hello all,

i have my first hog hunt coming in about 2 weeks in southern texas, just east of san antonio.

i plan on using my open sight 30-30 lever action, as most of the hunting is spot and stalk, and really dont want to try and use my heavy barreled .243. so my question is what is a good factory load to use for hog hunting. i really dont want to buy dies and brass, as this will be about all i will be using the 30-30 for.

any help will be much appreciated.

thanks

I'd pick a 170gr bullet and keep your shot within 100yds. You should be fine. If you need some research reading, try going to http://www.marlinowners/board and select the 336 forum. Read through that, ask a few questions, and you should get the answer you're looking for. There are many many experienced and knowledgeable folks there that are more than willing to help.

I believe it is Federal who makes .30-30 ammo with a 170 gr Partition. That would be my choice. If not that, then I would use 170 Remington Corelokts, realizing though that they are designed for deer and not tougher hogs over 200 pounds.

Calif. hunter is spot on with his advice.
I see Midway has the Federal Nosler Partition 170gr. load listed for under $23 per box.

Federal .30-30

Best of luck,
Kyler

Federal Nosler Partition 170gr are fine, try to stay within 100yds.

Good luck hunting Hogs, there good to eat and fun to hunt.

Roland

The Remington 170 grain RNCL bullet will work fine with any good hit on "ANY" feral hog. The comment that this bullet is "only designed for deer" is crap, this bullet works perfectly at 30-30 velocities and kills numerous elk every year. Don't hesitate to take solid shoulder shote either but the heart and lungs are a bit farther forward and lower than a deer's. I like to shoot at the hogs elbow or a bit above it to damage both heart and lungs. Go to www.graybeardoutdoors.com and check out the hog forum with a search for Howie's posts or the 30-30.

Whatever off-the-shelf loads your gun likes will be just fine for hogs, whether that's 150's or 170's. Nosler Partitions are excellent, but are totally unnecessary in at .30-30 velocities.

In other words, shoot what your sights are set for, and don't go messing with some "special" load.

Good luck and have fun!

thanks for all the help guys!!

rickt, i found howies posts, very informative and helpful. i now feel very comfortable taking my 30-30. I have done some target shooting recently, and can hit a pop can in the 40 yd range, so i think i should be ok. Will try and keep the running shots to a minimum if possible.

thanks again, and hopefully will have some pictures to post in a few weeks.

A lot of hog hunting in Texas is done watching feeders after dark and this is where a scope comes in handy along with either a remote controlled light or one that attaches to the scope. I am a huge fan on neck shots on hogs so my reloads are generally topped with one of the 150 grain bullets that also give good performance on chest hits. I am getting ready for a hog hunt myself. I made a rub sight the hogs are hitting and have a scent dripper with sow in heat scent working right now as we speak. I won't be able to use a rifle on this hunt but my 20 gauge shooting Brenneke slugs will get the job done. I am waiting for a couple of real cloudy nights before I get in my stand.

Any 150 or 170 gr. Factory round works fine on hogs...I probably prefer the 170 gr., but not by a lot....I like the Fed., Rem Corelokt or Win ammo about the same.

I would take a scoped rifle and your 30-30 unless you know for a fact they won't let you night-hunt like rickt200 suggests.

I have an old marlin 336 that I installed a receiver sight on, and love it. I reload almost everything I shoot, but I bought a box of winchester 170 gr. for the 30-30 and they shoot under moa in my marlin. Kmart had them on sale for $4.99 a box, so I bought a case, I could hardly reload for that price. I recently shot a 175 pound hog at around 60 yards; one head shot and had pork ribs today for lunch. at the ranges I shoot my 30-30 I like the heavier bullet. My .02
Good luck and good shooting,
Eterry

I found some 30-30 170gr hollow point

mess maker

maybe you can try