150 or 170 grain bullets in .30-30

[ChrisK]

I recently bought a .30-30 I thought about taking it with me next year when I go black bear hunting. I don't know if it would be my main weapon or not. I would like to use my bow but I am not so torn that I would not use a firearm. I would like to take both. Just in case the bears get hung up outside the bait or when it comes time to track it. I have a couple people tell me that it doesn't matter. I figure I would try and get as many folks opinion on it.
I could take my Weatherby but I have a 6.5-20x scope on it. I am not really planning to put a scope on my .30-30.

[cwlongshot]

I always liked the 170's and then I prefered the Hornady bullet in a hand load to all others...

I think the 150 is more popular, because many people think the "speed" of the 150 is superior... I disagree.

CW

[mauser98us]

I always liked the 170's and then I prefered the Hornady bullet in a hand load to all others...

I think the 150 is more popular, because many people think the "speed" of the 150 is superior... I disagree.

CW

Ditto inboth the 30-30 and 32 special 170's work better,unless using a cast boolit,which I go heavier.

[Couger]

I always liked the 170's and then I prefered the Hornady bullet in a hand load to all others...

I think the 150 is more popular, because many people think the "speed" of the 150 is superior... I disagree.    CW 

Want to add my "ditto" here too.
 
I AM NOT fond of the dirty-30, but if I was using it under 100 yards with open sights would use 170 grain bullets too!  Handloads I would make with Speer 170 grainers .....
 
I have never killed a black bear but helped pack out a couple.  They are not that hard to kill however, and anything over 300lbs is beginning to be a 'big' black bear!  .30 cal 170's will work fine.

[Dee]

I've been shootin the same 3030 for 54 years. I tried all the bullets and weights I could get my hands on, includin the 150s and 170s. I settled years ago on the 150 grain jrn at 2400fps. I'll take anything walkin on with it, and beyond 100yds out to 300yds doesn't bother me a bit. Animals are no harder to kill now, than they were a hundred and fifty years ago. Back then they just didn't have bullet charts, and ballistic coefficients, and gun rag writers to tell them they were wrong.
And no, I don't use a scope. I have a post front, and a Marbles tang, since my eyes changed a few years ago. Works like penicillin used to.

[geartow]

I would use which ever ammo weight shot the best in the fire arm i was taking afield. Personally I have found Federal blue box 170 to be cosistant in my half dozen 30/30s

[BBF]

If it came to tracking a wounded bear there is no(civilian) rifle that would beat a 12 gauge shotgun with 00 shot !
 
As for the rifle ammo  I'd go with the heavier bullet.

[mcwoodduck]

I have settled for the 170 grain round nose bullets for my 30-30.
I like the slower bullet and the slightly heavier and longer 170 grain bullet.
I think the 30-30 got the Brush buster reputation due to the round nose heavy for caliber bullet that transfres energy, makes a large hole and causes suffucient blood loss and shock to knock the animal down and they do not run far if at all.
Good luck on your hunt.

[BBF]

There is no such thing as a civilian brush busting bullet.

[HogFan]

I've shot just about every thing from my .30-30, and have settled on 150 gr. Remington Cor-lockts. For one, I am well stocked up on them as my uncle gave me 5 boxes before he died, as he worked at the Remington ammo plant and got them for $1 a box.  I do have some 170 gr. ones as well, and they shoot exactly 1" lower at 100 yards than the 150's do.  I bought a box of the blue box federals, but could not get consistent groups, so back to the cor-lockts I went.

[yellowtail3]

For one, I am well stocked up on them as my uncle gave me 5 boxes before he died, as he worked at the Remington ammo plant and got them for $1 a box. 

wish I'd been friends with your uncle!


I've shot everything in my 30-30; not a dramatic diff. I've killed deer with 150/170 Corelokts, 150/170 Federals, 150 PP Winchesters, and with the gummy-tipped hornadys. The Hornadys and Winchesters grouped tightest. I'm using Win 150gr PP this year.


couldn't tell a great deal of diff on the deer; where I hit made much more diff than what I hit with (see sig line...

[BBF]

I've never had a 30-30. The closest I come to it in terms of performance would be the 35 Rem. I've used just about all of the factory ammo available and  then some handloads. The factory stuff performed so similar that it made no difference.
At the end of my shooting time with this rifle before passing it on to my daughter I had settled on the 220 gr Speer  bullet

[Ranger99]

never shot a bear, and the caribou have
been scarce here in texas since the drought.
i've shot a mess of feral hogs, if that counts.
the porkers i've popped couldn't tell any
difference between 150's or 170's, they
just expired, and made their way into ziplocks.
i load 150's mainly because of local availability,
but if you feel better with 170's and are more
accurate with them, that is the way for you to go.
if i were set on using the 170's, i'd get the nosler
partitions, and not look back. shouldn't be anything
in north america that can shrug off one of those.


good luck

[pastorp]

Yes Ranger I bet the caribou have been scarce in Texas since the drought.   .

Regards,

[RevJim]

 When I was a kid, in SE Texas, everyone I knew used the 150gr, in any make. It was felt the 170 was too tough and killed slower than the 150. Granted, these were small deer and everyone shot hogs behind the ear, so no matter.
Every Marlin 336 I ever had ( 3) shot the 170's better ( and the Speer 170 hotcor is awesome in a 30-30 Ackley Improved I gave a friend)  I even loaded up some Hawk 190 soft nose in a standard 30-30 at 170 speeds. never killed anything with them, but they shot swell. Only problem I ever had with the 30-30 was one year I tried (in a Mod 94, when I was a teen) the Winchester 150 Hollow Point. It didn't open up well, but I got my deer by breaking it down, neck shot finisher.
 That speer 170 HotCor is one tough bullet, from what I saw what it did to a 300+ pound hog my friend shot, it would work swell on elk. It may be too tough on deer w/o a shoulder shot. Good luck to you!

[mcwoodduck]

There is no such thing as a civilian brush busting bullet.

I said got the reputation of brush busting.
I really think the "Brush Buster" rounds all have a few things in common.
Round nose, Heavy for caliber and slow.  I think these have more to do with transfering energy and knocking down an animal that going through brush.  The faster lighter bullets will zing through an animal and not cause the shock needed to knock them down. 
I think similar hits with a150gr  Pointed bullet and a 170  round nose out of the same case will result in differt effects on an animal.  The hits cna be in the same place but the shock of the round nose at close range will down the animal and make it easier to find where as the lighter faster bullet will still kill just the animal has run 70 yards through the woods and the hunter looses or never sees a blood trail.   We all know that a twig will send either bullet off on weird angles an that there is no such thing as a brush busting bullet.

[Ranch13]

What it will come down to is which bullet weight shoots best in your rifle.I've shot all manner of stuff from coyotes to elk and can tell no difference between the 150's and 170's in effectiveness.
If you're a reloader pickup a box of speer 150's and 170's I've found those to be the best for accuracy, and velocity in my rifles.