Speer 130gr FP in Model 94

[shoot-n-lead]

Just bought 2 more 94's last week...got the last one in today. Both of these are in 30/30 and the one that came in today is a Trapper. I was kind of thinking about trying the 130's in it...but I have actually never shot them in any of my levers. Have any of y'all shot this bullet in your lever gun and, if so, how do they perform on small to medium size whitetail's?

Thanks

168438

[Outpost75]

I have not actually used them, but I like the concept of lighter bullet, lower recoil, flatter trajectory. I use the Speer Hot-Cor and Mag-Tip 150-grain bullets in the '06 at velocity aproximating Ball M2 and have been very happy.

Did try some of the 125-grain JHP Federal factory loads in .30-30 and they were accurate and had light recoil, but for deer larger than100 lbs. I would prefer a sturdier bullet. The Speer is the right move.

[northmn]

Tube magazines require a blunt bullet. Any gain at the muzzle with a light bullet will be lost fairly quickly down range. On the Marlin site they have some that use them on the smaller deer but I would rather stay with the standards. The 30-30 has been around for over 125 years now and the loads used have been pretty standardized as the better ones for the caliber. I did like a heavier cast bullet in mine but whether it was better than a factory load is open to debate. Guess if you wanted to gain range you could load some spitzers, one in the chamber and one in the magazine. Varmit type bullets might work OK at 30-30 speeds. Teh 125 grain Federal is a "reduced recoil" load and not one made for increased effect.

DEP

[frank505]

I've used the Speer 130 grain 30/30 bullet for quite some time. It's an excellent deer and antelope bullet. Never recovered one in a game animal. Actually found a box for sale recently. Seems they are tough to find. They got one inch lower than the 170 partition at a hundred in my 30/30 Ackley.

[Tatume]

The Nosler 125 grain Ballistic Tip provides very good ballistic performance. While many high-tech spitzer bullets are too "hard" for the 30-30, this one provides good terminal performance in the 30-30 range of attainable velocities. The only down side, and it is miniscule, is you can only load two, one in the chamber and one in the magazine. In my experience, two is plenty (and the second is rarely needed).