W-Mart 30-30 ammo.

[RobertFBurnett]

Hey y'all, quick question about the 30-30 ammo at Wal-Mart.

I pick up my 336W on Wed, and am making a excursion up to Wal-Mart to pick up some ammo. IIRC they had about 5-7 different types (Remmy & WWB 150 & 170, JHP & etc.) I had planned on just picking up 2 boxes of each and seeing which one one rifle liked cycling, although they should all work all right as I have not heard anything bad about them.

But, any round that seems to work pretty good for you? Not shooting any deer, just paper, and holding a few of the JHP back for zombie attacks.

RFB

 

[rangerruck]

mine really liked the winny 150's whether solids of softpoints, could do moa at 100 , if I was doing my job.

 

[SpeedAKL]

Any THR thread with the phrase "Wal-Mart" in it is bound to get interesting

 

[transformerguru]

LOL!!! SpeedAKL

 

[RobertFBurnett]

Any THR thread with the phrase "Wal-Mart" in it is bound to get interesting

Worst part is I gotta travel to the Wal-Mart out of my County to get ammo, my local Marts do not carry. Uphill...both ways! But the 30-30 prices are too good, its the only ammo worth the gas to get there.

RFB

 

[ants]

If you're punching holes in paper, expensive ammo won't make a different hole.

In most lever actions, premium ammo isn't any more accurate. Any basic 30-30 load in either 150 or 170 grain will do you good, whether Remington, Federal, or Winchester. 150 grain seems softer to shoot and flies a tiny bit flatter. Buy some of both and have fun shooting.

The more expensive stuff gives you a wider variety of bullets to meet your personal preference for big game. But in 30-30, I've never found the premium ammo to be more accurate in my Marlin or Winchester lever actions. My Marlin is brand new, but the Winchester has been in the family since 1948.

 

[Fast Frank]

Each rifle is a law onto it's self.

The fact that my rifle likes or dis likes a given bullet doesn't mean yours will have the same preferences.

You need to try them and see what your rifle wants.

Having said that, my 336s (The one I own now, and the one I had before) both seem to like Winchester 150 grain bullets, and they both hate Remington 170 grain bullets.

My current rifle has done MOA groups with the winchester 150, and will shoot about a six inch group at 100 yards with the Remington 170 stuff.

yes, you could probably hunt with either bullet, but I find accurate rifles to be quite a bit more fun than those that are less so.

buy a box of everything you can afford and try them all. It's worth it!

 

[jmr40]

Winchester and Remington ammo both work fine in my 30-30's. Your gun may be different but mine didn't shoot Federal ammo very accurately. 150 and 170 shoot equally as well but I prefer 170 for hunting. I keep a few 125 grain loads around in case I ever have to use the gun for self defense.

 

[_N4Z_]

Your doing the right thing by trying out different ammo's.

Shoot for groups though, not just cycle test.

My 336W shoots Federal 170gr better than the rest of the usual suspects. WallyWorld still sells that for around 10 or 11 bucks per 20.

Happy testing.

 

[foghornl]

I haven't tried the Hornaday "Lever-Revolution" stuff yet (but you didn't mention those anyway.)

In MY Marlin Mdl 30AW, I got the best accuracy from the Rem 170-Gr 'Core-Lokt' soft-point, followed very closely by the Federal 170's. My rifle doesn't seem to like any of the 150's.

Your Mileage Will Vary.

 

[JustsayMo]

The four I've of mine have all preferred the 170's over the 150's for Factory ammo. With handloads I've found the "PapaJohn load" (Rem 150 over IMR 4895) to work well.

When doing your tests pace yourself to a shot every two minutes or so. Hot barrels will skew the results. In my experience if fired in quick succession the group starts to expand after the first two shots with jacketed ammo. That is true of my bolt guns as well.

 

[ImARugerFan]

As I recall leverevolution ammo is about the same price or less than the soft nose stuff. I would definitely recommend at least trying a box of it.

 

[Shawnee]

Plain old Federal 150-grain, Winchester 150-gr soft-point ("rose petal") and the Hornady Leverlutions would be my Top-3 pciks to start with.

I've never cared for 170-gr. bullets in the 30/30 but I have heard of a rifle once in a while that seemed to prefer them.