win. 30-30 lever action

[smitty81]

My younger brother is going to be deer hunting with me this year and he has a winchester 30-30 lever action. I am going to reload some bullets for him. I plan on using round or flat nose bullets. I was maby thinking about using a lighter bullet to give him a little more range. I was wondering what your favorite loads were or what you have had good luck with. If you could give me and good tips when loading these it would be much appreciated.

 

[Ol` Joe]

I don`t have a 30-30 but do load for and have used a 32spcl M94 on deer in the past. I`d stay with the 150-170 gr bullets as these are what the cartridges reputation was built on and I doubt you will get enought extra range from a lighter bullet with this round to matter in real world situations. Although a light Barnes X bullet or the like might do well. This isn`t a "burner" cartridge and should be kept as a mild "get it done" cartridge for deer to 150-200 yd as it always has been.

I would look at IMR3031 for a powder. I have had good luck in the 32 with it and from what I`ve read and heard it works just as well in the 30-30. One of the 4895s might be another good choice. I saw a artical on tube mag rifles useing 30-30 type cartridges somewhere in the last year, I believe it was Rifle, where the author found flat tip bullets to be the best. He claimed RN bullets in some cases had nose geometry that allowed the tip to contact the primer in the cartridge ahead of it. He stated the radius of the nose can in some instances produce as "pointy" a tip as a spitzer might have where it contacts the cartridge in front of it..

 

[smitty81]

I like the bullets nossler produces but they do not offer a flat nose bullet that im aware of. I will have to use hornady FN bullets. We have used the RN in the past with no troubles but better safe then sorry. If anyone else knows of any good loads, i keep my options open. thanks

 

[FOTIS]

IMR 3031 and 150-170 gr have worked for me. Also there is not a lick of difference of performance in my experience on normal bodied deer between the 2 bullet weights.

 

[smitty81]

With how many load of grain do you have the best luck with?

 

[HiWall]

I like the 170gr FP bullets in the .30/30 and have found that the lighter bullets actually give a slight reduction in effective range - the energy levels seem to drop off much quicker than the heavy bullets. My powder of choice is AR2208, sold in the US as Hodgdon Varget - it works a treat in my Marlin 336 stainless.

 

[smitty81]

seems like no one shoots the 30-30 lever action anymore..........

 

[buckfever]

If you want more range buy a box of hornady leverevolution. It will turn your 30 30 into 300 yard deer slayer.

 

[baltz526]

the only impovement you can get by reloading for the 30-30 is a 170gr nosler Partition at approx 2150fps. the reality is factory 150gr is very hard to improve on when it comes to the 30-30. the rifles where designed to shoot these bullets and the factory ammo was made for the rifles.

 

[Guest]

I'll throw my $.02 in here. I shoot a Winchester 94AE, and it shoots great. I suggest the Speer 150gr Flat Nose, as it can be loaded to produce 1000lbs of energy out to 200yds, and a point blank range of about 200yds (212, I believe) to go with that. Makes a highly deadly rifle for the deer woods. Different rifles like different powders, and you should be able to find one that groups within 1.5" and provides something in the neighborhood of 2300-2350fps out of your 20" barrel. I have used the following:

Win748
AA2520
4895 (Either Hodgdon or IMR)
BL-C(2)
RL15

I am about to start playing around with some AA2230, as I found it on sale, and that is reason enough to buy powder these days. On Accurate's website, they show data from a 20" barreled gun using Nosler's 170gr Partition and 2230 giving 2124fps, which is pretty darn good for that little lever gun. I prefer the 150's, but your mileage may vary. Only the Speer has the BC to get out to 200 with 1000lbs of energy, and only if you load it up close to book max. I have no accuracy or pressure problems there, but your gun might be different.

 

[smitty81]

WOW, those hornady leverevolution bullets are freakin awsome, thats a great idea. I will deffantly be trying these. This is the solution to all lever action problems. check it out people.

https://www.hornady.com/shop/?ps_sessio ... d1f845cb05

click on the more info link to the right for a good video.

 

[Guest]

I like the idea of the Leverevolution bullets, but I can tell you not to expect the kind of velocities Hornady is braggin about. Their readings were taken with a 24" barrel, and most every 30-30 (except the new, expensive Marlins and a few older guns) is wearing a 20" tube, which will bring velocities down to around 2250-2280fps, which is less than 150gr bullets make out of my 94AE with a 20" barrel. Now, that said, the BC for the leverevolution bullet is great, and if it is shot at the velocities obtainable from 20" barrels, it is still about a 225-250yd round, if you use 1000lbs of energy as a baseline for deer sized game. About the best I can do with 150's is to get about 206yds out of them, if the 1000lb energy figure is the mark used with both bullets. So the bullet may effectually add about 20-45yds to your overall range, but will require slight holdover at the far reaches of that range, while my 150gr Speer loads will carry energy to 206, and have a point blank range of 212 if I use a 5" target circle as my reference. Either way, the difference is almost negligible, but it is better with the 160gr leverevolution bullet. If they made them available to handloaders, I bet I could wring out some more impressive numbers, and could make a real 275-300yd gun out of my 94, but it remains to be seen if Hornady will do that.

 

[smitty81]

I am still going to try it, I hate those flat nose bullets. I have read a lot of peoples comments about the bullet and sounds great. I have read stories about taking moose and elk at exceptionally long ranges from a 30-30 with these bullets.........no matter what anyone says, I think it's a great improvement over the flat nose and round nose bullets.

 

[cloverleaf]

I have a friend who shoots his Marlin 30-30 religously. Far as he's concerned the leverevolution rounds render everthing else pointless...no pun intended. I dont know how old or big your "little brother"is, but my .02 is this. When I was about 18 my Dad picked up a genuine model 94 for a song. It had a plastic but plate and the usual length barrel. Everytime that darn thing went off that straight stck came back and cracked me in the cheek. Poor form was the biggest culprit I know, but it ruined my chances with that rifle. I never could hit with it. Dad sold it cheap and still regrets it.
It is a proven deer round but id would go with a good pad and maybe a "comb" kit or a piece of "cheek eeze" recoil absorbing material if you shoot a straight stock. I still get shivers when I pick up a lever gun.....but if handle right at the right ranges it will get the job done. Nice thing about the tirty-tirty is I young fella can get ammo any place and its cheap! Good luck CL

 

[Last Spike]

Smitty81, just wondering, what distance do you and your brother plan to hunt deer at? Open country or woods?

 

[Guest]

I am still going to try it, I hate those flat nose bullets. I have read a lot of peoples comments about the bullet and sounds great. I have read stories about taking moose and elk at exceptionally long ranges from a 30-30 with these bullets.........no matter what anyone says, I think it's a great improvement over the flat nose and round nose bullets.

I am not saying these bullets are not an improvement. I am just saying that they are not enough of an improvement in a factory load to make me walk away from my handloads that are about .5" more accurate at 100yds, and about .75-1" more accurate at 200yds. Your mileage may vary. If I could only get 1.5" from my handloads, then the 160gr Leverevolution loads from Hornady (if they, too, grouped at 1.5") would become a much more viable option for me.

 

[smitty81]

Well, we have both kinds of land in nebraska, open and wooded areas. I know what your getting at. If its that far out there i will be shooting it with my 270. To answer your question dubyam, he is 17 and has shot the gun before, its a very very nice gun and i believe it has a rubber recoil pad, never the less i have shot ones like what you have had and did not bother me at all. I dunno, different strokes for different folks. My biggest think is that i absolutly hate shooting the round and flat nose bullets and want to try something different. No, im not some idiot from the city that only hunts once a year, Im just another typical country guy that was started shooting at a verry young age. So, no i am not counting on getting another 100 yards out of these bullets. just want to try something different...........thats all. And from what i have read about them, they are a great bullet. Dont know why all of you people are so skeptic about it.

 

[Last Spike]

Why not look at this as a good excuse to get him a new rifle - Tikka, Savage, and a few others make good quality, yet affordable rifles. Your brother will think the world of you when you get him one. :wink: Later on, you can ask him to return the favor for you, his big brother.

What's not to like about it?

 

[Guest]

And from what i have read about them, they are a great bullet. Dont know why all of you people are so skeptic about it.

I am not a skeptic. I do think they are a great bullet. If Hornady ever makes them available to handloaders (as component bullets) I will try them out. Until then, I can get comparable range out of my current setup and see no reason to change. You may have different criteria, so you may see an advantage to using them. If I shot only factory ammo, and the Leverevolutions shot well in my gun, they'd be my choice, too. But I can beat their accuracy by 1/3 with my handloads, which is much more highly prized for my shooting situations (at least where I carry my 30-30). I am anxious to hear how you like the Hornadys, though. Also, check out the Federal Fusion 150gr, they fly at about 2300fps from a 20" barrel, and have about a 200yd range. If they are accurate, they will certainly do the trick. Just use whatever is accurate in your gun, and you can't go wrong. Unless, of course, you think you can shoot a 30-30 at deer 450yds away, but I believe you're smarter than that!

 

[smitty81]

I will let you know how they work if he can hit anything........lol :lol: