Found The Rifle I Have Been Looking For!

[busterrm]

I just got shitass drunk lucky! Been watching multiple websites. Today’s Black Friday sale at Academy,they had a Henry 30-30 model H009, lever action on sale for 699.99. The ad said they had limited stock! I am like okay, jeans,boots, t-shirt, jacket, wallet,keys, 9mm pistol, 3 mags I am out the door. They are 5 mins away. I walk in, no Henry rifle on the wall, I am like shit too late! So I ask the salesman if they have any 30-30s in stock. Then told him about the ad, and that it said their location had limited stock. He scratches his head, let me look in the back warehouse. I am getting all gitty, this is the first and only 30-30 that has been available in this area in like the last 8 months. He walks out with the box, and said You are lucky we have just one! I open it up, my God, it’s a thing of beauty!

 

[busterrm]

Here it is!

 

[busterrm]

Now I gotta find some ammo for it they did not have any!

 

[Grumpy]

well congrats if thats what you wanted
and reloading 30/30 ammo is drop dead easy
to do! (especially if you already have the press,dies, etc.)

whenever I purchase a new rifle I acquire 250-500 new matching cartridge case brass
you'll need some Winchester or federal large rifle primers
standard or magnum,(standard preferred here)

the load my friends prefer and use for 4 decades is 36 grains of WW748 powder
under a speer or sierra 150 grain flat nose jacketed bullet but cast loads are far cheaper
and if you load properly just as accurate
, but realistically not quite as effective for hunting as velocity and expansion is a bit lower
so best used for targets or plinking... now the cast loads from a 30/30,
are lethal but generally larger game like hogs and deer,
run a bit further with similar hits,
after bullet impact with cast loads in a 30/30 in my experience.
if you want to use cast loads exclusively to hunt,
a 450 marlin or 45/70 allows you to get excellent results
the heavier larger diam 45 caliber bullets are far more effective at the marginally lower velocity,s

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply....-grain-hot-cor-flat-nose-soft-point-100-count
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010529757


https://www.starlinebrass.com/30-30-winchester
and yes you could easily use cast 170-180 grain flat nose gas check bullets in a 30/30

 

[busterrm]

Yeah, Grumpy I really wanted a Marlin 30-30, but they are virtually impossible to find new. I just got back from the local gun shop, I had a Nikon 3X9 scope put on it. Bought some shells too. Here is a shot of it with the scope.

 

[rlphvac]

I think you did better with the Henry for today if you found a Marlin it would be a Remlin because Remington took over the Marlin product and the ones they made were pretty bad quality for a time there and now they are being bought by Ruger so Marlin may make a recovery in a couple years but you did good by getting a Henry

 

[busterrm]

I am happy with it! I knew Remington had them. I really have been leaning toward Henry, it’s just that the steel version hasn’t been common the last year or so. Mostly what I have seen was either the brass version or the stainless version. Those were running pricewise from 900 to 1200 I think. Like it says, I just got lucky.
I have about 900 in this one and that includes the scope. So, I feel I did pretty good.

 

[rlphvac]

I have the brass one in 22 and 1 in 45 Colt my 45/70 is called the weather warrior its stainless and the stock is a grey color its a really good looking rifle I haven't had the chance to work it out like I did the 45 Colt but the limited shooting that I've done with it I would say it has potential I have never really heard anything bad about the Henry rifles but 1 bit of advice from experience when you work the action work it hard its not a piece of glass its a gun I was being easy on mine and got a round stuck in the action its a pain taking it apart to fix it and I'm sure it gets better as its used a kind of a break in thing

 

[Grumpy]

most 45/70 lever actions work rather well using hard cast gas check bullets in the 350-405 grain weight range, and
hard cast bullets significantly reduce wear on the rifling.
bullets heavier than about 420 grains use too much case capacity as the bullet must be seated to the stock cartridge length to function, smoothly, unlike single shot rifles, bullets lighter than about 330 grains don,t have the bearing surface to properly engage the rifling for the 45/70 upper velocity ranges possible nor do they carry energy out to longer ranges effectively
something like this should prove very accurate and effective for hunting and reduce the cost of ammo significantly.
the 350-405 weight range in the 45/70 has proven to be very effective on game

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=46-350S-D.png

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=46-360R-D.png

http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=46-395BG-D.png

powders like imr 4198, RL7 and IMR 3031 generally work best

https://www.sagesoutdoors.com/458-rifle-caliber-gator-gas-checks/

 

[rlphvac]

As soon as things get back to as close to normal as its going to get I do want to buy a mold for the 45/70 I'm trying some different cast bullets to get an idea of where I want to go on this rifle and it may take more than 1 mold

 

[busterrm]

I have the brass one in 22 and 1 in 45 Colt my 45/70 is called the weather warrior its stainless and the stock is a grey color its a really good looking rifle I haven't had the chance to work it out like I did the 45 Colt but the limited shooting that I've done with it I would say it has potential I have never really heard anything bad about the Henry rifles but 1 bit of advice from experience when you work the action work it hard its not a piece of glass its a gun I was being easy on mine and got a round stuck in the action its a pain taking it apart to fix it and I'm sure it gets better as its used a kind of a break in thing

I have noticed it has a real stiff action, I will take your advice to heart. I seem to remember my Henry 22 doing that, it was easy to clear the action, a 22 cartridge is not as long a 30-30 cartridge. A 22 is 31/32 inch long and a 30-30 is about 2 9/16 inch long.

 

[rlphvac]

Never jammed my 22 but my 45/70 is another story and its even longer than the 30-30and I loaded some longer Hornaday bullets that are a real problem now I load them 1 at a time until I burn through the 100 I have

 

[busterrm]

Hey Grumpy what all do I need to reload?

 

[Grumpy]

it sounds complicated and it looks expensive but its really not,
because its not difficult to learn the skills and you can easily save 30%-80% on the cost of ammo.
you basically need a single stage reloading press, dies, shell holders a powder scale, and the components,
if you have empty brass and a cartridge that can effectively use cast bullets like a 45/70 or a pistol like a 45 acp, 357 mag, 44 mag, 9mm etc
and can cast lube and size your own projectiles you cold rather easily save 75% or more on the cost per shot
remember you need fired cases, primers and powder and projectiles and the proper tools to reassemble ammo

read these threads , and sub links ,
then ask questions

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/just-started-reloading.6253/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/thinking-about-getting-into-reloading.11358/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...of-the-better-reloading-machine-options.1098/


these guys are major suppliers of reloader and components but there are hundreds more

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/

https://www.midwayusa.com/

 

[Grumpy]

https://www.midwayusa.com/s?userSearchQuery=45/70+ammo&userItemsPerPage=48

example your average cost of 20 45/70 cartridges is about $35
or $175 per hundred shots using commercial ammo
by the time you bought 500 cartridges you could have purchased almost everything you need in both equipment and components required to
reload and cast bullets almost endlessly, if you realize the equipment is paid for by the time you made 500 cartridges and from then on,
its just purchase powder, primers and if you cast bullets... scrap lead
this is also true with handguns, you can reload pistols with fired brass you pick-up, or buy in 5 gallon buckets quite reasonably at some ranges
its not at all unusual to reload something for a pistol like a 45 acp, 357 mag, 44 mag, 9mm etc for less than 1/2 of what commercial ammo costs
AND used BRASS CAN NORMALLY BE REUSED 4-10 TIMES

 

[busterrm]

Which reloading press is the you get but still a good press? And dies and shell holders also?

 

[rlphvac]

I think presses in single stage are close to one another I like Hornaday because thats what I own right now is a bad time to buy components because of this panic lie the demonrats are trying to ruin us with so finding things may be a problem I use Graf and sons reloading a lot and Natchez reloading

 

[rlphvac]

One thing about reloading that I will give you some advice on is pay attention to what you're doing no distractions and buy a bullet puller and if you think you made a mistake pull it down and find out that you probably did check and check again then check it one more time buy lots of reloading manuals I buy every older used one that I can find off E Bay and the biggest thing is reloading is as addicting as drugs but more healthy I started off a few years ago to do pistol ammo for 9mm I now load for 43 calibers and own a reloading assembly line and am still buying every new toy that comes out and cast my own bullets for a lot of guns and if you have questions ask Grumpy he has a lot of answers and has kept me from many many mistakes good luck and have fun

 

[Grumpy]

https://www.dillonprecision.com/bl-550-basic-loader_8_1_25792.html

removable interchangeable tool head that holds preset die sets,
youll need new dies for each caliber you reload

caliber conversion plate,
some sizes can be used with multiple case calibers,
example
one removable shell plate fits ,
243, 308, 270 ,30/06 ,35 whelen

one size fits 38 spc, 357 mag

one size fits most of the older belted mag cases like
7mm rem, 300 mag, 338 mag, 340 wby, 375 H&H, 458 win. 458 lott.

above is one of the best over all deals in a basic press,
it allows you to set up all the dies in a single removable plate
making changes in calibers and reloading faster, as its a manual progressive,
this potentially makes reloading faster and easier
I really wish you were local so I could demonstrate the differences and advantages of each,
press design and teach you the basics of reloading


a good value in a single stage press you need to put each die in place separately and use a separate shell holder

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1013033452?pid=513567

yes it all sounds complicated and expensive, but in reality, in the long term is a good way to save a considerable amount of cash and produce more and better ammo compared to buying commercial ammo
example
223 rem currently sells for over $18 for 20 cartridges locally,
theres 7000 grains of powder in a pound
a pound of powder maybe, $32 a pound
or about $12 for 100 cartridges
a 223 uses about 25 grains per cartridge.
(about 275 cartridges per pound)
a 100 223 bullets cost about $20,
so $20 for bullets,$4 for primers and
primers cost about $4 a hundred
thus quality reloads about $36 a hundred
\vs about $89 for 100 commercial cartridges/ammo

when and I hope they do,
prices on components eventually drop back near previous levels,
you still save a similar percentage or most likely greater on ammo cost for reloads vs commercial ammo

 

[busterrm]

Went to the range, shot my new 30-30, whoo I forgot how a 30-30 kicks. Dumbass me, I didn’t have a tight enough grip and It gave a small second eyebrow above my left eyebrow. Just a little one, kinda destroyed my confidence for about 15 mins. Got my head together, and continued to fine tune the scope! All said and done it was productive, got it sighted to 1/4-3/8 to the left of dead bull. Will go back and try to get it dead on! I was shooting at max for the range of 25 yds!