30-30 powders

[Twotone]

Hi all
Recently acquired an old 94 in 30-30. In the UK factory ammo for this is nearly non existant , I spent a whole day and managed to track down just forty rounds of PPU and then it took a two hour drive to get it, just to test the rifle. I will be reloading for this rifle and the powders that are the usual go to ones are now nearly all banned in Europe. Most of the Hodgdon range are now unavailable, I can still get 2400 and Unique as well as the Vit powders which are made in Europe.
The loads mentioned for Unique especially seem very small amounts of powder for the size of the case, starting 7gns, is this going to be a problem, I dont fancy wadding in case of pressure issues so I am curious if anyone has ever used Unique or even 2400 in 30-30 and whether either are a decent option for 100 yd plinking, not looking for a full on hunting load.

[Abnermal]

The first thing that pops into my mind is Trailboss powder and a cast bullet. They go together like peanut butter and jelly!

[Ojaileveraction]

I did some exploring of low pressure loads recently. Unique is not position sensitive so wadding was not needed. with a 170 grain cast lead bullet 10 grains may be close to a max load for that fast powder.
Biggest issue for me is the possibility of a catastrophic double charge.
Theoretical velocity for 10 grains is 1400-1500fps. A pretty good plinking round

[Twotone]

Thanks for the info guys. I will try the trail boss for some plinking, a lot of the powders you guys have are now banned in Europe,

[Mgderf]

LeverEvolution powder by Hornady is a great choice for .30-30 if you can find it.

[JEBar]

is Winchester 748 available in the UK .. .. if so, it has been the powder we rely on since the early '60's

[snell]

I know you said Hodgdon was banned but how about the IMR line? 3031 was my go to powder for the 30/30 when I loaded for it.

Art

[Twotone]

The IMR powders are also now banned! Can get some of the Alliant stuff like 2400, even Trail boss is gone now.

[Twotone]

Hi JE bar
I will check out the 748, that was not on my radar but at the moment it seems like most of the US powders are being banned here.

[tarbe]

Hi JE bar
I will check out the 748, that was not on my radar but at the moment it seems like most of the US powders are being banned here.

Any idea why that is, Twotone?

Government's ability to just ban stuff like this is why I have so much in my loading room.

[JEBar]

referring back to this thread ===> http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.p ... +silvertip <=== subsequent trips to the range since that mentioned in the above thread have confirmed that 35 gr W748 pushing a 150 gr Nosler Ballistic Silvertip is the most accurate round ever fired from our Winchester Model 94 that was made in 1941 .... with the factory ammo available back in the '50's and '60's the general consensus among the bear hunters I knew was the 94 served best as a reliable short range (50 yards or less), compact, easy to carry rifle .... it was pretty much accepted that at 100 yards, groups the size of a basketball were then norm .... as one who really liked lever action rifles, that was the main reason my first big game was a 308 Browning BLR .... as noted, with our 94, open sights shooting from a bench rest, I can now hit skeet placed in a bank at 100 yards .... for me, that is indeed revolutionary .... I feel pretty sure that this level of accuracy could be attained with a different powder but I'm sold on the importance of the 30-30 Nosler Ballistic Silvertip

[Mistered]

Yea - why are SOME powders banned and not others? However ditto on the aforementioned load with Unique. 10 Grains sounds good with a 165 grain or heavier bullet. I am using 12 grains with the 100 grain Speer Plinker or the 110 grain Varminter bullet and both are very accurate, and pleasant to shoot.

[Twotone]

Hi All
The EU has declared that some of the chemicals used are carcinogenic. It appears from what the local stores are saying that from next June most of the Hodgdon range will be banned, some of the Alliant ones and a few others but more will follow. Most shops are just selling off their stock now and not re ordering so it is getting hard to find stuff.
I have been playing with the IMR4198 and 173 gn bullet in the 94 and finally getting some decent groups but now I am getting low and and That powder seems unavailable.
Will work on some 2400 I think, I do have Varget but that is on the list too so not much point in developing a load with that.

[Twotone]

Soory Tarbe, missed this. The banning of a lot of the powders has to do with the European REACH regulations. It concerns carcinogenic chemicals within the powders. It would appear to affect Hodgdon mainly and aome of the IMR powders.

[Mistered]

Will work on some 2400 I think,

Because 2400 is a magnum handgun powder you may not find any data for it’s use in 30-30 in modern manuals or on the company website. This is most likely due to the very real possibility of double - or close to triple charges in some rifle cases. You might find some ‘alternative’ data for reduced loads on some websites from dedicated ‘experimenters’ but unless you already have some experience in this area I would be very careful. My Lyman manual # 44 from 1967 shows a few loads with 2400. Pm me and I can scan the data and send it to you if you would like.

[Pitchman1968]

Are Accurate powders and Hornady bullets available to you? If so, you might want to try 26 grs. of Accurate 2520 and Hornady's 180 gr. Interlock RN jacketed bullet. This is a hunting round....velocity - circa 1900 fps. I use this load in my Savage Model 99 in .303 Savage. I found this load in one of Richard Lee's early editions of Modern Reloading. Lee contends the .30-30 Winchester and the .303 Savage are nearly identical cartridges and recommends that .30-30 reloading recipes are fine for .303 Savage if the powder weight is reduced by 10%. I can attest that my .303 Savage load is fine for deer out to 150 yards.

[steider]

I think Ramshot Powders is made in Belgium. Really good powder. I get it here in the USA through Western Powders.

[MJ151]

I would Google Paco Kelly. He has some great articles on the 30-30 and different loads from light to rocks and dynamite. Beside those articles he's fun to read. Here is a link to several articles that you might find d interesting. http://www.leverguns.com/articles/Default.htm

[Shawlerbrook]

Yes, imr 3031 was the go to for years. I would think 4064 would also work.

[Blackdog]

I did some exploring of low pressure loads recently. Unique is not position sensitive so wadding was not needed. with a 170 grain cast lead bullet 10 grains may be close to a max load for that fast powder.
Biggest issue for me is the possibility of a catastrophic double charge.
Theoretical velocity for 10 grains is 1400-1500fps. A pretty good plinking round

Sorry, but I have to disagree about Unique bring position sensitive. 10r is so little powder that you'll need to elevate the barrel to get it ll down to the primer. Or, use wadding. AND, you still run the risk of a double charge - and 20gr of unique is a dangerous load. Theoretically a dangerous load.

I'd suggest 26.5gr of 3031 or 30gr Varget. Can't double charge with these loads.

M