Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 600 yard 30-30

You know for a comp. rifle, he will have new brass for each match.

Nez and his brother were visiting from Austin, Tx and left me a gift.



I need them to visit again.

Here's a 30-30 at 900 yards.... this guy has a lot of fun YouTube videos...

https://youtu.be/Q8bPEPc3fnA

Lots of interesting stuff here. I enjoyed reading the thread.

I have not worked with a 30-30 since '79 when I assisted my Uncle with loads for his grandkids to use in a Win 94 for deer hunting. We loaded a Speer 130 gr HP over a maximum listed charge of IMR3031.

I have no idea what the MV was, but Uncle swore they were darned lethal on mule deer in the upper hay fields and pastures.

The bullet had a very large open cavity in the nose, which Uncle swore worked just like a flat point, so the rounds were safe in the tubular magazine of the 94. (according to him)

I know for a fact, my cousin has killed several mule deer and a couple elk at well over 400 yds with the 94 in 30-30. Lots of hold over and Kentucky windage. Sometimes it takes him eight or ten rounds to anchor the game, but he always fills his freezer.

Did Nez ever get to fire his 30-30 rifle?

I need to call him. I really don't know.

I emailed Nez. He in Virginia visiting his kids and grand children. Said he hasn't had an opportunity to play with it yet.

Thanks for the update. ...so his schmiff finished it and it's in his hands now?

It is in his hands. Said he had only done a little velocity testing so far.

Chris,
This is what he emailed:

Looks like the 168 Hybrids will do 2750 to 2800 from our pressure and velocity testing.

Keith Stephens ran the 168s at 2750 through his 20 inch AR10 when he shot 200-17X at 1000 during NRA Nationals

I'm not a 30-30 guy so wouldn't know what these velocity means.

Evening gets, your talking way over my head, but I always wanted a Savage 99 - 26" bbl to play with a bit & use the 125 or 110 V-max or noslers balistic tips. Cool deer gun? Bill out. 🐾👣🐾👣🇨🇦

That post is getting funnier the closer the 6.5 Creed soap opera gets to me. I know a hunter who did well with the 6.5C in Utah this year and yet another 6.5C hunter in Montana that was such a bust, he had to borrow a long action rifle.

I have a wildcat 35/30-30, or 35-30 in other words. It shoots any tube mag friendly bullet in 357-358 inches. I was given a recommended load by a person I trusted and they were way too hot for my rifle. The brass showed damage after only one round shot, and the primers were cratered. They had obvious signs of case head separation issues so I tossed them . I quickly found me a different load. I guess the brass will hold up different depending on the rifle.

You didn't say what rifle you're shooting, but case head separation is generally more about headspace than case pressure, unless the action is stretching with high pressure loads.

Primer cratering doesn't mean all that much either, and may just be an indication of a slightly large firing pin hole. Primers are a notoriously poor indicator of max pressure.

All that to say - while you certainly may have had high pressure loads, the "pressure signs" you listed don't necessarily indicate high pressure, even though they are often misinterpreted as such.

from the 30-30 page in Speer Reloading manual #12 -1994:

Some bolt-action and single-shot rifles have been chambered for this
cartridge. Reloaders can use spitzer-type bullets in these rifles, but
should keep the weight to 150 grains or less. Heavier spitzer bullets
cannot be driven fast enough in the 30-30 to expand reliably. We are
occasionally asked if the 30-30 can be loaded to higher velocities in
a modern bolt action like the Remington Model 788. The answer is NO!
The 30-30 case is an old design with relatively thin walls. Attempting
to load "hotter" would risk a dangerous case failure.

This is, of course, pure BS.
The case head is the weak link, and the 30-30 [with a rim] is way stronger than the 270 [with extractor groove] which is registered at 65,000 psi.
Vernon Speer [write a reloading book by overloading until brass yields and back off 6% -1956] must roll over in his grave allot.

One thing I'm missing in all this is: Why 30-30?

Is it for bragging rights? I this like they guy who hotrods his Honda Civic?

I'm wondering why folks would want to play with this chambering in this context. I don't mean to malign it or the experimenters. I'm just trying to figure out what I'm not getting.

More to the point, why would they not? This is what gun enthusiasts do; they experiments with things which are not necessarily mainstream. GD

The .30-30 has been pigeonholed into the role of a lever action wood's deer hunting cartridge for so long that the rank and file can't (or won't) recognize its virtues as a very efficient .30 caliber target round. As I've stated before, I would be happy as a pig in sh*t to have just the .30-30 available to me for my experimental work for the rest of my life, given its chambering in suitable bolt guns and single shots (which I have).

Now that you put it that way. . .

I still don't see it, but I do at least believe that you all do. It just seems like the hard way to go.

I can relate why you can’t see it. The myth that cartridge accuracy has to be “designed“ as well as “new”, has been perpetuated quite a lot.

Heads stamps have a lot less to do with accuracy than what we have been lead to believe.......... a lot less!

Time for you to open your eyes a little more. I know it's early, mebbe another cuppa Joe would help?
My .30-30 lost control of itself awhile back and did this when I weren't lookin'. I don't recall the last time it shot a group as big as 1". Maybe 20 years back when I was doin' load workup.


It even works on moving targets.


I know it's hard to understand for some folks, but sometimes a fella can even hit what he's aiming at with lead and black powder a fair piece down the road.


Sometimes it's useful to know some of the fine details about what yer doin', even with modern stuff like the .30-30 and jacketed bullets.
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