30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

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CamP
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by CamP »

I'm getting moa at 200m out of my load, but it's a 17gr pistol powder that could go seriously wrong if it was double charged.
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by shootmore »

Camp P tell me about that load 17gr of..........with what weight bullets
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by ppkny »

moa at 200 with a lever gun.... Hard to believe
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by shootmore »

yeah thats about a 2 1/4" group at 200m - Nirvana!
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by cedestech »

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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by cedestech »

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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by edgehit »

Is everyone focusing on the OP’s request for cast lead or gas checked loads? I’d try a GC lead bullet sized at 309 that’s powder coated over 15gr LilGun. The powder isn’t position sensitive unlike everyone’s favorite Unique.
- Joe
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by shootmore »

Thanks Joe I have some 309 GC's and lil gun powder
what weight bullet, I have 155, 160 170 and 173
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PAndy
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by PAndy »

I have used 155 grain cast bullets out to turkeys, but I would suggest trying heavy bullets first. The 173 Lyman is a good place to start. I will be going to 180 gr cast for c-p-t once I get bullet supplies squared away. It is my opinion that heavy bullets hit harder, handle wind better, and maintain speed better downrange
I have no comment on LilGun powder, and my rifles can't consistently shoot under 2 MOA. (even with jacketed bullets)
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by squinty_shooter »

My wife and I have shot gc cast 177 on rams, and gc cast 122 pills on all else. 177 over w748 and the smaller over unique. Never had an issue with any animal, provided we did our part.
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by GTS »

+1 on the Lyman 173 GC. I had good success with them when i was shooting the 30-30.

I don't mean to highjack the thread, but I want to comment on the MOA accuracy of lever guns. It is possible to get that kind of accuracy with some consistency. First of all, it really depends on the rifle and how good of a bore it has. If your rifle is a modern rifle that will accept a scope, half the battle is over. Most of the lever actions I shoot are old Marlin 1894's and 1893's. As most of you know, these are not scope friendly rifles, and obtaining a good sight picture at the longer ranges is tough to achieve. My most accurate lever action is a Marlin 1893 in 25-36 Marlin mfd in 1902, or there about. I had to work out a system which would produce consistent and repeatable sight pictures to really know what these old rifles can do. I have some version of a tang or Soule sight on most of my rifles, and a Lyman 17A globe on front with one of the fiber optic inserts that I make. I decided to make some "targets" by cutting out circles in foam core board and painting them flat black. I calculated how much area my insert covered at the various ranges, and then added six inches to that dimension and cut the circles out. This leaves +- 3" all the way around the outside of the fiber insert. It is fairly easy to center up the bead with the narrow white band around it. With this system, I have achieved MOA accuracy with the aforementioned 25-36 Marlin, as well as an Marlin 1894 takedown in 25-20 with a 28" barrel. The two pics below are from a recent trip to the range to test a new 25-20 load. It was a little windy, but the 100 M accuracy was pretty good. The one flyer was probably all me. YMMV

Greg
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by shootmore »

I did machine a custom scope mount for the 30-30 to insure pinpoint accuracy at 100 yards for testing. Peeps are used for Silhouette matches.
Today I switched out scopes just to eliminate the possibility that the scope had went bad.

20210423_110941small.gif
20210423_110958small.jpg
3rd day of testing using the best of two previous days "promising" lead GC groups/loads. :( see below
Next we will try out 125 Sierra HPFN with W748 that produces 2 1/4" groups with our 94 Winchesters. One Legacy and one Classic, to See if this Cimmaron/Uberti and it's brother (we bought 2) will do any better
OCW2021-06-21.jpg
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Last edited by shootmore on Tue Jun 22, 2021 6:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by shootmore »

I started this load development by using my known loads for my other two Winchester 94's. They ended up being the best groups (image below).
W748 powder; 31.1 & 31.6 grains
125grain semi jacket hollpwoint flat nose Sierra bullets
FPS?

Of the two Win 94's from Cimmaron/Uberti both shoot better groups with semi-jacketed bullets.
#524 shoots 125 Hollow Point Flat Nose groups that average 2.108" with two of five groups tight as ~1 1/2".
The other Cimmarron rifle groups average 2.64" with the same bullet.
Loads_UbertiBest2021-06sm.jpg
W748 Powder for both Cimmarron's with SD's at ? Did not measure velocity at first.
5744 had the lowest SD's by far, six (6), yes 6 over 20 shots! Using a 173 cast GC and 8 on a second test. Bullets by Montana bullets. Velocity at 1,644fps but groups were ~3". Great people and service up there in Montana!
H4895 SD was 16 over 20 shots.
W748 with 170's showed an SD of 32

After shooting those jacketed bullets I did my case work so we hope that the groups above will shrink a bit.
Cases with lead bullets loaded were concentric to .004.

Case concentrically are now = to or less than .0025
Necks were turned. Sinclair neck lathe is a very good tool!
Case weight +- 1 SD
Both bores slugged, measured .308.

Note worthy;
5744 had an 8" high ladder at 200 yards with 15 shots spread from 15 grain to 17.8 grain in .2 grain increments, velocities were 1,553fps to 1,666
other ladders grew up to 24".

Wondering if there is a 5744 load for the 125 Sierras. No time left to find out, off to Raton Nationals in less than two weeks!
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by edgehit »

Get a bore scope and make sure all the lead is out of your barrel before shooting jacketed Sierra’s. I use one I bought off Amazon.
- Joe
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Re: 30-30 best lead loads for LA Silhouette

Post by the ex pom »

My go to load for the 30/30 is RCBS 180g FNGC projectile (actually weighs about 195g) pushed by 14.5g 4227.
Works brilliantly from chickens to rams, and while I was at the whittington centre I hit the buffalo 3 out of 5 times.


Dave McCarthy
348 winchester,teach them chickens a lesson, when a girls gun will not do. Man up with a steel buttplate!!!!!
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