30-30

Now that I am going to be the owner of my first lever rifle, I have had a look around what sort of components are out there. From my limited research, lever guns are not exactly bench rest rifles due to their construction. So more of a short range fast brush gun sort of deal. In a way perfect for where I am going. But here is where I am a bit stumped. There is a whole plethora of bullets out there for the 30-30 and I would be a very old man if I tried them all out. So as all of you have more experience with lever rifles then I have to this date, what is a good way to start. I am looking at deer / hog and maybe a black bear or two in the future. I have no preference as to bullet makers and have several powders at hand that would probably work. From IMR 4198, H Leverevolution, Varget, cfe223 and probably a couple of others I can't think of right now. So whats your favorite ??

ATB

Michael

Nothing fancy here. 150 Gr. Bullet and IMR 4895 powder. works for me.
Don't be afraid to try cast lead bullets either. Have accounted for a lot of fun shooting and game also.

35 grains just like it says on the jug. can hit a paperplate out to about 150 yards

I have a lever 35 rem and the hornady leverloution ammo is just great. I do not reload. Hope this helps.......jk

Blue box federal 150gr SP has grouped very well thru my ol dirty 30. About the cheapest to boot

X2! great round. I think I have said it before Scuba, if you can match that round, you'll be in the money man. Good luck!

I remember you said something like that Catch. I'll have to look into that round. But as far as hunting on my property goes, I don't think I'll be able to take advantage of that extra range the leverevolution offers as I can hardly see 50 yards in a straight line without the aid of a chainsaw. A weedwhacker is of more use then binoculars if you know what I mean.

X3 on the leverlution! If you can get hold of those Hornaday leverlution bullets and find a powder that can half-way match the factory round you are golden. My 94 loves them and they shoot somewhat flatter than the old roundnoses it seems

I shoot a Marlin 1895 45/70 for deer and bear.Before the Hornady's came out I used Remington 405 gr.rounds,which are pretty much standard medicine for this round.I do not reload so I rely on factory rounds.I shot a handful of deer and 1 bear with this round and no issues.Grouping at 75-100 yrds. was an acceptable 2" groupings(relying on memory here),lever actions were not considered tack drivers so it was good enough.Then I got the Hornady Leverlutions.Wow!Accuracy wise they did everything it was claimed they would,its probably as closed to a tack driver as your going to get.I did noticed more recoil with them,and after shooting a few deer at our big woods ranges I feel this round in 45/70 kills them more dead than they need to be.But the rounds most definitely lived up to the hype.

I get ya buddy but it doesn't matter about the extra range at all. These rounds shine at any range. Like any gun, they have their own personality and as savvy as you are I'm sure your gonna test out more then a few different possibility's. If you include the LeveRevolution rounds, my guess is that it will blow you away( pun intended lol). Can't wait to here about it and see pics of your alls new place in Tenn.

Choose a bullet that has a crimp groove in the right place and will expand at .30-30 velocity. Lots of .308 diameter bullets out there are made for higher velocity. As said above -don't sell a good cast bullet short. IMR 3031 was an original loading.

Scuba, as quoted. 150 grain and Imr-4895 is overall your best option. I have an old marlin 30-30 that will group 1 inch at 100 all day long. I also have an old win 94 that loves 150 grain rem bullets I also use RL7. I use 125 grain spritzers in mine. A two shot rile for deer. Works for me. Sarge

I am guessing that not every round nose or flat nose bullet is made for the somewhat slow 30-30.

no they are not. most round nose 308 will have a cannelure ring but those intended for 7.62 nato, 30-06 or 300 mag will have a thicker jacket. better off with a bullet designed for 30-30 velocitys

bullets without a cannalure ring and crimp, while in the tube magazine, have a tendency to seat deeper in the case every time you fire one

No, not all round or flats are good for the thirty- thirty. The 30-30 is slow, but if I had only it to choose from, then I would be ok. My dad took many a deer with his old win.94( nickel plated receiver) and never needed more then one shot. The old marine knew his rifle. I have it now, and I have a date this fall with a nice 8 pointer I have been watching. Sarge

To be honest, I don't really need another rifle for hunting ....but it would be a shame to just use this old bit of history just for punching paper or hang it on a wall. That and I like the idea to hunt on my new patch of dirt with an old rifle like this American classic.

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/000072000/30-cal-(30-30)-point308-diameter-150-grain-flat-nose-pro-hunter-power-jacket-100-count

Lots of bullets will work good. I been shooting these a long time though. These bullets are meat makers at the ranges your talking about. I never shot a wild hog like you may want or need to do in TN but I would not be afraid to put one of these in one of them. At short range. About 150 max. They wont hold velocity because of the lack of bullet coefficient and low muzzle velocity.

my first hi power was an old bolt action 30-30. I have killed a lot of stuff with them.

I use those bullets in my 458 Socom and they do quite well in it Danny They are on the short list for the 30-30 now as well Thanks folks. This is saving me reinventing the wheel as it were.

All that fancy pointed ammo defeats the purpose of a 30-30. Mho it's a brush gun and a fine one at that.

What kind velocity does a 30-30 have compare to a 30-06, how much does 30-30 drop in 300 yards?

Coonman The 30-30 is not really a 300 yard deer gun. Without doing a simple Google search, 30-30 is about 2200 fps, 30-06 is about 2800 fps. You didn't ask about bullet weights or shapes so that's a round about answer.

Scuba,
I am in the same boat as you (not literally of course, since there isn't puke all around your feet right now). I did not need a Model 94 30-30 when one fell into my lap for $100. But when I closed my eyes as I pulled the gun up to my cheek and opened them to see a perfect alignment of the sights, I was hooked. Man! those guns are fun to shoot. I have yet to kill a deer with it yet, but deer season will be here before you know it.
I can't help you with working up any loads for yours. I just wanted you to realize that the one you just bought was a goof find.
P.S. do not put a scope on it. You will be thrown out of the John Wayne '94 Club. (No offense to you blind guys who can't see the front sights any more.)

Hornady has FTX bullets made specifically for 30-30 tubular mags. I think they have them in the 140ish and 160ish gr weights. Spitzer design for a little higher BC but soft tip so it wont set off primers in the tube. Pair that with the leverevolution powder and it can make the 30-30 fairly close to the power of a standard 308win. 2500+fps i believe if my memory serves with the 140gr stuff. I have one but have not loaded anything for it as ive been focused on other stuff and im still trying to find a stash of brass to get started with. I have a marlin 336 with a jm stamped barrel that was my dads first rifle. Its as accurate as i can shoot anything with iron sights..I took the front sight and took a belt sander to it and took the bead into a sharp point. It really shrunk my groups, but i do have good eyes still. Later on i will probably need to remount a scope back to it.

If looking for a more traditional bullet just a standard 150gr round nose bullet is plenty accurate for what the rifle is capable of. 300yds is about top end. My dad used to practice out to 400 with his and could hit with it. If i thought i might shoot over 150yds i would probably take a different rifle.

I reload for the 30-30 and I shoot just about only cast in it. I would just use FN cast in it because of the primer. With the rounds in the tube. I shoot cast that will shoot like a 22lr up to the regular round.For the ones of 22lr I use 32 cal cast for it. I size them down to shoot for 30 cal. I reload for 32cal also. You will have a gun to use on anything you come across for hunting, As for the weight it was stated for what the OP had ask. You can do more with cast the jacket.

My loads were with imr3031 and 4350 with 150 grainers and it'd shoot nearly MOA....1 1/2" all day.

My LONG DISTANCE loads were a now obsolete 135 gr, for that 250 yd shot on occasion...BUT I practiced, from a tree stand, with a rest, out to 250. All our stands had built in rests.

I have shot a distance. Not at game. Ballistic coefficient is so poor that a 30-30 with flat nose bullets, sighted in to 0 at 100 yards will shoot 3-4 inches low at 150. with 150 flat nose bullets. At 200 about 10 inches low and at 300 about 3 feet low. 400 about 6 foot low. At 200 it is hitting about as hard as a 357 at the muzzle. In order to drop a deer fast you need to hit the bottom of the heart lung area. You will need a range finder and a scope. If you guess range wrong by even 10 yards you miss by a substantial amount. The 30-30 was never intended for anything past about 150 yards. A long shot in 1895 when the cartridge came out.

If you want a 3-400 yard deer/elk/black bear rifle buy yourself a nice 270.

(p.s. those 30-30 drop in inches are from memory and likely will only be close to what your rifle will do so don't get all techy on me please)

I have loaded Sierra boat tails in my bolt action as well as my 94 by only putting one in the mag and one in the chamber on the lever gun. The bullets must be seated so deep that the case has to be trimmed. A bunch. Because of OACL. Never could get all the bugs worked out. Don't waste your time is my advice. Just accept that the 30-30 shines as 150 yard limit and iron sights rifle.

This sums it up on the 30-30 and too many look for it to do more then it will.

Good post Danny.

I don't have a 30-30, but I had an old 32 spl.. A fun load for it was about 3 1/2 g. of hi-score 700x pushing a chunk of 00 buck bout as fast as a strong sling shot. My .177 break bbl. makes more noise! Great for close tree rats, sparrows, starlings, etc. Fun & cheep too !!!
Dennis

Danny I have a 270, 30-06 am in the process of building a 6.5 Gibbs so really don't need a rifle for longer ranges in 30-30 lol I never planned to have this shooting iron anyway. Now that it is coming my way, I thought I would make the best of it. On my property where I intend to use it for hunting. I don't think I can even see 50 yards so before I would put a scope on that 30-30 I would be looking for a weed whacker attachment or a picatinni style bracket for a chainsaw. I intend to use it for what it was built. Open sight quick action brush hunting. A rifle for stalking in the thick stuff. So I don't care about how much the bullet drops at 200 + yards. Aint planning on shooting that far with it.

Scuba you will discover why a round made popular 125 years ago is still so common.

I love my 30/30! I shoot Hornady 170's out of mine. I got lots of rifles that'll shoot farther and flatter with fancy pointed bullets, but im a little old school and more traditional. put a 30/30 in the hands of a woodsman and he'll make meat! frankly ive had a gut full of the long range hype. learn to hunt, and if the shos to far, pass on it or get closer. good luck and have fun with that rifle.

I am looking at this more as a bit of working history. Muzzle loaders don't interest me and this is about as classic of a rifle as I am going to get into. I have a good idea about the so called limitations of the cartridge I think. But I don't see it as a limitation. Well inside a 100 yards it is all one needs. Heck my go to deer rifle was a 223 for quite a while and worked just fine but I did not pull the trigger on a deer that was 500 yards away either. For my property the old 30-30 is just the right tool I think and thanks to you guys, I now have a starting point for what components to buy for it and start making some rounds to try out.

if your interested in casting 30-30 has soem good bullets and can be a lot of fun.

I don't hunt with my 30-30 mostly because the township I hunt is shotgun and pistol only.

when I hunt outside of that township I have a 30-06 I bought when I was 14 and my 30-30 was a gifted to me when I was 17 and has some history.

I shot it a little with Remingtion core locks 170gr and they did well but seemed expensive for targets.

then I got into casting , I cast a Lee C309-170RF that I put over a charge of pistol powder and it shoots well for ringing steel at 100 yards and closer

I also cast a TL314-90-SWC sized down to .311 over a very light charge of fast burning shotgun powder .

when 22lr was in very short supply these fit the bill for range fun at less cost than the 22lr at the time was

there was no shortage of large pistol primers or scrap lead at the time one pound of powder made around 1000 rounds or even more in the 90gr

brass lasts virtually forever at these very low pressures and with the rimmed case

Greencountry- I'd be interested in buying/trying some of those TL314-90-SWC. Any interest in selling/mailing a small box of them?

messaged you

If you want to have yourself some fun buy a jug of Trailboss and whatever 100-150 grain flat nose bullet is cheapest. Follow the loading guidelines supplied by the powder manufacturer and then go have some fun plinking. I usually bring a couple .30-30s and some of these reduced loads when we go camping. The kids and I go to town on targets and it is a riot shooting a full size lever gun with virtually no recoil.

I don't cast myself. But I think I have seen Barrys plated bullets for very little money and should probably get a bunch of those for some can hunting to keep the missus entertained.

I bet that trailboss powder would be a hoot with some plinking loads, probably could get alot of case life since its underpowered. I use trailboss in my subsonic 308 loads and its great for that.

I'd look at Beartooth Bullets for cast bullets.

If you use a round nose or LeveRevolution bullet you should be able to get flat enough trajectory to handle 250-300 yards. I shoot a 35 Remington that is even slower & fatter than a .30-30 and I can shoot point-blank out to 200 yards. I'm sighted 1.5" high at 100. If I had to, I'd feel comfortable shooting out to 250 if I had a good solid shooting position and little wind.

I'm loading Hornady #3060 170 gr flat points pushed by 30 gr. of 3031 ignited with CCI 200 primers. Easily 1 inch groups at 100 yards from a Marlin 336. My contender with a 14 inch barrel, I loaded Sierra #2020 125 gr hollow point flat nose bullets with 24 grains of 4627 and again CCI 200 primers. I have not loaded the hollow points for the Marlin yet. They are devastating at pistol volatilizes and distance, but I've been told that they are really good out of the carbine.