30/30 revisited

[Tentwing]

Most of my white tails have been harvested by a lever action 30/30. Over half my feral pigs have been band/flops by 170 gr 30/30. There is no real NEED for anything larger than a 30/30 in the lower 48 . Many will yell at me for saying that, but I have never had to track a deer shot with my Marlin 336c inn a 30/30 .

 

[Risky buisness]

Anybody have any experience taking elk with a 30/30?

4 actually, a little 4 point 2 spikes and a big cow.
170 Silvertip winchester, as I remember for 3, and after I started reloading a Sierra GK 170 for the cow.
The longest was the bull, I believe it was around 170 yards, the others between 80 and 125. All but 1 were one shot and went down pretty quickly, 1 took 2 just because. Placed correctly the 30-30 is a perfectly capable cartridge.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Anybody have any experience taking elk with a 30/30?

Kind of, one of my best-friends got one with his .30-30, and it didn't go far, 40 yards at most. Seemed to "work". Don't remember what ammo he was using.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

US- That might be my dream rifle!

WOW is all I can say.

1914. Been re-blued and re-stocked obviously, but I don't think it had ever been fired much, action is tight, bore is pristine.

 

[tark]

I have enjoyed the .30-30 much more, since loading 120 gr bullets. They put the .30-30 into .25-06 ballistics and extend usable range to 200 yards, while reducing recoil considerably.

A rather odd comparison. Apples to oranges if ever I saw one. In what way to these two even remotely compare?

 

[Ranger99]

I do love a 30-30 but I download them a fair bit when shooting for fun. For some reason the recoil I get from a full power 160-grain LEVERevolution load is worse than my 308. Can’t say they don’t work though.

Might be my older marlin, I don't know.
I've tried the factory Lever ammo and
the flex bullets and lever powder both
and the accuracy just wasn't there.
The Sierra #2000 I usually load with
748 or RL15 gives me excellent accuracy
with my rifle and takes the animals down.

 

[DMW1116]

My cast loads shoot better than any jacketed load I’ve tried. They’re moving about half as fast though. Still, a 135 grain cast hit is better than a FTX miss.

 

[3Crows]

I have killed a lot of deer with the Marlin 336 in 30-30. The 160 gr Leverevolution round was a game changer IMHO.

With that said I have shots over 150 yards where I hunt and started using a .308 AR a couple of years ago. Since I hunt on a small tract of land I need a little more knock down power.

I know that a lot of folks do not like the LR powders and 160 FTX bullets but I agree with you that it added at least 50, maybe 75 yards, to my practical range. I load the 160 FTX as below (and the 170 Sierra):



They messed up that table so you have to scoot some of the data to the correct column. I seem to get best accuracy with the 160 FTX at the 34.0 grains that duplicates the factory load of LR powder. And it is essentially MOA or close enough for practical purposes. One of my rifles likes the FTX, the other seems to prefer the Sierra 170.

 

[gunmechanic]

30/30 is one of my favorite calibers and is a great white tail dear round .

 

[Bfh_auto]

Might be my older marlin, I don't know.
I've tried the factory Lever ammo and
the flex bullets and lever powder both
and the accuracy just wasn't there.
The Sierra #2000 I usually load with
748 or RL15 gives me excellent accuracy
with my rifle and takes the animals down.

Did you try the Leverevolution powder with your preferred bullet? Or was it with the flex tip?
My wife's Marlin loves 150 and it did exceptionally well with the Lever powder.
It hated the Leverevolution bullets.

 

[Seedy Character]

Gotta raise your expectations for .30-30. Even with 170’s, it’ll connect on target way past 200, even taking deer very confidently to 250-300.

Not MY expectation, but MY limitations.

Old eyes, that were never any good and open sights make MO deer at 300 yards iffy.
Where I hunt, 40 - 100 yards is the norm. Revolver and .30-30 do just fine.

Longer ranges or larger critters are .260 and .30-06 business.

You want to shoot 300 yards and believe an ethical shot, go for it. It's not for me.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

My cast loads shoot better than any jacketed load I’ve tried. They’re moving about half as fast though. Still, a 135 grain cast hit is better than a FTX miss.

I wouldn't hunt with it, as I like the Hornady 170 grain for a hunting load, (but really don't hunt with cartridge rifles anymore) but a cast 170 over RL7 shoots really nice in my rifles. Close to 1600fps, so if I had to, like in a lost in the wilderness and gotta eat situation, it would take a deer down just fine with a well placed shot.

 

[Seedy Character]

A rather odd comparison. Apples to oranges if ever I saw one. In what way to these two even remotely compare?

Both are shooting 120 gr bullets @ 2600 fps.

Grandson wanted a .30-06, couldn't sell him on anything else. He didn't like the recoil.
Loaded some 120 gr @2600 (compared with book listing of .25-06)
Accurate and very mild.

 

[DMW1116]

Thats where I'd like to be with the 135's I'm using now. I started bumping up the powder, but the minimum charge still shoots the best by a good margin. Maybe some 170s or 150s would shoot better but I don't want to start over with load development, plus the heavier ones are more expensive.

 

[hdbiker]

I have 2, a Marlin 30AS & a Springfield 840, family have taken deer with both.

 

[Varminterror]

Old eyes, that were never any good and open sights make MO deer at 300 yards iffy.

These aren’t limitations of the .30-30, which was your original claim, since changing to 125grn bullets somehow made the 30-30 into a 200yrd 25-06…

Both are shooting 120 gr bullets @ 2600 fps.

Except one has the ballistic coefficient of a frying pan, and the sectional density of a wiffle ball…

 

[Sniper66]

One of my dumber moves was to sell a very nice Marlin 30-30 so I could afford a different rifle. Granted I used the Ruger#1 .204 (that was partially funded by the sale) a great deal and eventually sold it, but still wish I had the 30-30.

 

[tark]

Both are shooting 120 gr bullets @ 2600 fps.

Factory 25-06 loads propel a 120 gr bullet at around 3000 FPS. That is far more powerful than than a 30-30 120 gr. bullet at 2600 FPS.

 

[rayatphonix]

This line will make me laugh for weeks. Thanks!

 

[Varminterror]

I’ve been kicking around the idea of getting a new Boyd’s stock set for my father-in-law’s old 336 so I can cut it down for my son. I stuck a FastFire III on it last year in a Turnbull mount, but I think he’ll do better with a scope up top, and it’s begging for a Happy Trigger and action job…

Not quite committed yet to which bullet I wanna use yet.

Or it might just keep propping up the back wall of the safe…

 

[Old Hobo]

There are now all manner of cartridges that are now considered "obsolete". Odd thing is that before they were deemed "obsolete", these rounds dropped all manner of game. Or, should I say the riflemen and women who hunted with them. If one learns how to be accurate with a rifle/cartridge, knows the capabilities and limits of that cartridge, and is proficient in hunting techniques, then food gets put on the supper table. It irks me to no end when I read obsolete this and obsolete that, when history proves the merit of the rifles and cartridges.

You hear all manner of hunting failures being blamed on the rifle. My question is, if the rifle didn't perform at the range, why was it used for the hunt?! Next one hears, "The cartridge lacked power." Hmmm ... my money is on the cartridge having plenty enough power.

As everyone should understand: It is the person behind the firearm who is first in responsibility.
.

 

[Dr T]

I carry a 30-30 during hunting season, but it is not my primary hunting rifle. I use it when backing up another hunter. In effect, this means that it is the rifle I carry while we are trying to find the other hunter's deer. Any shot that I would anticipate under these circumstances would range from a coup de grace at 10 feet to a shot on a wounded animal at less than 100 yards through heavy brush. I actually have two: A Marlin 336 BL with a low power Leupold scope and a Model 94 Trapper with a receiver sight. No need for anything more, and the ergonomics work.

I am thinking about building a T/C Contender Carbine in 30-30 when I decide on a barrel. I looked hard at the 30-30 AI, but decided that it was too much work for too little gain and the brass incompatibility with the other two just wasn't worth the trouble. Then, there was the lack of what I would consider to be safe and reliable load data for the AI (A personal threshold: I am getting very cautious in my old age).

 

[JumboJVT]

30-30 is my favorite cartridge, along with 32 Spl. I've got a Skinner sighted 336 that is the most likely gun in my hand in the "off" season. But to hunt, with the possibility of shots beyond 100 yds, and/or on the move, I need glass. And glass on a lever ruins the thumb-around-the-receiver carry, interferes with access to the hammer, and has your head waving around in the sky trying to find the light with a stock designed for open sights (maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point), takes away what I like best about a lever. So I hunt with a bolt that works right with a scope. And since I'm already carrying a bulky rifle, might as well use something with a little more whomp, just in case. If I could just get the deer to cooperate and stand still at a 100 or less...

 

[Seedy Character]

Factory 25-06 loads propel a 120 gr bullet at around 3000 FPS. That is far more powerful than than a 30-30 120 gr. bullet at 2600 FPS.

FACTORY

Not when it is loaded to 2600 fps


But some of you seem to be able to shoot dimes at 1000 yards with your .30-30 loaded with 4000 fps frying pans. And are full of hot air who must run their yaps on every thread, never having your own.



I load mine to fit the parameters I need it to.
It is not a long range rifle because I don't need it to be. I hunt with ethics and don't try to make stupid shots. But, you do you.

 

[Ranger99]

. . I am thinking about building a T/C Contender Carbine in 30-30 when I decide on a barrel. I looked hard at the 30-30 AI . .

There's times that I think if I were starting
from zero, I'd find me a 7-30 Waters and
call it done