Fellas

I have a real nice 788 in 30-30 and I want load some 125gr ballistic tips, should I be thinking about powders in the faster burning part of the spectrum like 322, Re 7, or something like 748, IMR4895. FS

I can't see where it would hurt. Without having to worry about the problem caused by pointed bullets in tubular magazones you should have some room to play around with both bullets and powders.

Please let me know how it works out for you. I've been loading 125 Sierra's and 130 Hornady's using 3031 in my 788. My results have been mediocer at best. You have to seat the bullets pretty deep to fit the magazine. I haven't tried running them single shot yet.

Well Taylor

I'll sure to skip past the 3031 data. I believe I will try the reloder 7 and 322.
The Sierra manual edition V give a hole pile of powder choices for 125gr as does the Speer manual for a 130gr. FS

I'd still like to know what you find out. I haven't had time to play with much in mine, but I had 3031 on the bench the day I loaded up the ammo. It shot it ok around 1.5-2" groups, but I picked up some factory 150 silver box Winchester ammo to sight in with first. It shot that into sub 1" groups with a 4X scope at 100 yards. I grabbed as well the Horandy Leverevolution ammo to try to see if I'd buy the bullets to load and it really liked that as well.

I think the main problem might be the really long jump to the lands with light bullets in this rifle. With these bullets you get awful close to seating the ogive inside the neck on the 130 Hornady's. I really think the flex tip bullets from Horandy might be your best option in this rifle unless you run single shot.

I've used the 130 gr Hornadys in a Savage 99 lever with the rotary magazine. Pointed bullets can be used without problems in the Sav 99,Sav 340 bolt and the Rem 788 bolt. I used 3031powder and filled several doe tags.

I loaded up some for a friend's wife's 340 Savage...

used RL 7 with 110 grain HP, SPs and 125 Ballistic Tips and 130 grain FNs...

great velocity, stellar accuracy..

one rifle on my short list of special ones I'd love to have is a mint Model 54 in 30/30...

quote:

Originally posted by seafire/B17G:
one rifle on my short list of special ones I'd love to have is a mint Model 54 in 30/30...

Got myself one last year, it came with a very nice Lyman long slide receiver sight. Sweet!

I also have a Stevens 325 which is a hoot too.

Great post Todd

I just grabbed a 30-30 mag and with a factory round it is very tight. Amazing how long a 125gr ballistic tip is compared to one other flat point bullets.
I have some 4064 powder, now I'm wondering if I have a correct shell holder to fit the Hornady case prep center. That drill press style trimmer works well at removing large amounts of brass.
I may just buy a box or 2 of leverevolution as I can see that the brass prep is going to take some time. FS

When I was in my late teens, my best friend and I walked out of the local JC Penny's with a couple of Winchester 94s they had on sale for $79. We tried them out with factory ammunition but it didn't take long for us to discover reloading. With our two rifles, a pile of bullets and primers, some powder, and a couple of Lee Loaders we set about doing just about everything that could be done with a 30-30 cartridge. With long pointed bullets the 30-30 cartridges wouldn't feed from the magazine so we had to use our rifles as single shots. Shorter pointy bullets would feed but, to avoid accidental discharge of cartridges in the magazine, we had to use the rifles as double-shooters. That is, one in the chamber and one in the magazine.

One of our favorite bullets to load was the Sierra 110gr hollowpoint. They were extremely accurate, even in our rattly post-1964 Winchesters. We estimated the bullets to be screaming out of our little rifles so fast they they would explode upon contact with just about anything. To test our theory we decided to shoot the base of a very large palm tree in my San Fernando Valley backyard and measure the penetration depth. I shot one of our 110gr handloads into the palm tree at a point where it was about three feet in diameter. My friend then took a foot-long twig and poked it into the hole. To our surprise the twig met no resistance. He then tried a stick twice as long. It too met no resistance. I tried a very, very long stick and it just kept going and going into the hole. As I was doing this my friend started laughing. There I was, trying to measure the depth of penetration, while the stick was poking out the far side of the tree. The bullet had completely penetrated. We looked around and located the bullet lodged sideways into a wooden fence behind the tree - intact and unexpanded. Apparently those bullets were made to expand at higher velocities and/or upon tougher materials than we had subjected it to.

Sierra still offers those 110gr .30 caliber hollowpoint bullets. My Sierra manual list loads with velocities as high as 2800fps out of a Winchester 94. If you want to shoot some very accurate bullets in your .30-30 bolt rifle, I suggest you give them a try.

I have used Varget in the 30-30 with pointed 150 Sierra spitzers. With great results. I also use it behind flat noses for NRA Lever Action Silhouette. It works very well.

Gents

Todays test will be with the Sierra 110gr with 322, Re 7, 4064.

I did buy a shell holder to trim some brass for the 125gr bullets.
Regards Greg

I've found that H322, RL7 and H335 are the better powders for top performance with 125 - 130 gr bullets in the 30-30 while keeping within SAAMI specs for that cartridge. They are also the better powders for loading a little above SAAMI specs if you've a rifle that can handle that; Rem 788 comes to mind.

Larry Gibson

i ve had good luck with 3031 and 748 with 125 grain bt and sierra 125 pointed but i shoot a handirifle so length isn t an issue good velocity and decent accuracy

My standard load for a lever action 30-30 was 34.5 gr of IMR 4895 with a Winchester 150 gr FBSP. Very accurate load. I think it may be a little hot by todays tables but it always worked for me.

Just a hunter. The rifle maybe a stronger design than a lever action but the case is a possible weak spot for exceeding SAMII specs.
Leo

Looking at the various replies and my own response, the point brought up in the preceeding response about the limitations of the case being a limiting factor may be more important than given credit for.

Jsutahunter: Great solution for loading in the 340. Crazyhorse: Don't overlook LeveRevolution powder.

Single loading even in a lever action...

110 grain Sierra Hps and RNs
plus don't overlook the 110 grain V Max...

as pointed out by Grenadier, those bullets at 30/30 velocities are different bullets than out of a 308, 300 Savage or bigger...

they act more like a big game bullet in the 30/30s...

myself I am looking around for a used NEF single shot in 30/30..

I would load it just like a lever gun, the 30-30 bullets are velocity specific and they have improved for that caliber for many years, at least from a hunting big game standpoint, to the point of perfection..

As to trajectory, the difference in trajectory between a RN, FN or boattail Spitzer at 30-30 velocities can be measured in fractions up to any range..You can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear comes to mind..There isn't a better caliber for its intended purpose IMO and thats to shoot deer at 150 yards..Your bolt gun might get you better accuracy as a rule but even at that the 30-30 is a second rate varmint gun for most use..

Its a great gun, but I would bet on improving it a hell of lot, unless it just makes you feel better...

Saskatchewan and Alberta at one time in the 1960s and 70s seemed to be floating on Model 54s chambered for .30-30. As a result I have owned several of them, most of them pretty much in minty condition.

I suspect they were almost all pretty much mint because it becomes clear pretty quickly they won't do much that a Winchester, Marlin, Stevens, or Mossberg lever action won't do, in practical hunting terms. Loading them hot as hell still doesn't make them into the equivalent of a warm loaded .308 rifle of similar strength. They are not nearly as handy as a car, horse, or pickup gun as a lever action .30-30 carbine is, either.

True, one can load pointy 125 or 130 grain bullets in them and get a somewhat flatter shooting load, but so what? That stretches the "point blank" range how much? Maybe 25 or 35 yards? That usually isn't needed in the woods, and isn't enough to matter on the prairies. And it is a load you can't use interchangeably in your tube magazine rifle(s) if you want them to still be repeaters, so is unhandy to have around in that respect.

They ARE lovely bits of workmanship, and are fun to own from that pont of view, but I suspect their lack of any major advantages is what causes most of them to stay in pretty nice shape. I know mine were each time I sold one of them, cause they simply weren't used much when I went hunting.

And though I know I am a heathen for saying this, except for their "look what I own" bragging rights I don't miss any of them, at all.

Now, a bolt gun which is lighter, smaller, and more of a beater, like a Savage 340, that is a bit more of a practical hunting gun. A Model 788 carbine might be too, except they have become so expensive the cost/benefit analysis may still prevent most folks from getting one or using it much in the field.

I've been giving my grandchildren (7) T/C Contenders with both a .22lr barrel and either a 7-30 Waters barrel, or a .30-30. With the centerfires, I've been getting great accuracy and velocity out of H335 and 748 powders. Bullets used in the .30-30 have been the 125gr and 130gr. Both show a slightly flatter trajectory with the spitzer bullets and slightly higher velocity. Killing power with both has been excellent. They have taken a number of antelope and mule deer here in Colorado, none of which have gotten away. (Yay for the kids practice with the .22s),
Max

quote:

Originally posted by Fasteel:
Fellas

I have a real nice 788 in 30-30 and I want load some 125gr ballistic tips, should I be thinking about powders in the faster burning part of the spectrum like 322, Re 7, or something like 748, IMR4895. FS

Think I'd try H4198 or IMR-4198.

Well today was the day, blustery but fun. Had 4 loads with re7 and the 110gr Sierra bullet. Sure seems odd shooting a 30-30 when you used to mostly shooting 22 hornet and 222.'The loads were 33.5 of 322 going up.5gr to 35gr. The best load had 2 bullets cutting each other at 100 yards and that was the 34.5gr load. No chrony today but a snappy little loads with no pressure signs. Scope was a Nikon 3-9 Pro Staff. Case OAL was 2.550 just a smidge too long for the magazine. FS

I have a guy with a 308 in a beat up Rem 600 he wants to peddle..I have a NIB 25 Rem barrel for a Rem 30-S..I am going to rebarrel that 600 with the Rem 25 barrel, buty some 30 Rem brass run it thru the die and use 25-35 load data..cut the stock down slim, glass bed the whole thing add a Neidner steel butt plate and grip cap..Shoot a few deer some coyotes and well, probably peddle it at some point..sounds like a fun project..

I know! I do have too much idle time on my hands, you have to work at staying busy at 77 and its too damn cold to rope, and nobody will give you a job, they just assume your too old to do anything but sit in a rocking chair..that ain't gonna happen here, I will probably die falling off my horse at a team or steer roping. I can handle that, just don't think I want some bitch nurse stuffing baby food in my mouth or changing a diaper, jeeeezzze louise! I can't wait to get to Arizona this winter and rope til I drop.

Enjoy putting that 25 Rem together Ray. That will be a neat cartridge and a sweet shooter when you are done.

quote:

Saskatchewan and Alberta at one time in the 1960s and 70s seemed to be floating on Model 54s chambered for .30-30. As a result I have owned several of them, most of them pretty much in minty condition.

Ya know AC...

I could day dream about hunting with one, and walking the game fields of Alberta and Saskatchewan with one..

most of my deer hunting here in Oregon on the west side of the Cascades, I don't think one needs a rifle with much more range than a 30/30...a least not where I hunt...

I load many calibers I hunt with down to 30/30 velocities.. and would probably be using RN bullets if they wouldn't quit disappearing from manufacturers product offerings..

Last deer I took was a 210 lb blacktail... took it with a 7 x 57, with a load of 28 grains of SR 4759, and using a 115 grain HP Speer varmint bullet... which opens up just fine at that kind of MV at 150 yds or less... and as you can imagine, the rifle has minimal recoil...heck, even a democrat could shoot it..

I admire Ray thinking of loading for an old 25 Remington...I've even considered putting a barrel in one of those on a Ruger Action, just to have something exotic to play with...

hell, now that I am getting close to senior citizen age.. hunting with old small caliber cartridges appeals more than ever...

its not getting the game in the end that is fun... heck, just being out there is more fun than hanging around the homestead... and I know I don't have to explain that to a gent such as yourself...

I'll never be with out an 06 or three... but I find myself using them very little...and if it is for deer, it will be loaded with a ballistic tip at about 2400 fps...max...

don't need anymore than that...