3030 150 gr. Berry's Bullets

Gentlemen,
I just bought a 250 round box of Berry's 150 gr. FN plated bullets. The package states not to load the bullets over 1700 fps. Every loading manual I have, including my 49th Edition Lyman Manual does not start that low. I'm only looking for a plinking load and even 1500 fps would be fine. I've read that you can use loads designed for hard cast bullets but as I've stated the loads in the Lyman start at around 1725 for a 170 gr. lead bullet. I've got Unique. H335, H322,H4895 IMR 3031,4064 and 4350 and some 2400. I would appreciate anyone who has loaded this bullet with any of those powders to get me started in the right direction. Thanks in advance.

Len

Try 10 grs of Unique..Maybe start at 9 gr and work up Run 'em over a chronograph to check velocities..Never used that exact bullet but have shot many cast bullets over unique in 5 different calibers

I've used Berry's as well as the Xtreme 150 gr plated bullets.

I've had decent accuracy with, believe it or not, 7.0 to 9.0 grains of Red Dot, with velocities between 1220 fps and 1425 fps with SDs between 20 and 25 fps.

I got the best accuracy at 9.0 grains, with 1425 fps average velocities.

I use Red Dot in preference to Unique for light loads, mostly because I have a lot of Red Dot while Unique has been scarce the last couple years. I use Unique in my .38-55 and .45-70 (with a 5/8" and 1" square polyester wad respectively, cut from 1/4" thick polyester quilt batting), so it's nice that the .30-30 likes Red Dot. Red Dot is similar to Unique in that it is a double base flake powder that performs well at low load densities where other powders can be prone to pressure spikes. Given the low SDs, this load seems to work well in this application.

For stiffer loads, I normally use Reloader 7 with charge weights between 19.0 and 22.0 gr with velocities ranging from 1700 fps to 1900 fps with SDs in the high teens to low twenties.

My preferred load is 20.0 grains of Reloader 7, with an average velocity of 1740 fps in 50-60 degree weather, picking up to an average of 1785 fps in 85-95 degree weather, and an SD around 18 fps.

Accuracy is very good, especially for an inexpensive bullet in an iron sighted rifle, and I've been getting consistent1.5-1.75" 10 shot groups at 100 yards in my 1885 High Wall with a Marbles tang sight and Lyman 17A globe front sight. This is my standard steel plate load out to 300 yards in my 1885.



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I noted that at velocities of 1800 fps to 1900 fps, accuracy was potentially even better, with the unfortunate exception of about 1 in 5 shots landing well outside the group.



My theory on this was that at the higher velocities the plated jackets were occasionally starting to strip off, causing some instability and fliers.

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The above loads and velocities are all out of my 1885 with a 30" barrel, so 20" carbine velocities will be lower and you may have to up the charge a bit to get similar velocities.



At the same time, your bore may be a bit rougher or smoother than mine, and your maximum velocity may vary a bit before you start seeing some flyers.

You can use loads meant for lead bullets with your plated bullets. The Lyman 4th Edition Cast Bullet Handbook is a very good source for lead bullet load data.

You can also use the H4895 reduced loads provided by Hodgdon with those bullets. Since they don't list data for a 150gr bullet in the 30-30 you can use the formula at the top of the page.
http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/H4895 Reduced Rifle Loads.pdf

BB57 said:

I've used Berry's as well as the Xtreme 150 gr plated bullets.

I've had decent accuracy with, believe it or not, 7.0 to 9.0 grains of Red Dot, with velocities between 1220 fps and 1425 fps with SDs between 20 and 25 fps.

I got the best accuracy at 9.0 grains, with 1425 fps average velocities.

I use Red Dot in preference to Unique for light loads, mostly because I have a lot of Red Dot while Unique has been scarce the last couple years. I use Unique in my .38-55 and .45-70 (with a 5/8" and 1" square polyester wad respectively, cut from 1/4" thick polyester quilt batting), so it's nice that the .30-30 likes Red Dot. Red Dot is similar to Unique in that it is a double base flake powder that performs well at low load densities where other powders can be prone to pressure spikes. Given the low SDs, this load seems to work well in this application.

For stiffer loads, I normally use Reloader 7 with charge weights between 19.0 and 22.0 gr with velocities ranging from 1700 fps to 1900 fps with SDs in the high teens to low twenties.

My preferred load is 20.0 grains of Reloader 7, with an average velocity of 1740 fps in 50-60 degree weather, picking up to an average of 1785 fps in 85-95 degree weather, and an SD around 18 fps.

Accuracy is very good, especially for an inexpensive bullet in an iron sighted rifle, and I've been getting consistent1.5-1.75" 10 shot groups at 100 yards in my 1885 High Wall with a Marbles tang sight and Lyman 17A globe front sight. This is my standard steel plate load out to 300 yards in my 1885.

------

I noted that at velocities of 1800 fps to 1900 fps, accuracy was potentially even better, with the unfortunate exception of about 1 in 5 shots landing well outside the group.

My theory on this was that at the higher velocities the plated jackets were occasionally starting to strip off, causing some instability and fliers.

----

The above loads and velocities are all out of my 1885 with a 30" barrel, so 20" carbine velocities will be lower and you may have to up the charge a bit to get similar velocities.

At the same time, your bore may be a bit rougher or smoother than mine, and your maximum velocity may vary a bit before you start seeing some flyers.

Click to expand...

Gorgeous rifle!

Thanks guys I'll load some up today and maybe see if I can get some red dot.
Len

Great info. Going to try the 9 grains of red dot. Quick question- what COL were you using? Also, have you tried 13 grains and chrono tested?

This was second try at 50 yards . First try was similar. One flyer was all me. Next time out I'll see what it does at 100 yards. Load was 13.0/2400. I got the load from a member of the Marlin forum.

phonejack said:

This was second try at 50 yards . First try was similar. One flyer was all me. Next time out I'll see what it does at 100 yards. Load was 13.0/2400. I got the load from a member of the Marlin forum.

Click to expand...

I load a 311-170-F CAST a tad warmer. So if you wanted a milder load I think you could do a lot worse. For a really lighter shove on the shoulder try 70 percent free case volume (about 10.0 grains in my FC brass) of Trailboss (I know its not on your list, but) its a real fun powder for lighter loads. Just start at 7.0 and work up to an accurate load. Even 9.9 should not go over pressure (just don't compress it). TB is so foolproof even retired white shirts can use it and not hurt themselves.

You would think the OP found a good load or gave up after two years! lol