So, I have decided to dust off my old marlin 30-30 to shoot a deer or two. Having only killed one deer ever with a 30-30 I thought I’d ask those with more experience with the cartridge for their input. The lone deer I killed was shot with a hand loaded pre interlock 150RN hornady bullet. No idea on the velocity or load other than I probably used H322.... although the average sized Tn doe died very quickly the bullet spit out its core and did not exit. I’m planning on hunting some pretty thick cover and a pass through would make trailing much easier. I have 150 &170 hornady interlock, 150 and 170 sierras in my stash. Any one have any input on any of those bullets on deer out of a 30-30. Thank you in advance.

Both the Hornady 150 and 170 made for the .30-30 will work well...killed many deer and one elk with the 150s...

I prefer 170's, but I think both will work.

I prefer 170’s

I let the rifle determine which weight it likes, some are markedly more accurate with one weight of the other. Both weights work fine on deer. I have used the .30-30 Hornady, Sierra and Speer bullets with no complaints on any of them.

Mine likes 170s. The Interlock bullets have been good to me. My buddy still uses his 30-30 exclusively, and his rifle shot my 170g Interlock load like crap. His shoots the flex tip (FTX?) Hornady bullets really well. He went two for two pass through results this season on big deer.

The one that ran 50 yards was easy to follow. He double lunged above the heart, and the trail was like an 80s slasher movie.

I learned to hunt with a Win 94 in 32 Spc. It and the 30-30 are almost identical so what you say about 1 usually applies to the other. Anyway, I got my 1st deer and 1st elk with it, the elk when I was 15. Dad bought the ammo and I don't remember what it was but 170 gr was by far the most popular back then, usually Win or Rem.

They both do fine

I have killed 3 deer with 30-30s firing 150 grain bullets and 5 deer with 30-30s using 170 grain bullets. None of my 150s ever exited. Only one of my 170s failed to exit (this year, about 2 months ago)
So for full penetration, I recommend 170 grain bullets. I have used Winchester Power Points, Remington Core-Lokts and Speer Hot cores. The one that came apart and didn't exit was a Hot-Core.
I am using AA2230 powder but my old load was also H322 back in Nevada and Idaho.

Nosler makes a 170 partitions and I bet it's great, but for deer it may be a bit more money than would actually be of any benefit. 170s with standard bullets seem to work perfectly for me and several of my friends.
My friend Randy has killed 9 deer with his 30-30 and he and I have seen the same thing. 150s work but don't exit, 170 work and do exit.

So I would stick with 170s for the most part.

I've been using the Sierra #2000 for a long time
with no problems. I used whatever the Speer
30/30 specific 150 grain is when I first started
loading because that was what was available.
No problems with it either. Killed deer.
I mostly use W748 , but have tried AA2520,
RL15, H4895, and Lever.

I guess I'm the exception, because all of the
30/30's I've ever shot game animals with were
through and through shots- none recovered.
The only bullet I've ever recovered from a game
animal was from a 357 magnum rifle that I
shot a spike with. I pulled a bit and broke the
onside shoulder and broke the offside shoulder
and it lodged in the ball and socket.

Thanks all, I loaded the 170 Sierra and hornady and 150 sierras. All with 322... hopefully one shoots better than the others. I’m sure, if properly placed, all will work fine. I did manage a first for me this year, I finally shot a deer with my 375 marlin and 220 hornady flat points.... definitely a good blood trail on that one!

Ben

170 partitions work great

My Marlin has a definite preference for the Hornady 160g FTX over 150g or 170g flatnose.

Same here. The Winchester shoots all bullets about the same, but the Marlin has definite preferences.

I just asked about the FTX and here is the thread:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...s/15465206/160-ftx-in-30-30#Post15465206

My 94 was my 16th birthday present and it shoots 150s really well. Never tried any other weights. Killed deer & coyotes with Speer HC 150s, Win power points, and R-P CLs. I’ve got a bunch of ILs & Sierras I’m gonna try, and a friend here sent me a box of 150 GR ETips to try out.

Started reloading in 2000 and put together a load with RL15 right away and haven’t tried anything else because it’s so accurate.

I just got a ghost ring sight set that I’m thinking will be perfect for this rifle can’t wait to carry it afield again.

I have tried many bullets with my trusty Glenfield carbine. Hornady, Sierra, and Core-lokts all perform as expected. My 30-30 shoots best with 150's.

Sherwood

My 336SC shoots 150s better than 170s, but it shoots either weight well enough to kill deer without drama. I haven't loaded any ammo for it, since the factories have had 125 years to figure things out, and I reckon they have by now.

have shot two winchester 150 grain hollow points into a deer, 30-30. both left the copper clad in the front side of the deer, the lead penetrated and kilt it. never more.

Mine too!

Anything from 150 to 170 should be fine for deer. Go with best accuracy in your rifle.

I killed my first moose - a 3 year old bull - with a 170 plain jane, at about 60 yards. Complete pass through. Whatever it was I used on my first deer worked fine also.

This year I carried the aperature-sighted '94 with 160 FTX,one day, unsuccessfully, for caribou. It seems to like them OK - in fact- they printed a couple inches higher than the 150's I initially sighted in with. I'd go to 200 yards with them.
(Next day i killed a caribou at about 15 yards with the scoped 7X57...... )

Maybe next year.....

I like the Speer 130gr Hot cor and so do my 30-30's. Flat shooter for the 30-30 for semi open country With good handloads.

The simple answer is they all work.

I usually hunt with 170 gr's. I just like heavier bullets.

Hornady and Sierra 30-30 bullets - both 150 gr and 170 gr - have proven to be interchangeable on my loads and work-ups, and shoot to the same p.o.i (by bullet weight). That said - here's the usual disclaimer that my work-ups and experience may not work in your rifles, so load responsibly.

Barnes has recently released a 190 gr Original that looks sweet, Am swamped with getting my other rifles OFF of commercial loads, so I can load test this 190 gr before things get dicey.

I am a cheapskate or maybe just lazy when it comes to the 30-30. I reload everything else but I do not reload 30-30. Why, reloading is too much effort and cost for a rifle I only take out every few years for hunting and shoot once a year if that. But more to the point, not only is commercial 30-30 ammo cheap, it is effective and accurate in my 336. The Federal blue box (I prefer the 170 grain rather than 150 grain) , the cheapest around when available, is so cheap that it is not worth reloading, If I pay $15 a box (on sale or at Wally world) I am paying a lot. Bullets. primer, powder the cost of dies , etc. will cost almost as much, to say nothing of my time and effort More importantly it shoots as well in my 336 as anything else. May be the bullet is not as good as a the pricier ones used for reloading. But the deer don't know that. If they they would probably laugh at me. But seriously it works and works well, a small hole going in and a bigger hole going out and the deer not going very far if at all..

If you look around, you'll find almost everybody is either sold out or has limited stock. I find that 160 gr. Hornady FTX (gummy tips) cut my groups down noticeably. If you can't find them, you might have to think out of the box if the flat nosed 170 or 150 grain normal bullets as sold out. I'd try the Speer hot core flat points, that actually have more of a point than other 30-30 bullets.. They get good reviews.

3 or 4 months ago, back when you could buy 150 or 170 grain FED/REM/WIN 30-30 ammo at the local Walmart for about $17 per box of 20, I would have said buy a box of each and see which shot the best groups in your rifle. My Mossberg 472 seems to prefer the 170 grain Deer Season XPs from Winchester, while my Savage 170 pump gun shoots its best groups with the 160 grain Hornady FTX. I reloaded for the 30-30 in the past, but no longer shoot them enough to justify the time and expense when there is all of that good factory ammo selling for under $20 in most cases and places. I've never seen a recovered 170 grain Remington RNCL that didn't look like a perfect mushroom.

In my Marlin 336A I have used lyman cast lead on a half dozen or so. Then I tried the Speer 130's and they worked very well. Winchester 64 has taken five with the Hornady 170's and my 94 another three with the lyman cast. I've never tried 150's but if I ever do it will be the Hornady or Speer bullet. I hunt with iron sights and my shots were under one hundred yards, most under 75 yards. Nothing like still hunting with a lever action for me.

If'n i had to choose one bullet for the 3030 it would be the Hornady ftx. I have used it in every one of my 30-30's and it has never let me down. That said i am talking about the bullet not the leverevalution ammo. I got two boxes of those and every case i fired in 5 different rifles split from the shoulder back about 1 inch. Hornady said "oh well"
I usually let my individual rifle tell me what weight it likes. My 336's mostly like 160-170g. My 94's like 170's hands down. My Savage 99's like 130 or 150's.
Put any bullet where it belongs and something dies.
My 80 year old sister used one of my 336's with the hornady gummie tips to kill her moose. One shot and down. Went in on the front of the shoulder and turned the lungs to mush. Just my .002$ worth

With 150 and 170 Interlocs on the shelf, this gift is already wrapped.

Just shoot it. Most any bullet will work at 30 30 velocities. If the doe died quickly I guess the bullet didn't fail. I shoot 170's of any make I can get hold of. My 94 is a 2/12" gun at 100 so I don't work up loads for accuracy. Maybe I should. I shoot 190 grain Barnes Originals l in my 303 Savage and they seen to penetrate well, never recovered one yet. The 303 is a ballistic twin to the 30 30.

170 Rems is all ive killed game with. Worked great on hogs.

I have killed a half dozen or so deer with my single-shot Henry 30-30. I load 150 (sierras? Not sure as they are factory seconds from Midway)and have never caught a bullet yet out to 168 yards. Just over book max load of 3031

The Speer 150gr Hot Cor shoots great too, I like the 130's because of a bum shoulder even after surgery
So I could hardly shoot my bolt actions, my 223's worked good & I took plenty of whitetails with them.
Seen a Marlin SS and I had to have it, this rifle put bullets into nice little groups after a bit of tuning.

I took a doe at 240yds with the 130gr Hot Cor, bullet went through, deer went 50yds and dropped.
Talk about a confidence builder.

My wife gave me a Marlin 336 30-30 in 1986. I haven't shot it much, but after trying several bullets, I think it likes Sierra 170 grain flat nose Pro Hunters,

I bought cases and Barnes 150gn TSX bullets in bulk a while back so have some tight groups developed for that bullet.
Also found some 130gn Speers with the small flat point so am working on some loads for it the moment. Haven't used this Remlin on game yet, but the rifle itself is as good or better than any JM I have shot or reviewed since about '71.

I fitted a 3x Weaver on it and it mated so well with this carbine that I left it there.

I also prefer( or my 30 30 prefers) 170’s, but both would work. I would just stay away from the leverevolution gummies as they tend to expand violently at closer ranges.

Load up 10 rounds of the 4 bullets you have, and do your own accuracy test, to see which is best for your rifle.

I use 170 grain Speer over 32 grains Win 748. With prepped, weight-sorted, same headstamp brass (flash hole deburred and uniformed with K&M flash hole uniformed) I get near 1 inch groups at 100 yards from my 1976 Marlin 336a 30-30 ( 24" bbl).

For the 150 gr and 170 gr bullets, Sierra Pro-Hunter FN's and Hornady Interlock FN's Both do very, very well in either weight. Both take deer well. Put any of these over a good dose of RL 15 or LeveRevolution and you'll have a good round for deer and black bear.

I'm giving the Barnes 190 gr Original RN's a spin right now, for hog/heavy brush bullet.

I use to use the 170s, but since I started handloading around 1995, I took a liking to the FN Speer 150s...

they are very accurate in the 30/30 and also in the 308 or an 06....

Friend bought a 1000 long time ago, and was competing with a Garand.... that is what he had, so I loaded it for him per his request...

he started winning matches with them....Go Figure? power I used was IMR 4064....

I have never hunted with a 30-30 though have owned a rather nice '57 M94 I bought when living in Calgary in 2006. I recently acquired a Savage M170 and it shoots the Barnes 150 gr TSX well. I hope to put one through a hog in a couple of days.

Used the 130 grain Speer flat point @ 2500 fps in my 336 A - 8 shots took 6 deer and 2 coyotes.Switched to the 150 Barnes this year-2 shots took 1 deer and 1 coyote.Ranges were from 50 to 221 yards.

I’m of the opinion that you should shoot them all and let your rifle tell you what it prefers. I currently own three 30-30’s and they all like something different. Although in a pinch they all give acceptable accuracy with similar “standard” loads (2 to 2-1/2” @100)
Good luck and have fun! Tom

I am a handloader at heart, but when it comes to hunting with the 30 WCF, I have found the ammunition that I prefer, to be of a factory load. Some winters back, I got a recommendation from member VAnimrod, to try the Remington 170 grain Corelokt Hollow Point load. I did, and found that he was absolutely right. Deer don't like it at all. As in, cyanide. Entrance, exit and straight down. I have used the 170 grain Hornady SP, and I think it is a bit hard. Just no reason to load anything other than the Remington Factory load. All these things said, I love to hunt with the old 30-30. It is a grand old hunting cartridge.

funny tide, u just talked me out of one....

In my younger days, I followed the crowd and used the 170 grainers...

in my older years now... I've come to like the 150 Speer FN... and fueled it with W 748....

The 30/30 is one of my most favorite rounds...one of my Unicorn rifles is a Model 54 Winchester in 30/30....

Most accurate powders I've ever found for a 30/30 happened to be SR 4759, with a 150 at about 1950 fps
or a 170 grainer at 1850 fps....

Got two nice 30/30s.... one is a Marlin Stainless when it was just introduced to see how the market liked it..
and the second is a Legacy Model, with a 26 inch barrel from Winchester... they were like $400 and then they quit making it for a couple of years
and then re brought it out.... only thing they had changed was the price tag.... from $400 to like $1300.00

then I still have the been in the family.. a Model 94 my dad bought in June of 1966 at the RAF Alconbury Rod and Gun Club on base in England for $49.00, just before we left England, for Pope AFB on Ft Bragg NC.... killed my first deer with it at age 14 that fall....

yeah, but you had an extra.

I don't want to hijack the thread but do the cases have to be trimmed shorter for the 160 FTX? I believe that's the case (no pun intended) for 44 magnums?

Thanks.

I use the 150 NBT with LVR and just double jack my 94's, the Ruger No.1-A can take them with no difficulty... this load really adds some pep to the old .30/30.

I as well remember "VAnimrod" wailing on the Remington .30-30 170 HP. I was fortunate to find 200 of these bullets and reloaded them for two Marlin 30-30's. My rifles would not group the HP's for [bleep] with several powders, w as so disappointed.

Interesting. I was thinking of the 125 BT and a couple of other options for a single shot. Didn't even consider the 150 BT.

Velocity around 2400?

Velocity @ 2500 from the No.1, have not chronied it from a 94... it is a peppy load... very effective on deer and bear.

Thanks

170gr Partitions over RL-15 would be tough to beat, and 500 bought when SPS had a sale says the price cant be beat either, i load them to 2400 fps in a modern 26 inch barreled 94 Winchester, an easy 2150 fps in older 94 carbines with 20 inch barrels, a dozen deer and pigs over the years, still looking to recover one.

Well damn, Doc. I am sorry to hear that. I never tried to reload any of those bullets, just bought the ones I found on the shelf, which weren't many. I shot them out of a Marlin too. Can't say I remember what kind of groups I got, but I zeroed the rifle and shot deer with them.

30-30 is one of my most experimented-on chamberings. However, I've only taken one deer with it, and the experience was less than overwhelming. In the early years of my tenure on this august forum, I had gobs of trouble with getting what I thought was a serviceable deer round.

See: https://genesis9.angzva.com/?p=1388

I finally settled on a bullet that Adobe Walls (remember him?) suggested, the 150 grain WIN PP. We've taken deer with it. It works fine. If it shoots well in the rifle, that would be my first choice on deer-size game.

I've experimented with a bunch of bullets. Besides the WIN PP:

130 grain Speer
150 grain Hornady
170 grain Hornady
160 grain Hornady FTX

The 160 grainer gave some benefit for extending useable distance, but honestly, the 150's do as good or better if you're using the 30-30 inside its normal ranges.

I haven't worried about minute of deer and could use any factory load I found on discount. Shoot two or three for sight in/verification and go hunt. The ranges were unusually short. Mostly was wondering if I would have a powder burn and have to listen to the other hunters about it. But walking as slow as though squirrel hunting worked well in the brush. If they weren't close you couldn't tell front from back in that thick stuff. 30 yards being a long shot. So minute of deer had to be six to eight inches in there? Be Well, RZ.

I shoot a 150g Sierra BTSP on my first shot.and second shot, never have needed a third shot!.. Brother uses a TC contender carbine in 30/30 and uses a 150g SST. We like 3031 or Lever powder.

My favorite two bullets are the Barnes 150 and my own cast 311440 loaded to Paco Kelly specs (do a search and you’ll find it).

Not for the 30-30.

An early favorite was the 150 grain flat nosed Sierra, quick killer and exited most of the time. However over the years I have come to notice that there is no noticeable difference to me or the deer as to how various bullets perform. I have used a bunch of 170 grain Hornady's and Sierra's. Have not used the new Flex tip ammo and probably won't because if I need more I would just take a different rifle. I do have my 30-30AI loaded to mid 2500fps speeds with the 150 grain FN Speer.