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

[Blanco]

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?

[gpidaho]

Blanco: I don't see a reason not to try, my little 30-30 zipper load is the Lee TL314-90-SWC sized down to .310 45-45-10 lube or powder coated over 5.5gr of TiteGroup COL 2.360 This being shot out of a Handi rifle. The 30-30 in bolt action or single shot is one of the greatest "Boolit" shooters ever Very lite to very heavy for caliber are all possible. Let me know how you do so we can share loads. Gp

[richhodg66]

I haven't tried anything like that through my 340, but recently tried some 85 grain RN .32 pistol bullets in front of five grains of Bullseye amd it is squirrel head accurate at 25 yards in the little H&R 158 I shot them in.

The 340 is a much better rifle than it's original price tag and status would indicate. I like mine very much, wish they still made them.

[swamp]

I have a bunch loaded with the 147 FMJ BT. Use them for plinking. They look a little strange but do just fine. I have a T/C carbine and a Savage bolt. I have also used the 100 gr. pointed soft point for p-dogs.
swamp

[shtur]

I use the 30 carbine bullets, 110 gr jacketed soft points with BL-C(2) powder, man that's some serious fun with the 30-30.

[cherokeetracker]

I have played around with the 125s Take a look at this article http://leverguns.com/articles/paco/3030varmint.htm You can also Google Paco Kelly 30-30 He has several articles out.

I have a Legacy with a 26" tube and I can get some long range varmint fun with it. So what if You have to load it single. The 30-30 is quite versatile. Check out some paper patch loads right here on this forum. Just more fun.....

[M-Tecs]

Out of my 30/30 Contender Carbine and Super 14 I shoot Nosler Ballistic Tip 125 grain. Its a great rabbit/ coyote bullet.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/741609/nosler-ballistic-tip-hunting-bullets-30-caliber-308-diameter-125-grain-spitzer-box-of-50\

This summer I used some 110 grain V-Max on prairie dogs. They worked very well but haven't used them on anything else. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/601277/hornady-v-max-bullets-30-caliber-308-diameter-110-grain-flat-base-box-of-100

[dougader]

I shoot the Speer 130 hp with a healthy dose of AA2460. Used to shoot the Hornady 130 single shot Spitzer, although they have been discontinued now.

I picked up some green coated bullets that run around 113 grains, and I'm still tinkering with loads.

[tazman]

I tried the 150 grain spire points in the 340 I had. They worked fine. I can't remember if I had to load them 1 at a time or if they would fit in the magazine(this was a long time ago).
According to the ballistics tables, using the spire points added 50-100 yards of usable range to the rifle as far as bullet energy was concerned.

[Blanco]

I think I am going to have a lot of fun with this one.

[castalott]

Many years ago a buddy shot a silhouette match with a 788 in 30-30. He only did it to prove a point that it's the Indian and not the bow that really counts. He used 147 gr surplus bullets. He did pretty good too.

[Win94ae]

Been doing it for years, single loading in my Win94; from 110gr V-max to 180gr spitzers. Reduced wind drift is the reason I'll use them.

[Win94ae]

Many years ago a buddy shot a silhouette match with a 788 in 30-30. He only did it to prove a point that it's the Indian and not the bow that really counts. He used 147 gr surplus bullets. He did pretty good too.

Actually, that would suggest it was the arrow, not the Indian.

[220]

Only ones I have played with are the hornady gummy tips, they do shoot well in my marlin and extend the range some.
A conventional tipped projectile should be even more of a good thing

[OnHoPr]

Yes, I have reloaded and shot the Nosler 150 BT and they shot 1/2" groups @ 50 yds without even trying to develop the load and not off a sturdy bench either out of my 94. I can't remember the load, but it was with a slower powder and at the high side pushing about 2400 estimated. Should have been decent out to 300 with less wind drift, less drop, and expansion all the way out there. But, only loading one in chamber and one in mag.

[olafhardt]

The 130 grain Hornadys would not feed through my Win 94 which prevented using it as a two shot. They were also too long for the magazine of my Stevens bolt action. Spitzers are great in a Handirifle.

[tsubaki]

OAL is likely to be the main concern. Simply make up a batch and see if they will cycle.
I'm doing the opposite with a semiauto .308. Best I remember with both set off rifling the OAL difference of the spitzer and round nose is .160.

[Blanco]

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?

[Kraschenbirn]

My 340 really likes the Lyman 311466 (gas-checked 155 gr. Loverin) loaded over some AA5744. Not too noisy, low recoil, and 'pest killer' accurate.

Bill

[Tackleberry41]

Usual issue is 95% of guns are lever guns. But once you use a bolt gun or single shot, yea pointed bullets are fine. Run 168gr Amax in mine, wont fit in the mag, but very accurate.

[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.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/Kelly2215/100_8481.jpg

[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.

[9.3X62AL]

Looks like The Usual Caveats have been covered above. One other that might apply to use of spitzer-form j-word bullets in 30-30 WCF for deer or large game is the given bullet's expansion potential at 30-30 velocities. A lot of these bullets are constructed with 308/30-06 usage and velocities in mind, and might not have the proper controlled expansion characteristics at slower impact speeds. Check with the bullet maker for recommended speed brackets.

One of the quiet benefits of 30-30 usage can be its diminished velocity. It is relatively simple to build an affordable cup-and-core bullet design for 30-30 impact speeds that behaves well on game.

[ascast]

Yes, in a Savage '99. Head and shoulders above the "94 Win in same caliber.

[Blanco]

Finally had all the pieces come together and got a few of the Sierra 110 Hp's loaded up
Can't wait to test them :bigsmyl2:

154806

[OnHoPr]

Looks like The Usual Caveats have been covered above. One other that might apply to use of spitzer-form j-word bullets in 30-30 WCF for deer or large game is the given bullet's expansion potential at 30-30 velocities. A lot of these bullets are constructed with 308/30-06 usage and velocities in mind, and might not have the proper controlled expansion characteristics at slower impact speeds. Check with the bullet maker for recommended speed brackets.

One of the quiet benefits of 30-30 usage can be its diminished velocity. It is relatively simple to build an affordable cup-and-core bullet design for 30-30 impact speeds that behaves well on game.

Very true, for some of the speeds at impact velocities. Even some of the factory 30-30 bullets maybe to hard along with to low of BC to shoot deer at 250 yds especially in 10 to 15 mph November winds. Also, advertised velocities may not be able to be produced in 3/4 of a century old Winnies or Savages that may have 10,000 rounds through it. More stout bullets like the Sierra 150 Prohunter is to hard even at 25 yds as well as many other bullets. If wishing to shoot a jacketed out of a 30-30 for game for less wind deflection and their longer range possibilities one should research the speeds of possible bullets that would perform at the ranges expected to hit game at, sighted in for, or practiced for. Bullets like Hornady's SSP, Varmint style bullets, and something like I mentioned the Nosler 150 BT which gives good expansion down to 1600 fps and there are many more. Though, some may be to frangible even at 30-30 speeds at close range for deer species. Take a real explosive HP 110 gr bullet and push it near 2700 fps in the 30-30 and try to do a raking shot on a 200 lb deer at less than 50 yds and it won't get to the vitals. Here is a real good site for researching bullets and their performances at given speed spectrums.

http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledgebase.html

So, in essence using something like the Nosler 150 BT taking a shot at 400 yds would be very similar to taking a shot at 600 yds with a 308.

[warboar_21]

For some reason the 110 Hornady Vmax or 125gr Sierra wouldn't cycle in my 340. They were accurate if fed one at a time but I don't see the point in doing that as it's not a target rifle. Not sure what i'm doing that causes the bullets not to cycle.

[Bird]

I shoot 168grn hpbt hornady bullets through my 94 winchester. 1 in 10 twist barrel. No other bullet and load combo that I have tried comes anywhere close to this loads for accuracy. I use load data for the 170grn bullets with Win748 powder at near max.
They will not feed from the magazine, so effectively it single shot only.
Also tried 147 grain mil surplus bullets. Horrible. Can't get those things to shoot in anything. Never tried lighter bullets.

[tygar]

I almost always used 130s SP in my Savage 99. Shot good out to 200 no problem.

[9.3X62AL]

200 yards is asking an awful lot of a lever-action 30/30 WCF, unless the quarry is a coyote or other varmint. 150 yards is about my limit for iron-sighted 30/30s on deer. I have a 30-06 with glassware for longer shots.

[Chris24]

I tried a 180 grain Core-Lokt bullet, and it was very accurate in the Marlin. The recoil was a bit stout; I might have to lower the charge.

[tygar]

200 yards is asking an awful lot of a lever-action 30/30 WCF, unless the quarry is a coyote or other varmint. 150 yards is about my limit for iron-sighted 30/30s on deer. I have a 30-06 with glassware for longer shots.

If your responding to me, a 130 goes pretty good & 200 with peeps (which are on my 99) is nothing. I've shot 1000 w/m14 peeps. Now with the Leverrevolution you can shoot even farther with good killing specs.