Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Hunting with the .30-30, how fast does it drop them

Great story! I hope he found his gun.

Statically, if you flip a coin enough times, you will land on heads or tails 100% of the time.

If you shoot enough deer, you are going to find that they either drop or they don't.

Any answer you get is going to be subjective. If one can get accurate records of kills...and I mean accurate records! You will find that the standard deviation for "dropping them" is the same for most any round commonly used on deer.

I've seen deer hit by a truck revive in the ditch and run off.

The first 5 deer I shot with a 30-30 all dropped within 10 feet of being hit before I realized I needed a 30-06.

Do tell?

So, what are some pet load for 170 grain bullets?

32.0 gr WW 748 170 Sierra
29.0 gr H 322 170 Sierra

This has worked very good for me:

Remington brass
CCI 200 primer
Hornady 170 FP
29.5 grains IMR-3031

As I've posted before, that load is more accurate than it should be in my particular M94, it may not be so in yours. Also, I believe the bullet is the key component because I have used 748 also, with similar results, the 3031 showing slightly better accuracy, but the 748 is no slouch, either.

170 hornady FP
Win brass
cci200
36 grains LVR
2200 fps chronied in a 20" barrel.

This powder tightens groups the closer to max you get.

This load is more accurate than I am with open sights. About 1.5" @ 100 yards.

Well... there may be some truth to it because the old hammer lever actions got the nick name "widow maker" somehow. Its not the rifle but the operator though. A lot of them inexperienced kids or safety lax adults.

My brother is one of those ninny's that calls his 94 the widowmaker and would agree with the bolt gun assessment and doesn't hunt the 94 much. Hes not willing to give me that old 94 to remove a defective product from his house though.