The 30-30 round from a typical rifle is often said to have very similar energy as the 7.62x39 round,
I've read all the posts, and if you hand load and practice a lot with it, it can be quite the vicious lil round. That being said, there are still ballistic limitations.... 20ish years ago, I took grandpa's 26" '94 out and bagged a muley buck (very nice sized but not a bragging trophy). I'd toted that rifle everywhere, sent hundreds of rounds downrange all year round. It had a tang peep, and I was using silver box 150s, I was in the open Sandhills and with zero cover for a closer shot, I estimated, held, shot, and 20 min later we were dragging him to the truck. I won't say the actual yardage here because the point is not to encourage such silly notions but to say that had I had a shorter barrel, less practice, or less steady aim, I would not have even considered the shot. If I were in such a situation today, I'd much prefer a .22-250 at the minimum. So let's just say for sake* of argument you have a range finder, a dope card on the stock, and practice a LOT, I'd probably grab something like the ballistic tips, ftx, or similar soft type bullets with best for cartridge b.c., and not go past 250 yds. With not as much practice or dope, 200 is fine.I have a chance at a stainless steel Marlin 336 chambered in 30-30 Win. I would like to hear from the hunters who have used it on pronghorn, sheep and deer on what bullet has worked the best. I would also like to know what you consider the realistic range for such a cartridge.
I will have a 2-7 or 3-9 power scope and actually have a lot of components to make my own loads. Of course, one-shot kills are the best.
I guess it depends on the bullets ballistic coeficient, those pointy 7.62x39's do better down range than the 30/30 round nose.The 30-30 round from a typical rifle is often said to have very similar energy as the 7.62x39 round, ie max. effective range is about 250-300 yards?
Savage 340 and t/c nullify the rn argument.... We are discussing cartridge, not cartridge+platform. Figure a 165 .308 sst@ 22-2300 vs a .311 123 sst @22-2500.... Unless you want to play hybrid bore??I guess it depends on the bullets ballistic coeficient, those pointy 7.62x39's do better down range than the 30/30 round nose.
From a lot of experience I would say 150 yards....I have a chance at a stainless steel Marlin 336 chambered in 30-30 Win. I would like to hear from the hunters who have used it on pronghorn, sheep and deer on what bullet has worked the best. I would also like to know what you consider the realistic range for such a cartridge.
I will have a 2-7 or 3-9 power scope and actually have a lot of components to make my own loads. Of course, one-shot kills are the best.
How accurately you can shoot changes the practical range. 150 yards is a chip shot of you have a 2-7 scope. My wife has a 2.5-10x44. It has a better field of view than my 2-7x32.I have a chance at a stainless steel Marlin 336 chambered in 30-30 Win. I would like to hear from the hunters who have used it on pronghorn, sheep and deer on what bullet has worked the best. I would also like to know what you consider the realistic range for such a cartridge.
I will have a 2-7 or 3-9 power scope and actually have a lot of components to make my own loads. Of course, one-shot kills are the best.
I have one of them scopes, it's pretty dang clear for what it is. I have to pickup some batteries some day.View attachment 1006053
I use a 3x9x40, and it's as old as my rifle, early 80's vintage Bushnell Lite Site, been on it since 1984. 150yds is no stretch for me at all, I'm zeroed at 200.
I have shot several with both and the only one that I didn't retrieve was shot with a 30-06 at thirty yards.To many deer shot with a 30-30 , 30 WCF can still do this. View attachment 1005594
Not so with a 30-06.
I have shot several with both and the only one that I didn't retrieve was shot with a 30-06 at thirty yards.
A bud of mine hunts with a 308 Win and lost a number of deer at dusk, with 150 Hornady SST bullets and behind the shoulder shots. The shooting distance was typically 50 yards, maybe 75 at most. The deer would run off and be found the next morning eaten by coyotes.
The problem was, those 30 caliber bullets did not expand in the rib cage. However when Bud went to a between the point of the shoulder and neck, there is a lot more meat and bone there, and the bullets expanded and the animals dropped.
I think their are several reasons 30-30's do well at close range. The bullet does not have to be designed for 3000 to 1800 fps velocity spreads. Thirty thirties are a 2200 fps affair, and hardly faster, so the bullet construction can be consistent, and soft. And, those long, soft 170's will penetrate nicely, and reliability expand.
You're looking for the .307 winwhat you are describing is why I would like to own a 308. But instead of the normal spitzer type bullets designed for high speeds I would load 30-30 bullets to around 2400fps and have sort of a Super 30-30. At that speed the bullets would expand and have enough speed for easy 200 yard shots without too much drop. I actually have some 30-06 loads loaded just that way right now and they are just as accurate as my normal full power loads. Too bad they don't offer round nose bullets designed for cartridges like the 308 or 30-06 anymore. I have one box of Speer 105gr RN bullets for 243 that I will use very sparingly.
I got the idea from Finn Aagaard. He loaded his 12 YO son's 30-06 like that and IIRC he killed his first deer at 150 with that load. A 170gr flat point at 2400fps should be a deer killing round. In of my Gun Digest books they tested all the common rounds for penetration up to the 375 H&H. Most rounds were stopped in wet newsprint in about 18". The 375 H&H and the 30-30 gave the deepest penetration of all. The 30-30 went around 28" and the 375 a little over 30". Not bad for an antique round that most never consider anymore.
You're looking for the .307 win
Enabler that I am, an 18"(ish) barrel would reduce a lot of how low you'd have to down load, an mvp predator and quite a couple different powders would get there. This would be an interesting topic, if you go for it, please share the results!Very possibly. Friend had one of the Winchester Big Bores in 307 and sold it without asking if any of the rest of us wanted a shot at it. His brother really wanted it to go with his 375 Big Bore. I even gave thought to a Ruger Compact in 308 for my little experiment. Or one of the Spanish FR8 bolt action because some say they are not safe with full power 308 rounds.
I can find 308 stuff much easier than 307 brass. I have 250 308 cases on hand now. And 500 Remington 150gr 30-30 bullets. Plus all the powder and primers I would ever need.
Deer are also unpredictably tough, or not. I shot two of my deer this last season with my 300wm. The buck I shot was close to 100yds away and dropped like a hammer. The doe that came almost under my stand went 75yds down a hill before dropping. Her shoulder was hanging on by skin and she literally had nothing in the left side of her chest cavity. Ribs, heart, shoulder blade and half her lungs were blown out on the ground where I shot her. She shouldn't have moved another inch, but she did.
Enabler that I am, an 18"(ish) barrel would reduce a lot of how low you'd have to down load, an mvp predator and quite a couple different powders would get there. This would be an interesting topic, if you go for it, please share the results!
I would think that the blackout projectiles would do well with the .30-30 they shot straight enough, we'd give up magazine capacity in the tube feeds, but something like the 120 tac tx might be pretty wowsome, based on velocity window, launching in the ballpark of 2500fps, we'd be looking at at least 300 yds of usable expansion. Of course it would obviously penetrate well, tuning the load and scope to 2 moa or less would be the only real trick....