You won't find data for those bullets because they fall outside the spectrum of dedicated .30-30/.303 bullets. By extrapolating data for 170 grain jacketed stuff I would think that a starting load of 27 grains 3031 would be safe, edging your way up to 29 grains if you think you must. But that's my educated guess, not gospel. The thing with pushing those cartridges into the stratosphere isn't whether the gun will take it (Savage 99, yeah, probably, but what about a rickety old Winchester 94?), but whether the brass will take it. That brass was never intended to withstand 50K+ psi pressures (although a fair number of wildcatters have adapted the brass to some pretty woolly cartridges). Again, the decision is yours - I never felt the need to push those cartridges beyond their traditional load levels. I have plenty of other .30 rifles that'll function quite nicely in the + 2000 fps realm.
I still wouldn't hunt deer with a 165 or 180 bullet intended for use in such things as .300 Savages, .308's, .30-06's, and .30 magnums - at least not without thorough testing in suitable media. Their performance on game at .30-30/.303 velocity, especially at some distance past the muzzle, is suspect. Of course, paper targets and steel plates don't care.
Last edited by gnoahhh; 09/12/22.
