30/30

[aussie]

This has probably been done to death, but I am just curious what the general consensus of opinion is regarding the preference of 150gn or 170gn projectiles in a Winchester 30/30 and why.

[Griff]

Most folks seem to prefer the 170gr. over the 150gr. Myself not included. Reasons are accuracy for both camps. It might either be the particular bullet, bore, load, or combination of components. I like the 150 for accuracy, their efficiency on deer. For smaller game I like the Sierra 125 HPs.

[Blaine]

THE very first 30-30 ammo I tried was 170. It shot good. I never saw a reason to change up. A secondary factor is that there are big black bears around here, and believe that the heavier boolit might be a little better. This is all my personal opinion. YMMV....

[1894c]

THE very first 30-30 ammo I tried was 170. It shot good. I never saw a reason to change up. A secondary factor is that there are big black bears around here, and believe that the heavier boolit might be a little better. This is all my personal opinion. YMMV....

+1 -- I totally agree with BlaineG. I exclusively hunted with a 30/30, first with a Winchester 94 Trapper and then with a Marlin 336 since 1985 to 2009. I reloaded and used factory and always hunted with the 170 grain bullet... :)

[wolfdog]

I have used both depending on what the rifle seemed to prefer. The deer I killed with them did not seem to like either.

[octagon]

150 core lokt, and 125 Sierra jhp.

[OldWin]

THE very first 30-30 ammo I tried was 170. It shot good. I never saw a reason to change up. A secondary factor is that there are big black bears around here, and believe that the heavier boolit might be a little better. This is all my personal opinion. YMMV....

Ayuh.

We got large black bears.......and moose. Whitetails are good size here too.
Mostly, I just like the 170's better.

[Pisgah]

The 170s give slightly better penetration on large-bodied animals, but I base my decision on the rifle and how it likes a particular load. If it shoots better with one over the other, that's the one I choose. The small penetration advantage of the 170s that I have observed is really not great enough to be the deciding factor.

[J Miller]

THE very first 30-30 ammo I tried was 170. It shot good. I never saw a reason to change up. A secondary factor is that there are big black bears around here, and believe that the heavier boolit might be a little better. This is all my personal opinion. YMMV....

I could say the same thing but in reverse. The first 30-30 ammo I shot way back in the pre-dark ages was 150 gr. I liked it, for me it shot great. I tried some old stuff, probably 160gr and it shot OK. Tried some 170 stuff and it shot OK then stayed with the 150 gr.

In my then neck of the woods there are ( or were then ) no bear or large predators so the need for a heavier bullet wasn't there.

Later when I started hand loading my own I found that the Speer 150 gr bullet had the best shape of them all kept it's accuracy out a bit farther with standard normal loads.

Joe

[cshold]

170 grain Core-Lokt

[mikld]

Not to veer away from this good thread, but I have liked a 160 cast bullet in my 30-30. But that's just me 'cause I haven't taken it hunting...

[Pete44ru]

.


I'm a big fan of using "heavy for caliber" boolits - and only wish the .30-30 was factory loaded with 190gr JSP's, like the (.30 caliber) .303 Savage was.

.

[FWiedner]

I prefer small bleeding bullet-hole wounds as compared to gaping holes.

I have encountered many more of the latter while using 150gr bullets. Not every shot is perfect, and inadequate depth of penetration or too small an animal can result in cavitation wounds. I understand this, and I don't want to clean up the mess.

I use the 170gr because I seem to get better and cleaner penetration on every size game.

[rjohns94]

A few years back I was shooting down in Texas through 86er's arrangements with a bunch of levergunners. I took a truck load of guns and ammo down there and took a few head of game off the property. In the 30wcf, I had 170 and 150 grain ammo. I shot a Corsican ram broadside with a 170 hitting the ram behind the shoulder angling towards far shoulder. The ram ran away. It took us quite a while to find the ram, it was standing when we found it. I used a 150 grain bullet to put it down for good. Wound channel was very significantly more pronounced with the 150 than the 170. The 170 completely passed through the ram. Later on that day, I was involved in tracking a blackbuck and I had the same 150gr ammo. The shot anchored the critter like the hammer of Thor. I was using ugly duck, the green Winchester 94 that one of our forum members bought from me.

My lesson learned was the 170 seemed to over penetrate on thin skinned critters. I used it on pigs later and they performed great. So I actually use 150s on deer locally, and 170 or 190s on hogs, bear, or other larger critters. My experience and data base is small. If you search on 86er's posts, he did an extensive report on caliber performance on all sorts of game and had it sorted by bullet weight.

I'm going pig hunting here in pa soon and I will be using the 190s to try them out on anchoring big game and intend to take that load north for caribou next year.

[rjohns94]

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... erformance



Here is a topic started way back. Down the first page, 86er posted some great info as well as many others who posted on the topic

[cshold]

This past season (2015)
Deer went 35 to 40 yards, dropped over dead.
Ammo. Used:




Bullet entrance:




Bullet exit:



What more do ya need?
30-30 rules
Nuff said

[cshold]

The o'l timer's knew what worked

[Dan 444]

My Marlin 336 30-30 is very accurate with 170 gr jacketed and cast bullets. Doesn't like any 150 gr bullets accuracy-wise

Dan

[stew71]

My 336 will shoot both equally well, but it really likes the Hornady 160gr GummiTips. I've not heard any complaints from any buck or hog that found it's way into the freezer.

[aussie]

This is why I love this site, so much information based on experience. Thanks fellas.

[J Miller]

The o'l timer's knew what worked

Those are the ancient 30 W.C.F. rounds I fired off way back in the 60s. My early 1900s SRC loved 'em. I still have a few left, but not enough to actually shoot.

Love that box.

Joe