Rally Hess
Well-Known Member
I've been working on a load for my Marlin 336 SS that will work for what I do. I first wanted an accurate bullet that would shoot decent, which I feel I have. This combo or rifle and load will shoot 15 shots into a 2" circle at 50 yards, shooting over the hood of my truck. I posted that here a while back and for sure over at CB. The load is Rem. .30-30 brass, WLR primer,24.0 grs Reloder 7, with the 165 gr Ranch Dog bullet in dimple point version. This is the GC version and my alloy is 60-40 Coww and Mono. Trim length was 2.029 and OAL was 2.401. Sized at .311 and Bens Red for lube (all grooves) Velocity is @1850.
I tried all three bullet configurations with this NOE RG4, and the dimple point was the most accurate, infact I own several of the RG4's and the dimple point versions shoot the best in all of them for me. I'm guessing some are thinking the 40% Mono in my alloy is a bit much, but this 336 likes them hard and big. I started at 50/50 plus 3% tin and went to COWW and kept adding mono. I shot quite a few beaver with softer alloys at the current 1850 FPS velocity, and they were brutal, with bullet fragmentation pretty obvious, even on body shot beaver. I prefer a bullet that stays together, with good nose expansion, because I get paid for fur not large holes.
Last year during deer season, the only day I didn't carry a rifle with cast bullets in it, I shot a nice 7 pt buck with my .243, so didn't get to test this rifle/ bullet on a deer. However, this year, by 0821 hrs I was done and had already passed on a nice doe that walked within 25' of me. I shot a little Y buck, quartering to me at 44 steps, as it walked through a year old slash. It dropped at the shot, recovered it's footing, and fell twice more in less than 25 yards distance. The bullet was a complete through and through, and the blood trail was impressive on both sides. I took pictures of the blood trail with my phone but don't know how to get them on this puter. Here's the necropsy pictures for those interested.
I didn't cut the deers throat or jaw, the DNR is doing CWD testing and we were required to submit them for testing the first weekend.
The white rod shows the bullet path and points it's direction of travel. It went through just below the spine and hit ribs both in and out.
This is the inside of the deers hide, with the entry hole on the right and the exit hole on the left as it is pictured. Entry was about .30 cal. and exit was over .50 cal. with no fragmentation. I'm pretty happy about that.
This is the entry hole from the outside of ribcage.
This is the exit wound from the outside of the ribcage.
This is the entry from the inside of ribcage.
This is the exit from the inside of ribcage.
If this rifle/load does as well on coyotes and fox I'll be a happy camper.
Thanks for all the help folks. I appreciate all the input and helpful tips here.
I tried all three bullet configurations with this NOE RG4, and the dimple point was the most accurate, infact I own several of the RG4's and the dimple point versions shoot the best in all of them for me. I'm guessing some are thinking the 40% Mono in my alloy is a bit much, but this 336 likes them hard and big. I started at 50/50 plus 3% tin and went to COWW and kept adding mono. I shot quite a few beaver with softer alloys at the current 1850 FPS velocity, and they were brutal, with bullet fragmentation pretty obvious, even on body shot beaver. I prefer a bullet that stays together, with good nose expansion, because I get paid for fur not large holes.
Last year during deer season, the only day I didn't carry a rifle with cast bullets in it, I shot a nice 7 pt buck with my .243, so didn't get to test this rifle/ bullet on a deer. However, this year, by 0821 hrs I was done and had already passed on a nice doe that walked within 25' of me. I shot a little Y buck, quartering to me at 44 steps, as it walked through a year old slash. It dropped at the shot, recovered it's footing, and fell twice more in less than 25 yards distance. The bullet was a complete through and through, and the blood trail was impressive on both sides. I took pictures of the blood trail with my phone but don't know how to get them on this puter. Here's the necropsy pictures for those interested.
I didn't cut the deers throat or jaw, the DNR is doing CWD testing and we were required to submit them for testing the first weekend.
The white rod shows the bullet path and points it's direction of travel. It went through just below the spine and hit ribs both in and out.
This is the inside of the deers hide, with the entry hole on the right and the exit hole on the left as it is pictured. Entry was about .30 cal. and exit was over .50 cal. with no fragmentation. I'm pretty happy about that.
This is the entry hole from the outside of ribcage.
This is the exit wound from the outside of the ribcage.
This is the entry from the inside of ribcage.
This is the exit from the inside of ribcage.
If this rifle/load does as well on coyotes and fox I'll be a happy camper.
Thanks for all the help folks. I appreciate all the input and helpful tips here.
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