Savage 340

[panman]

I have a savage 340 bolt rifle, and would like a few loads for it.I mostly will hunt deer,bears,and may use it for varments if anyone has a light bullet load for it.Thanks ,pan.

[rickyp]

you best and safest bet is to stick with published data

[trotterlg]

I have one also, 22 Hornet, hope yours is bigger than this one if you are shooting Bears.  Larry

[billy_56081]

If you can find the no longer produced Hornady 130 grain SSP bullets they work great in my daughters. She has killed black bear and wild hoga with hers.

[panman]

Sorry,i guess i was a bit tired last night,i know better,been movin snow all day.
The 340 in question is a 30-30.I want to feed it some pointie bullets in 150GRS,pluss some 110s,or so for the smaller critters.Except for pointie,the bullets need not be in those weights,in other words, not wrote in stone.I got it last year close to the hunting season and didnt have time to play with loads and now, i have the time  .Thanks for the advice so far.pan.

[Harry Snippe]

You might explore 30/30 TC loads/ data in your rifle. I would start low as the 340 is not as strong , as other rifles , but it might get you started with the pointed bullets in the 30/30.

[coyotejoe]

I've just started loading for one. I too had thought of "pointie" bullets, got some Hornady 150 and 165's I have been shooting in my Savage 219 singleshot. They worked fine in the singleshot since there was no limit on cartridge overall length and I could seat them out just shy of the lands. The problem in the 340 is that the magazine box limits the overall cartridge length so that a spirepoint seated to feed through the magazine will have the ogive below the case mouth. The case mouth then snags on the chamber mouth when feeding from the mag. Perhaps a heavy roll crimp of the case mouth would prevent snagging, I haven't tried that since neither rifle should require a crimp. I've just changed bullets instead. Speer makes flatpoints in 130, 150 and 170 grains which have ballistic coefficients very nearly as good as the spirepoints, have the crimp groove in the right place for the standard 30/30 COL and, best of all in my opinion, they are designed to expand properly at 30/30 velocities. That's something one can never be sure of with most spirepoints, you don't know how they will perform at reduced velocities. I've taken several deer with the Speer 130 flatpoints from the singleshot and they did splendidly, so I think I'll use the Speer 170 flatpoint as "the load" for the bolt gun.
 I also found that the reduced cartridge overall length for the repeater vs the singleshot requires me to reduce some of the powder charges that had worked well in the singleshot, since I have to seat the bullets much deeper to work in the magazine. The reduced powder charges plus the barrel being 4" shorter in the bolt gun has shown chronographed velocities rather disappointing compared to what I've been getting from the old M-219.

[coyotejoe]

On the theory that a picture is worth a thousand words, here are a couple with the 165 grain bullet seated deep enough to function through the magazine of the Savage. One could load longer bullets singleshot but then you'd have to fire them because the ejection port is not long enough to eject an over length cartridge.
 Click on the photos to enlarge.

[panman]

Coyotejoe,thank you for your time and effort,you have saved me a lot of hair pullin,lol.
Have you done any lesser WT.bullets?.Im thinking 110-140?.If varment hunting,maby hollow points,or,SP?,
Going big game, Nosler partitons,or any of the bonded pills that are great for big game?.
If loading for the 340,what powders do you find that the 340 likes most?.Finding powders is a pain around here ,and any tips you can share is most welcome.Thanks again, :)pan.

[coyotejoe]

As I said I've just started loading for the 340. I fired a few at 50 yards and groups were in the inch to inch and a half neighborhood. Since then I've had the rifle apart redoing the wood and some metal work. I just got it back together and hope to do some shooting today if the wind doesn't come up too badly. I haven't tried any 110's but think you'd have no problem with those short pointed bullets. I do have some 130 Hornady's which have a shorter point than the 165's but the ogive is still very slightly below the case mouth but maybe not enough to be a problem. Probably the best pointed bullet for the 30/30 would be the Hornady flex-tip as they produce for the "lever evolution" loads, that one is designed for the 30/30. I'm told they are available but haven't found any for sale. When I get the weather to do some shooting I will post a full report here on the rework of the rifle and shooting results.
 For powders there are many that work well, my favorite being Reloader 15, but H335, BLc2, 3031, W748 are all good and one can probably add a dozen to that list.

[coyotejoe]

OK, I did shoot today but it was windy so I limited my shooting to 50 yards. I tried out seven different loads but to keep a long story a bit shorter, my best group was with the first load tried.
 34.0 grains of RL-15 and the 170 grain Remington RN chronographed 2254fps and five grouped in 0.62".
I also tried 35 and 36 grains but 36 is TOO HOT. 35 gave me 2295 fps and a group of 1.15".
 A surprise was with Hornady 180 grain RN over 34 grains H-414. Velocity was only 1904 fps but they were the second best group of the day at 0.89" for five shots at 50 yards.
Another surprise was the 130 grain Speer flat point over 30 grains of RL-7. That load shoots well from my 219 singleshot but the bolt gun gave me a spread of 2.62" with a speed of 2502 fps. That was the only load that grouped larger than 1 1/2" and as I said it was a surprise because it shoots well in the singleshot.
Below are before and after photos of the Stevens 325C I have now reworked. I removed the pistol grip, reduced the stock depth to eliminate the notches, straightened the floor plate and shortened the trigger. Click on the photos to enlarge. It weighs 6 3/4 pounds with the old Weaver J 2.5 scope, 6 1/4 with open sights.

[FredWT]

If you are looking for a good varmint projectile, consider the Sierra 110 hollow point and the Hornady or Speer 110 spires. All have always shot well for me. Also, that Speer 170 FP should be your ticket for bear.

[panman]

Coyotejoe,that sure is a beauty.Talk about a silk purse from a sows ear!!.Im not gunna do all that to mine as its in sad shape.I bought it for a truck gun.Ill try out some of the loads you have suggested and will let you know how they shoot.RL 15 is not for sale around here,but ill try some of the others,thanks.Also,do you know where i can get a peep site for it?.thanks again.pan.

Thank you everyone, for your time and loads.

[coyotejoe]

The only receiver sight in current production is the Williams Foolproof  FP-340,  it's a bit pricey at $72.95.

[panman]

Thanks agin.I know some of them are pricey ,but,if i have to, then.. .pan.

[FredWT]

I picked this one up years ago at a gun show. No name or markings on it. Works very well.

[panman]

Yep,thats what im lookin for FRED .pan.

[theduke]

I have one in 30-30