What bullet mold do you recommend for the .30 Mauser
 

Any advice would be appreciated as to what cast bullet mold, what size bullet (.308 thru .312) and what brand powder and powder weight that you have used in the .30 mauser.

Thanks

RCBS offers a 2 cavity mold that drops a 77 grain bullet at about .311 - .312". If your bore is original, you'll likely need a cast bullet at .311" minimum. If it's been relined, the grooves are likely .308" and a bullet sized to .309 or .310" will work OK as long as the chamber will accept the cartridge. (Original chambers tend to be larger than newer ones)

The NRA Reloading book lists a load using Bullseye that should work well in your Broomhandle. I'll check when I get home.

My broomhandle was relined with a .308 liner. I use 6 gr of Herco.
Lonnie

My NRA reloading book shows an 86 grain jacketed bullet using 5.2 grains of Bullseye for 1410 FPS. That should be a good powder load using any lead bullet from 75 - 95 grains. (Lead bullets do not create the pressures that jacketed bullets do.)

Thanks for the replies guys

Doubs,

Is 5.2 grains of Bullseye safe in 9 mm? Please check again since 4.6 grains is max. in .45 ACP.

I believe Doubs meant this load for the 30 Mauser. It is a recommended load, however, it blew primers in my 30.
Lonnie

[quote]Originally posted by Lonnie Zimmerman:
<strong>I believe Doubs meant this load for the 30 Mauser. It is a recommended load, however, it blew primers in my 30. Lonnie</strong><hr></blockquote>

Quite right, Lonnie. The original question was about bullets of .30 caliber so the cartridge has to be the 7.63 Mauser. The 5.2 grains of Bullseye is straight from the NRA "Handloader" book.

I've used the above load in a couple of Broomhandles without a problem. A blown primer may be caused by several things including headspacing, an enlarged firing pin hole and brass with loose primer pockets. If all of these things are good, then the load may simply be too much for your particular gun. Backing off on the load or changing powders may help. (Both of my C-96's date to the 1910 era. One was relined by the Chinese and is all matching. The other my father and I purchased about 1960 and it's all matching with an original bore in mint condition.)