I am going to load for an old 30-30 thats been collecting dust for a long time. This rifle was given to me by my grandpa as my first deer rifle.
In the reloading manuals it says I can use pointed bullets becus my rifle is a bolt action, but I cant find much information about doing this.
Can I use the 125 gr. nosler ballistic tip? Have any of you guys loaded pointed bullets in a 30-30?
I shouldnt have to crimp these should I? I've been thinking about playing with this rifle for some time now and finaly orderd dies and a shell holder for it. My grandpa bought this rifle used and cant tell me much about it, maybee someone here can tell me a little about this model. It's a Stevens/Savage model 325-B.
Thanks Jamie

Hi
i own an old 340 savage in 3030 and load it with spitzer bullets. i load mine with 125 grain sierra pro hunter in front of 33 gr norma 202 andit gives 2300 fps in my old savage and 2400fps in my savage m24v with 24 inch barrel.the main problem is the length of magazin when i want to load a long pointed 165 gr speer or hornady i have to seat the bullet so deeply that it takes a lot of powder space. the 150 gr pbt in front of 31 gr norma 202 gives a 2200 fps,but don't forget advantages of pointed bullets. they shoot flatter and keep their energy much better at 200 yards than bluntnoses at 2400fps at same range.
regards
danny

I have loaded 125 BT's in a bolt action 788 Rem. Shot good with IMR 3031. A friend of mine used that rifle to kill several deer. Performed just fine.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight........RiverRat

Thanks for the replies, I feel better about loading pointed bullets in the 30-30 now that I've heard from guys that have done it.
What do you think about crimping? The clip with this rifle is pretty long so I dont think that will limit the length of the loads.
Jamie

"In the reloading manuals it says I can use pointed bullets becus my rifle is a bolt action, but I cant find much information about doing this."



The reason most 30-30 reloading info calls for flat nose bullets is that many 30-30's are lever action thus having a tubular magazine. Pointed bullets in a tubular magazine stacked end to end leaves the possibility of the pointed bullet stricking the primer of the cartridge forward of it and causing it to go off while in the magazine( I hate it when this happens). Bullets in a bolt action are stacked on top of each other so there is no chance of primers being set off by another cartidge. Any .308cal bullet would be safe in your 30-30 providing you have good reloading data for the load you wish to develop. Jimmy

I found the data for the old 788 using IMR 3031 with the 125 Nosler BT it is as follows:

IMR 3031 @ 34.4 grain
Winchester Brass
WLR Primer
Velocity from 22" barrel=2523 fps avg.
Accuracy averaged 1 MOA

As with all loads work up to it. This was a mild load in my rifle. There is no crimping groove on the 125 BT so don't try to do it. No need to with any 125 gr. in a bolt rifle. I would have to think that the Sierra 125 Pro Hunter would work well. Alternative powders to try:

Hodgdon 322
Vithavuori N135
Win. 748
Hodgdon Benchmark

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight.......RiverRat

Jamie,

Most load data for one bullet will apply to another as long as they are the same weight. The exception might be monolithics, molly coated's and/or solids. Pick a bullet weight, look up the data and load 'er up! As mentioned, most 30-30 data refers to non spitzer type bullets due to tubular magazines in lever actions. I wouldnt worry about crimping either. The soul porpose of the neck is to hold the bullet into place and with a few exceptions it usually does it quite well without a crimp.

[ 09-08-2003, 05:53: Message edited by: Wstrnhuntr ]

Crimping would not be needed in a bolt gun and actually will negatively effect accuracy if the bullet does not have a cannelure.

I sure wish some of the more modern guns were available in 30/30 in a bolt action. Looked at getting a ruger re barreled, but told that it involved a lot more than expected, and I did not want one bad enough to pay that much extra to have it done.
Would love to inherit a Winchester Model 54 in 30/30!

I will buy components this week and load as soon as the dies come in. I'm amazed how fast you guys responded to my questions. I'm looking foward to shooting this rifle again, the last time I shot it was in 1985 or 86. you guys know anything about my rifle model? I would realy like to know what years Stevens/ Savage made these models.
The rifle has alot of sentamental value to me.It was my first big game rifle and my see some time in the woods this fall.
Thanks Jamie

I'm sure it is a Savage 340A or 340B. Value in these parts is about $200-300 depending on condition (of course).

I just scanned so I amy have missed this in one of the posts above, but check out Contender load data in reloading manuals. Most is for spitzers, the velocity will be different from your longer barrel but it will give you data to work with. Sean

PS I had a Savage 340 as my first deer rifle. I wish I had kept it as would be good for my son to use in a few years Low recoil, scoped, and no hammer to have to cock and lower like a Win 94. Sean

Jamie;
I used to have a Stevens/Savage 325B just like the one you have, that was back in 1963! It has a curved "butter kife" type bolt handle.
This was my first big game rifle too! I got my first buck with it the first Fall I hunted with it! This was before I started reloading!
Since then I have loaded spire point bullets for friends who have the same type rifle! They all functioned great!
Good luck with your rifle and your reloading!
Chuck

I have the Savage 340 version of your gun. I shoot Sierra 125 gr, Hornady 130 gr Interlockts and Remington 125 gr PSPs - all spitzers. A Winchester 150 PowerPoint also works well. I usually use a strong load of H-335, but a lot of other powders (W-748, IMR-4064 and IMR-3031, etc.) also work very well.

The bullet that has shot the best, so far, is a 170 gr RN Corelokt over IMR-4064 - the same load I shoot in my Model 94 Winchester. Sometimes, the gun just likes something other than what you would prefer.

I get a lot of loading data for it from the pistol section of my manuals, like was pointed out above. There are 2 Hornady 130 gr, .308 spitzers, though. I get the Interlock version.

[ 09-09-2003, 01:57: Message edited by: Calif Hunter ]

The Stevens 325 (A, B, and C) was made between 1947 and 1950. Current local value is around $135 in 60% NRA condition. 100% condition with boxes and papers around $375.

[ 09-09-2003, 07:18: Message edited by: ricciardelli ]