Universal .30 load

[Rocky Raab]

Ed, thank you.

No, crimping is unnecessary with the Plinker. There isn't enough recoil energy to move the bullets in the necks, even in a tube magazine.

I've used lots of commercially cast 115 RN plainbased lead bullets with that same load, and while my accuracy isn't quite as good as with Plinkers, I suspect that's more of a case of a jacket fouled bore than lack of a gas check. I suspect if I really cleaned the bore that those little lead slugs would fly just fine.

One of the lessons I'm learning about lead bullets is that you simply cannot shoot them indiscriminately with jacketed bullets. In other words, you can't mix them and expect good results. Like a .22LR, the bore seems to get "seasoned" to one or the other over a span of 50 shots or so. And thorough cleaning is needed if you want to switch types.

Example: When I started shooting my Savage 340 bolt-action 30-30, I shot a few groups with factory jacketed ammo just to see how the thing shot (pretty well, BTW). Then I switched to cast bullets and got horrible accuracy. I gave it a complete and deep cleaning, then tried the cast loads again. Accuracy was bad at first, but after a few dozen shots, it seemed to just settle in. Now my cast bullet accuracy is just about what the gun shot with factory ammo - and at almost the same speeds, I might point out!