30-30 125 & 110 gr...what are they used for??

[saturno_v]

What is the main purpose of light bullets (sub 150 gr.) in 30 WCF???

There is some commercial offering in 125 gr. hollow point (~2550 fps advertised) and the Hodgdon reloading data include the 110 gr. bullets at ~2700 fps.

I noticed that the advertised trajectory of the 125 gr. hollow point is not noticeably different than the regular 150 gr.

The 110 gr. soft point bullets for the 30-30 are the same bullet used for the 30 Carbine??

Are these light bullets used mainly for varmint?? But because the 30-30 is definitely not a flat shooting cartridge, it should be not ideal for serious (read long distance) varminting right??

Regards

 

[chief]

I use the lighter bullets in my contender pistol, also here in OK there are areas where the deer are almost antelope sized and don't take much to harvest.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Folks buy em for different reasons

Some like shooting the faster more rapidly expanding load for small deer
Some like the lower recoil
Some use em for reduced penetration on smaller critters
Some shoot em just because they're different


Myself Ive always wondered why the anemic 170grn load even exists. There isn't a darn thing you can do with a 170grn 30-30 that the 150grn load won't do better. I've chronographed 170grn Remington factory ammo well under 2K fps from a 20" barrel

 

[jmr40]

I have no data to back it up, but the old timers who actually used the 30-30 to hunt with all claim the 170 grain is the better deer killer regardless of velocity.

I think a lot of people who use the 30-30 as a self defense rifle use the lighter 110-125 gr bullets to prevent over penetration in the event they have to shoot an intruder.

 

[Sam1911]

I used to load the Sierra 125 gr. HP/FP over some 3031 for my sister when she was a kid just getting started hunting. Very light recoil and it would do a great job on a deer at close range.

-Sam

 

[saturno_v]

Krochus

Why so slow?

I can easily get over 2100 fps out of my Marlin 336 with your regular 170 gr. Remchesteral...

 

[rbernie]

I have no data to back it up, but the old timers who actually used the 30-30 to hunt with all claim the 170 grain is the better deer killer regardless of velocity.

170gr bullets for the 30-30 were likely popular 'in the day' because of the relatively poor construction of bullets. Given how much better todays bullets are at weight retention, I'm not sure that a 170gr is the end-all-to-be-all for the 30-30.

I have shot a lot of the Sierra 125gr HPs on these itty bitty Texas deer, and they worked well.

 

[X-Rap]

110 HP's are all I load for my levers and since the 135 Sierras are no longer available I now use 125-135 spire pts. in my contender.
A 110 gr HP in 30-30 far exceeds most handgun potential plus is very accurate at 100yds.

 

[Sawyer Bar]

110 HP's great practice on rabbits and other furry targets and suppose would make a problem for an intruder. If you calculate a load with 110s to have similiar trajectory as your deer load then you have a great practice round. Get a chrony and a ballistics software and have fun all while working up your load.

The 125s are pretty good on deer and again would be rough on an intruder.

A few years back I bought thousands of 100 and 110 grainers and have all but shot them up. I'm a better shooter as a result and saved lots of dollars shooting the bulk bullets.

 

[rcmodel]

I use 110 & 125 bullets because I use them for coyote hunting more so then deer hunting. If I were deer hunting, I would use a heavier bullet.

The reason I like them for farm & ranch pest control is, they are less likely to ricochet across a field and kill someones prize bull in the next county.

The 30 Carbine 110 RN's are primarily light jacketed varmint bullets at 30-30 velocity, and pretty much self-destruct when they hit the ground.

The 125's not so much, but still better then a heavier 150 or 170.
You just know those bullets are going to skip cross-country a long long ways.

It also doesn't hurt that the 125 Sierra HP is the most accurate bullet I have tested in my Win 94.

rc

 

[Eb1]

I hate to bring up an old thread, but the 125 grain HP is by far the most accurate 30-30 bullet I have shot from my 336. I do not push them hard at all. I use N120 (not a published load), but they go around 2150 fps with about 2 fps deviation per 20 round string.

The recoil is null, and the report in null as well. Shot a deer this year at 70 yards with on of these loaded in Rem brass, CCI LR Primer, N120 at 2.450 OAL.
It was a quartering shot. Hit at the base of the neck (collar bone area), and exited behind the ribs. Deer did a face plant, and dug for about 5 feet before passing. Exit hole, well lets say it was massive, and the entrance hole at least twice the size of the bullet.

You would think that only moving at near .357 velocities would not produce these results, but it is easy to shoot, very accurate, and deadly. My wife uses these as well when she hunts, and my daughter will also use this round when she is responsible enough to hunt.

I load the 110 grain HP from Speer over Trail Boss. Just started doing this. Very accurate load moving at an estimated 1600-1800 fps. I am sure that the huge soft lead HP would do what I wanted within 75 yards and any game around here.

The reason I shoot such light velocity is because it is easy on the brass. I rarely have to trim my 30-30 brass, and I get deadly results when I shoot game with my 30-30. Yes, I have some 150 full power loads, and use them as well. I know the 30-30 is good at least with me shooting to 225-250 yards with full house loads, but for those ranges I now use the 25-06.

 

[black_powder_Rob]

Well I just ordered a few remington 30-30 125gr sp from Midwayusa. we will see how well they do out of my 336.

 

[Eb1]

Is that the managed recoil ammo?

 

[M1key]

Why 170gr? Black bears...