Home Forums Lever Action Central Marlin 336 Lever Actions Federal 125 grain 30-30 ammo

HI, I am curious about how this load performs on deer,accuracy ,penetration ,expansion etc. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience using this ammo on deer.Thanks,Billycraig

Isn't that load designed for varmints? Coyotes and such? I wouldn't use it for deer when the well proven 150/170 grain loads work so well. If flatter trajectory were needed then the new gummy point spitzers from Hornady would be a better pick IMHO. But, have I actually tried it on deer? No sir, and I won't be either.

My boy used them for deer hunting while down in NC/SC.(smaller bodied deer)
Then he tried them on Minnesota whitetail a couple of years back.
Every single deer hit with a broadside/quartering shot with the 125grain FNHP had exit wounds no different than a 150grain RNCL,150grain HP,170grain SPCL/HPCL or 170grain FNSP.
He shot eleven does that weighed dressed 134lbs to 178lbs.
Ranges shot were 21feet out to 167yards.

Personally,I prefer the Winchester 150grain HP or the Remington 170grain HPCL in my 30/30 for whitetail and black-bear hunting.
Mike

I loaded a batch of 125 grain 30-30 ammo years ago when my sons were young, just to reduce the recoil. We shot a few deer with that load and there was no noticable difference except they were easier on the sholder. Ran across a partial box of those not long ago and decided I'd just save them. One son is 37 now and the other has been dead almost 12 years. Don't time fly, whether you have fun or not.

HI,I appreciate the the replies and information.Thanks,BillyCraig

I don't understand why a 125 gr load in a 30-30 would be designated for "varmints" when there are so many calibers that use bullet weights of 120 grs and less. That makes no sense. I killed deer with 55 gr Accelerators back in the late 80's, and they worked flawlessly. I have also killed deer with 150 gr, 170 gr, and the new LeverEvolution 160 grs. In my opinion, there is way too much emphasis put on bullet weight and not enough on shot placement. I would not hesitate to shoot a deer with 125 gr ammo in my 30-30.

It isn't about weight, it is about construction. I was thinking that bullet was a Sierra hollowpoint designed to expand on light critters at .30-30 velocities. Which "might" not make it the most reliable general purpose deer killer. Which also prompted my question, of why use it when the standard weight and construction bullets work so darned well. With that said, I have heard many reports of the 130 gr. Speer .30 caliber flatpoint being an excellent bullet for small to mid-size deer. Shot placement is a given, it simply has to be there. However, bullet construction has to be considered also. Just my take on it, then again, I'd never venture to use the .22 caliber sabot Accelerators on deer when the 170 gr. Core-Lokt is available.

I completely agree that the Accelerators are not ideal for deer sized game, but they do work very well (much like ballistic tip ammo in a 243). As I said before, I have used many "makes and models" of 30-30 ammo, and I am SOLD on the LeverEvolutions. They are definitely not the most accurate out of my 336T, but the terminal performance, to me, is well worth the trade off.

I allowed my kids to use 125 adn 130 gr. bullets on deer when they were young and they worked OK...but only for broadside shots.

I prefer a 170 gr. Corelokt as I may very well jump a nice buck going South in the thick stuff and the 170 will penetrate him from end to end and dump him on the spot 99% of the time and if not he will not go 50 yards before he goes down.

Guys that have experience, that I've talked to anyway, with this bullet have great things to say about their performance on deer. I was urged to try these for recoil reduction for my then 8 y/o son a few years ago, and he loved shooting them. Then he shot my 25/06 and fell out of love with everything else...but that's a different story.
I am with Retrieverman on the hornady 160 LE's. My 30/30 XLR loves 'em and together we smoked two Arkansas whitetails last year.

Please, use the 170 gr. HPCLs over the 125s. The 125s will kill a deer, certainly, but they are very lightly constructed, and lack anything in regard to penetration power, esp. from odd angles.