Would anyone care to discuss the different kinds of bullet performance they've seen from leveractions? 30/30, 307, and 45/70 are the main things I shoot. I have recovered bullets from washers and dryers that I shoot at, but not often. And its not really the kind of test media I would consider to give game like performance. I have reloaded in the past but no time and space don't allow me that pleasure right now. I am collecting reloading equipment for when time/space is available I can be ready to go. I am interested in the Barnes X, Nosler, Hornady, and Remington line of FN and RN. I've read somewhere that someone got different performace from 170grfn bullets of, I think, Hornady and Speer. It seems like at top velocities the Hornady held together better than the Speer. But I'm not 100% certain. When shooting water jugs my mini 30 does not give the performance that my 30/30 gives. Water spray with the 30/30's 150gr bullet is greater then the smaller 125gr mini 30. And the same can be compared to the 30/30 vs 307 and 307 vs 45/70. Of course bullet recovery is possible in a singular jug. But sometimes the Remington 405's don't pass all the way thru a washer/dryer but haven't recovered any bullets yet. I got a surprise this past fall by shooting a Remington 399grhp at a stick of firewood about 4 inches thick and the bullet did not exit. Bulgded the off side but didn't pass thru, didn't recover the bullet then, should have. Anyone care to share what performance you get at by caliber and velocities?

30-30 does its best work under 2400 fps if standard flat nosed bullets are used. They produce predictable mushroom effect and lethal wounds. Don't make the mistake I did once; hand loaded Speer's 165 gr pointed boat tail bullet. At 30-30 velocity, it drilled a tiny hole through a medium sized doe and took me and a trained Airdale awhile to find the animal. This doe travelled approximately 350 yards before toppling over. The trouble was not with Speer's product but rather the impact velocity which was too slow for proper performance.

In contrast, Sierra 125 grain bullet is designed for varminting with .308 or 30-06. But at 30-30 velocity, it behaves like a big game bullet and will hold together quite well. Of course, when using pointed bullets in a lever action, the cartridge should be loaded singley to prevent tube magazine disasters.

I've had very good lethal performance from Sierra, Hornady, and Speer 170 grain flat nosed bullets. They're built specifically for 30-30 velocity. 150 grain bullets by all the companies open up a little faster and for this reason perhaps a faster killer on straight-through-the-ribs shots. One exception is the 150 grain Silver Tip by Winchester. This unique bullet practically explodes through a deer at fairly close range but penetrates all the way through at longer distances. Its a good bullet ignored by many hunters.
TR

I have never been able to recover a bullet from any animal that I shot with a lever gun, the animals all agreed that the bullets performed well though. ;)

I have never been able to recover a bullet from any animal that I shot with a lever gun, the animals all agreed that the bullets performed well though. ;)

Same here! Can't find those darn bullets... :D

I took a 350gr Hornady (45-70) out of a bear. Smashed the shoulder and mushroomed very nicely. Lost a little jacket. but not much. I've used 300 grain Barnes X bullets also on bear, but have never recovered one.

Not a lever, but my son took a bear w/ a 30-06 using 200 gr Swift A-frames. Again a shoulder shot. That A-frame was mushroomed out to gun magazine perfection. My neighbor found it in a bear roast we gave him.

I've never shot the Winchester Silver tips for a 30/30. I shot the 225gr silver tip from my 45 Colt and results were horrible. But that is two different types of bullets and I don't think construction is near the same.

There are a couple of guys over on www.marlinowners.com that have shot the 350grfn completely thru steel plates. Thick steel plates!

Everything I shot at can be taken with factory rounds. It's been years since I've shot anything with my 30/30 but the last rabbit I hit with it there was not much left of it. I hit it high in the sholders taking a hugh chunk out of it. And I couldn't tell you what bullets I was using.

Haven't recovered a bullet, either.. from my 375 Win (220 Hornady) or from my friends 307 (170 Nosler partition).
Had a 220 Hornady penetrate a deer almost end to end last fall- entered the front (deer facing me) and the exit just in front of the right ham. Makes me wonder if the 220 Hornady is a bit on the stiff side for a deer.....

In 40 years deer hunting I have shot a bunch of deer (stopped counting over 10 years ago at #120), and probably 60% of them have been with the .30-30 in various Marlin 336s. Probably 90% of those were shot with the Remington 170 gr. CoreLokt factory load, the ranges being anywhere fron just off the muzzle to around 150 yards. I've never lost one shot with this load, and only fired more than one shot at one deer, which turned out not to be needed.

Out of all those deer, I can only recall recovering two bullets -- one that was hit squarely in the middle front of the chest with the bullet ending up in the paunch, and a second shoulder-hit at 120 or so yards with the bullet ending up just under the hide on the far side.