.30/30, the 150 gr or 170gr bullet? which do you prefer?

[rvtrav]

 Hello to all,

    for preperation for the fall hunts I was going to load some .30/30's up. I have some (midway bulk) Remington corelocks in both 150, and 170 grain. I also have some speer fn that are 170gr too. Anyways my hunting experience with the .30/30 is limited. is one of these bullets markedly better than the other?

  I'll be using the winchester 94, I have a neat looking one with a 24" barrel and half magazine. I've wanted to try it out hunt for a while and this year I think I'll get the chance.

  I've got several powders on hand that should work well too, any preferances for powders?

   Thanks in advance, Rvtrav

[Val]

I use 150 grain bullets with IMR 4350. I have a vintage Modell 99 Savage and a vintage model 94 Winchester.

[mauser98us]

I like the 170 and H4895 myself

[BBF]

What kind of beast are you hunting?    IMO  for deer( small to middle size) 150  For bear( black only) and mule deer 170. Moose 170

[mannyrock]

    What type of rifle do you have?  Most of the Marlin 336 models, old and new, shoot more accurately with the 170 grain bullet.  I believe that this was the original bullet weight for the .30-30, so that doesn't surprise me.

 Regards,

   Mannyrock

[rvtrav]

  Thanks for the replies guys.

   I will be hunting mule deer and antelope (if my luck lets me draw out) I do have preference points for does of both species, (in my home state of Utah.) so I am optomistic. I put in for both utah and wyoming

   nothing too big, like moose or elk.

   There is such a variation of velocities listed in the loading manuals for different powders, some like the real fast burners, others the slow, how do they get so far apart between books?

  And my gun's action is an old one, for around 1898, but with a new barrel, magazine, and forearm.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

   Like the others, I like 150's for deer and antelope. Nowdays I mostly shoot factory ammo in my .30-30's. Mostly 150 grain WW Silvertips or Hollowpoints. If I were out for blk. bear, I would maybe try Rem. 170. I like my Marlin with the 24 inch barrel and half mag. For reloading, I usually used H4895 because I had a lot of it. Also I think H335 works well also. If you have an interest in Leverguns, a gun named Kelly wrote a book called LEVERGUNS. He talks a great deal about loading the .30/30. I tried the 130 gr. Speer he liked so well on deer, and found it too soft for my use, but he has some interesting stuff in the book if you can find it.

[Dee]

rvtrav, I have been loading the same 150 grain Remington bulk bullet you speak of for MANY years. I use IMR3031 at 2400fps, and it will do most all that is needed on about ANYTHING on this continent with a good shot. Wish I had your Winchester with that 24" barrel. Better hang on to that one.

[Halwg]

My first choice is the 170 simply because I like heavier bullets.  But I also load the 150 to 2400+ fps for longer distance shots on deer.  I used H-4895 powder for both,

[BBF]

If you got IMR 3031 that is where I would start to see how it groups with whatever choice of bullets you end up.
Hdy makes that pointy stuff for the 30-30.

[salvo]

I'll add one more, IMR3031 recommendation Shoot them both on paper and then use the bullet weight your rifle prefers.

[rvtrav]

  Thanks again guys!

   I do have a couple cans of IMR 3031, and based on the recomendations I'll start there. I do have some IMR 4895, but only a 3rd of a can or less. ( I need to get an eight pound keg, but with the obama frenzy, I may just be too late.)
    I think I'll try the 150's first and shoot some groups, if they work out I'll stick with them this fall. if not, I've always got some 170's to test with.

   Thanks again, I knew I could get some sage advice form here. Rvtrav 

[Sweetwater]

You said you had small amount of IMR4895. This is not interchangeable with H4895. I have found H4895 working great in 30-30 and 32Spl, only to find IMR4895 to be on a vacation. H335 also worked well for me. Of course, IMR3031 is an old stanby for the 30-30. Always reliable.

Regards,
Sweetwater

[ftlupton]

I've loaded 200 of the Leverevolution's with H-335 and it shoots around 1" to 1 1/2" at a 100 with these old eyes and a Lyman receiver sight. What I like also is the Speer 130gr flat tip. The H-335 is great out of my 30-30 and my 30-40, plus I have lots of it. Just my opinion

[S.S.]

My favorite load is 27.5 grains of IMR3031 behind a 150 grain bullet.
Velocity is a bit over 2000 fps. I honestly do not know how many deer have
fallen to this load. All complete pass throughs and no recovered bullets.
I have a H&R topper also that I use the same powder and charge but I
load 150 grain ballistic tips for it. It has proven to be deadly on whitetail.
Good blood trails that are very short. Several have just dropped where they stood.

[Halwg]

Give H-4895 a try.  I think if you load it and IMR-3031, you'll prefer H-4895 for ease of measuring, more consistent velocities, and less effected by temperature.  And it will give you higher velocities with equal or lower pressures than IMR-3031.

Take a look at Hodgdon's chart, which I have confirmed with my chronograph.

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

[BBF]

Should you ever get a chance to get your hands on some RL-7, it is very clean buring powder. I only saw a load for the 150 gr bullet after a quick search.
Lyman# 48 has a starting load of 25.0 gr for 2154 fps and a max load of  28.0 gr for 2350 fps from a 24" barrel.