I have a freind who is a feral pig guide in California. They kill some big hogs there, ner the barley and hopps fields. I loaded up a pile of 150gr X bullets for him and he loves them. They are wonderful preformers and make the 30/30 think it is a 300 Winchester Magnum out to moderate ranges.
If I ever get my hands on a 30/30AI, I will be loading the 130gr TTSX's in it. Many experiments have been done lately disproving the old wives tale that only flat nosed bullets should be used in a tubular magazine. Handloader and rifle magazines in particlular, recent editions. Dave Scoville did everything he could think of to do to get a primer to ignite and could not do it. When he manipulated a primer strike in a tube magazine with 30/30 and 45/70 ammo the 'explosion' was not even enough to damage the rifle as the gasses were not controlled enough to build up any pressure. Buging the magazine tube as the only damage he and the other author of another article could muster.
Mark, thanks for your input on this. I hope you are having a Merry Christmas and are well on your way to healing from your recent ticker issue.
I'm thinking of taking my 30-30 on a Cow elk hunt next fall as my timber gun. I know that standard cup and core bullets have worked well for years in the 30-30, but I am after what will work best in worst case situations. Would you reccomend the 150gr Barnes over a 170gr partition or cup and core like the 170gr Hornady interlock (which shoots great in my Marlin)?
I haven't shot the barnes yet and won't be set up to reload for another month or two. I'm thinking the Barnes would be the tougher bullet if heavy bone was hit.
