I've got Marlin JM stamped 30-30 issues

I just bought some H4198 and according to manual with 16 grains I should be under 1500 fps. I will check out Montana bullets today. The laser cast have a bh22 but are not gas checked. They do fine with hot loads in my 45 rifle without gas checks. I would have thought a BH of 18 was pretty hard. I am new to these so willing to take any advise. I am also going to try and find some 170 Nosler sporting bullets jacketed and see how they work. The 150 Sierra SP doesn't do me any good.
 
I'll try that until I get through these last 200 or so for a plinking round. I'm going to try some jacketed 170 since I want to hunt with it. Hope to try the 170 cor locs this weekend. If it does better with them I'll keep it and work up a load. If not off for trade for another rifle. This one has been a pain in my rear.
 
The 170 grain FP jacketed Sierra 30-30 bullet is very accurate and a good game getter. I have been doing 35 grains of Lever Revolution powder in Starline Brass. Shoots good. I am just not going to run cast lead in my Micro Groove barrels. Not much into shooting both cast and jacketed. too much work cleaning out the mess that can cause.

3C
 
mete said:
There's nothing wrong with microgroove ! However it is more sensitive to bullet diameter , it has to be sized carefully. It is also sensitive to bullet composition.
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Amen amen amen!!

Marlin's like Fat Boolits!!! That's why jacketed usually work better.
Take a lead bullet, stick it in the crown of the barrel. Pull it out. See any lands or grooves cut??
NOPE?? Find a fatter bullet. Repeat. Eventually you find what locks in.

It can be a chore, but once you figure out what ammo it likes, it becomes a real centerpuncher.
Think of it like this...it's a Match barrel. Feed it Matched Ammo. Gabeesh?
 
Not much into shooting both cast and jacketed. too much work cleaning out the mess that can cause.
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I know this is probably beating a dead horse, but proper cast bullets at reasonable velocities don't make a mess... unless there is something else in the mix (rough bore, for example.) Anything I load that's going over about 1500fps gets gas checks.

Wendyj, if that's the LaserCast I'm thinking of, it's a gas check bullet without the gas check (it has a step at the base of the bullet.) I didn't get very good accuracy out of those, that's why I switched to the gas checked Montana bullet.
 
I finally got a 2.8 inch group with factory Remington 170 grain cor locs. Been trying for months for a good reload. I sold it today and hope to never have microgroove barreled rifle again. I can't believe I spent this much time with it. That is within minute of deer but was also only at 65 yards since our range is closing down for 3 months.
 
The Marlin Microgroove barrel 30-30 is a known-to-be accurate rifle with expected cloverleaf or near so groups at 100 yards off a rest. My Microgroove barrels never see anything but jacketed bullets and shoot to that expectation. I am sorry yours did not work out for you. I know the other guys shoot cast lead with success but me, not an expert by any measure, just do not consider the 30-30 a good candidate for cast lead like the big bore brother 1895 45-70 rifles. 3C
 
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Sorry it didn't work out for you. I don't know what the problem was but it wasn't the Micro-groove rifling. MG Marlins shoot lead just fine. You have to work at it to find what it likes and some times that can be a challenge. I have a 35 Rem that took a lot of effort but I finally settled on an RCBS 200 FP gas checked cast from straight wheel weights pushed with IMR 4227 and seated touching the lands. When scoped off of sand bags it'll do 5 shots just under an inch at 100. I never found a jacketed bullet that would do that good. Heck, I have a bolt gun or two that won't shoot that good.
 
The 30-30 is actually a good cast-bullet cartridge; with its long neck, it easily covers the lube-grooves and gas check. The 300 Savage, with its short neck, is less than ideal in this respect. I'm sure it can be done, but there are better calibers for cast bullets. Straight-walled calibers are the best, but bottle-necked cartridges with long necks are quite good as well. In the case of Wendyj's Marlin, well, it seems that sometimes it is a mystery why a rifle that otherwise seems perfectly good, simply will not shoot well no matter what one does. There might always be a reason, that if pursued long enough, will solve the dilemma, but sometimes it is easier to give up and start over with another rifle that is easier to co-operate with.
 
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