Cast and jacketed bullet loads for Marlin 336 .30-30?

[Woodtroll]

Folks,

My daughter's boyfriend just walked in today with a Marlin 336 .30-30 as a present for her 18th birthday. (It was a good choice on his part, especially since his first idea was a horse, which I quickly vetoed for logistic reasons). I feel bad that the kid spent that kind of money on her, but he got a heck of a deal on it. Laughably, it came with a great big long Tasco 4x10 scope with a big 40mm or so adjustable-parallax objective on it. I quickly replaced it with a 2.5x Tasco Bantam that I just happened to have laying around extra; I'm not much on scopes.

Anyway, I am looking for a suggestion for both a cast bullet and jacketed bullet load for this rifle, with emphasis on deer hunting. My own 336 is in .35 Rem., so I have no mould yet for this .30 caliber. I'd like something that is accurate, with a flat point of course, gas checked desirable but not necessary. I will likely be casting out of a soft alloy like 30:1 or 20:1 if I can do so without leading- I don't have time to paper-patch for this one! I have various powders available- SR4759, IMR3031, H4198, H4895, W296, H4227, and RL-7.

I would appreciate any suggestions on a tried-and-true bullet and load combination that works well in your 336 micro-groove rifle.

Many thanks!
Regan

[Modoc ED]

Jacketed load:

30gr IMR-3031 170gr Jacketed Soft Point (Bullet brand of your choice)

I do not shoot cast bullets

[O.S.O.K.]

I would suggest a good Lyman 170 grain gas checked bullet. I like Lee's sizing dies which apply the gas check and size pushing up on the base and I finish with a coating of Lee's liquid alox - never have leading up to 2000 fps, but I do use wheel weight alloy which is about 16 BH.

I've had good luck with the 170 grain Laser Cast bullets which I applied the gas checks to and lubed with 29 grains of W748, but I'd try 28 as well. That's around 2000 fps. I did this when I saw that their standard bullets where the same as their deluxe gaschecks - just without the gas checks! That reminds me, I need to go fix up some more of these...

I like the ball powders because they meter so well from the powder measure.

You can also use 10 grains of Unique and get about 1600 fps for practice loads with the 170 grainers - light recoiling and accurate but you do have to adjust the sights up.

[1886]

I have had great luck with #311041 173gr FPGC sized .309" for a .308" groove dia. bore. 25.5grs of Varget or 2495 for 1900fps ignited by CCI BR-2 primers. I use a .304" expander, load to 2.550" and crimp with the Lee FCD. Super accurate and easy shooting. Good Luck. 1886.

[jlchucker]

Of the powders that you have listed, 3031 and RL7 have been part of my reloading inventory for years. Both work really well with the 30-30, for cast or jacketed bullets. For jacketed hunting rounds it's hard to beat the Remington Corelocts, but they are starting to get pricey and I'm glad I bought them in bulk when I did. The Lyman 311041 has been a longtime favorite for the 30-30 ever since the round was invented. It's probably no coincidence that the seating length of that bullet pretty nearly exactly matches the length of the 30-30 case neck. My cast bullets are sized .308 and .309, usually--and both work well in my microgroove Marlin. I've yet to try .310's in it, but can't really complain with what I've already got cast, lubed and sized--which were mostly done with the intent of using them in my Winchester. In my experience, the microgroove thing for cast bullets is mostly a myth--I've had no problems with microgroove barrels with 30-30, 35 Remington, and 45-70. I've never tried, or felt a need to paper patch anything. I agree with O.S.O.K about Win 748 powder. I've found that this works as well as 3031, better than RL7, and meters really well thru a powder measure.

[PawPaw]

+1 on jacketed load of 30 grains IMR3031 and a 170 grain bullet.

For cast, which I'm shooting more of, I like the gas checked Lyman 311041. I lube it twice with Lee Liquid Alox, once before sizing to 0.309 and once after. I launch it with 27.5 grains of IMR 4895 for a load that runs about 1850 fps with no leading. It's an accurate load and one that shoots good in my rifles.

Junior just did an article about cast .30-30 bullets and I have to admit that I'm thinking about that 165 grain Ranch Dog bullet. The link is here: http://www.castbullet.com/reload/meplat.htm

I hope she enjoys her .30-30.

[Slick13]

Anyway, I am looking for a suggestion for both a cast bullet and jacketed bullet load for this rifle, with emphasis on deer hunting.

Though it won't be cheap to do, my advice is to buy two brands of 150 gr bullets and two brands of 170 gr. bullets, and see what the gun likes. My Win 94 likes Speer and Hornady 150s, and doesn't seem to like Rem or Hornady 170s very well, but will shoot Sierra 170s almost as well as the forementioned 150s.

As for powder H4895, BLC-(2), RL7, RL15, & Varget have all worked fine in my rifle.

~Michael

[JDL]

The Lyman 311041, as mentioned, is a fine bullet for most of the .30 cal., but I find the RCBS 30-180 FN is just a little better in my 336A. The RCBS bullet is used with 35 grains of H-414 for a deer load that gets 1970 fps and have also had good luck with 25 grains of Rx7 paired with Lyman 311407 for 2036 fps. All my bullets are made from wheelweights.
JDL

[44LVR]

Another big fan of the 311041! Sized .311 with 27grs of 3031 gives me fantastic accuracy in 2 different 30-30's!

44

[TedH]

If you're serious about cast, you must check out Ranch Dog's molds. They are designed specifically for Marlin leverguns.

[Woodtroll]

Thanks, guys, I sure appreciate the help. I had indeed already considered Ranch Dog moulds, but it looks like he's out of stock on them for a while. I may use jacketed bullets for now, and buy one of his moulds when it becomes available.

Y'all take care!
Regan