I have always favored the 150-grain Remington C-L for the 30-30, but after developing a fair load using 150-grain Hornady RN I like them along with the CL.
This is a 100-yard target, shot with a 30-30 Marlin, the top two holes with my Wal Mart special 150-grain Remington C-L. I bought a number of boxes on sale. The lower two are my reloads using the 150-grain Hornady RN. This was shot using my old Weaver 4X.
At this point my load of choice was the 150-grain Remington C-L. For years I have had a supply of 150 and 170 grain factory loads from Winchester, Federal, and Remington. When I head out for a hunt the rifle was loaded with Remington C-L.
Most of the manufactures have the 30-30 bullet down pat. I have recovered or been present when others have recovered 30-30 bullets from deer. The Remington C-L always presents a classic mushroom with good weight retention.
This is a two load target with the Hornady LeveRelution 160-grain factory loaded ammunition at the top. The high one was my doing because I did not know for sure where I was with the new ammunition. After the shot I adjusted accordingly. I bought six boxes of the factory loads and they will be my hunting load. The bottom group is with my reloads, using the Hornady 150-grain RN. This is a 100-yard target. Either will do for deer but the 160-grain factory load extends the range. I also replaced the old Weaver with a new Burris 2-7X scope.
The 30-30 is not difficult to reload but over the years I am aware of more failures with 30-30 reloads than any other round. Looking back the majority of these involved first time reloaders. The primary problem is failure to properly crimp bullet and no powder charge.
My old Lyman All-American 30-30 dies produce great reloads, and a fine roll crimp, but after visiting hundreds of deer camps and hearing the woes about bullet set back in a magazine or when the hunter drops a round I purchased a Lee Factory Crimp die for my 30-30 loads.
