Would I be alright using 30-30 bullets in 30-06? Just for plinking. I got alot of round nose but dont want to use my partitions to do some plinking. Just wondering Im sure Ill be fine but just making sure.

Load them and shoot them.

Of course; as pds said; shoot them; way back I had a bunch of Cal 30 M2 Ball bullets; FMJ. I needed some bullets for my 30-30; of course I couldn't use the pointy ones in a Model 94. Being a teen ager bullets were hard to come by. So I just loaded them backwards; making a flat point that expanded very well. Like really well.
Point is yours will expand well too.

I use 170grn .30-30 bullets for subsonic culling loads in .308. No reason they won't work at faster velocities on targets.

They will work on anything; but might not penetrate much so I would reserve them for varmints and maybe small deer.

they work great at 2400 fps.

Kennedy
If you would like I have alot of 180 grain Remington cor lokts I may trade for you round nose. Are they 150 or 170 grain? I need round or flat nose for my .30-30 and my stock of them is getting low.

dpcd
Now the M-2 made for a real boat tail, no the prow.
Were you able to load to full powder?
How accurate were they?

I loaded Hornady 170 grain 30-30 bullets in my 1943 03-A3 30-06 with a worn 2 groove barrel. I hunted deer with them and just downloaded them to 2400-2500 fps.

The deer didn't know they were shot and killed with a 30-30 bullet fired from a 30-06 rifle made in 1943.

Kennedy I reload some for my 300 win mag accuracy wasn't the greatest.

That 150 or 170 gr. 30-30 bullet at 2800 FPS will devastate a deer,ruin both shoulder and more..Its a poor choice for sure..great for plinking, coyotes, rabbits and fine for deer at 2300 FPS..

The design velocity for the Hornady 30-30 bullets is 1800 fps to 2500 fps. If you load them beyond their velocity limits they will come apart. These bullets have a softer lead core and it is a mistake to push any bullet beyond its design limits.

These Hornady bullets are interlock and I have never had any of them come apart in my 30-06.

I suppose if you keep your shot behind the shoulder they will work on smaller deer and perhaps mule deer, but so will a 222 with a 40 gr. bullet. bullets exploding on the shoulder are iffy at best, they wound most of the time..I don't see it as anything but a stunt and unreasonable as there are so many great bullets designed for deer and at 30-30 velocity..

Why are you shooting your deer in the shoulders? That ruins meat no matter what the bullet. I usually shoot them right behind.
How did the reversed M2 bullets shoot in my 94? Good enough to blast rocks and old plow blades in the junk pile we had on the farm.

PC

Did you get any expansion with the bullets moseying along at subsonic velocity?

How much meat do you think a deer has on its shoulder? If you want an instant kill, shoot the shoulder on any animal, use a tough bullet, that you can eat to the hole as Elmer used to say...lung shots allow the deer to run a good ways sometimes, either is an option, neither is wrong..

Ok, I am not the one who used the term "ruin both shoulders." Sounds like someone was concerned about ruining them. Can't be both ways.

Didn't future General Pershing have his troops in the Philippines reverse their .30-06 bullets to stop rebel tribesmen?

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:

How did the reversed M2 bullets shoot in my 94? Good enough to blast rocks and old plow blades in the junk pile we had on the farm.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobster:
Didn't future General Pershing have his troops in the Philippines reverse their .30-06 bullets to stop rebel tribesmen?

Pretty hard to do in the field, and the 30-06 wasn't around during the Philippine Insurrection.

Maybe it was the Krag then. Something I read long ago.

I think it's an old wive's (or soldier's) tale.

Found it. It was the British "dum dum" bullet story.

Thanks guys, yeah its just for messing for me and my son. Shooting at cans or whatever. I ain't gonna hunt with them.

I know a real goober here in town that is my youngest son's soon to be ex-boss. I have tried to help the guy learn to reload but since he already knows everything, why bother any more. The latest silliness was when he bought out an estate sale + the previous owner was a hand loader. He had beaucoup of 30 cal bullets in different weights but all listed as .308 (of course). Well, he didn't want them as he shot a 30-06 + not a 308 so I could have them. In truth I tried to explain to him what meant but as I( said he already new it all so I just took the bullets + went home.

As to reversing the bullet n the case; Capstick has a story about it. Seemed they were adrift after their vehicle was wrecked + when walking back encountered a rogue elephant. One of the fellows pulled the bullet from a 270 with his teeth I suppose + seated it backward + made a killing brain shot. I wasn't there, + this is Capstick. You decide.

As to the dum-dum theory; making insitions to quarter out a projectile was one school of thought. Another that I read about + them experimented with was the use of fulminate of mercury in the bullet's nose cone. Being in the A.C. business I had access to old thermostats that had vials of mercury in them. I never hunted with them, only played just to see what they would do. A small dollop of mercury in the hollow point of a bullet + then capped over w/ wax etc. does horrendous damage on a wet phone book simulation target. Something about the mercury giving expansive thrust + expansion; I don't know. But I do know that I would not want to be hit by one.

I remember the first 35 Whelen I had, and only 35 REm bullets were available, talk about blow up, literally a bomb..traded it off for a 350 ( a 300 H&H necked up to 358) hell of a varmint rifle, came apart on coyotes and rabbits disappeared in a red mist..Went back to the 30-06...

BTW, in the real world shooting mule deer in Rimrock country the shot can be long and generally moving and off hand unless you don't mind sitting on pear or lecheaui, the lung shot and shoulder shot are very close to each other and you take what you get, soooo, DPCD must be shooting whitetail out of a stand is my take on his post!! or perhaps he is an outstanding shot.

DPCD,
I live in Idaho, the mountains are so high the Eagles fly around them, the slopes are 45 degrees and if your side hilling and lung shoot a deer or elk, he will go two miles to the bottom of the divide more than likely and then you have a two maybe three days of boning out, spending the night on the side of a mountain which is bordering on terrible then packing the meat out, maybe two trips..bad scenario..

You have options, the brain shot, but its chancy and you may just break the jaw, spine shot, high hip shot that's not good IMO, or break both shoulders and that will keep them down, usually kills quickly if not instantly, but they can't go anywhere with both shoulders smashed...

Just an explanation as to your question why I would shoot them in the shoulder, Are you a flatlander??

Oh, I don't actually hunt anything; it is cruel to kill those little defenseless animals. I can't understand why anyone would want to do that.
And I wouldn't think if eating any part of one.
And calling someone a Flatlander is the worst thing possible; can't imagine anything more despicable that that.

I have loaded the discontinued 170 HP 30-30 bullet in a 30-06 for my granddaughter. Her dad ended up using some and killed a doe for the pot just fine. I don't have the records in front of me but I think I loaded them between 30-30 and 300 savage speed. Worked fine. Complete penetration and little meat damage. I would certainly use them again. I have about 400 left somebody in the family will. My records say 30 grains of SR 4759 for an estimated 2265 fps.