Marlin 336 30-30 AMMO question

[scootrd]

A friend of mine hunts whitetail with a 30-30 336 . Yesterday he asked me about Hornady's Leverevolution ammo.
He wanted to know if other have tried them and would share their results. Pro's con's  , Bullet construction,
increased velocities? , Trajectories?  performance ? are they truly safe in a tubular magazine? can they extend
30-30 yardage capabilities a bit. 

He would like to purchase a bolt action but cant afford , so he is looking to get a tad more umph out of the 30-30 he owns and thought this might be one avenue worth investigating.

Please share your experiences and I will pass them along to him.

[keith44]

For years I hunted with my dad's Marlin 336 (no letter designator, original run)  This is the gun I got my first three deer with starting 32 years ago.  The 336 Marlin is a strong gun (for lever actions) and is easily handloaded for.  The 30-30 Leverevolution ammo is perfectly safe in the Marlin and will allow 150 yard shots with out too much trouble.  The price of factory ammo is my ONLY complaint about the revolution ammo.  I can hand load 125 grain Sierra FNHP bullets and equal the range, improve the effectiveness, and do it for 1/10th the cost.  For about $150 you can too, how many boxes of ammo will that buy? and how much shooting does he do over the course of a year?  If he only shoots a box a year buy the new stuff, if he shoots two or more boxes a year it's time to roll yer own.

[scootrd]

For years I hunted with my dad's Marlin 336 (no letter designator, original run)  This is the gun I got my first three deer with starting 32 years ago.  The 336 Marlin is a strong gun (for lever actions) and is easily handloaded for.  The 30-30 Leverevolution ammo is perfectly safe in the Marlin and will allow 150 yard shots with out too much trouble.  The price of factory ammo is my ONLY complaint about the revolution ammo.  I can hand load 125 grain Sierra FNHP bullets and equal the range, improve the effectiveness, and do it for 1/10th the cost.  For about $150 you can too, how many boxes of ammo will that buy? and how much shooting does he do over the course of a year?  If he only shoots a box a year buy the new stuff, if he shoots two or more boxes a year it's time to roll yer own.

Were you nervous at first about loading them in a tubular magazine?
This appears to be one of his primary concerns.

He will never be in a position to roll his own .. IE: college daughters , wife , mortgage etc.. he will never have the spare cash at any one time to make the initial investment cost. he is pretty much month to month. Teenagers also alot

[mannyrock]

 
 
    If you are only shooting out to 150 to 175 yards, you definitely do not need to waste your money on Leverevolution rounds.  Standard Remington factory 150 grain round nose will work absolutely fine.  Actually, they are better than fine.  They are fantastic.
 
   You can buy Rem Core-Lokt on sale this time of year for as little as $12.00 a box.
 
    Reloading is great for some, but simply not worth it for others.  Buy the factory ammo.

[keith44]

For years I hunted with my dad's Marlin 336 (no letter designator, original run)  This is the gun I got my first three deer with starting 32 years ago.  The 336 Marlin is a strong gun (for lever actions) and is easily handloaded for.  The 30-30 Leverevolution ammo is perfectly safe in the Marlin and will allow 150 yard shots with out too much trouble.  The price of factory ammo is my ONLY complaint about the revolution ammo.  I can hand load 125 grain Sierra FNHP bullets and equal the range, improve the effectiveness, and do it for 1/10th the cost.  For about $150 you can too, how many boxes of ammo will that buy? and how much shooting does he do over the course of a year?  If he only shoots a box a year buy the new stuff, if he shoots two or more boxes a year it's time to roll yer own.

Were you nervous at first about loading them in a tubular magazine?
This appears to be one of his primary concerns.

He will never be in a position to roll his own .. IE: college daughters , wife , mortgage etc.. he will never have the spare cash at any one time to make the initial investment cost. he is pretty much month to month. Teenagers also alot

Yes I was!!  Those first few years learning to reload were nerve racking. 


Never say never.  A Lee loader (the single die set that you use a mallet with to operate) costs about $20 to $30 bucks.  A bulk pack of projectiles (remington corelockt, Sierra, etc) run $20 for a hundred, primers are a few bucks for a hundred, a pound of 3031 runs $20(ish) and if he saves his shells the brass would be free.  So the initial investment could be broken down into affordable bits.


But again to have the hobby pay for itself you really need to shoot more than a box (20 rounds) per year. 


As long as the reloader uses flat point or round nose bullets they will be fine (just like factory loads) the FNHP I mentioned stands for Flat Nose Hollow Point, so no ill effects were encountered

[T.R.]

I load the pointed Sierra as my long distance round.  One in the chamber and only one in the magazine for safety. 
 
TR
 

[STUMPJMPR]

The 30-30 with 150 grain bulelts can be considered a 200 yard gun.  If all of my shots were going to be at 200 yards I'd look for something bigger.  However, The ocasionall 200 yard shot is ok.  Sighted 3" high at 100 yards it is 3" low at 200.  It is still carrying about 850 ft/lbs of energy at 200 yards.  Besides most deer are taken within 50 yards.  The Leverevolution supposedly has more energy and flatter trajecotry due to the higher B.C.  I shot them out of model 94.  They seemed accurate enough, but I prefer the round nose bullets.  They seem to hit harder.

[The Hermit]

I have 336's in 35 Rem and 30-30. If I leave the Hornady red tips in either rifle for a while, they flatten out.
I have a 1/4 steel plate at 100 hundred yard to set my aim points. Remington core locks go through the plate and the Hornady's mushroom and fall on the ground. The Hornady has more "umpf" on my shoulder, but I'm going to stick with the Rem core locks.
Just a personal preference.
 
The Hermit

[mmt7714]

First off the Marlin 336 is a classic deer rifle and the 30-30 is a classic chambering. With just regular remington core lokts he has the capability to kill a deer cleanly up to 200yds. This is with either the 150 or 170 gr loading. Some 336 rifles prefer one or the other. Bolt action rifles in high intensity cartridges are nice and definitely have their place, but the average shooter has no business shooting past 200 yds in the first place. I personally don't do it and have been shooting and hunting for years. Its just a personal thing for me. If a man has the money and can buy a new rifle to hunt with then more power to them, if they don't and have to stick with a 336 in 30-30 then don't think for a second they are not sufficiently armed. Don't let the gun mags persuade you or your buddy that you have to have a 300 mag to hunt deer. It just ain't so. As far as the leverevelution rounds go, I don't have a lot of personal experience with them. From what I do have they do extend the range of your rifle some. In most conditions it is irrelevant. It may give you an extra 50 yds or so, but the shooter has to be capable of making the shot. No ammo is going to make up for shooting ability. I have also heard some that have been dissapointed with their performance at shorter ranges.
Basically, if I was your buddy, I would hunt with that 336 with either 150 or 170 gr core lokts, keep my shots 200 yds and under and be happy. Hell 200 yds is a long way.
 
Mike

[yellowtail3]

I bought some of those new Hornady bullets when they were on sale at Dick's for 17/box. My experience: accurate, a little better than the 150gr Fed PowerShoks I usually use. Shoot to about same point of aim, surprisingly. Killed a spike and a 9 pointer this year with them, along with a coyote. I like them. Made big  holes, as good or better than the Fed softpoints.



Does OP's friend need a new bolt gun, to get more than he gets with his 30-30? Probably not. As others have mentioned, the 30-30 is already a 200 yard cartridge, and that's a looooong ways. With the new ammo... it's a solid-er 200 yard cartridge, or 250ish.