Lee Loader

The gun I'm casting for is a newer model Henry .30-30. This questions is probably better answered by slugging the bore, but do you feel .309" is acceptable for this rifle or should I start looking for a mold .310 or .311?

I have no way of checking velocity of my handloads but I didn't have any expectation of the same velocity obtained by Hornady with a spire point jacketed bullet. I've couple other rifle powders I can use as well.

r1200r wrote:The gun I'm casting for is a newer model Henry .30-30. This questions is probably better answered by slugging the bore, but do you feel .309" is acceptable for this rifle or should I start looking for a mold .310 or .311?

I really wouldn't know as I have never seen a Henry rifle in person. The best thing to do is slug the barrel with a lead egg sinker, the kind with the hole through the longitudinal axis of the weight.

I could only find one thread on one forum via Google where the bullet and its cast diameter was mentioned. The caster was using wheel weights with tin added so I'd say he was near Lyman #2. He had .310 bullets which would be a good thing. You still would need to seat the gas checks and like I said I would just pass them through a Lee .311 sizer.

r1200r wrote:I have no way of checking velocity of my handloads but I didn't have any expectation of the same velocity obtained by Hornady with a spire point jacketed bullet. I've couple other rifle powders I can use as well.

The LeveRevolution powder is a funny thing and I've been working with it as of late trying to build a model for it that I can use in QuickLoad as the powder has never been added to the database. I've not bought the FTX bullets but with cast bullet it seems to produce the same max velocities as BL-C(2). What I've determined is that it seems to always reach the typical levergun's max pressure, right at 40.0K PSI, at 105% of the case capacity where BL-C(2) is all over the map. This is looking at the 30-30 Win, 32 Win Spl, and 35 Rem. That feature alone makes it quite desirable to me.

I'm not going to be doing any more pressure trace shooting until I receive my Labradar which is supposed to arrive sometime in April.

One thing I didn't see in your original posted list is a good thermometer to keep a measurement of your lead temperature. You need one of those or a PID to monitor the lead temperature for best casting results. A reasonably priced one is sold by NOE.

DaveInGA wrote:One thing I didn't see in your original posted list is a good thermometer to keep a measurement of your lead temperature. You need one of those or a PID to monitor the lead temperature for best casting results. A reasonably priced one is sold by NOE.

Here is the link to the NOE Thermometer.

That is a good price for a thermometer, my Lyman was 39 I think. The thing is I don't see any difference other than the name.

General/normal street price is $40 plus SH. Good price.

Thanks for the link. I was on the fence regarding a thermometer after observing many on youtube casting without one. I was hoping for my first casting session this weekend, but with a high temperature forecast of 3 degrees today I will stay inside and work on my reloading bench.

62chevy wrote:That is a good price for a thermometer, my Lyman was 39 I think. The thing is I don't see any difference other than the name.

I think the only difference between the Lyman and the NOE is that the first has bands for the various alloys that represent the desirable casting temperatures. Those temperature bands have never worked well as a reference for me as I've found that I have to cast hotter to insure usable bullets that have well defined design features. I've never cast with a Lyman mold, just Lee and NOE aluminum molds.

RD you are right and I forgot about those bands mostly because I don't use them either. Those bands are not worth 7 dollars either.