Loading a 220 grain .30-30?

[Magnum460]

I read today on the internet that you can load and (safely) shoot a .308" diameter 220 grain bullet from a .30-30. You see, I have a 1970's Winchester 94 and I'm simply wondering if I could safely shoot this round. And if you know how, could someone give me some reloading info/charts, or a link to reloading info/charts about how to safely load and shoot the 220 grain .30-30. Trying to find info on this talked-about round is apparently hard to get :banghead:! Also, of course the 220 grain bullet has to be a round nose of a flat nose, because of the tubular magazine.

 

[husbandofaromanian]

Yeh, I am also interested in knowing if it can be done. I have Contender and I was considering shooting 200-grain Lapua sub-sonic bullets. I was going to use a Bullberry barrel that has a 1 in 10 twist.

 

[csmkersh]

Flat nosed bullet or pointed? Remember OCL can be critical.
​

 

[moooose102]

i have not done it, but i see no reason you could not. i do not see any advantage though. it would be at such a low speed to keep the pressure safe that any energy gain from the heavier bullet would be canceled out. you would probably have to seat the bullet very deeply in the case, which would take away from the case volume for powder. also, as mentioned before, twist rate may be an issue. if you do not have a fast enought twist rate to stabilize the bullet, you will have a heavy hunk of lead flying off to who knows where. what are you hopeing to gain from this?

 

[moooose102]

p.s. i remember reading on this site somewhere that one of the people here called the bullet manufacturer to get help with a specific load. in this very rare case, it may be the absoloute best thing you could do! also, i want to caution you about internet load data. if it does not come from a reputable company, or magazine, be very cautious. there are a lot of yahoo's out there, and the internet is pretty anonomous. if you blow up your gun, and / or get hurt, you are going to be on your own.

 

[Der Verge]

I am sure you can do it. Both the bullet and bore measure .308". On the flip side, a 220gr bullet traveling probably about 1400fps out the end of a levergun, will be worthless past 50 yards.

 

[The Bushmaster]

The .30-30 Mod 94 works best using the bullets designed for it. I have never seen any data for heavier bullets then 170 grain FNSP. If you really want to experiment with pointed bullets in your "94" play with Sierra flat base 150 grain soft points using the load data for 150 grain FNSP starting at the starting powder charge and working up. Remember...Don't load these in the magazine one behind the other. Hand chamber one and load only one in the tubular magazine...

One other thing...I don't know about your Win .30-30 94, but mine has had it's value go through the roof (1608XXX). I plan to continue to hunt with it, but I do take much more care of it and what I feed it...

 

[rcmodel]

All I know is, the 94 action is about the last gun in the world I'd be interested in blowing up with an ill-advised 220 grain load with about the power of a pop-gun.

If you want 220 grain bullet performance, the 30-06 is about the lowest common denominator that has enough case volume to do it.

rcmodel

 

[336A]

The 30/30 will shoot cast lead bullets of that weight just fine. However I highly doubt that a jacketed .308 220gr is going to expand when driven at30/30 velocities. Paco Kellys' levergun site is down right now due to maintenance. When it comes back up I will post a link for you that I think you will find to your liking (if you don't mind using cast bullets). A fellow over there sent some of his reloads with 200+gr bullets, and a healthy dose of H414/760 to a lab for pressure testing. He is getting over 2,000 FPs with his loads and they are 10% below S.A.A.M.I. MAP for the 30/30.

 

[ants]

1. Accurate Arms has load data on their web site up to 190 grains.

2. The Model 94 was also chambered in .44-40 for 200, 217 and 220 grain bullets. So it's perfectly possible to load 30-30 with 220 grain, but velocity must be very slow and pressures must be very low. The Model 94 will shoot safely as long as the load does not exceed the chamber pressure for which the rifle was designed. You better have access to a pressure transducer. If you use flat primers and stuck cases as pressure telltales you will exceed Mod 94 pressures LONG before the primer and case tell you.

3. I had a Marlin 1894 in 44 magnum, and loaded 220 grain bullets to .44-40 velocity just to see what a lever gun felt like in .44-40. The bullets went so slow that is seemed like they rolled lazily down the barrel and fell out the muzzle end. 220 grain bullets in a low pressure rifle isn't much fun at all.

 

[336A]

Here is another link instead, hope it is of some help to you.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=28393

 

[Sunray]

"....44-40 for 200, 217 and 220 grain bullets..." Apples and oranges. A 220 grain .44 calibre bullet is considerably shorter than a .30 calibre 220 grain bullet.
A 220 grain bullet in a .30-30 will be too long. Seated to the correct max. OAL it will still have most of the bullet in the case.

 

[rcmodel]

+1
It will also have a heck of a lot more surface area for the powder gas to push on.
IE: A bigger piston!

rcmodel

 

[scrat]

Bullets at one time came out in 180, and 200 grains. I would have to relook it up. I once did some research on it. Got a hold of some 200 grain round nose bullets. Shot a few of them. I did it just to see if it could be done. well the answer was YES and its already been done. Just fased out. Thats why you see 170, 150 grain bullets now. In fact it seems like more and more people favor the 150 grain towards anything. A few people even shoot 110 grain. i have a mold for 120 grain round nose. its a light plinker but still fun to shoot at a cheaper rate.


Overall my advice forget about it. i sold the remaining 180 and 200 grain bullets. Just seemed like it wasnt worth it.