Hey guys:

I would like to get some information from you folks on where to start with my 30-30. I am a new T/C handgun shooter and have recently received my custom Bullberry barrel, grip, and forend. I plan on using my 30-30 for whitetails in a "woods" hunting situation and shots will always be 100 yards or less.

My barrel is 14" long. I was thinking about using the 150 grain ballistic tip bullet. Would this bullet expand reliably at this range? What about 150 grain Sierra Pro-Hunters? Would anyone care to share actual field experience with these two bullets when fired from a 14" 30-30?

I have a couple of powders on hand that I think will work well, IMR3031 and W748. Does anyone have any experience with these powders in the 14" 30-30?

I'm confused about neck-sizing. About all of the reloading manuals that I have recommend neck sizing. However, I think I remember reading on Mike Bellm's site that neck sizing is not recommended for cartridges fired in these single shots.

Thanks for helping me get started in the right direction.

X

The 150 grain BT will work quite well for you, but so will the 125 grain version. The 150 grain Sierra is too stout and will give minimal expansion, hence little shock transfer. Even with the 125 grain BT, you can almost always count on an exit with any broadside presentation.

W748 is a traditional favorite for the 30-30, but don't overlook H335 and Re-15. I ahve never used 3031 in the 30-30.

Confusion reigns with sizing methods. After years of experimentation, I have settled on FL sizing with the die adjusted to touch or gently bump the shoulder but NOT to set it back. This will give you the best accuracy potential and afford optimum case life. I've used this method for nearly 10 years now and have had nothing but excellent results. And, I size both rimmed and rimless cases in the very same fashion.

imr3031 and win748 works good in a 14" 30-30Ackley improved barrel, but with 150gr bullets. imr4198 is a great powder in 30-30, with the lighter 125-135gr bullets. AA2015 is also a good powder with the lighter bullets.
personally, if it were me, i'd load imr4198 and 125gr noslers, or 130gr hornady ssp in that 14" 30-30. it would be good for your 100 yard or less shooting, but still give you the option to take longer shots. i get roughly 2345fps in the AI barrel with imr4198 and 130gr hornady ssp, in the 30-30 case as a forming load.

Thanks Bobby & Kyode. That's good advice. Anybody else care to share their experiences with the 30-30?

X

X, If you go the route of the Hornady 130 gr SSP, buy a bunch of them as they've been discontinued..... Gary T.

Ok, so if the 7mm 120 grain VMax is Hornady's replacement for the 7mm 120 grain SSP, what is the replacement for the 30 caliber 130 grain SSP?

LouisB
Nosey minds wantto know. Or is my supply of 125 BTs going to be my future plans in for pistolas in 30 Caliber.

LouisB,
In reference to a replacement for the Hornady 130 gr SSP:
Short answer--I'll probably be using the 125 gr NBT instead. When my son's 300/221 Contender carbine barrel comes in, that's the bullet I'll start w/ first.
Long answer--Limited replacement as BOTH the Hornady and Sierra SSP's have been discontinued. JD Jones previously rec'd using the Speer 125 gr TNT in the 300 Whisper, but haven't checked w/ him in the last 2 years to know whether that's still true or not. Hornady 130 gr SP may not be an adequate replacement for the SSP. (See this thread about 1/2 down for the detailed discussion http://www.nookhill.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=35;t=002608)
Gary T.

O.K. guys,

I have decided to continue using 125 Grain Nosler BT bullets. I ordered 200 more last night for load development. I'm going to try the IMR3031 and W748 that I have on hand and see what kind of accuracy/velocity that I can get before I try any other powders. It looks as if any of the medium burning rate powders may work.

I was wondering if the 125's would be enough for good penetration. It appears that the lower velocity of the 30-30 combined with the rapid expansion charachteristics of the BT's might make for a good combination. I'm assuming that I should be able to easily get 2100 fps or more with 125 grain bullets.

I have only used IMR3031 so far with the new barrel but haven't done any chronographing yet. I started out with 31 grains and am presently up to 33 grains in my load development. My groups were definitely tighter with the milder charges.

When I shot my group yesterday with 33 grains of powder, the cases were becoming a little difficult to extract. 33 Grains is the maximum in some manuals, while the IMR data pamphlet lists 36 grains of IMR 3031 as maximum with a 130 grain bullet!!

I'll let you know how it goes...

X

if you don't get the results you're after, imr4198 is a must try.

KYODE:

O.K. fine. I'll pick up a pound of IMR4198 this weekend!!

Thanks,
X

X-Cal,

I just went back to my 14" 30-30 that was my very first Contender barrel back in 1980. It has a 14" twist so the slower powders work a little better. I agree with Koyode that IMR 4895 is a very good powder for the 30-30 - especially if you have the 10" twist. That is any 30-30 manufactured after about 1990 or so.

In my 14" twist I got the best results with H-335 and the Sierra 135 grain bullet. My load is WLRM primer, 38.0 gr H-335, Sierra #7350 135 grain FBSP bullet with 0.140" setback. Velocity = 2380 f/s and it shoots 3/4" 5-shot groups.

Good luck,

Don Shearer

I posted on the handguns forum questions about the 130 grain Speer bullets, the flat nose design for the 30-30 and the Hollow point version. As I got no answers I looked up what powder gave the highest velocity in a carbine in the Hodgen 25th edition Data manual with this weight bullet and it shows H322 as it but I couldn't find any locally so used H4895. I tried 35 grains of this powder under both bullets and got fine accuracy and a guestimated 2200 fps from my 14 inch contender. Could either of these bullets fill in for either of the Hornady or Sierra single shot pistol bullets? Recoil was just about all I care for so loading a couple of more grains of powder is not necessary and there was no powder residue to worry about.

rickt300,
my Cast bullet buddies will chastise me for this but I have had good luck with the Speer 130 GR HP on Blacktail deer. Haven't used a jacketed bullet for over 7 years but the last time I did I used 748 and this HP to nail a doe at 50 yds. Hit and broke left front shoulder, took out heart/lungs and found 100 grs of the bullet just under the hide on the off side. On another doe I hit just behind the shoulder took out the lungs and exited via a 1" hole the other side. Both deer dropped in their tracks. Mark

[ 12-08-2003, 10:25: Message edited by: Orygun Mark ]

I have a 311291 Lyman mould and I have loaded this bullet in carbines. I cast them of wheelweight and "quenched" them in a bucket of water. gaschecked and pushed them to whatever 23.5 grains of IMR 4198 gives. Shot very well in every rifle tried but just used the load for practice. Do you think this would make a good deer load for my contender?