30-30 Win Deer bullet test

[Ryan46]

SJB358, what powder are you using to get that 2300fps on the 170gr bullet? I have a Winchester 94 .30-30 with a 20 inch barrel and would love to be able to push the 170gr that fast.

Ryan 46

 

[cloverleaf]

Help me look... some body posted a thread with some sub inch groups a year or so ago. It can be done. Don't sell that 30-30 short. Nice post and good looking rifle.
Here's one post. CL

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19427&hilit=+30+30+groups

 

[FOTIS]

Excellent The barnes looks disappointing.

 

[SJB358]

SJB358, what powder are you using to get that 2300fps on the 170gr bullet? I have a Winchester 94 .30-30 with a 20 inch barrel and would love to be able to push the 170gr that fast.

Ryan 46

Hodgdon Leverevolution is beautiful in the 35 Rem and 30-30. It's accurate as heck in both of mine too

 

[gerry]

That 140 gr Mono Flex looks really good especially at close range. All the lead core bullets look like they performed well too.

 

[35 Whelen]

Nice work on the reporting , interestin stuff. Here is a little info that is sorta related to all this consirning the standard 30-30 bullets designed in jacket thickness for that 21-2200 fps areana,
years ago my uncle who was a very proficient handloader, got the bright idea since he has lost more than one large Northern Whitetail using his 308/180gr bullets when not hit properly , [to heavy bullet, with to thick of a jacket , to slow a velocity, to get it to expand correctly with the poor resistance of a gut shot, equal lots of tracking and chasing for hours and the deer suffering]He had come to the conclusion that his old 270 just seamed to work better for him with poorly placed running shots, he walked a lot and seamed to always be shooting running deer,[308 lovers just let this slid] But he had an abundance of reg old flat nose 150gr 30-30 bullets ,and decided to just for fun, load some up in his 308 pushing the bullet much faster, than it was ever designed to go. Say in the 2700 fps sorta area, well the results were amazing, he shot a lot of deer with that combo for many years afterwards, and because of the nature of the Maine woods and long range tradjectorys not a consirn of his, a high percentage of shots under 150yds, with most under a 100yds in those days, he always claimed that bullet / vel combo was unbeatable for deer sized game, with many instantaneous "270 sorta results" and droping like hit by lightning, I cant confirm this, but he swore it was a perfect combo to the day he passed away :!:

 

[SJB358]

I believe that Earle. I wouldn't be scared to load some of the heavier made 170's for the 30/30 in a 308. The Speer Deep Curl seems to expand real nice, I would think the 170 Nosler PT would expand like crazy in a 308 and probably blow a bunch of stuffing out the backside. Makes sense to me.

 

[35 Whelen]

Merry Christmas Scotty! Yea I hear ya, well he hunted with those bullets for the last 20 years he hit the ridges, and swore by that combo, in todays world of premium bullets one needs to be careful with hype and fancy boxes that they are not being ushered down the path of the too hard and too thick of a jacket path, deer certainly don't require a heavy jacketed bullet unless you are getting into hyper velocity calibers, a little 308's powder capacity is basically at the 300 Savage sorta volume and when asked to push 180gr bullets that are the same ones being spit out of 300 Magnums are certainly not going to expand like they do with 3-400 extra fps. We saw lots of that with deer hit poorly with both the popular 300 Sav and the 308W when shooting big Northern Whitetails, when gut shot [very common on running deer, here in the thick woods] the bullets just didn't expand at ALL and went straight thru the paunch , leaving a tiny exit hole, and expending very very little energy, into the animal, the guide storys go from all the rest of the day tracking; to "never ever seeing the deer again" , or I jumped him three more times that day but could never get a clear shot at him, only to be pulled down by coyotes later on , and ravens circling. It is a bad can of worms to open up on here; because the whole crowd that likes exit holes, are usually referening to ones you can put your fist into.................. that is fine, but the sorta hole that a 180gr bullet leaves going 23-400fps, thru the paunch of a deer [308@100yds] is NOT the same hole as a 270 W with 130's still travelin around 2800 fps, at all, there is one heck of a difference in that particular set of circumstances. Many times there is NO exit hole with the 270 and the deer gets the whole transfer of energy that the caliber has to offer, that is a very different outcome than a bullet that hardly changed shape as it passed thru, I have seen many a big buck standing or laying down that just couldn't move because of the horrific damage to his insides, when hit with the lighter bullets that didn't exit, [ditto for the 308 with the 30-30 bullets] With that said a standing deer, hit with the little 308 in the shoulder ,with the same bullet, at the same distance, at the same velocity, is certainly on his way outta this world as we know it. So by him loading a bullet that was NEVER designed for the 308 velocitys, and his style of hunting, were snap shots usually under a 100 yds, were the standard fare, with the Buck almost always hearing you and seeing you first, and on the fly, when you first see him, the 30-30 thin jacketed bullets turned his little 308 into a real killer with poorly hit deer, I would certainly NOT recommend this for Elk or Moose hunting but for a animal under 250lbs he claimed it just couldn't be beat , so its interesting the olde 30-30 bullet has an certain niche for certain circumstances
ps, here is hoping that olde santy clause upset his sleigh at your house