30/30 at 200 yds....what do you think....

[Dee]

It's alright if he yells Keith. I had my hands over my ears when I read it. It didn't hurt hardly at all.

[pastorp]

Some seam to take exception to my core-lokts are premium Bullet comment. My basis for that is the performance I've had with them in many different calibers. I've been privelaged to hunt all over the usa and usually don't need to drive far, but sometimes I do. I've lived and hunted in every geographic section of our great nation. I've killed deer, elk, bear, moose, & lots of other critters with core-lokts and they always worked for me. Most were shot out of a 308 browning blr. But I've used a lot of other guns as well.

Use what you want, but I don't believe your choice will better the lowely remington core-lokt.  Honestly they all work and were just nit-pickin.

Regards,

[ki4dmh]

When the 3030 came out in 1895, IT WAS the new long range rifle. Course you didn't have gun rag writers and energy charts to tell you that you were wrong. All you had was dead game. Go figure.
This ain't a Marlin, and I hope I don't get sent to purgatory for showing it, but it "IS" A 3030, and that's the question, and it has been working for me for, 52 years many times "beyond" 200 yards, come January.
Now my point is, that if a half century plus ole Winchester will do it, I'm bettin a Marlin will too. Hell! I ain't prejudice!

You sir have a beautiful 30-30!!

[ki4dmh]

Some seam to take exception to my core-lokts are premium Bullet comment. My basis for that is the performance I've had with them in many different calibers. I've been privelaged to hunt all over the usa and usually don't need to drive far, but sometimes I do. I've lived and hunted in every geographic section of our great nation. I've killed deer, elk, bear, moose, & lots of other critters with core-lokts and they always worked for me. Most were shot out of a 308 browning blr. But I've used a lot of other guns as well.

Use what you want, but I don't believe your choice will better the lowely remington core-lokt.  Honestly they all work and were just nit-pickin.

Regards,

The Remington Core-lokt is a fabulous round. I use the 170 grain core-lokt in my 30-30.

[rickt300]

I just bought a 1966 Marlin RC carbine that is just too nice for as old as it is. I'll shoot Corelokts because the round nosed versions are very good bullets. The pointed versions not so much. I like Winchester Power Points too and I wish I could regularly find the 150 gr. Winchester HP's more often. Yes I like the 150's better as they seem to kill deer quicker for me. No problem with hogs either. On the other hand I have 200 170 gr. Corelokts just waiting to be loaded, Ok no problem.

[Dee]

Thanks Ki4d. It like me is showin some wear, but it still shoots straight.

[jlchucker]

I just bought a 1966 Marlin RC carbine that is just too nice for as old as it is. I'll shoot Corelokts because the round nosed versions are very good bullets. The pointed versions not so much. I like Winchester Power Points too and I wish I could regularly find the 150 gr. Winchester HP's more often. Yes I like the 150's better as they seem to kill deer quicker for me. No problem with hogs either. On the other hand I have 200 170 gr. Corelokts just waiting to be loaded, Ok no problem.

Nearly all of my 30-30 jacketed loads are with Corelocts or Powerpoints.  170 gr for Coreloct, 150 for Powerpoints.  I've never found any HP component bullets suitable for loading 30-30, but then again, I've never looked.  Both of what I use are plenty good.  Before they disappeared from the market, I bought me a stash of Winchester Silvertips, 170 grain--a box of 1000.  I've still got plenty of these for special occasions.  Too bad they don't sell them any more.  They were a well-made bullet. 

[rickt300]

The old tin capped silvertip was a fine bullet in the 30-30 but pretty soft out of a 30-06. I need to hunt down some brass for my 30-30, gotta start digging in my stuff.

[Coyote Hunter]

Ran some Hornady 160g FTX (gummy tip) bullets through my Marlin .30-30 336CS yesterday using loads with BL-C(2), Varget and H4895, with each loaded cartridge having a 0.5g increase in the powder charge.  (I.e. no two loads were the same.)  Accuracy was excellent (sub-MOA for several 4-shot strings) using both Varget and H4895.  BL-C-2 gave me vertical stringing but the shots were all lined up on the vertical axis, plus or minus 1/4”.

Velocities over 2200fps were easy and H4895 broke 2300fps.  I’ll probably run 2250fps. 

With a BC of .330, that will give me over 1700fps and 1,000 fpe at 250 yards with a drop of only 7.0” when zeroed for a maximum rise of 3”.

I think I’ve bought my last box of 170g Speer and Nosler bullets.

[swordfish]

C.H. or anyone else that may know. Is H4895 the same powder as IMR4895 seeing as Hodgon bought out IMR?

[brianscott12]

C.H. or anyone else that may know. Is H4895 the same powder as IMR4895 seeing as Hodgon bought out IMR?

No, they are different powders and should be treated as so. Mixing loads is not reccomended.

[pastorp]

They used to say they were, but that may have changed now. I'd call Hodgens tectional support line. Should be available online. Or check their online loading data for a compairson.

You know even with the same company & powder the burn rates change slightly with each batch. That why newer loading give different data. That and all the lawsuits, the powder co. are more conservitive now days.

Regards,

[Echo4Lima]

Made on 2 entirely different continents

[Coyote Hunter]

C.H. or anyone else that may know. Is H4895 the same powder as IMR4895 seeing as Hodgon bought out IMR?

Very definitely different, just as are IMR4831 and H4831.  Load data is NOT compatible. 

[SHOOTALL]

I have switched back and forth between both IMR4831 and H4831 and both the 4895's . In ALL cases i had to change  the charge weight from one to the other . They are very close though . In my 2506 IMR 4831 works well where the same weight of H4831 seems to open the group quite a bit . Nither load is max. so it was safe . But it does show a definate difference.

[Sweetwater]

In the IMR - H common values: the only significant difference I have found is when approaching the high end of the scale. Hodgdon's would reach the max book velocity a grain or two before the IMR powder. Not earth-shattering, but definitely significant. Sometimes one would be more accurate than the other for a particular bullet in a particular caliber or rifle. Normal loading methods will keep you out of any danger. You just need to stay aware of what you are using.

Basically Shootall +1

Regards,
Sweetwater

[ba_50]

I've killed whitetail, mule deer, pronghorn, and moose at 150 yards or less with a 30/06 or foster slugs.  A 30/30 would have done it all.

[tripper]

My bro bought a little 30-30 savage bolt back in the mid 50's and it has been killing 90 to 200 lbed. class deer erver since. Ranges have been any where from 15 yrds to over 200 yrds. And the kills have been by a veriaty of people., bors.nephews, inlaws, my kids, grandkids, and presently you wont get it out of my wifes hands. I tried to buy her a 308 last year nad she about run me out of the house.lol  She just wants more range tie so she will fell confedent at longer ranges. Take the 200 yrd. shot if you have the ability, the 30-30 does.

[w30wcf]

Teddy Roosevelt called it the "Ace" after he killed a running antelope at 180 paces with his way back in 1897.....and at that time the factory velocity was about 250 f.p.s. less than what it is today.......

In his words:
While on the cattle ranges recently, and obliged to use my rifle for fresh meat, I made quite a full trial of the .30 Winchester using a half jacket bullet, the nose being of naked lead. The bullet mushroomed on both tissue and bone, and it is as wicked shooting a little weapon as I have handled. Nothing that I struck got away. There is no recoil and no smoke; the weapon is very light and handy, and the range and penetration are excellent. On the whole I think it is the most satisfactory rifle that I have ever had. It knocks down an antelope as if the beast were hit with a sledge hammer, and I should myself, without hesitation, use it for any game in America.  The last shot I made with it was in company with a western friend, with whom I killed my first buffalo thirteen years ago. The antelope was 180 yards off, running. I struck him in the flank, the bullet ranging forward and coming out of the opposite shoulder, bringing him down before he had made another jump.   My companion came up and looked at the hole the bullet made, shook his head and said solemnly, ‘I guess that little WINCHESTER is the ace‘; and I quite agree with him. “

w30wcf

[JPShelton]

My first firearm was a Marlin 336 in .30-30.  My dad bought it for me when I was 12 years old.  I was a voracious reader as a kid, and had read plenty about the .30-30 being merely adequate out to maybe a hundred paces or so.  That same line came from more than one source.  So it had to be true.

So, one fall morning, I was sitting with one of my uncles on a little finger ridge, when a couple of mule deer does came in to view.  My uncle wispered that I needed to be on the lookout for the buck that he knew would be following along behind them.

And sure enough, there he was.  265 paces away, across the draw.  Not my little 12 year old paces, either, but my uncle's.  I was convinced that if I shot that deer, the bullets would just bounce off and not kill it.  My uncle was going to let me shoot it, but I refused.  So he took his battered old Model 94 and felled it with one shot.

We walked over to it and my uncle said, "Well, J.P., that's a damn sight better'n a football field distance, I reckon".

When it was the only gun I had, my dad let me load up some rounds with 125 grain Sierra Spitzers for open county use.  I'd have the 170's in the gun, still hunting the edge of a burn or such-like, then, when I got to my "stand", where I might shoot a fair distance, I'd jack the 170's out of the gun and load the chamber with a 125.  I shot a mule deer at 255 paces with that 125 grain handload one year, and another the following year at around 190 paces.  I could have just left the 170's in the gun and got the same result, so I gave up on the idea and just stuck with them.  I also loaded cast bullet rounds at reduced velocity and used the rifle for rabbits.  I thought it would make a mess of them at first, but it didn't. Still plenty of eatin' part left.

When I was a kid, I shot the Sierras because I grew up fairly close to their old factory in Southern California and used to buy bullets there in bulk.  When I got older, I switched to Remington Core-Lockts, which I handloaded.  I've shot more feral hogs with the .30-30 than anything.

I did kill a Utah bull elk with it at about 150 yards.  One 170 grain Core-Lokt is all it took.

I could probably do all of my big game hunting with a .30-30 lever action.  Whenever I've needed it to take game, mine has done so effectively.

-JP

[rex6666]

Teddy Roosevelt called it the "Ace" after he killed a running antelope at 180 paces with his way back in 1897.....and at that time the factory velocity was about 250 f.p.s. less than what it is today.......

In his words:
While on the cattle ranges recently, and obliged to use my rifle for fresh meat, I made quite a full trial of the .30 Winchester using a half jacket bullet, the nose being of naked lead. The bullet mushroomed on both tissue and bone, and it is as wicked shooting a little weapon as I have handled. Nothing that I struck got away. There is no recoil and no smoke; the weapon is very light and handy, and the range and penetration are excellent. On the whole I think it is the most satisfactory rifle that I have ever had. It knocks down an antelope as if the beast were hit with a sledge hammer, and I should myself, without hesitation, use it for any game in America.  The last shot I made with it was in company with a western friend, with whom I killed my first buffalo thirteen years ago. The antelope was 180 yards off, running. I struck him in the flank, the bullet ranging forward and coming out of the opposite shoulder, bringing him down before he had made another jump.   My companion came up and looked at the hole the bullet made, shook his head and said solemnly, ‘I guess that little WINCHESTER is the ace‘; and I quite agree with him. “

w30wcf

Wait Now!
you have to remember that was in 1897, antelope are a lot different now, what with
planed hunting, culing the herds and such. that 1897 bullet would prolly just bounce
off one of these new breed super speed goats.

[rex6666]

I have got to stop reading this crap.
I picked up a 45/70 handi BC this weekend and finally got around to puting
stock and scope on a 223.
Now you guys have me so pumped up on the 30-30 i will have to stop at
Cabelas on the way home a check the used gun rack.

[Sverre A.]

30-30 from a pistol with 150 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip (2000 fps) at 210 yds - did not let the Blesbok (similar size as a deer) walk more than 3 yds.

[Sweetwater]

Ain't nuthin' wrong with that!

Regards,
Sweetwater

[Old Grizz]

No problem. I have taken a few deer with my 30-30 at around 200 yards. My hunting partner took one two years ago at 265 one shot straight to the ground.

[jlchucker]

I have got to stop reading this crap.
I picked up a 45/70 handi BC this weekend and finally got around to puting
stock and scope on a 223.
Now you guys have me so pumped up on the 30-30 i will have to stop at
Cabelas on the way home a check the used gun rack.

Why not just check the used gun racks in about any decent gun shop.  Since 1895 there's been quite a few 30-30's sold, and they are still being sold--new and used.  These days it seems like the used Winchester 94's that used to hang in the back window of nearly every pickup truck in rural America have suddenly become more scarce, or have jumped in value from the classic 100 bucks to the ridiculous, but now and then a bargain can be found.  Plenty of Marlins out there, even still--and at bargain prices, too.  IMO if you buy the latter you may want to stop by the hardware store and buy a wood rasp and some sandpaper, though.  Marlin designers have long felt that the forearm requirements of a levergun dictated a tree trunk size hunk of wood.  If you rasp and sand that down to the lines of old, Pre-WWII Marlins, or nearly any Winchester, you might find you've turned your Marlin into something that feels a lot handier to carry.  That's the user's choice, though.

[K_J]

I enjoy reading these post about the 30/30. I have been reading about
the bear/deer hunters from the past using the 30/30 all the time.

The only thing they have on me, was they didn't read about it they
just used it!

[Dee]

There ya go K_J! Before gun magazines, there were magazines like FUR, FISH & GAME, and they talked about huntin, fishin, and trappin. They didn't focus on SELLING YOU A GUN, that some manufacturer had GIVEN THEM, to write the article, or their PAID FOR HUNTIN TRIP to go along with THE GUN THEY WERE GIVEN, or the AMMO THEY WERE GIVEN.
At the expense of being hammered, if you eliminate the stalk from a hunt, and you instead, sit on a ridge, stand, or mountain, with a range finder, a spotting scope, a BDC scope of large magnification, and a long range super-duper caliber rifle and shot ANYTHING, beyond 500 or 1,000 yards, is that HUNTING OR SHOOTING.
Some like to call it hunting, but if they were doing exactly the same thing to prairie dogs, they would call it SHOOTING, not hunting. JMO
I, in my youth did it both ways, but it was, what it was. I have long ago reverted back to the hunt, rather than the shoot, unless of course it is prairie dogs.
And of course it is once again. JMO

[mannyrock]

    Interesting posts.   The problem with the .30-30 is that it is almost perfect "as is."  There is nothing to "fix."  A reliable killing machine out to 200 yards, with factory ammo at about $15.00 a box.  That makes it boring!   :-)

[yellowtail3]

    Interesting posts.   The problem with the .30-30 is that it is almost perfect "as is."  There is nothing to "fix."  A reliable killing machine out to 200 yards, with factory ammo at about $15.00 a box.  That makes it boring!   :-)

Yep.