Evening reloading

For those of you who have been reading this little blog, you know I recently cast some 311041 bullets with a new mold. You also know that I recently purchased some surplus IMR 4895 powder.

IMR 4895 is a good powder for cast bullet loads in the venerable .30-30 Winchester. I did my research and found that a charge of 25.0 grains of 4895 ought to give me about 1500-1600 fps with that 311041 bullet. My goal is to approach 1700 fps with no leading. So, I started low, and I'll work up as I learn how the load reacts in my gun.

Anybody can buy .30-30 ammo anywhere, for almost a pittance. That factory ammo will produce 2200 fps any day of the week. Folks want to know why anyone would purposely reload ammo that is of lesser performance than the factory fodder. Well, it turns out there are some pretty good reasons.

1) Anyone can buy factory ammo.
2) Reloading saves money in that the per-round cost is reduced over the cost of factory ammo.
3) Cast bullets are effective for a number of purposes, including but not limited to plinking, target work, practice, and teaching novice shooters.
4) Cast bullets are less expensive than jacketed bullets. I make mine out of lead scap that I scrounge at various places. The cost of a lead bullet made at home is virtually zero.
5) Cast bullets are effective for hunting within their capabilities. Virtually every game animal in the world has fallen to a lead bullet. Jacketed bullets were virtually unheard of prior to 1890.



So, tonite I went outside and loaded some home-cast bullets into .30-30 cases. It took about an hour to load a box of ammo, but during the process a buddy pulled up in the driveway and I went out to talk with him, then the neighbor kids came over on bicycles to see what was going on. It was a thoroughly enjoyable hour and I have some ammo to test this weekend.

I'll let you know how it turns out.