Loaded Some Reduced Recoil .30-30s Today

Today I loaded up 50 rounds of .30-30 (.30 WCF) reduced loads with lead bullets and Unique powder. These will primarily be fired in a late 1940s-vintage Stevens 325-B bolt action.

The bullets were 1990s-vintage Alberts Scheutzen Plinker 154 grain swaged lead from my late father's stash. I used some Federal No.210 large rifle primers I bought back then when I was loading .30-06 for shooting in an M-1 Garand in Service Rifle competition back in the 90s. I haven't loaded much high power rifle since then.

After seating but before crimping:

Aesthetically, I really like the retro look of these loads.

I chose a mild charge of 9.0 grains of Unique, which should drive the bullet to around 1200 - 1300 FPS, but I'll run some over a chronograph to be sure. I've see data for 150 grain lead bullets with up to 11.0 grains of Unique.

I also inventoried my .30 caliber cast bullets. I have a box of Lasercast 170 grain RNFPs. They are designed to use a gas check but those aren't installed. I  have a bag of gas checks which I can add using my Lee sizer, and did that for 20 bullets. I also have some Lee 178 grain RNFP gas checked bullets from MOD Outfitters, sized .310. I should be able to drive the gas checked bullets close to 2,000 FPS. I'll try using Winchester 748 powder or IMR 3031 for that.

Charger Cables and Adapters

One of the less-pleasant aspects of getting older is spending more time in hospitals, whether as a patient with a relative who is a patient. That means at some point you may find yourself needed to charge your phone, tablet, or laptop.

For example, my mother recently had a hospital stay and had her iPhone with her to communicate with the rest of the family and to keep her occupied (she uses the Kindle app a lot). We saw that her hospital bed actually had a couple of USB ports provided so patients could charge their devices.

Unfortunately, the ports were USB-A. Her charging cable is USB-C on both ends. Luckily, it was about 8 feet long and she brought the power brick, and we were able to use a wall outlet near the head of her bed. But this experience got me to thinking and I ordered a couple things to provide more flexible charging options.

• First, a two-pack of Anker USB-C to USB-C cables that are 10 feet long. Long charging cables are handy not just in hospitals, but also when travelling when you might not have easy access to an outlet.
• Second, a two-pack of USB-C to USB-A adapters. One of these would've been handy for my mother.

If you need extra charging bricks these Anker 20W chargers are good. They accept both USB-A and USB-C cables. I have a couple in regular use.

Velcro cable ties or Nite Ize Gear Ties are useful for keeping cables neat when not in use or if they are longer than needed.

The chargers and cables are cheap enough so you can buy a couple and keep one in a grab and go bag kept ready for unexpected hospital stays. Having them around gives you one less thing to worry about in a stressful situation.

Support Kit for the Stevens 325-B .30-30

Today I put together an accessory kit to help keep the Stevens 325-B .30-30 running in the field.

• Two spare 3-round magazines
• East German surplus RG-57 AKM cleaning kit
• East German surplus grenade pouch

All items were bought from Numrich Arms.

Numrich warned that the magazines may require final fitting. However, both of mine locked into the rifle easily and fed three rounds into the chamber.

The RG-57 cleaning kit is based around a pull-through, a couple bore brushes, a broom-like brush,  an AKM tool, and a small oil bottle, all contained within a tin reminiscent of vintage pipe tobacco tins. The tin is contained in vinyl pouch with a snap, and a coarse net-like cleaning cloth.

The two bore brushes attach to the patch pulling loop with a hook. I tried the pull-through with one of the large cotton cleaning patches and it pulled through easily, dry or wet.

This site has a nice overview of the kit. Note that mine came with a different kind of pouch to keep it in.

I filled the oil bottle with Ballistol. Apparently the East Germans used it for gun oil, not solvent. Because Ballistol is a CLP it'll be good for both cleaning the rifle and protecting it against rust.

I got turned onto the East German grenade pouches by Jess on the Endurance Room YouTube channel, where he uses one to hold his fire kit. They contain a divider which for my uses I cut out. Numrich has them cheap in NOS condition.

I also added a small Ziplock bag with some cotton flannel cleaning patches.

This kit should handle most needs short of an obstructed bore or a stuck case. If I encounter either in the field I may be able to knock out a bore obstruction by dropping the pull-through's weight on it, but a stuck case would require a cleaning rod to knock out.

IMO, this would be a good setup for one of these rifles kept as a truck gun.

While out hunting I'd have this in my pack with at least one of the spare magazines in a jacket pocket.

WFC Peep Sight for the Stevens 325-B

I lucked out and found on eBay a vintage WFC peep sight meant for the Stevens 325 / Savage 340 and snagged it.

This should noticeably improve the practical accuracy of the rifle compared with an open rear sight. It's missing the mounting screws but I just checked the threads on the rifle and they are 10-32, so sourcing a couple suitable cap screws will be easy. I may have some in my shop but if not, Lowe's or Home Depot will have them.

Since this peep sight design hangs off the back of the receiver it's a bit more vulnerable to damage than a barrel-mounted open sight. So, I want a backup. I have a Marble's #95 sight on the way from Midwest Gunworks. The #95 has a folding leaf so it will be down and out of the way of the peep sight.

Stevens 325-B Bolt Action .30-30

Several years ago when Ruger introduced their Ruger American Ranch Rifle in 7.62x39 I had immediate case of the wants. I have a large supply of the caliber and it would be very useful here in Pennsylvania. However, I generally don't buy right handed bolt action rifles unless they are a classic or military surplus. So, I've held off on getting one.

However, yesterday I got my hands on a suitable alternative in another caliber I stock with similar ballistics. It's a right handed boltgun but for this case I'll make an exception. It's a Savage Stevens 325B in .30-30 Winchester.

In 1947 or '48, Savage Arms' Stevens subsidiary introduced a new rifle, the model 325. It was designed to appeal to returning GIs who'd gotten used to shooting bolt action rifles and was chambered initially in .30-30 and .22 Hornet. After a few years it was renamed the Savage 340 and in addition to these two calibers, was chambered in .222 Remington, .223 Remington, and .225 Winchester. Savage sold the 340s until 1985.

These rifles used modern manufacturing techniques including many stamped sheet steel parts, to help keep the cost down. Instead of walnut the stock was made from birch. It sold for $38 in 1948, which an inflation calculator tells me is worth about $656 today.

The Stevens is rather plain, but a serviceable rifle. I imagine that many of them were working guns on farms. Over on the Gun and Game Forum, member Outpost75, who owns a Savage 340A in .30-30, described them, "These are good, sturdy, accurate little rifles, if a bit "agricultural" looking."

This Stevens 325B in .30-30 followed me home from the Oaks, PA gun show yesterday. It's in excellent shape for a 76 year old gun. It's stamped on the top of the barrel near the receiver with a B inside of a circle. This appears to be a Savage date code indicating it was built in 1950.   The bore and crown are spotless. Along with the gun I bought a Chicom SKS sling. I like these because they are simple, light, quiet, and easy to adjust.

The unloaded rifle weighs 7 lbs. but feels a little lighter to me because it balances very well. The barrel is 21" long, and the length of pull is about 13-5/8", which fits me nicely.

If you're enamored with Jeff Cooper's scout rifle concept one of these would be a good scout-ish platform, keeping in mind that it cannot be rechambered for .308 and scope mounting requires a side-mounted rail. You won't get stripped clip loading but because it uses detachable box magazines, that's moot, IMHO.

The detachable box magazine feed also makes these ideal for truck gun usage. You can keep a couple magazines loaded and locked in a separate container from the rifle, but quickly load it when required.

The standard scope mounts for this series of rifles mounts to the side of the receiver, due to the split bridge design. My rifle was built before Savage came out with their side mount so it lacks the drilled and tapped mounting holes. However, it is drilled and tapped for a receiver peep sight. I setup a search on eBay to see if one turns up.

For now I'll rely on the open iron sights. Another possibility is to drill and tap the receiver ring for a short section of Picatinny rail and mount a small dot sight on it. That would help preserve the rifle's handling while giving a much better sighting arrangement.

Something to keep in mind if you buy one of these is that the bolt has only one locking lug, relying on the root of the bolt handle to act as a safety lug. Compared with, e.g., a Mauser, Mosin-Nagant, or Lee-Enfield, the action is relatively weak. That said, it is plenty strong enough for factory loads in the calibers for which it was built.

The Stevens feeds from a three-round detachable box magazine. I like such magazines on hunting rifles because they facilitate easy loading and unloading, and with a spare magazine in your pocket you're set for a day's hunt. I ordered a couple reproductions from Numrich Arms, which may require a little final fitting.

The magazine is also a limiting factor on those who want to use spitzer bullets in the .30-30. While rifles with tubular magazines can't use hard-tipped pointed bullets because of the risk of unwanted detonation in the mag, the short length of the Savage / Stevens pretty much limits cartridges to those with the same length as factory loads. Here's the mag filled with Remington 170 grain Core Lokt factory loads. You can see there isn't much room for a longer bullet.

An interesting feature on my rifle is a .30-30 case head inlet into the right side of the butt. The pictures I've found of the Stevens lack this so I'm guessing a previous owner put it there. Pretty cool.

The .30-30 cartridge is great for shooting cast bullets, which I plan to do. So I slugged the bore by driving a .32 caliber lead bullet through the barrel and then measuring the groove diameter, which came out to .30905". I have some .310" bullets from MOD Outfitters I'll be trying in the Stevens after I get the chance to load some .30-30s.

In my wanderings online to search for info about the Stevens 325 and Savage 340 rifle I ran across these two articles by Leeroy Wisner, which are worth saving if you have one:

• Stevens 325 and Savage 340 Bolt Action Rifle
• Gunsmithing the Savage Model 340 Rifle

And also this site:

• The Savage 340

I've always thought this series of rifles was neat and I'm happy to have finally acquired one. Now all I need to happen is for the weather to warm up so it's normal Southeast, PA winter instead of feeling like I live on Hoth, and I'll get to shoot it.