At the range today, H & R 30-30

[Ben]

This has turned into a fun little rifle.
I'm really enjoying shooting this one.

This is a 10 round group fired at 50 yards.

I asked my friend Bryan to shoot 10 rounds also @ 50 yards.

Here is the load that we were both shooting.

This is the bullet I was shooting today out of my Handi.
The Accurate ( 31 - 175 BP ) , it is a clone of the SAECO # 315. A great plain base .30 cal. cast bullet.

Here is my Handi :

 

[Ian]

I should have gotten one of those barrels fitted to my receiver back when they were still available. Didn't do it then because I have two really experienced old gentlemen crafted by Savage sitting in my safe and they fit and handle better than the Handi even with 24" barrels. Thing is, dangit, now I want one to thread and shoot suppressed. A 300 Blackout single shot would be even better in some respects, but I have so much 30-30 brass and precision tooling for loading it that it would probably make more sense. A rimmed cartridge in a break action always makes more sense to me anyway.

 

[Ben]

A rimmed cartridge in a break action always makes more sense to me anyway.

Yes, Exactly ! !
There is a " mania " over the 300 blackout, however at this point in time, I've not been swept up in it.

For the type of shooting that I was doing today, I think I'm better off with my 30-30. I like that long neck that keeps the base of the cast bullet inside the neck. I can't see 30-30 brass getting hard to get anytime soon.

Ben

 

[JWFilips]

Great Shooting Ben! That is a sweet rifle. I'm always amazed at the groups you shoot.

Hopefully tomorrow morning I'm going to be testing some of those 311467's and 311466's you sent me.
I was able to sit at my loading bench today and load
Jim

 

[Ian]

Ben, the 300 Blackout is a fantastic cartridge for the AR-15 platform. No surprise, that's why it was invented. Aside from being able to buy factory subsonic ammo easily, I don't see the appeal for it in any other platform. Now that factory-loaded subsonic .308 Winchester ammo is available for the non-reloading masses, the bolt or break-action 300 Blackout makes even less sense to me.

If you spent an afternoon shooting reactive targets with one of my suppressed AR-15s, you might begin to see the appeal. Still, I enjoy the .30-30 in a variety of platforms, and shoot them a lot. I like single-shot rifles and leverguns more than bolt-action rifles, partially because I'm left-handed. Same reason I prefer single-action revolvers to those with swinging cylinders.

 

[Ben]

Great Shooting Ben! That is a sweet rifle. I'm always amazed at the groups you shoot.

Hopefully tomorrow morning I'm going to be testing some of those 311467's and 311466's you sent me.
I was able to sit at my loading bench today and load
Jim

Great Jim, keep us posted.

Ben

 

[Ben]

Ben, the 300 Blackout is a fantastic cartridge for the AR-15 platform. No surprise, that's why it was invented. Aside from being able to buy factory subsonic ammo easily, I don't see the appeal for it in any other platform. Now that factory-loaded subsonic .308 Winchester ammo is available for the non-reloading masses, the bolt or break-action 300 Blackout makes even less sense to me.

If you spent an afternoon shooting reactive targets with one of my suppressed AR-15s, you might begin to see the appeal. Still, I enjoy the .30-30 in a variety of platforms, and shoot them a lot. I like single-shot rifles and leverguns more than bolt-action rifles, partially because I'm left-handed. Same reason I prefer single-action revolvers to those with swinging cylinders.

I guess I'm from a different generation.......The reactive target thing, I'm just not into.

Ben

 

[Brad]

And that is what makes shooting enjoyable, we can each find a style we prefer. I'm more of a plinker by nature but will shoot groups when it is appropriate. I do know that Paul and I have had a great deal of fun shooting steel plates at 100 in the past. We learned a great deal about steel hardness. Mild steel bends and doesn't hold up as velocity increases. Too hard and after a while hunks break off.

My only 30-30 is an old 336 but it shoots the 165 RD well enough that it gets fed nothing else. If there is a finer cast cartridge than the 30-30 I'm not sure what it is. A 45-70 might be close but I would still place it second.

 

[Ben]

The 30-30 has :

• The ideal case capacity for 1,500 - 1850 fps shooting with 150 gr. - 170 gr. cast bullets.

• As mentioned earlier, the long neck of the 30-30 is optimum for cast bullets.
• Headspacing on the rim for single shots is great.
• There is a wide range of cast bullet molds ( way too many to count) from 75 grs. - 245 grs.

A great cartridge for the cast bullet shooter, in my opinion.

Ben

 

[Brad]

I agree on all accounts. I really like the case capacity. It is prefect for allowing cast to shoot equally well as jacketed with full loads.

 

[Chris]

Ben, you nailed it.

 

[9.3X62AL]

I have always liked the 30/30 WCF caliber, and the rifles they are chambered for--usually lever guns. For 95% of my local deer hunting, it is the PERFECT venison maker--and could have taken every deer I have shot throughout my life. It DID take 3 of them, including my first buck which was also my longest deer shot to date--125 yards, at age 13.

One of those Handi-Rifles might just be the ticket in 30/30 and 357 Magnum. I know next-to-nothing about them, though. Like leverguns in 357 Magnum, the Handi seems to be unobtainium in this caliber. How easy is it to fit swap barrels to an existing receiver? Are there specialist makers that cater to this niche?

 

[Ian]

The Cerberus group sucked up H&R along with Marlin and H&R and promptly drained the blood from H&R, discontinuing the Handi line immediately after the stock was exhausted. So now they're unobtainium except where you can find them still on shelves. One of my local gun shops has a long rack full of NOS .223 and .243 Handis, and a couple of 20-gauge shotguns with the SB-2 cast receivers. I'm thinking really hard about picking up a couple of the .223 versions and setting them back for future stub-barrel projects.

The barrels are easy enough to headspace if you can find them. I really like the platform, all that I have handled and the one I was smart enough to buy a few years ago (.45 Colt with nice wood and acid colored receiver) all have had very smooth and positive actions. The triggers have all been stiff, but a light polish of the engagement surfaces and some spring work takes care of that in short order.

 

[Ben]

And that is what makes shooting enjoyable, we can each find a style we prefer.

The shooting sports is a wide , diverse sport.
Brad, you're right , even if we are not interested in a particular aspect of the sport, we need to be grateful that shooters are involved in it.

That strengthens us all.
There is strength in numbers.

Ben

 

[KHornet]

Many words of wisdom written here. Tis hard to beat a ctg that
will shoot bullets from 83 to 180 gr, at vols from 1000 to 2500 fps.
The 30-30 will do so and then some. The old girl is sort of in a
class all of her own.

Paul

 

[Ben]

Yes Paul, the only other cartridge that might equal the 30-30 is the 30-40 Krag with cast. But alas, 30-40 Krag brass is near unobtainable now ( I saw some advertised a few days ago for $4 per empty case ) . I owned a Krag in the mid-70's , it was a great shooter with cast bullets.

Ben

 

[RicinYakima]

Think you are right on the money Ben. I have two 30/40's and a Savage 99 in 30 /30. The only advantage to the 30/40 is the ability to shoot the 220's at the same speed as the 170's from the 30/30's. Here in the desert we can see varmints 200 +, so it is easier to hit with the flatter shooting heavies.

 

[KHornet]

I agree with Ric regarding advantages and bullet weight. However, as Ben said, the
30-30 at least at present is plentiful brass wise, and the Krag is not. Gotta love those
long neck cases.

Paul

 

[RicinYakima]

And yet, most 30/30 shooters are not handloaders. About 5 years ago I was working on a 30/30 wildcat project (.30 Johnson) and needed new brass. Walked into LGS and found 200 R-P in the bags for $9.99 per hundred. I have not seem new R-P 30/40 in years, but Buffalo Arms used to advertise it. I'm still shooting FA (19)02 headstamped nickel plated stuff that will probably last another 100 years as much as I shoot it.

 

[35 shooter]

At the age of 63 it's kind of humbling to think back over a deer hunting career that started at age 15 with a marlin 336 30/30 that i couldn't wait to trade in on a 7mm/mag, and realize i could have "done it all", along with all the rest of my hunting with that same old 336 marlin.