round nose bullets in 30-30 lever

[hillbill]

i purchased some bulk 30 cal round nose bullets at the last gun show i went to, when i started to load them in my 30-30 brass it occurred to me that ive never used these in a lever gun before and my books only show flat nose bullets. when in the mag of a lever gun the contact patch of the bullet on the primer of the following shell will be pretty small, similar to a more pointed bullet.has anybody here used round nose in a tube mag gun without problems?

[LaOtto222]

Round nosed bullets were used in the 30-30 before the flat points. To go further, it takes a rather sharp strike with a small diameter object to set off a primer. Do not use ballistic tips in your ol' lever, or you may get some unwanted fire works.

[jd45]

hillbill, you just answered your own question, in a roundabout way, by saying the contact patch of a RN is, practically speaking, the same as that of a spirepoint. I would say it's not advisable to use them in a tube mag rifle, IF you want to stay healthy. jd45

[Grumulkin]

Round nosed bullets were used in the 30-30 before the flat points.

Very true.

[sui generis]

I would point out that Remington sells round-nose bullets *specifically* for the .30-30.

[Graybeard]

Most .35 Remington rounds are fired in lever action rifles. Pretty much all of them factory loaded and most hand loads use round nose bullets. I've never heard of a problem using them. The general advice on tube fed lever rifles is to use flat or round nose bullets not spire points. I've used more round nose than flat nosed bullets in my lever guns and never had a problem.

Personally I think it's more old wife's tales than fact and do not worry about it myself. Lotsa folks worry about it but I'm not one of them. Just avoid the spitzers and use RN or FN is my personal policy.

[fastbike]

That's news to the Leverlution folks.

Round nosed bullets were used in the 30-30 before the flat points. To go further, it takes a rather sharp strike with a small diameter object to set off a primer. Do not use ballistic tips in your ol' lever, or you may get some unwanted fire works.

[jhalcott]

  Quite a few years ago, after the .444 came out, I heard of a gun blowing up due to the owner NEVER removing unfired ammo. He just "topped" off the magazine with fresh ammo. Apparently the nose of the 2nd bullet was deformed enough to set off the last round in the magazine, by repitive recoil. I have looked for this info but can't find it. It does not sound quite right to me, BUT I was not there to see the test to determine the cause of that blow up. some one hammered a bulleted round into the rear of another case till the lead deformed. NEITHER round had powder in them. I do see that NEW .444 ammo has a hollow point.??

[Questor]

Round nose bullets are still widely available as loaded factory ammo. Federal, for example, makes it as round nose softpoint. Historically, roundnose bullets have been used for 30-30 extensively. I don't like the idea, but that's the reality.