# Marlin 30-30 Micro grove



## People (Jan 17, 2005)

I remember reading the answer a long time ago but can not find the answer.

Can you shoot lead in a micro grove tube with out heavy leading?


----------



## cwoparson (Aug 23, 2007)

Answer is Yes. The myth about microgroove got started from people trying to shoot soft swaged lead bullets that were either to small to diameter (improper bullet to bore), push the bullet to fast or both. Slug your bore and then make sure the chosen bullet is .001 to .002 over bore diameter. Use good lube with the bullet. Use a bullet with a hardness of 12-20 BHN but don't go way up on the hardness scale as to hard will lead just as much as to soft. Most store bought lead bullets are 20-22 BHN and though harder than need be, they will work just fine. If shooting faster than 1200 fps do use a gas check design. I use gas checked bullets regardless of speed I load for. Last, don't try to push it at jacketed bullet speeds. I load mine (170 grain cast) to shoot 1800-2000 fps and occasionally 2100 fps. Some people I know have run up as high as 2300 2400 fps using 150 grain gas checked bullets with no problems. Think about it, the Marlin 22 rimfires are all Micro Groove and have been shooting lead without leading for many years now.

Couple of tips to keep you a happy cast lead shooter. Never shoot cast lead behind jacketed bullets. Jacketed bullets leave copper fouling that will strip minute particles of lead and will lead to a leaded bore. Always start you shooting day or session with a clean bore. You can though shoot jacketed behind cast without problems. I even heard and been told by some supposdly experts that after a cast shooting spree they shoot a couple jacketed rounds to remove any lead. Then all you have to do is clean the bore for copper fouling. Don't really know if this works or not but the easiest way for me is to simply designate which guns are for cast and which is for jacketed and let it go at that.

There is no such thing that I know of that is a lead solvent. I know of nothing that will dissolve lead even though I've seen advertizments to the contrary. What I do is take a 12 inch strand from a copper chore boy scrub pad and wrap it around a copper scrub brush. With a little solvent for powder removal I run this back and forth through the bore about a dozen times. This will remove any lead that may be there. Try it with white cloth under the muzzle and you can see the lead actually being brushed out if there is any. Works like a charm.

No matter what type of rifling you have I would fire lap the bore if I planned to do very much cast shooting and wanted decent accuracy. There are kits on the market such as the David Tubbs kit that has 50 bullets already impregnated with the required grit for fire lapping. A smooth polished bore with imperfections removed will do wonders for cast shooting.

These are just my opinions and what has worked for me.


----------



## People (Jan 17, 2005)

Thanks, my plan was to shoot gas checks and not really push it too fast.


----------

