Your opinion of the 30-30 ? ?

[Ben]

I now have 3 different firearms that shoot the 30-30 Win.
The 30-30 , as far as I'm concerned , is a real natural for cast bullet loads.

I have many different 30 cal. rifles that I shoot plain base and g/c cast bullets out of. My cast bullet weights for the 30-30 vary from an 84 gr. full wadcutter to a plain base 240 gr. bullet with about 35 other cast bullet designs with a wide variety of weights in between the 84 gr. and the 240 gr. loads. Here are some plain base 200 gr. spire points I loaded from my T/C Super 14 this morning. I'll be testing these in a few days at the range.

What is interesting is when I'm shooting my 308 Win. and 30-06 rifles with cast bullets , I usually shoot at velocities that the 30-30 can easily generate.

Obviously when you " flip the page " and head over into top loads with jacketed bullets, the 308 W and the 30-06 far surpass the venerable 30-30.

Here are a few of the reasons that I like the 30-30 Win. :

• The 30-30 has a nice long neck.
• The case capacity of the 30-30 Win. , in my opinion, is just about ideal for shooting cast bullets.
  
• Most all of my .30 cal. cast bullet designs are fully contained in the neck when the round is chambered.
• Brass is very plentiful.
• So far, I'm shooting some fairly impressive groups ( at least for me ).
• Out of my 3 single shots, the possible load combinations are infinite.

This round is by no means a " new comer " - ( 121 years old ) , but for me it is a round that I really enjoy reloading and shooting. New cast bullet designs, new propellants, and new bullet lubes give this old girl a new lease on life. Shooting tight groups at 1,200 - 1,500 fps for me is just plain old fun !

5 rounds @ 100 yards with my T/C Contender , Super 14, 30-30 Win. :

Ben

 

[JWFilips]

Ben,
I think you can turn a 30-30 into the ideal cast bullet gun! I only have an early 1970's Marlin 336 to shoot 30-30 in ( It was a gift from my oldest nephew who will not hunt any more.... He told me to enjoy it & I have!) But once seeing the potential for this caliber with cast bullets I'm dying to get a bolt action version or maybe even a single shot! But up here in Northeast PA not much of those are available. Seeing what you have been shooting has really been exciting!
Jim

 

[Maven]

.30-30Win. used to be quite common in CBA Matches back in the 1980's (Rem. #788's with a modified trigger). It is still an excellent CB cartridge.

 

[KHornet]

Have always wanted a very accurate single shot 30-30, but have not yet run into one when I had the where with all to bring it home. Have had 3ea 30-30's, a 94 Win(still have), a 340 Sav that I foolishly sold about 5 yrs ago, and a 340 Sav that I drowned in the Chena River in Alaska, when I almost drowned with it. Both of the 340's were more accurate than the 94. It is a great ctg regardless of age and for all of the reasons that Ben lists. And I would add one more reason, that being nostalgia. Sort of ranks along with 45-70, and 30-40 Krag for about the same reasons.

 

[RicinYakima]

Every once in a while there is a "lever action, auto loading and pump" benchrest match. The Savage 99 in 30/30 is almost always the winner. Good enough that cowboys will not let you shoot an 1895 Savage in .303 at their accuracy matches. Rem 788's would still be a contender in "Hunting" rifle, if anyone could afford to buy one at todays collectors' prices.

 

[RBHarter]

I recently aquired my 1st . A 325C Savage . I was pleased with ease of getting a good load . 19.0 of 4189 under a 312-155 gave me 5 touching, 4831 and 4350 got me about 1.5 inches with 301618 . I want to get something on the order of a 30-165 SIL to try in the 325.
It killed 115# boar with a 150 gr Winchester Silver Tip but they only shoot about 3" .

I also shot a NOE 311-230 FP which surprisingly made round holes .

I've started to get away from the 300 yd rifles as I'm leaving the land of the 200 yd normal and 300 yd shot is likely for the land of good luck seeing 200 yd . Cartridges as well as platforms are changing and the 30 WCF fits well into that need.

 

[Brad]

If there is a more ideal rifle cartridge for cast than the 30-30 then I don't know what it is.
My 336 does all I could ever ask of it. Easy to make happy from mild to wild. Well, wild for a 30-30.

 

[35 shooter]

Ben,

I like the old 30/30 for all the reason's listed so far...plus


It's kind of humbling to think back over my hunting career remembering all the rifles and different calibers i've had pass through my hands in all that time, then realize i could have done it all with the 30/30 i started with in high school.

Well, maybe with the exception for some of the long range varmint shooting.

 

[Ian]

I love all four of mine. Two Marlins (one I've had since a kid, my grandfather gave it to me), one I bought from a member here long before there was a "here", and two Savage 219s (one was my father's and more recently I acquired one in better condition from a CB member, alas without the companion shotgun barrel). All of them shoot, I mean REALLY shoot.

I think the ideal platform for a handloader in this caliber is a good single-shot rifle. Either a roller or falling block. The break-actions are nice too.

 

[Josh]

I have to say that the 30-30 is the ideal round, but if the brass for the 30/40 Krag was more prevalent that would get my nod. The 30/40 is a stretched 30-30 in the simplest reasoning, it handles all bullets as well as the 30-30 but does more favor to the heavies like the 220 RN's and the velocities are quick enough that you can lope with a 220 at 2000 fps or drive 150's as fast as you could want to.

 

[9.3X62AL]

3 of the 8 deer I've taken fell to 30/30 WCF, and all 8 of them could have. My first (at age 13 in 1968) was with a borrowed Win 94, and it was my longest shot so far--125 yards off the muzzle, off-hand with open irons. Collapses him in place. In my local deer zone (CA D-14) we have at least this year's season and 2017 in which to use cast lead bullets, and in each of those years I will use the 30/30 with Lyman #311041 as a cast soft-point or the Win '73 in 44/40 with a similar bullet type (SAECO #446).

By far my favorite cast bullet 30 caliber rifle cartridge.

 

[fiver]

I have a few bolt gun versions and of course some lever gun versions.
I still haven't tried all the molds I have in them yet.
it seems I mostly grab whatever bullet I happen to have the most of that'll mostly fit and give it a go for a couple of test loads then load up all the empty brass I have in that.
I haven't found a powder that won't work and I generally get excellent accuracy from at least one of the rifles.

the 30-30 is pretty darn hard to screw up with lead bullets.

 

[Rally Hess]

Me too. I've got a Marlin 336 SS that just loves the 165 Ranchdog (DP) and reloder 7. I like the platform and carry it alot on my traplines. I'd had only fair luck with bullet choice until I found the Ranchdog and sized at .311. I got into the Ranchdog and Bens Red about the same time. I cast and reloaded alot of them. Good thing is there are alot of .30-30 shooters here and someone is always bringing me free brass. Many thanks to Ben, Marlin, and NOE.

 

[Barn]

I love the .30/30. At this time I have 7 rifles and 2 pistols in that caliber. On the pistol side the 12" Merrill is a lot more fun to shoot than the one with a 9" barrel. The herd of rifles is quite diverse. Hi-wall, 788, martini (2), 1899, Marlin 1936, 219.

 

[KHornet]

It would be hard to pick favorites in rifle cartridges for both cast and jacketed, but I guess I would have to rate it in the top 3 just because of versatility and economy.

 

[KHornet]

Just got the most recent edition of the Fouling Shot. There is a most excellent old Frank Marshall
article "Speaking "Frankly:" The 30-30 Bolt Gun", that is a super article as are most of the articles
by Marshall.

 

[Ben]

I love the .30/30. At this time I have 7 rifles and 2 pistols in that caliber. On the pistol side the 12" Merrill is a lot more fun to shoot than the one with a 9" barrel. The herd of rifles is quite diverse. Hi-wall, 788, martini (2), 1899, Marlin 1936, 219.

OH, that sounds like FUN ! !
That is a cast bullet shooter's dream battery.

 

[flint4570]

The good ole .30WCF is a great cast bullet cartridge. I had a barrel made for a T/C contender but they screwed up the chamber so bad it was un shootable the case neck would blow out to almost 32 cal. sent it back and it has way to long a throat almost a full inch past the chamber and .313 in dia. got so disgusted I just gave up on the project. But I have a Savage 99 and a M 94 that shoot good.

 

[JWFilips]

it has way to long a throat almost a full inch past the chamber and .313 in dia. got so disgusted I just gave up on the project.

AHH! but a good bullet caster could easily make that work! You need a long 314" bullet since that barrel is single shot you have a lot of long bullet options! I do not have the diameter issue but take a look at this thread
https://www.artfulbullet.com/index.php?threads/not-your-fathers-30-30-winchester.5164/

I also have an old 8mm JP Sauer und Sun... that is a Mauser 98 It now uses a .338 bullet very successfully ! Bullet casters can usually fix any long fat chamber ( for caliber) Problem
Jim

 

[CZ93X62]

The 30/30 WCF remains a very popular deer-hunting rifle caliber, ever after 125 years. What is not to like? Gentle recoil, light/handy platforms, accurate enough for deer-sized critters within its practical range, and affordable factory ammo for non-reloaders.

Some more subtle attributes......it is easy to make jacketed bullets that expand reliably at 30/30 velocity and range envelopes. Same story with the Barnes all-copper projectiles--the 30/30 won't become obsolete for deer hunting in CA thanks to Barnes. As far as castings go, the 30/30 is probably the best 30 caliber chambering for cast bullets--it can use conventionally-lubed castings easily through the entire range of its velocity potential, if you are willing to use gas checks at its upper end. Few other 30 caliber chamberings can make this claim.