G'day lads,

Idly pondering the possibility of loading 150 grain Woodleigh Hydros in my Winchester 1894 .30-30. What do you think?

I have never loaded .30-30 ammunition. I've always just bought them from the shop.

Would that Hydro nose - capped or uncapped - be safe in the tube?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Ben

I just found a .308 Hydro in my cupboard and the rim of the nose exactly matches the edge of the primer on a .30-30 cartridge.

Or, another way to ask the question: What bullet that is safe to use in a tubular magazine lever action .30-30 would give maximum penetration?

I like the idea of the Hydro but have found it a bit long to allow much powder in both my 338WM Sako and 375 Win M94.

While the Sako has a long magazine, it seems the barrel's throat is short and the 225gr Hydro engages the rifling earlier than usual.

The 94 Win, on the other hand, has a good, long throat but the action length limits the COAL, meaning the 235gr Hydro has to be seated deeply and I can barely fit the starting powder weight behind it. With luck you won't also experience this situation in the .30/30.

I wrote to Geoff McDonald suggesting he make a shorter, hybrid Hydro with a lead core to lift weight - but his old inclination to answer emails seems to have faded.

The plastic cap seems to be aimed at bolt-action application - I didn't have any trouble feeding short cartridges with bare-nosed Hydros through the 94. Those green plastic caps do add about 3mm to the bullet's length, too, so they added to the problem mentioned above.

Cheers, Sambarman338.

I don't have the 150s on hand, but from pictures they look to be similar in length to conventional 170s. I wouldn't even try the 180s, just too long.

I'm just trying to pick folks' brains about safety, trying to ensure I avoid tube detonation. Maybe a silly question with a big, blunt tip, but better safe than sorry.

At the very least I may load a few and use the rifle as a two-shooter, if I can't get any further information. I emailed Geoff this morning, so hopefully I get an answer.

Ben,
It may help if you explain your need for deeper penetration; that is your planned application of your 30-30.
Also, there is a large number of 30-30 users and reloaders on Leverguns.com , so you might try your post there. There are other Aussies there too.
Good luck and good hunting!

Barnes makes a TSX for the .30-30, and there's always a Nosler partition or a Swift A-Frame, but the obvious choice for uber penetration is a hard cast bullet, your timeless zero expansion flat point which are available in a variety of weights. To be honest, I doubt that you'll need anything over 170 grains to achieve your desired results.

Thanks, all. Geoff wrote me, saying to discard the green nose cap and to use the 150s.

I'm curious about the hard casts as well. Where does one buy such a mould?

The real application is to make meat from big game more effectively using my old thirty-thirty, just for fun and just because, with suitable back-up.

Where do you buy your reloading supplies? I can find cast .308 flat points designed for the .30-30 for sale on Midway right now.

In terms of a mould, most of the majors and custom houses make suitable models.

Just out of curiosity what would you be using such a bullet for in the 30-30??

Woodleigh makes an excellent 150gr .30-30 bullet. It has a flat nose that is safe for tubular magazines. The flat nose makes the bullet short for it's weight and that means you get just a little bit more room for powder. The .30-30 bullet is also designed to perform properly on game when shot at typical .30-30 velocities. At 2000fps the Woodleigh 150gr FN has a ballistic coefficient (B.C.) of 0.246, a bit better than the Sierra 150gr FN .30-30 bullet which has a B.C of 0.224.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Just out of curiosity what would you be using such a bullet for in the 30-30??

In the bush we sometimes ask a little gun to do a big job. My little .30-30 has killed boars and dogs and wild cattle, wild donkeys, feral camels and buffalo, all with the Federal 170s. It works, just wanting to lend the little tiger a helping hand, if possible.

If you are dead set on it you could load bullets like Hydros, FMJ and pointed bullets as long as you only put one in the magazine at a time. With one up the spout and one in the magazine that would give you a two shooter - the lever double rifle! Alternatively, you could put one of those type bullets in the chamber and load conventional round nose or flat nose bullets in the magazine. You would just need to pay attention and be careful you didn't accidentally load a pointy bullet behind another cartridge.

MIght I suggest that you give GS customs a call and have them make you such a solid, Ive used the GS customs flat nose solids in the 9.3, 375, 416, 404, 470, and 458 Lott, maybe some others, its an outstanding bullet..I think they make them for the 30-06, but they are pretty good about making custom bullets for clients it seems..

Well, the Woodleigh Hydros shoot. Can't get a crimp on them and have it feed (too long), but just using it as a single-shot or two-shooter. Felt good, now just got to give it a real test.

Email Woodleigh and ask their opinion.
Cal

Well, it worked incredibly well! This tiny projectile devastated an ancient buffalo bull. The shot was quartering-on at sixty yards, and he staggered and tipped-over moments later. I used it like a single-shot.

Yep, already emailed Geoff the story!

Glad to hear you're happy with it. Your concept sounds a bit like mine - to try to lift the killing power of the little 94 without rebarrelling to something bigger, like the .444.

Is this the bullet you're talking about?-

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...soft-point-box-of-50

I don't see a Hydro listed for 30 cal.

Hi Hunts, no, not that one. That's the regular Woodleigh 150 grain flat-nose soft. I used the 150 grain Woodleigh Hydro. If you Google their website, you'll see the Hydros. Cheers, Ben

Hey Ben, sounds great!

Why no crimp? LEE Factory Crimp die?

I guess single loaded you dont need one. This without the plastic cap?

Cheers, Chris

G'day Chris,

The bands are positioned such that if I were to crimp using my Lee factory crimp die, in a way to prevent forward and backward movement, the cartridge is too long to feed from tube to chamber. I was using capless Hydros. By the time I seat short enough to crimp, there is no groove available. I would love a special Hydro for .30/30, but don't want to be the test dummy for tube detonation.

Hi Ben.

You could try a light crimp into the body of the Hydro with the Lee FC.

Cheers, Chris

Glad you got the results you intended, but one buff may not a happy hunter be every time..About 10 more buff would convience me, well maybe not, but its an interesting thread as Im a Win. 94 fan, even on elk, but for those rare occasions (3) when a Cape Buff took me on, I always wished I had more gun, even though I was shooting a 450-400 or my 416 Rem..but that's just me worrying about nothing as what I had, always worked, wish you the same.

G’day Ray, my bro shot a grand old bull too, in the same little valley behind home. It didn’t make more than ten metres. These little Hydros are working wonders but they sure aren’t exiting which doesn’t really surprise me. Cheers, Ben

Hey Ben if they work, there ya go...and If it ain't broke do go trying to fix it...I like the 30-30 and I have a lot of confidence in it at up to 200 yards..The biggest thing Ive shot with it is elk. Ive seen black bear, moose and Nilgai shot with it and it just always seems to work..Ive seen a horse or two shot with it and again it worked as usual.Keep us posted on those Woodleigh solids, sounds like they would be perfect for tracking down a wounded elk or moose knowing shot are probably going away and penetration is everything.

G’day Ray,

Our .30-30 buffalo hunts are interesting because the buffalo is such a huge, strong, thick-skinned beast.

We’ve lost track of the numbers of softer-skinned ferals - boars, donkeys, horses, camels - that we’ve shot with factory 170 grain softs. Based on that I imagine it would be fine for elk, moose and black bear - but I’ve never seen any of those, so my opinion’s only worth so much.

But back to the buffalo... With the Hydro, the number of shots required is minimal, and the bulls don’t go far. When we killed buffalo with the regular 170 grain factory softs it was more hectic and frightening and the barrel got hotter.

Cheers,

Ben

That's amazing performance from a 30/30 with careful shot placement and a good bullet.

When the Hydrostatics were being trialled a run was made of 235 gr pills for use in a 375 Win. This cartridge is essentially a straight sided 30/30 case designed for a beefed up version of the Win 94.

In one shot taken a bull was shot through the boss, the bullet exited the back of the head then re-entered the bull's body and the projectile was found towards the rear of the animal.

FWIW these bullets are still made and, as mentioned, were originally designed for the 375 Win. Instead of using a 30/30 as a single shot you might want to consider a 375 win.

I still suggest that you contach GS Customs in So. Africa and order some 150 or 170 gr. flat nose solids and they need not be crimped as the grooves in the bullets hold as well as a crimp..They are outstanding on cape buffalo but the smallest caliber Ive used with them is the 9.3x62..I think you would be pleased with the results.

Just a question and I really am not trying to be sarcastic or a smart aleck, but, has anyone ever seen or heard of a case of a round detonating in a tubular magazine? I mean, I have heard this all of my life and I've seen some rounds in chambers take a firing pin hit and not fire. The rounds in a tube are under spring pressure, mostly stacked against a soft lead bullet, even if it was pointed. Just wondering.

YEs, it has happened thus the warnings..Ive seen photographs over the years and saw one gun a local shot Rem bronze points in, but that one was a no brainer..He lost two fingers btw.