its thickness, but I did check it with a paper clip and it doesn't show any signs of case head separation.

The split was on the shoulder too, so annealing would have lengthened its life.

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It's like a reverse Ackley. You get less powder volume instead of more. If you had a good worked up load I have no doubt that much shoulder change would put you out of your node. If you always do it the same at least its consistant.

Make no mistake, my gun has a loose chamber at the shoulder dimension. But the dies return the case to correct dimensions. Correct as in, close to factory dimensions.

My gun is tighter though than many 30-30s I've seen brass from. My guns chamber is not oversize at the base like so many marlins are.

Accuracy node? It's a lever action 30-30. Barrel bands and tube mags and sloppy chambers don't make for accuracy. It does make for a compact handy rifle with a fair amount of firepower for its size. I get around 1.5" groups at 70y though last I tested it from the bench. I ain't tested at 100 yet. But I'm guessing 2.5"-3".

You would be surprised at what a little load refinement can do, even with a rifle like a lever .30-30.

In my brother's Marlin 336, I had always loaded the Speer 170grn JSP. Midway had a sale on the Winchester 170grn Silvertip component bullet... so I snared 500 of them. Changing nothing, my groups shrunk by half... from roughly 4" at 100yds, to 2". A simple change from H322 to IMR3031 made the numbers a little better as well... so don't be so quick to dismiss accuracy potential in a levergun.