[8X56MS]

The writer in the Gun Digest article was Norm Nelson. The load was not mentioned, other than it was using a Speer 130 Grain flat nose bullets at 2700 fps.
So far as accruacy goes, there was a reference in the same article, of Jim Carmichael's "Book of the Rifle", where he mentions a Model 170 tested with bolt and lever guns. The Savage turned in an average of under two inches for 20 groups fired at 100 yards.
The one Model 170 I have fired, was about that accurate, and right there with the best lever guns I have owned.

No I don't plan to run max loads. I have experienced good results over the years with hand loads using 170 grain flat nose JSP bullets at around 2100 fps. I have never loaded lead bullets for any of my 30/30 rifles.

Thanks for the heads up on the small base dies. I am glad that I can continue to use my old RCBS set. After several thousand rounds through those dies, they still load quality ammo.