Henry Rifle Forums

Has anyone here tried cast bullets in their Henry 30-30? I have acquired 400 SNS Casting coated 158 grain 30-30 bullets for an excellent price (free, to be precise).

I'm loading up a few with H4198. The starting load is 15 grains, and maximum is 17 grains. These are supposed to produce velocities of 1,400 to 1,600 fps.*

I'm thinking I should try them in my Henry, as Marlin Micro-groove barrels are reputed to not be good with lead bullets.

*So, basically .357 magnum ballistics. Which kind of makes me wonder- if I can get that velocity with 158 grain .357 bullets and a revolver, what's the point of using a rifle to do the same thing with a .30 caliber bullet? Well... I'm told the light 30-30 loads make for enjoyable plinking.

ditto1958 wrote:I'm told the light 30-30 loads make for enjoyable plinking.

I tend to believe that would be true .... with free bullets, they would certainly be worth sending down range .. ..

The reason I got the bullets for free is a friend bought them, but quickly got frustrated with them and dumped them on me. I'm not sure what kind of loads he was making, but he was shooting them in an old bolt action rifle, and after a few shots his bore got leaded up pretty badly.

So, I'm curious to find out what happens for me. From what I can tell, H4198 seems to be a good powder for these bullets.

ditto1958 wrote:From what I can tell, H4198 seems to be a good powder for these bullets.

several post have indicated that firing lead bullets in barrels that have been used for jacketed bullets can contribute to lead build up .... that said, at 1,400 fps, I'd give them a try

SNS says to stay under 1,500 fps, and 1,750 fps for rifles. With 15 grains of H4198, I'm thinking I will be at about 1,400 fps with a 20" barrel. Maybe even a little slower.

with 400 bullets to work with, you should be able to develop a good load that you can enjoy for a good while to come

Never had much luck with cast in a 30-30 myself. Ended up going with gas checks. But if I was to try it again I might try a Unique powder load. I read alot of guys tryin that and having success. Al

Well, I've got 20 rounds loaded up with 15 grains of H4198. Can't get to the range, though, until tomorrow afternoon at the soonest.

I may do a batch with 16 grains, also. I'm looking forward to seeing how this works.

ditto1958 wrote:I may do a batch with 16 grains, also. I'm looking forward to seeing how this works.

I'm sure there are a good number of us who are looking forward to seeing the results as well

Well, I went to the range this morning... and forgot to bring my Henry. I did, however, have my trusty old Marlin 336, complete with its patented Micro-groove barrel. I shot about half a box of the polymer coated lead bullets, and they seemed to do just fine. Fun to shoot, as recoil was pretty much non-existent.

Next time I will try to remember to bring the Henry.

ditto1958 wrote:Well, I went to the range this morning... and forgot to bring my Henry.

What? You forgot your Henry? Ditto, I'm sending you to Time Out. There's no excuse for forgetting your Henry. Bad Ditto! Bad, bad Ditto. Who forgets their Henry?

CT_Shooter wrote:

ditto1958 wrote:Well, I went to the range this morning... and forgot to bring my Henry.

What? You forgot your Henry? Ditto, I'm sending you to Time Out. There's no excuse for forgetting your Henry. Bad Ditto! Bad, bad Ditto. Who forgets their Henry?

Well, my vehicle was sittin' a little low in the back end, due to, er, well, let's say a few too many firearms stacked up back there. So I had to unload a few.