Wow! Happy with my Topper 30-30!

[44 Man]

I am a happy man!  Brian was nice and helped me out.  He fixed my Topper's ftf issue and refit my barrel a couple weeks ago.  I got to take her to the range today.  It's always been a good shooter, and now it is even better than ever.  I had been trying to sight in a burris 2-7 compact on it and having some frustration with the adjustments.  So today I put the Bushnell 1-4 back on for some fun shooting.  We were at 50 yds and I was shooting my 125 Sierra bullets over a max charge of H4895.  The first couple shots were high and right so I adjusted some.  The next shot was high so I dialed off some elevation and the next three went into less than 1/2" and about that much high of center.  (Sorry, no pics, I need to get this notebook set up yet for it.)  I told Brian that this is my favorite Handi (sorry to you 45-70 shooters, I do understand) hands down and now you all can understand why.  Way to go Topper!  44 Man
 

[Deerhunter#1]

my 30-30s includeing my 157 topper that I almost let go today all shoot well with 34.5 grains h4895 and that bullet. Great 200 yard deer gun. wish i could have got the ballistic tip to fly but it wasnt as good as this bullet. It would have extended the potential of this caliber bullet weight combo with its higher bc. was thinking of trying the 150 grain .308  bullets but dont think the velocities will allow for proper expansion with the 30-30 unless I went with a true 30-30 flat or round nose which have terrible bc as well so the benefit wouldnt be that great. Great to see you got her fixed up.

[demented]

My 30-30 doesn't do well with 125 grain Ballistic Tips but does well with 150's.  At 2300 fps (36 grains) loaded with LVR powder, these bullets do well out to 225 yards, killing deer as well as my .308. 

[petemi]

Glad you guys got her working.  Another thanks for Brian.  I'm shooting 165 and 168 gr. BTs in mine over LVR for a very accurate 2400 fps.  That's not max or compressed.  An inch high at 50 is dead on at 200 with 2000 fps and 1600 ft/lbs remaining.  ya gotta love dat Tirty Tirty.  I'm using that same load in my 336's chamber for the first shot.  The tube is filled with 150 gr. Hornady RNs over LVR at a more modest 2250 fps.

Sorry I'm not going to see you in August, Lewis.

Pete

[44 Man]

Pete, there ain't nothing wrong with round nose bullets!  They are designed to work properly at the velocities we are running and they aren't so back ballisticly either.  I remember reading a text a few years ago.  They took a 30-06 and loaded pointed flat base, boat tail, and round nose bullets all to the same velocity, sighted the gun in at 100 yds and then shot at 300.  The round nose only dropped 2" more than the others.  Ant the flat base and boat tails dropped the same.  Of course there is an element of shooter error in a test like that, but it shows us that the good old round nose is not to be sneezed at.  Heck, I'm sure I 'wobble' more than 2" at 300 yds!  Sometimes I think I my crosshairs wiggle that much at 100!  Keep shooting!  44 Man

[Needles]

Mine prefers round nosed bullets at almost any load in the normal range for a .30-30. I've tried several different kinds of pointy bullets, but they're not a significant improvement, and most are less accurate.