Thread: 30-30 loads

Righto folks!
As some of you know I am pretty dead set on a 30-30 for a bush rifle and as such am wanting to know what some of you do and why with this curious round that doesn't have the speeds of the latest and greatest magnums.

According to hornady a 160gr mono flex will have deer killing power out to 300y.... Am I correct to question that?

Cheers

The biggest problem as I see it is the choice of rifle chambered in it.....

http://www.mcace.com/shotguninserts.htm

I have been looking at these and reckon a light 20ga sxs with 18" barrels and the 18" chamber inserts in .30-30 would make an awesome bush double rifle if you could get it to regulate, set of express sights......

for cast lead bullets the .30/30 case with its long neck is near perfect . .. Marlin 336 is my preferred action in .30/30 - accurate and well engineered for close work, mine is chopped & suppressed, topped with a low power dialable scope

never shot any animal much passed 200yrds .. . have shot plenty of paper/steel out to 300yds, once to 400yds with good results.

you would have to look up the energy figures to see if 300yds is doable with the Hornady load, 1000lbs i agree with as being good enough for most shooters . . . and have the right gear and attitude/skills for good shot placement.
some seem to think you need sub 1 MOA rifles to shoot anything . . in reality an honest old school 2 MOA with a " Good " operator is enough, thats 6" at 300yds

You are right to question that. To cleanly harvest an animal you will ideally need 1000ftlbs of energy to do so. The 30-30 does not have that required energy at 300yds. It is however an ideal calibre out to 200yds. Out of all the lever guns around, I would be looking for a Marlin.

The Adi website has some good load data.

Well that's the thing it states something like 1100 ft-lbs at 300 for the 160gr mono flex loading which seems awfully potent !

I love marlins and having used a few of their rimfires I am biased because they just work so well yet not a fancy whatever.

My thinking is I mostly bush hunt and I encounter clearings that can be 300+ so I want something that can cover it all but being bush oriented

The problem with the 1000 ft lbs thingy is a 223 is stuffed around 100 yards.....

Originally Posted by Rock river arms hunter

Well that's the thing it states something like 1100 ft-lbs at 300 for the 160gr mono flex loading which seems awfully potent !

I love marlins and having used a few of their rimfires I am biased because they just work so well yet not a fancy whatever.

My thinking is I mostly bush hunt and I encounter clearings that can be 300+ so I want something that can cover it all but being bush oriented

Yes it does say that on the box however, if you were to chronograph that load it will be slower than advertised. I tryed some leverevolution in my 45-70. Load was meant to be doing 2050, was actually doing 1840.

Originally Posted by Kiwi Greg

The problem with the 1000 ft lbs thingy is a 223 is stuffed around 100 yards.....

Yip pretty much, obviously animals can be killed with less energy but, you have to start being very selective with projectiles shot placement etc It's all personal preference aswell, me I like something with a whole lot more grunt.

if Hornady are to believed ( a big ask ) then i see it as worth a go . . . 12" drop is substantial so you will need to dial or have a BDC reticle or such like for 300yds, shot placement will be critical with the marginal power on tap at that range

from seeing it used in mates rifle the leverlution stuff definitely shoots to higher point of impact, the 170grn speer has huge following as its soft enough to work well at .30/30 speeds, plenty of recipes for it on the web and manuals.

Still the benchmark round for deer esp in the US. You may extend the range with wizzbang flexitip bullets but to 200 yds a flat or round nose bullet designed for the 3030 is really all you need. I use a win 94 with an aperture rear sight in close cover nothing to catch and carries superbly, happy out to 150 ish but most shots are under 60.

Originally Posted by Rock river arms hunter

Well that's the thing it states something like 1100 ft-lbs at 300 for the 160gr mono flex loading which seems awfully potent !

I love marlins and having used a few of their rimfires I am biased because they just work so well yet not a fancy whatever.

My thinking is I mostly bush hunt and I encounter clearings that can be 300+ so I want something that can cover it all but being bush oriented

Translates as I need a 308w

Ah ha Viet but I already have a 308 ! This is just a fast bush gun like I said and something I don't mind get a scratch or two on down here in Fiordland

i see on the Hornady website the ammo was being used thru a 24 inch barrel so you can trim the speed back a bit for the usual 20 inch carbine barrel, say 100fps which will drop the energy n bullet drop down a little more than advertised figures.
if you go by the 1000lb rule the range is reduced to 275yrds

i didnt like the 200yrd zero they used with +3" at 100yds, thats to high for my liking, a 100yrd zero would be better . . but . . you end up with 22' drop at 300

if your going to do it ( i would ) a rangefinder, ballistic app or drop chart and a mildot or diable scope, 2-7 Leupold with CDS would be ideal . . . and plenty of practice

lastly . .. if you dont own a .30/30 leveraction already this a good excuse to get one - every shooter deserves at least one, more if you can afford it . . good luck