I had a Savage 340 .30-30 back in the day. Played around with various loads using spire point bullets and got very good accuracy. Got rid of it after a spell and went back to my .308's and .30-06's when I wanted a bolt gun and back to my levers for .30-30's. I still can't figure what a bolt action .30-30 is good for or why anybody'd want one. Might as well just use a .308 or .300 Savage and load it down if you want those ballistics in a bolt action. The .30-30 never was about the cartridge or ballistics. It's all about the slim, trim, handy, perfectly balanced lever guns it comes in. A fat, overweight, bolt action .30-30 just plain misses the point.
I daresay you are missing the point. To me, the .30-30
is about the cartridge and ballistics. For hunting here in the east, the .30-30 is all a man really needs for deer/black bear. For a guy who is a dedicated cast bullet shooter (hunting, target, plinking), like me, the .30-30 is darn near ideal. For someone like me also who likes accuracy, then said .30-30 is best shot out of a bolt gun or single shot.
I bet you never gave a Winchester 54 or a Remington 788 in .30-30 a try, because if so I doubt you would be so damning of them.
Some people just can't wrap their prejudiced brains around such a concept, I suppose.
