Just a couple points to further articulate my thinking.
I'll postulate that lead-free is preferred for hunting. Some are restricted to that by law, others will debate both sides of that. I'm not really interested in having a debate on it here, as it's been hashed out endlessly already. But frame this in the context of wanting or needing to use all copper for hunting.
Second, sure, the .30-30 specific bullets kill just fine. But the single-shot allows use of a spire point, which makes the trajectory less of a rainbow, which extends the point blank range and makes it easier to hit targets that are farther away.
The 120 TAC-TX doesn't have the best BC ever, but it's a heck of a lot better than anything with a blunt nose meant for a tube mag. With the higher velocity expansion threshold of typical monometals (TSX, TTSX, E-Tip, GMX, etc.), the range at which it can be expected to reliably expand when launched at .30-30 velocity is signficantly reduced. The low expansion threshold of the 120 TAC-TX puts that range way out past where the combination of trajectory and the basic marksmanship problem makes shots questionably responsible. So you just don't have to worry about, "Will it expand?" It will expand.
Additionally, there's no temptation to push the loads to higher velocities (and pressures) in an attempt to try to eek out a little bit flatter trajectory or expansion at longer ranges. Book max is fine; if you choose an AI chamber, add 50-60 fps on top of that and enjoy not having to trim brass as often. No need to ever know when pressure signs start. And be confident you're not going to stretch your "not making any more of those" G1 frame.
I have crawled all over the problem, and can't think of a more optimized setup for a super-light, compact, easy to carry and take-downable rifle with moderate recoil but plenty of thump for deer-sized game.
