Author Topic: 30-30 Handi range report  (Read 1100 times)

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Offline Deerhunter#1

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30-30 Handi range report
« on: August 04, 2011, 06:25:47 AM »
Well my new favorite gun just got better(30-30). I wanted to load it doww so I have been working with 3 different powders trying to get 130 hor sp bullets to fly with not get results. I bought the leverlution powder and FTx 160 bullets to start relaoding them in my lever gun but have yet to start. that being said I had 3 factory rounds left and decided to run them through the handi. Great reults as you can see. There is conflicting load data from hornady and Hodgan for loading these bullets. has anyone opened one up to see how much powder is actually in there?

Offline Junior1942

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2011, 10:52:02 AM »
Hey, if you'd reduce the size of that photo by 1/2 or more we might could see it!

Offline quickdtoo

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2011, 10:59:45 AM »
Nice shootin!!  ;)

How's that Junior!  ;D

Tim
"Always do right, this will gratify some and astonish the rest" -  Mark Twain

Offline Blackhawker

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #3 on: August 04, 2011, 11:41:49 AM »
Nice group!  Is that 50 yards or 100 yards? ...open sights, scoped??

Offline Deerhunter#1

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2011, 12:02:37 PM »
100 yards. I couldn't fight the suspence of knowing how much powder was in the factory ;loads so i went and bought another box. As shown on the bottle 35.5 is what is in the case and it is compresed. Hornady actually lists 37 as the max but I have no idea how they would get it in there. couldnt fit any more powder if I wanted to get the same col. I just tumbled  100 hornady cases just have to load them up. That should take me up to hunting season. This makes my opening day gun choice even harder.

Offline quickdtoo

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2011, 12:09:18 PM »
Hodgdon uses Win brass in their data, Hornady uses Hornady/Frontier brass which likely has a little more capacity... IE thinner brass, you'll find that all brass isn't the same and one more reason to use start data when working up loads specially when changing component brands.  ;)

Tim
"Always do right, this will gratify some and astonish the rest" -  Mark Twain

Offline BluDino

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2011, 03:45:53 AM »
     I tore down a 160 FTX factory round back in April for the very same reason you were wondering about it. Conflicting data from Hornady and Hodgdon. 
The factory charge was 34.8 grains, appeared to be compressed, and the powder looked very much like the Hodgdon powder.  The Hornady box sez this charge equals 2400 fps.  The Hodgdon cannister shows 35.5 gr (c) for 2389 fps. I split the difference  and used 35.0 grains in Hornady cases.  Results?  Wouldn't hit the broad side of a barn in my H&R.  They won't even group.  The cases don't show pressure signs that I can see but they definitely act overcharged.
     I have not tried them in my Marlin yet but I am not optimistic.  The factory ammo in my 30-30 Marlin is extremely accurate, half an inch at 100 yards and I have a one hole three round group of .075" at 50 yards.  My H&R does not like them as well.
     The other side of this is that I tried the same trick with the 35 Rem in my other Marlin and they group much better than factory.  Go figger.         
     The whole point of this exercise was to try to reproduce the wonderful accuracy and speed of the factory loads but so far I have not succeeded and I do not have a chronograph so that's about all I can do except load them down and that would defeat the purpose. 
"Yes amusing, a man ACTING like an Ape."----Doctor Zaius

Offline av-doctor

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #7 on: August 12, 2011, 04:58:14 AM »
factory shot good? why not try 34.8 first

Offline PeterCartwright

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #8 on: August 12, 2011, 07:44:04 AM »
Thanks for the report, Deerhunter!  I haven't even tried the wunderammo in my Handi.  I may have to.  Marlin's new stuff prints scary good in my Marlin 30AS, but I've never used it in the field.  Fact is, plain Jane 150 gr. factory Corelokts shoot so well in the Handi, I haven't spent much time trying to improve on them.  (They work very well on whitetails, too!)


More than a decade ago, I loaded up some (now extinct) 150 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips for the Handi .30-30.  They worked O.K. both on paper  (a bit less than 2" if memory serves)  and on the one buck I shot, but my handloads couldn't keep up with the factory Remingtons on paper.


PC

Offline av-doctor

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #9 on: August 12, 2011, 10:04:28 AM »
150gr nosler bt extinct nobody told me, Midway still sells them

Offline quickdtoo

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #10 on: August 12, 2011, 10:17:26 AM »
He probably meant the solid base which are extinct except for seconds that show up once in a while.

Tim
"Always do right, this will gratify some and astonish the rest" -  Mark Twain

Offline PeterCartwright

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #11 on: August 12, 2011, 12:45:16 PM »
He probably meant the solid base which are extinct except for seconds that show up once in a while.

Tim


That's exactly it.  Sorry.  My poor memory.  Maybe that's not even what they were called?  It was before the days of poly tips.


PC

Offline Deerhunter#1

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #12 on: August 12, 2011, 12:52:20 PM »
Well as mentioned my factory cases opened was 35.4-.5 grains of powder. I will now tomorrow as I am heading to the range with the load matching the factory accept whe primer which is a cci. I will be really surprised if it doesnt shoot well but we will see.

Offline av-doctor

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Re: 30-30 Handi range report
« Reply #13 on: August 13, 2011, 05:37:26 AM »
sry my bad i thought you meant current production was stopped on the 150bt's,i was thinking of trying them but decided on the 125bt's instead i figured i could push them a little faster ie flatter.
  correct me if i'm wrong you refer to the ones with the heavier bases or should i say heavier jackets,that they redesigned after complaints of little or no expansion at lower velocities