Shooters Forum banner

Favorite big game 30-30 bullet?

13K views 23 replies 18 participants last post by  Violator22 
#1 ·
For whatever big game you may hunt with a 30-30, what is your favorite bullet?
 
#2 · (Edited)
I have used both jacketed and cast - light and heavy. I have settled on the Speer 170 grain bullet as best for my conditions - generaly up close and with the deer in motion when I see it.

There are some past threads under Lever Action General where we discussed the 130 grain Speer with some hunters who have had very good luck using the light bullet on pretty good size deer. I have used the 130 grain bullet with good results but feel more comfortable with the 170 grain.


Here is a link to the 130 grain thread

http://www.shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=4151
 
#3 ·
thunderstick what do plan on exactly using your .30-30 for? Their is so many good bullets out on the market that you cannot go wrong by choosing any of them. The velocities of the venerable .30-30 will get the best of bullet performance of most bullet manufacturers in todays world.
To your question, I am an avid user of both jacketed and hardcast for this old cartridge. I tend to believe the Nosler 170 is the best performer when it comes to "big" game and when it comes to solids I prefer to use Marshalls 160 FNGC.
Clue us in on what is up.
regards,
Tim
 
#5 ·
grizz106 said:
thunderstick what do plan on exactly using your .30-30 for? Tim
I have bought my first lever-action 30-30, model 94. It will be my son's first hunting rifle. He is dead set on hunting with a lever rifle. For myself I would have left it unscoped, but he wants a scope because he would like to use it for everything he will be hunting.

He is 11 right now, so we are in the practice stages; but next year he can legally start hunting. It shoots the 170 Corelokt with 29 grains of H322 very well. The lighter bullets have more erratic groups.

So there will be one primary load for deer, bear, and whatever else we add as time goes on. I simply wondered what others liked from a performance perspective.
 
#6 ·
Interesting! Years ago (like in the late 60's) and working for Winchester-Western, I collected some diffent Mod 94's....sadddle ring carbines, take-downs, and full rifles......a few 64's. I would call out to the ammo factory at East Alton and have them send me a bag of the 190 gr roundnose Silvertip bullets they loaded in the 303 savage! Made the best Win .30-30 round I ever shot!
Oh well, those days are gone!........James
 
#8 ·
thunderstick, I am sure your son is going to get years of use out of your gift. With lots of practice and patience I am certain he will be a good shot and a very good hunter.

regards,
Tim
 
#10 ·
My philosophy includes using guns as they were designed to be used and a 30-30 levergun is a moderate range "deer rifle" at its core. I don't think you can improve much on 170 gr. Rem. CoreLokt if the particular gun shoots them well. When you stay within the comfort zone of the 30-30 (medium sized game at moderate ranges) it works well.
 
#11 ·
James Gates said:
Interesting! Years ago (like in the late 60's) and working for Winchester-Western, I collected some diffent Mod 94's....sadddle ring carbines, take-downs, and full rifles......a few 64's. I would call out to the ammo factory at East Alton and have them send me a bag of the 190 gr roundnose Silvertip bullets they loaded in the 303 savage! Made the best Win .30-30 round I ever shot!
Oh well, those days are gone!........James
James, I still have 50 of those 190 grain bullets, found a bullet maker to cast some more for me, with a little harder tip. I find the silver-tip breaks apart on large game like Elk. Les
 
#12 ·
I use factory Federal 150gr JSP for most of my deer hunting. I use Sierra 125gr JHP for coyotes, and use 150gr GCFPs for target and havelina. I use RE-7 almost exclusively nowadays. I used to use several other powders and 4320 topped the list.
 
#14 ·
Thunderstick said:
For whatever big game you may hunt with a 30-30, what is your favorite bullet?
Thunderstick
It's not for everyone,but my favorite bullet in the 30/30 is a soft paper patched cast bullet.
with a paper patch,you can get the maximum safe velocity that you can get with a jacketed bullet.
This is true in the 30/30 and not too many other rifles.
I only had one instance where I used it on a deer,but the result was awsome. I hunt dense woodlands and I had to hurry the shot because I had only a tiny window of oppertunity.Instead of hitting behind the near shoulder,as I had aimed,I hit the shoulder,and the bullet went through the deer and exited in front of the far shoulder.
This is a classic 'wounded deer'shot;and a day spent looking for it. In this case,the deer dropped on the spot. I don't knoe what actually happened;I got BOTH shoulder roasts from the butcher.A fragment of the soft bullet must have hit the spine.
In any event,in over 50 years of observing dead deer,I never saw a bullet kill so effectively,and do so little damage to the meat.
That's my kind of bullet.
Frank
 
#15 ·
If you may get a longer shot look for the new Hornady leverevolution, has a plastic (I think) tip which allows a spire point in a mag tube, for levers. It has been very accurate to 175 yards for me, in my Marlin XLR, which was the longest range available to me when I tried them. They shoot higher than any other round I have used and have been test fired to 300 yards according to the Hornady info. NO test on game yet.
 
#16 ·
I have to second what sure-shot said. The Hornady Leverevolution is a great cartridge. That bullet hit about 10 inches higher at 100 yards than did my 170 gr load. I shot a deer with it at 200 yards straight on and it never took a step, it was dead before it hit the ground. The bullet took out the aorta, some ribs and shattered the shoulder blade from the inside and then traveled between the hide and meat and lodged near the hind quarter. The retained wt of the 160 gr bullet was 129 grains. It is a great bullet for the 30-30.
 
#17 · (Edited)
My favorite 30-30 big game bullet is a 165 gr NP spitzer. I file off the spitzer (lead tip) and they weigh 160 gr. They load, feed, and are safe in the tubular mag. They shot VERY well in my Marlin!!! They work very well on the deer I have shot. ;)
 
#18 · (Edited)
MikeG said:
Anybody use the Beartooth .30 160gr. bullet? I have a few of these, and am considering using them in my Glenfield .30-30 on deer and hogs.
WHY YES!!!!!!!
I have been using them for about a year. For accuracy checkin', they hold about 1.5" at 100 using my Foremost[J.C.Penney][Glenfield] made by Marlin with a Cabela's 4x scope atop.



I'll pm you my load if'n you want it.
I loaned the gun and 5 rounds to my father last November, he came home with a nice 6 pointer taken at about 80 yards. Bullet punched right thru and was not recovered, but made a quarter sized exit hole, with a big bleed out! Dead buck after about 6 steps.

EDIT:
these also have been stellar in accuracy with my 300 savage[till I sold it] and all the .308's I own.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Ok gang;
Here's the load.
Please as with all loads, work up to it.

Beartooth 160 grain Gas check.


Winchester or Remington brass/ CCI LR primer.


29 grains of Hodgdon 4895, seated to cartridge length.
32 grains of IMR 4064, seated again, to cartridge length.

nuthin special about either, just loaded by hand in my Lee press using an old set of Bonanza dies.


both of these are the loads that developed the greatest accuracy out of that Foremost/marlin with a microgroove Barrel. The 4064 load really shined over the 4895 in relation to tighter groups.

Both the loads also work in my winnie 94 pretty well, but as it has no scope, the best I could get was 3 inches at 100 with Williams open firesights and my tired old eyes.

The Foremost has a much better trigger also.

EDIT!!!!!

I'll also add the 300 savage load that got me the best groups, along with the .308 Win. recipe:

300 Savage

160 BTB bullet IMR 4064 powder 36.0 grains with a length of 2.60"

308 winchester

160 BTB bullet IMR 4064 powder 40.0 grains with a length of 2.810"

Again, these have worked best for me.
The 300 savage load was picky in the gun, but I don't have the gun any more.

The .308 load shoots well in all my .308s:
Savage 99
Browning BLR Shot best group..... 1.2" at 100. Gun has an old Kollmorgan 2.75x scope.
Remmie 700 bdl
M1a national match
.308 Garand
FR-8
 
#23 ·
James Gates said:
Interesting! Years ago (like in the late 60's) and working for Winchester-Western, I collected some diffent Mod 94's....sadddle ring carbines, take-downs, and full rifles......a few 64's. I would call out to the ammo factory at East Alton and have them send me a bag of the 190 gr roundnose Silvertip bullets they loaded in the 303 savage! Made the best Win .30-30 round I ever shot!
Oh well, those days are gone!........James
Hawk bullets makes a 190 gr flat nose. They use pure copper jackets with pure lead cores. They list it with their 150 gr and 170 gr flat nosed bullets. http://www.hawkbullets.com/Pricelist.htm
 
#24 ·
NonPCnraRN said:
Hawk bullets makes a 190 gr flat nose. They use pure copper jackets with pure lead cores. They list it with their 150 gr and 170 gr flat nosed bullets. http://www.hawkbullets.com/Pricelist.htm
This is just what I have been looking for, now I can get some 190's and make my 99 sing again, Thanks, never heard of the guys. Les
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top