30-30

[versa-06]

Do you find the 30-30 to be any less of a cast boolit hunting rifle? I prefer the 35 & up. What about you? -06

[Winger Ed.]

With a fairly hard alloy, gas check, and maybe powder coat them--
You can get boolits right up around factory ammo speeds.

[quilbilly]

Maybe I don't understand the question. The venerable 30/30 started out as a CB rifle using black powder. In that context, one might even say the 30/30 has seniority over the also venerable '06.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Properly loaded .30-30 cast bullet loads work just fine on deer inside the practical range of the cartridge. Past that, a .30-06 is no doubt a better choice.

DG

[Rapidrob]

Many of the Schuetzen rifles are in .30-30 Winchester.(7.62x51R) where the lead bullet is breech seated and a charged case is seated behind it. I shot one for several years.Crazy accurate. The long case neck really makes it work.

[725]

Can't argue with physics. Bigger, faster, heavier, delivers more punch. Does the hunter need the extra whoop to take game? Largely depends on the game. In its place, the .30-30 is a fine hunter. If the quarry is brown bears, I'd go bigger. There is a sliding scale of what is appropriate. In the world of jacketed shooters, I have seen the quest for bigger, better, faster and have also made the observation that, FOR SOME, shooting skills have been replacing hunting skills. I love the game of shooting and I love hunting. It's just that they are not the same.

[compass will]

I shoot 30-30 and 32. But the 32 causes more damage to my steel plates than the 30-30

[Eddie Southgate]

No , I do not . It is as good with cast as it is with jacketed. I prefer the .35 also but have no problem killing deer with a 30-30 and lead.

[Randy Bohannon]

30-30 Win. was never factory loaded with cast bullets it was the first smokeless powder and jacketed bullet cartridge created by Winchester. The Win.94 32 Special was the cast bullet offering using up 32-40 barrels in the new rifle, the early 32 Specials had reversible rear sight elevators for B/P and smokeless powder.

[versa-06]

I have shot many coyotes & deer with the (cast) 30 cal. rifle. It seems I don't get the bleed-out I get with the 35,44,&45. Which seems to drop the animal sooner & I don't have to track as far, or drag as far. -06

[versa-06]

P.S Lung shooter. -06

[Pereira]

Never used cast for hunting with any of the 30-30's, but have with the 35's and also the 41 and 44's.

RP

[Digital Dan]

Don't consider BHN 11-12 to be 'hard' and have run the 311041 w/gas check at 2,100 + fps from a Win 94 Trapper. Accuracy was 1-1 1/2" for 5 shots at 50 yards. Would not hesitate to hunt deer with that load.

[Rapier]

Never owned a 30-30 rifle in my entire life. I only shoot the 30-30 cartridges in multiple handguns and at the highest shooter class in IHMSA competition, so the 30-30 will and does shoot just fine. As the IHMSA Director of Industry Relations, I contacted the owners of the companies that actually make 30-30 brass in order to determine the current pressure test limits of modern 30-30 brass. This data I wrote about in the Silhouette and the IHMSA News. The answer is the brass is manufactured to 65k pressure proof limits as is similar capacity rimless cases. Star-Line was the first company owner I spoke to.

So there is no need to use high pressure brass to make wildcats based on the 30-30, like the 225 Win Mag. What this really means is, the 30-30 cartridge is capable of a lot more performance than the 94 or 336 action design is capable of. But all reloading manual load data is based on the BP action designs.

So if you want to get everything out of the 30-30 that the cartridge is capable of, buy or build on a single shot, with a premium barrel, decent sights and trigger, that is made for the 65k pressure limits. Then you have something to shoot.

I too like the 35s and own a few for cast shooting. Currently am building another 35. But there is nothing really wrong with the 30-30 cartridge per se.

[Texas by God]

Most of my shots on deer are under 100 yards. I’ve only killed four deer with cast bullets with four different cartridges.
The 30-30 worked great but so did the 38-55, the 6.8 SPC, and the 30-06. The deer hit with the 30-06 ran and stumbled across the field before dropping. Both lungs were hit; it just didn’t know it was dead…..
With jacketed bullets, my 30-30 bolt action is a capable 300 yard gun.
If I’m hunting the thickets, I carry my 38-55 because of the quick handling and big bullet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ttd444]

i use my 30-40 Krag with 173gr Ranch Dog and H4198 going 1926fps and it kills deer out to 173 yards (my son's deer, i shot 120+/- yards. most times the deer are 60 yards and under, with 30-40 yards being the most prevalent. i use COWW and a smidge of tin. i go behind the shoulder and the deer is DRT. it is the only rifle i can say that. the 35/30-30, 9.3x57, 444....the deer jogs about 20 -30 yards after the shot and then falls over dead.

[stubshaft]

Been hunting with my 30/30 since the 60's and find it just fine to kill Deer, Hogs and Goats with.

[Bass Ackward]

30 / 30? Bounces right off.

[Mk42gunner]

I quit hunting deer about the time I got into casting for rifles, so I don't have any personal experience to give. Jacketed? Yes, cast? No.

With jacketed, similarly constructed bullets at similar speeds-- I can say the .35 kills with more authority than the .30 caliber does. I see no reason cast in each caliber wouldn't perform the same.

With that said, if I were to hunt deer with cast; I think I would use either the .35 Whelen or the .35 Remington instead of the .30-06 or .30-30. Or maybe the .38-55. I think with decent hunting skills and within the range capabilities of the rifle/hunter they will all kill deer okay.

Robert

[35 Rem]

I've killed 10 deer so far with cast. One was with a muzzle loader using the Lee 310 grain flat nose 44 bullet. I think the velocity is about 1,600 ft/sec - I use two 50grain pellets of Hodgdon 777 in a 50 cal barrel. Range was maybe 40 yards and was shot in shoulder and of course exited. The deer ran out into a bean field with no blood trail about 60 or 70 yards and took nearly an hour to find because I had no idea which direction she ran since I shot through a fencerow and the beans were still standing and the same color as the deer.

I've shot 5 with the 35 Remington using a 200 grain Accurate bullet loaded to 2,050 ft/sec. Range has been from 50 yards out to about 135 yards. Some have dropped on the spot while others have run as far as 50 or so yards.

Also shot 4 with a 32 Winchester Special using two different bullets. Three does with the 180 grain RCBS (32-170-FN) and one buck with the 180 grain Accurate (32-180-A) bullet - both loaded to 2,135 ft/sec. Ranges from 40 to 165 yards. All ran about 30 to 60 yards except one doe hit high in the spine.

I REALLY want to believe the larger frontal area and extra weight of the 35 gives it an advantage over the 32 but so far I haven't seen a significant difference between the two. In spite of the small advantages the 32 Special has over the 30-30, I doubt they are going to translate to much in the field except maybe giving the shooter a bit more confidence which might make him shoot better. That in itself can make a difference. The performance of the 44 was disappointing to be honest. I expected more bleeding, however the shot went through both shoulders right in the "armpit" so that the legs seemed to be blocking blood loss. We shall see as more are killed with that bullet. More testing to be done this Fall.