30-30 project

[ftlupton]

Have my 336 (1982 version) and just bought a Savage 340 that is drilled and tapped for scope or peep. Am glass bedding the 340 now and adding a Nikon 2 x 7 shotgun scope. Plan on shooting the 125 gr loaded with H-335 through the 340 and heavy cast 173 gr for close up timber hunting of mulies out of the 336. Have had all the big boys but the .30WCF just seems great fun. Anybody have some special loads or ideas on shooting the cast bullets? I have a receiver sight on it.

[Tom W.]

My son's 340 would shoot those 125's with H335 about a foot high @ 100yards, and he couldn't make it shoot any lower. It was a one-holer @ 100 with 150's, and put them all in the black. Just relating his experience.

A fellow I hunted with wanted me to load up some 110 gr. Speers for his 340. I told him that the load would shoot much differently than what he was used to. He wouldn't listen, so I loaded up the bullets that he gave me with a high end, but not max load of H335. He never could get them to group.

I just sat there and smiled...... 

[Brithunter]

Hi There,

    Actually I shoot a custom 30-30 bolt action using H-335 and eitehr 125 Grn or 130 Grain spizers loaded to around 2800 fps and they group well under MOA. My rifle has a S&B 6x42 scope fitted. The data I started with came from an article in Petersens Rifle Shooter from back in 99 if I remember correctly. The load is a couple of grains over Hodgdons book max load for this powder but has prooved perfectly safe in my rifle nad as yet I have not lost one of the Winchester cases.

[Tom W.]

Both my son's rifle and the other man's rifle had the side mounted scope, sort of like a Winchester model 94 has to wear. Sits rather high, in my opinion, which ain't much......

[MGMorden]

Good luck on your project.  I thought long and hard about grabbing up one of the Savage 340's in .30-30 as a nice gun for when I'm hunting in thick cover - often times I'm in places where I'll never get a shot over 50 yards anyways.  Ended up picking up a Marlin 336 instead just because it was at a really good price, but I still have a hankering for a .30-30 bolt gun.  With the 788's fetching top dollar, the 340 still looks pretty attractive.  I'll see what I can find locally anyways.  On a lot of lower priced guns the shipping/transfer fees tend to up the price a little too high, so internet purchases often aren't worth it .


PS I think I posted this on another thread somewhere, but B-Square makes a side mount scope base for this rifle that puts the mount inline with the bore.  From my understanding it's aluminum (and I tend to prefer steel mounts), but as I really didn't like any of the off-set side mount scopes I've used in the past, that would be the way I'd go for scoping a 340. YMMV.

[ftlupton]

My 340 came drilled and tapped and the guy through in a Weaver side mount base for $150 out the door. I have refinished the stock and glass bedded the action and have my scope mounted so to the range I go next week. I like the idea of the 125 or 130 grainers in this gun. I loaded some up and they feed really well through the magazine. I have used my 336 for many years and will just pass it on when I get too old as well as the 340. Looking forward to shooting some cast loads through it, 170 gr at around 2100fps should do the job on mulies out to 150 yrs or so. Luck to all.

[MGMorden]

My 340 came drilled and tapped and the guy through in a Weaver side mount base for $150 out the door.

Absolutely great deal on that rifle.  They seem to be hitting $200-250 on the majority of the online auctions and that's without mounts.  If you look around you can find a lot of good deals on rifles locally - I typically check out all the local pawn shops on a weekly, or at least bi-weekly basis to see what they have on hand (my 336 I found at a pawn shop w/ rings and a cheapo scope for $165 - with that same scope I've manged 0.75" groups with that gun on a good day).  Straight up gunshops are generally very consistent on their prices - pawn shop owners tend to know less about guns so they often price too high but every so often you'll find one that they're letting go for a deal.  My weakness is I don't like to buy anything without researching the action a bit.  Was just about 2 years ago I passed up a Mossberg 800 in .243 Win that they said they'd let go for $145.  I'd never heard of it, having only heard of Mossberg in regard to shotguns, so I went home and researched it.  Being an original action (and not just Mossberg's name on someone else's action) I really liked the sound of it.  Went back later that week and it was gone.  I still kick myself over that.