MItchell, a gas check is a little copper cup that goes on the bottom of bullets designed to take it. Plain base bullets are severely limited in velocity. GC bullets are capable of near full .30-30 velocity. All of Lee's .30 cal moulds are designed for GCs and I have never gotten decent results shooting GC bullets without GCs.
NEF barrels run a little big and cast bullets absolutely have to be a little fatter than the barrel. Lee's C312-155-2R bullet has given me excellent results in several .30 cal rifles and I think they worked for Vance in his Handi .30-30. I size those .311 for .30 cals.
The minimum to get started would be:
1. Alloy (Generally wheelweights and start looking now.)
2. Heat source (Single burner propane, camp stove, older electric hot plate.)
3. Cast iron or steel pot, 1-2 quarts (DON"T use aluminum)
4. Junk tablespoon to skim with
6. Candle to flux and lube the mold with.
7. Spouted casting ladle (dunno what they cost but I have a spare for $5)
8. Mould ($13 for Lee. Much more for other brands)
9. Wooden kitchen matches to smoke mould with. Don't use the candle.
10. Box of gas checks ($18?)
11. Lee .311 pushthrough sizing die. ($13) (Comes with a bottle of lube.) Works with the press you have so you don't need to buy another expensive gadget.
12. Hammer handle or other convenient hardwood stick for knocking sprue plate open
13 Tin can to put the dross you skim off in.
14. Beer flat and rags to drop bullets on.
Optional items -- Lee Universal Expanding Die to flare the case necks, $10. I got along for years with a tapered center punch for that chore.
Tin (Wheelweights and most other scrap lead sources cast better with some tin added. 2% is about right for WW.)
If you have $13 to gamble after you get all that, you might add a Lee C312-185-1R mould to that. I have not tried that one and can't swear that it will work, but it should. The better the nose fits on top the rifling, the better cast bullets work. NEF barrels are a little oversized and have shallow rifling so that mould with its fatter nose is a good bet. You are likely limited to about 2200 fps (less unless you heat treat your bullets), so you might as well throw as much lead as you can.
Lee C309-180-1R is also worth looking at because you could harden those just by dropping them into a bucket of water as you cast and probably not soften them when you crimp the GC on. (Unless it is unusually big for a Lee bullet, the sizer won't size at all because the bullet will be somewhere between .309 and .311 as cast.)
You get really into it, you'll spend a lot more money, but that gets you started and you break even in about 300 bullets. Order your stuff from Midway or MidSouth to get the prices I listed and because your local dealer won't have it all on hand.
