What are good 30-30 loads for Win M94?

[bison]

Just bought a pre-64 M94 in 30-30 as a brush gun for hogs and deer and want to work up some loads. What are some "tried and true" powders/bullets to start with?

I've loaded for .270, 30-06, and .223 so have a few powders sitting around (H414, IMR 4350, H333). Am happy to experiment with others as well. I'll probably want to try the Hornady FTX's, any other suggestions?

Any other things I need to know about reloading 30-30 vs. '06/270/223? I understand that a decent crimp is needed for the tube mag.

Thanks!

 

[blarby]

As luck would have it, this thread I started just the other day

Hope this helps !

Light to Moderate winds 10-15 knts, light rain. Overcast.

All rounds fired from a marlin 336, 3-9x40 Optics

1st Round :

150 gr FN Sierra
30.4 gr H4895
CCI LRP

COAL : 2.530" Light Crimp into Cannelure

100yds

Rounds chambered easily, fired with noticeably light recoil, and produced 1" groups for three separate firers from bench. All rounds ejected easily.

2nd Round

150 gr RN Hornady
32.0 gr H4895
CCI LRP

COAL : 2.544" Light Crimp into Cannelure

100yds

Rounds chambered easily, fired with considerable report and recoil. Produced 1"-2" groups for three separate firers from bench. All rounds ejected easily. ( at this point , we were encountering some sporadic winds, as noticed by all firers, and having migrating groups...) One of the "flyers" in our wind driven migrating groups tore a 4X4 post "nearly" in half.... use these for the "big" zombies

 

[ArchAngelCD]

IMO the best all around powder for loading the 30-30 is IMR3031. It may not deliver the highest velocities but it does deliver very accurate ammo. For the most part the 30-30 isn't very picky on which powder will work but all powders won't work as well.

People I know have used and swear by H335, BL-C(2), 4895, 4064, Varget and a bunch of others. I'm sure most will do the job but like I said, 3031 produces accurate ammo so I stick with it... I charge 31.0gr under a 150gr bullet and 30.0gr under a 170gr bullet.

My second choice would be H4895 and for light plinking ammo Trail Boss can't be beat IMO.

 

[The Bushmaster]

1949 .30 WCF. mod 94... 1 5/8" three shot group at 100 yards.

Winchester or Remington cases properly trimmed to within +/- .002" of each other.
32 grains of W-748.
170 grain Speer HCFN or Remington Core-Lokt RN
Heavy crimp (I use a Lee FCD to insure I don't crush the case shoulder). The .30-30 cases are much thinner then other rifle cases and tend to crush with too much downward pressure during the crimping operation. I highly recommend the Lee Factory Crimp Die for this procedure. It does not put downward pressure on the case when crimping as a roll crimp does.

I'm getting 2100 fps +/- a few.

The Winchester Mod 94 was originally designed to fire the 170 grain bullet and performs best with the heavier bullet.

Do not worry about COAL. The cannelure dictates the OAL of the finished cartridge. I don't even bother to measure COAL when loading .30-30 There is no reason too.

 

[Bula]

Another vote for 32g of W748, I load the Hornady 170g FP. Accurate and clean. Seated right to middle of the cannelure, then crimped with the Lee Collet die, cycles great on my Win M94.

 

[TGReaper]

I have had reasonable success with a 170 Gr.Sierra FP.over 30.0 Gr.of IMR 4064 with Fed cases and WW std.primers.
My 30-30 is a 16 inch Winchester "Trapper" Ideal rifle for wandering around in the bush.
TGR

 

[youngda9]

I've used 336 for some hot loads with 150 and 160 grain bullets. For hogs I would go with a 170grain for max penetration.

Speer Hot-Cor bullets worked well in the Marlin 336 I used to have.