Can anyone suggest a load for my daughters first deer hunt with her Sears 100 lever action 30/30. This carbine was given to me by my brother-in-law who said it wouldn't work right. So I replaced the carrier spring and we're in business. I'm also going to shorten the stock and install a recoil pad. Anyone know of a pad that I can get spacers for to increase stock length as she grows? She is 5'8" now and not done growing, plus her younger sister will start hunting soon. She will be hunting whitetail deer at ranges out to 100 yards. For now she will be using a receiver sight. Any recommendations greatly appreciated...RW
30/30 and a young shooter
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If she's 5'8" then she ought to handle factory-equivalent loads, as long as she works up to them.
Personally I'd get some Speer 110gr. bullets and their load manual, and make up a whole mess of practice rounds with one of their load recommedations.
Then for hunting, just use the 'regular' stuff (after sighting-in, of course).
Best of luck.
Personally I'd get some Speer 110gr. bullets and their load manual, and make up a whole mess of practice rounds with one of their load recommedations.
Then for hunting, just use the 'regular' stuff (after sighting-in, of course).
Best of luck.
Hey Mike,
My wife (5' 3" kindergarten teacher) had never fired any firearm before we started to date. We acquired a Marlin 336 in 30-30, shortened the stock, shortened the barrel, shortened the magazine (three shots), and then worked up some practice loads for her to learn about her rifle. The initial load was a Speer 130 grain flatnose over 22.0 grains of H4198 for about 2000 fps. I loaded up 500 of these for learning, and then she transitioned to factory 150 grain loads for deer hunting.
Worked for us......good luck.
El Lobo in NM
My wife (5' 3" kindergarten teacher) had never fired any firearm before we started to date. We acquired a Marlin 336 in 30-30, shortened the stock, shortened the barrel, shortened the magazine (three shots), and then worked up some practice loads for her to learn about her rifle. The initial load was a Speer 130 grain flatnose over 22.0 grains of H4198 for about 2000 fps. I loaded up 500 of these for learning, and then she transitioned to factory 150 grain loads for deer hunting.
Worked for us......good luck.
El Lobo in NM
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Hi, Ravenwolf:
I don't have a .30-30 but I and the crew have taught a hundred or more kids to shoot shotguns. We use a 20 ga Beretta semi-automatic which gets the kick down to an acceptable level. One thing we don't do is start them on a stationary target. They expect to get kicked, tense up and get hurt. Start them on a flying clay so they have to say loose. Read Ross Seyfried's account of his first shot with a .577 Nitro in the last Rifle Magazine <!--emo&
--><img src="http://beartoothbullets.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=''><!--endemo-->
A young neighbour uses a Past Heraean Shield.
http://www.pastshooting.com/shields.html
Another one isn't 5'8" and she figures a 7mm Remington Magnum is about right. Mind you, she'll shoot anything if a boy is watching.
Spacers are availabe from Brownells and
http://www.precisionreloading.com/spacers.htm
Brownell's adjustable buttplates are expensive and leave a gap between the buttplate and the stock when they're extended. I don't think I'd want one if I had to wade through thick bush. That gap likely would snag every branch it could.
This outfit, which doesn't sell bullets, has an adjustable slip-on recoil pad and cheekpiece.
<a href="http://www.beartoothproducts.com/recoilkit.htm
" target="_blank">http://www.beartoothproducts.com/recoilkit.htm
</a> The average woman has narrower shoulders and a shorter neck than a man of the same height, so she needs a shorter stock than he does. She probably needs a higher comb too. A 1/2" change in length of pull is quite noticeable.
Hope this helps.
Bye
Jack
I don't have a .30-30 but I and the crew have taught a hundred or more kids to shoot shotguns. We use a 20 ga Beretta semi-automatic which gets the kick down to an acceptable level. One thing we don't do is start them on a stationary target. They expect to get kicked, tense up and get hurt. Start them on a flying clay so they have to say loose. Read Ross Seyfried's account of his first shot with a .577 Nitro in the last Rifle Magazine <!--emo&
--><img src="http://beartoothbullets.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=''><!--endemo--> A young neighbour uses a Past Heraean Shield.
http://www.pastshooting.com/shields.html
Another one isn't 5'8" and she figures a 7mm Remington Magnum is about right. Mind you, she'll shoot anything if a boy is watching.
Spacers are availabe from Brownells and
http://www.precisionreloading.com/spacers.htm
Brownell's adjustable buttplates are expensive and leave a gap between the buttplate and the stock when they're extended. I don't think I'd want one if I had to wade through thick bush. That gap likely would snag every branch it could.
This outfit, which doesn't sell bullets, has an adjustable slip-on recoil pad and cheekpiece.
<a href="http://www.beartoothproducts.com/recoilkit.htm
" target="_blank">http://www.beartoothproducts.com/recoilkit.htm
</a> The average woman has narrower shoulders and a shorter neck than a man of the same height, so she needs a shorter stock than he does. She probably needs a higher comb too. A 1/2" change in length of pull is quite noticeable.
Hope this helps.
Bye
Jack
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7,768 Posts
Hi, Ravenwolf:
This adjustable pad might be worth a look.
http://www.pachmayr.com/clsoqc.html
Bye
Jack
This adjustable pad might be worth a look.
http://www.pachmayr.com/clsoqc.html
Bye
Jack
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3,366 Posts
Ravenwolf,
In familiarizing your daughter with the rifle, confidence is the key! Let her shoot it like you would a .22. A load that I developed several years ago for this very purpose (makes a fist class small game load too) is listed below:
.310"-115g FNPB/7.0g Blue Dot/Any Large Rifle Primer/Mixed Brass/1200+/- fps.
This load came about when seeking an economical plinking load for the .30-30, looking on my powder shelf sat a lonely 8 lb. canister of Blue Dot. I reasoned that with 7,000 grains per pound, and a load of 7.0 grains would yield 1000 loads per pound, and that 8 pounder of Blue Dot would be about a lifetime supply of center-fire plinking and practice ammo. The surprise came when that load delivered a virtual ragged hole group at 50 yards with all of our .30-30's at the time, both Marlins and Winchesters as well as an NEF and Savage 24.
The key is to seat the bullet to lightly engage the lands of your rifle when chambered. A crimp isn't necessary, but if you desire one the Lee Factory Crimp Die does a first class job.
The load has the recoil of a .22 Mag rifle and the report of a .22LR! It is very economical, does not wear the barrel, and will give an unmeasurable amount of confidence to your daughter's shooting ability. Interestingly, this load shoots to point of aim in most guns out to 50 yards when sighted in with the typical 170 grain factory loads at 100 yards. It hits with the same authority as a .32-20 on target, so is no pop-gun.
The main thing is shot placement with any shooter using a .30-30 Winchester, and practice, practice, practice is the only way to instill confidence and proficiency to attain that precise bullet placement. Most shooter's flinch is from either a poorly fitted stock or the noise factor associated with the load. Let your young shooter fire a pile of these loads, and switching to factory equivelent loads she'll never know the difference in reciol when pulling the trigger on her first deer!
Of course you can tell this is my totally unbiased and objective point of view! :biggrin:
God Bless,
Marshall
In familiarizing your daughter with the rifle, confidence is the key! Let her shoot it like you would a .22. A load that I developed several years ago for this very purpose (makes a fist class small game load too) is listed below:
.310"-115g FNPB/7.0g Blue Dot/Any Large Rifle Primer/Mixed Brass/1200+/- fps.
This load came about when seeking an economical plinking load for the .30-30, looking on my powder shelf sat a lonely 8 lb. canister of Blue Dot. I reasoned that with 7,000 grains per pound, and a load of 7.0 grains would yield 1000 loads per pound, and that 8 pounder of Blue Dot would be about a lifetime supply of center-fire plinking and practice ammo. The surprise came when that load delivered a virtual ragged hole group at 50 yards with all of our .30-30's at the time, both Marlins and Winchesters as well as an NEF and Savage 24.
The key is to seat the bullet to lightly engage the lands of your rifle when chambered. A crimp isn't necessary, but if you desire one the Lee Factory Crimp Die does a first class job.
The load has the recoil of a .22 Mag rifle and the report of a .22LR! It is very economical, does not wear the barrel, and will give an unmeasurable amount of confidence to your daughter's shooting ability. Interestingly, this load shoots to point of aim in most guns out to 50 yards when sighted in with the typical 170 grain factory loads at 100 yards. It hits with the same authority as a .32-20 on target, so is no pop-gun.
The main thing is shot placement with any shooter using a .30-30 Winchester, and practice, practice, practice is the only way to instill confidence and proficiency to attain that precise bullet placement. Most shooter's flinch is from either a poorly fitted stock or the noise factor associated with the load. Let your young shooter fire a pile of these loads, and switching to factory equivelent loads she'll never know the difference in reciol when pulling the trigger on her first deer!
Of course you can tell this is my totally unbiased and objective point of view! :biggrin:
God Bless,
Marshall
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