hi guys
im helping my father in law get his 336 ready for hunting season we are looking for a good factory load for it in the 150-180 gr weight i was thinking about trying hornadays custom ammunition in 170 sp and some federal v shock
what shoots good in your 30-30 s ?? not looking for match accuracy but 1-1/2 inches would do the trick!!
thanks guys

All 30/30's are a little different and require you buy several different boxes and see what your rifle likes best. What does well in my rifle may not be the best in your as the 30/30 is not a match rifle. Also, ammo for it is not very high priced compared to larger rifles. BM

Bill

I shoot my 336 in the local Cowboy Silhouette matches. We can use factory loads and mine really likes the Winchester stuff I pick up at WalMart, 150 grains. That's the beauty of the cartridge, it is cheap, so trying different makes of ammo isn't that expensive.

I have to say that I am impressed with Hornady ammo though. I recently tried some lite magnum .308s that shot 1/2" groups in a rifle whose previous best was 1.5".

Each rifle is an entity unto itself, so you'll just have to experiment. I have been shooting my old 336RC for almost fifty years and have found that it will shoot just about any 170 grain bullet better than a 150 grainer. Others have the opposite experience. Good luck in your quest. Just think of all the shootin' you're gonna be doing!

My winchester 94 shoots the remington stuff real well. The 170's do a little better than the 150's.

But you should try the winchester stuff as well. 30-30 shells are cheap enough, so do like others here say and try a few different types.

dhs

I will disagree with the 150 not being good for whitetails. My wife and I have shot many whitetails with the 150g bullet and have had most fall on the spot. The 150g bullets tend to flatten inside the deer, were the 170's often pass right through. My wife has even gone to using 125g pointed soft points traveling at 2650 fps in her bolt action .30-30, and has shot more than a few deer with them. We have had all her deer drop within 50 yards, none needed a second shot. Her rifle is scoped, and she puts the bullet were it is needed. I will agree that the .30-30 is a short range cartridge, and should be used as such. I have made 250 yard shots using my bolt action rifle and pointed bullets, but that was on many targets first then on a coyote. I would not shoot a deer even with this outfit, at 250 yards. I love to hunt and find that getting close [under 100 yards] is what makes a hunt memorable.

Dang, you must have some tough whitetails in your neck of the woods Gerald! I've killed at least a dozen muleys with the 150 gr Remington loads in my 30-30, if you hit them right, at less than 150 yards I don't believe anything short of 20mm cannon fire will kill them quicker.



To answer your question Divr, I'd round up a few boxes of each brand you can locate and try them all. Those Marlins are nice shooting rifles but IMO I'd not worry too much if it won't group into 2" at 100. My winchester will hold 2.5 to 3" groups and has worked very well indeed on deer at moderate ranges.