30-30 Maximum Distance With Accuracy

[Tackleberry41]

With the 30-30 your usually pretty limited with factory stuff. I was shooting my old stevens bolt gun this weekend. Im a little less restricted on what I can feed it one at a time. I fired some factory remington core lokt 150gr over my chrony, just to know how fast it runs. 2264 was avg velocity from 3 shots. That bullet is not very aerodynamic so would run out of steam pretty quick. Now using the Lever revolution powder you can get a bit more out of it, 37gr got a 150gr up to 2506, that 230fps would make a difference. And I was loading Hornady Amax in it so would expect a bit more range out of it. I have a nice mildot scope on it and a range finder so hitting at longer range would be less of a challenge. It grouped very well with those amax. I was getting 2313fps out of some 168gr amax using lever revolution.

A 308 is considered a sniper rifle out to 1000yds. Yea in the book you might get 2600fps out of a 168gr bullet, but more realistic is 2500fps. So not outside the realm of reality to get a handloaded 150gr 30-30 to go 6 or 700.

[FAsmus]

Tackleberry;

Not 30/30 but since you're talking velocity consider this: I was out this morning with a 8x57 Mauser loaded with the 190 grain SAECO 62081 & 21 grains 4759. This clocks around 1850, tops.

With iron sighs I worked our targets from 350 out to 835 with ease - except when I miss-judged the wind.

The 30/30 will do this kind of thing as well with a typical bullet such as the RCBS 30-180-SP or similar design.

Forrest

[bbailey7821]

Since I've upgraded my old Marlin 336 to a modern Leopold VX3 10x and Hornady Flex Tips, the old girl has absolutely no trouble ringing the bell well out past 200yds. I would've not believed this a couple of years ago, but several DRT whitetails and many benchrest sessions don't lie.

[Chev. William]

A Ballistics Calculator Program using a Laupa 170 grain FMJBT (8476) in a 30-30 at 2000fpsa MV
Calculates the bullet will pass down through the Speed of sound at about 900 yards and be able to strike a Target at 1500 Yards descending at about 915fps. The Midrange Height calculates to 676.4 inches at about 850 yards. Departure Angle calculates to be 129.8 MOA or 2.163 degrees. The bullet would still be going over 800fps at 2000 yards but would drop an additional 1684.8 inches below the 1500 yard zero.
Energy at 1500 yards would be about 316 ft-lbs and at 2000 yards would be about 248 ft-lbs.
Energy drops below 1000 ft-lbs at about 300 yards.
A bit over 3.6 seconds to 1500 yards and about 5.3 seconds to 2000 yards.

I guess Punching paper out there is feasible with this bullet and it might even Kill something out at that range IF a solid Hit were made. How Ethical a Kill depends on Where it hit.

Best Regards,
Chev. William

[bbailey7821]

That's some pretty long-hair cyphering, there, Chev! For my paper punching, I'm 1/2" high at 100, 2" high at 200, and just a smidge low at 250. That's about all I'm willing to sign up for with Old Bessy. But, I'm good with it.

[Chev. William]

I chose 1500 yards to enter for the target distance because I read about Army tests of the 45-70 that found it could still hit a target at that distance consistently, with the Bullets passing through the Double wall target at about 70 degrees Down angle to the Horizontal.

It seems this "30-30" is doing about the same Angle at 2000 yards.

Chev. William

[BAGTIC]

How far will a 30-30 shoot accurately? Far enough.

The real problem is range estimation. If the range is known precisely enough, the sights sufficiently and accurately adjustable, the shooter knowledgeable enough about the trajectory of the specific load in the specific gun enough a lot of things are possible.

Also they fact that something has been accomplished once means little. What matters is how consistently it can be accomplished. That is where shooting (targets) and hunting (game) comes in. Shooters usually know the precise range adjusted for slope, and wind conditions at the firing location and the target location. If they miss nothing suffers except their ego. In ethical hunting it is different.

Are we confident enough to put our pink slip or home deed on the line?

[Chief]

maybe, shooting game at long ranges is a measure of bad hunting skills...
I am working on getting a 1950 vintage mod 94 to shoot cast bullets, I'm working at 50 yards(so far its good enuf to kill a beer can at 100) but when I have my loads worked I think 100 yds will be the limit as I will use other rifles on open range hunts. Further than that not sure I can shoot good enuf with open sights at anything other than inanimate targets...200yds at a 50# steel ram sounds like fun..offhand of course...

[Connelly47]

My dad taught me that if I couldn't get a sub 100 yard shot I wasn't meant to take that shot. He was a Marine sniper so he had the patience and magic to get very close shots. I wouldn't try anything over 200 yds if it was hunting. Playing around, I've found I couldn't hold a paper plate group over 500 yards. I think that's where the bullet drops to subsonic and the pressure wave changes.
As a teenager, my dad taught me how to reload and cast. We had rabbit loads, deer loads and elk loads in .30-30. If you hit a rabbit with an elk load there wasn't anything left to eat.

[Black Powder Bill]

A whole lot of people could be seperated from their money on this question.......

A few have! LOL

I have no issues taking a 200 yard shot at a deer . Scoped 336

[Kosh75287]

About 175 yards, depending on the shooter.

[Texas by God]

A 788 with scope & pointed jacketed bullets- 300yds on game.
Every Marlin I've owned with a scope-200 yds on game.
My 94 Win with peep sight-100 yds or less on game.
These would be my limits for the 30-30.
target shooting would be wherever my skills let me go.

[Dave18]

we were at some ranch for a hunt, I was old enough to just remember the event, don't even know what state it was, but, one of the guys there every day, would stand by the corner of some old building and shoot at the side of one the rocky hills that had a spot that stuck out, this guy bragged about hitting that spot on that hill side once a day, everyday, the distance 380yds I remember everyone saying, I remember the guy giving me the empty case , a 3030,
wish I could ask, about where the place was ect, but, everyone is long gone, Im the only one left of that group that went out there many yrs ago,

[marlin39a]

100 yrs. 30/30 win. Drops like a rock after that.

[versa-06]

Been burn'n a lot of powder tinkering with mid to high vel. 243 & my Leupold scope went south, and took my nerves with it! Picked up on this thread and decided I'd go back to the 30 cal. and the slower & more rewarding pace. I'm GLAD! this thread hasn't been dropped, It's pushing me to stretch out my 30-30 capaboolities! So keep writing about your findings and experiences! Jim

[OlDeuce]

the 100yd to 150 yd is my deer zone .But 850yds on the Buffalo works for the hit!!!

Ol Deuce

[bisleyfan41]

My dad taught me that if I couldn't get a sub 100 yard shot I wasn't meant to take that shot. He was a Marine sniper so he had the patience and magic to get very close shots. I wouldn't try anything over 200 yds if it was hunting. Playing around, I've found I couldn't hold a paper plate group over 500 yards. I think that's where the bullet drops to subsonic and the pressure wave changes.
As a teenager, my dad taught me how to reload and cast. We had rabbit loads, deer loads and elk loads in .30-30. If you hit a rabbit with an elk load there wasn't anything left to eat.

Great post! Your 3 levels of loads shows the amazing versatility of the old .30-30. Shot a fox at 150 once with my 94, but all her deer have been under 100, most under 50.

[OlDeuce]

Us older guys had some good upbringing........Hunting was our way of life and my Dad always said " antler soup isn't good" We never trophy hunted !
always the close shot !! I'm Pleased in the Department of hunting & Firearms !!!!! Love my Guns!!

Ol Deuce

[T.R.]

My older Glenfield has taken several mulies for me at ranges well beyond 100 yards.

TR

[David LaPell]

Well, I can honestly say 300 yards if we're talking game animals. Not myself personally, but my grandfather did it on a whitetail doe once, one shot. Now, you have to keep in mind he only really hunted with two deer rifles in his whole life not counting muzzleloaders, a Winchester 1894 SRC with a tang sight and a Remington 660 .308. I have a photo from 1936 with the .30-30 and a deer, and he quit using that gun in 1993 when he stopped deer hunting.
I have seen photos with him and that gun with rabbits, grouse, etc. He killed ALOT of game with that gun.
When he shot the deer, it was open ground and she was slowly walking from right to left, he flipped the tang up and held the front sight on top of her back above the vitals. When he shot, she went down on the spot.
My grandfather was also a competitive shooter at one time and knew his guns, what they could do and what they could not. I personally would not attempt that shot, but he knew the gun and what it would do.
I got this Model 94 recently and have been playing around with it, it's more accurate than the last couple of Winchesters I had and beats the last Marlin I had hands down when it comes to accuracy, using these same loads. This was at 125 yards, I think 200 yards would be the longest I would stretch this too. I do plan on adding a tang sight to it later on.