Anyone ever load 30/30 with pointy J-things ?

[MarkP]

I have loaded Hornady 130 gr SSP (Single Shot Pistol) bullets. Also loaded 110 gr Spire Points and 110 RN's (30 M1)

[Uncle R.]

My 788 .30-30 does well with 130 gr Hornady spire points. I load 'em over a stiff charge of 748. I don't recall the exact amount and even if I did I wouldn't post it. Suffice to say my load is a bit warmer than any recipe in the loading manuals. The good part is the 788 can easily handle pressures beyond .30-30 SAAMI specs. The bad part is - it's still .30-30 brass and the heads aren't as tough as a belted magnum, so you have to exercise a little restraint. Anyway, I can drive those 130s at speeds pretty far up in the twos with accuracy and safety, and my 788 is an easy 200 yard deer rifle with those loads. It makes a nice combination of great accuracy and low recoil with moderate power and fairly flat trajectory.

Loaded with those 130 Hornadys it's been my wife's favorite deer rifle for many years. She's never tried a shot much past 150 yards or so, and never had a deer take more than a few steps. Most of the closer shots are "bang-flops" and she's convinced that her (My?) 788 is the best deer rifle ever.

Uncle R.

[Hick]

I shoot all kinds. My Winchester 94 30-30, of course, has a tubular magazine, but lots of stuff works great in 30-30 as long as you don't try to put the wrong things in the magazine-- just go single shot. I use 110 grain FMJs, 150 grain spire points, even the more pointed marlin Express 160 grains from Hornady instead of the stubby 160 grain bullets designed for 30-30. Just watch out for total cartridge overall length and make sure it will load and extract properly. There are lots of great 30 caliber bullets and boolits out there-- you just have to use good sense.

[quilbilly]

Save yourself a little money and pick up a Lyman 30 cal 130 gr plain base boolit mold. Load it up to about 1300 fps using Trail Boss or 5744 and see what it does to a coyote out at 150 yards. My lever gun loves the load and in the field I load one in the chamber and one in the tube. My TB load at 1250 FPS with that boolit is accurate enough with open iron sights to be minute-of-gallon-paint-can at 200 yards. Recoil is non-existent.

[frnkeore]

Regarding the strength of the 340, they where chambered in 225 Winchester a 50K CUP cartridge.

I took mine to ~2700 fps with 150 gr spitzers, using H380 surplus powder, with accuracy in the stock 22" barrel.

The extractor is weak at those pressures though and you have to FL size after 2 firings on the cases, for reliable extraction.

Frank

[725]

Sure have. Don't remember the loads, but any single shot will throw a .30 cal flat nosed or not. As for that, any .30-30 will throw any .30 cal bullet. It's just those darned tube mags that make for the flat noses. Weight, barrel twist and velocity are the considerations to overcome.

[Jupiter7]

Recently had a Savage 340 in 30/30 follow me home. It has been one of those guns that I always wanted as a kid.
Being a bolt action I wondered about loading up some pointy bullits ? Not that I am looking to really boost performance that much, but I really like the idea of using Sierra's little 110Gr. HP.
Looks like that would make a zinger of a rabbit/ coyote load ?
Thoughts ... Ideas ... Input?

Yes, I load Sierra 125grn pro hunters about 2460fps, light recoiling load for my son. Shoots about 1.25" at 100. Plenty of power on deer. I use TAC or h4895. This is only a mid-range loading, Max gets to about 2600fps in my gun, but I don't like stressing the extractor so I don't do max anything in my 340.

[MT Chambers]

I've resisted the temptation, I believe that the .30/30 is one caliber that can do anything equally well with cast, and at much reduced cost, just like the 45/70.

[atr]

I have tried them in my 340...mediocre results..
so I went back to my standard 180 gr RN Cast with very good results
I have also use 150 RN-j's with very good results

[pertnear]

For some bargain 30-30 plinking, check out some of the .30 cal FN plated bullets.

http://www.xtremebullets.com/308-s/48051.htm

I just got some of these & they shoot very well & at a great price. These guys rate their plated bullets for 2000 fps which I have exceeded without a problem. Some of the other brands of plated .30 cals are rated for under 1500 fps.

FWIW

[longbow]

Many years ago I had a Savage over/under .30-30/20 ga. and had the .30-30 chamber reamed to Ackley improved then loaded 110 gr. spire point "J" bullets in it. They shot pretty well and quite zippy.

The more I think about it the .30-30 strikes me as an ideal cast boolit cartridge with its long neck and moderate powder capacity. I am wishing someone currently made a bolt action, though there are or were several single shot guns available. With light little pointy(ish) cast HP's it should do quite well and would also handle heavy boolits with the right twist barrel.

Longbow

[frnkeore]

For the 30/30 to become popular again in todays, non cast bullet, shooting population. It will have to have something like WSSM or Remington Ultra Mag, added to the 30 cal identification. The gun writer can say how that the bullet only has to get close to the game for them to instantly fall over dead in their tracks

Frank

[longbow]

Frank:

I plumb forgot about that! I take it back, the long neck and moderate powder capacity can't possibly make .30-30 a better cartridge... what was I thinking!?!

To be useful cartridges have to have a short neck and fat body with no rim. I stand corrected.

I must be too old for this game.

Longbow

[A pause for the COZ]

Sure do, I picked up a whole bunch of .310 125gr 7.62x39 pulls for cheap. $39 for 500.
I shoot boat loads through my SKS, AK's, 303, Mosin's, and AR 15 in 7.62x39.
But I also run them through a LEE .308 push through sizer and shoot them in my 308win bolt guns and AR10.
Plus my 340.

[nekshot]

the only frustration I have encountered with my 340 and pointy bullets is if they are longish they will not clear the reciever wall unless you shoot them. Or get a nail or little screw driver and pop them off extracter and I hate doing that so cast and plunt is what I use. Sometimes I do take 150-165 gr noslers and cut a wide flat on them, lowers the weight to 135-140 gr and they perform beautiful in the wet book box at 80 yards.

[Larry Gibson]

I've used a lot of 125 Sierra SPs and Hornady 130 SPs with Paco Kelly's H335 load in M94 carbines with 20" barrels and 24" barreled rifles. They run just under 2600 fps in the carbine and right at 2700 fps out of the rifle. I put one in the spout and one in the mag and used them as 2 shooters for varmints and coyote's. Same load shoots quite well in my 21" Contender carbine also. I have measured the psi of the Paco load in both my M94 and the Contender; it runs right at the top of SAAMI's MAP with no fudge factor.

Larry Gibson

[Win94ae]

My thinking is that the 30/30 just lacks the powder volume to push the heavier bullets fast enough to stabilize them? Sounds like some of you may have tried ? I was really intrigued by the varmint aspect of the 30/30 along with the spitzer bullet use. I really like the idea of reduced loads also.
Anyone have any pet loads to share?

I've shot 210gr bullets in my 1 in 12 twist with no problems whatsoever.

[Gunnut 45/454]

The only pointy bullet I use regularly is the Speer 130gr HP . Tried 125gr Noslers they were to long and had to seat them to deep to keep them off the lans of my Marlin 336W .

[foesgth]

You should slug the bore. I have 2 of them and both slug a bit over .310". I get better accuracy with cast.

[Chris24]

My brother recently found my late father's Marlin 30AS. He gave it to me to clean up. The bluing was in horrible shape, with lots of rust spots. It shoots well, though. I had to refinish the whole barrel (and most of the receiver) with Oxpho-Blue, and it now looks great. I didn't have any flat point, but I did have some .310 JSPs. I ran them backwards through a push through sizer, and they flattened out perfectly! They feed and eject with no problems.