Reloading the 30-30 questions

[SmokeRolls]

Bought my daughter a sweet Winchester Ranger 30-30 20" barrel for deer hunting and will be gearing up for reloading and have a few questions that you all could help with because I don't know squat about reloading this style of cartridge.
#1 Are the Hornady LEVERevolution bullets a good choice for the lever action rifles and do the bullets perform well on not just accuracy but in expansion/penetration and or terminal ballistics?
#2 What's your favorite loads for this particular rifle?
I was kinda thinking about staying around 160-150 grain since my daughter is about 120 lb and I don't want it to kick too hard but still want good performance.
Thanks
Any advice would be appreciated.....SmokeRolls

 

[diriel]

Re: Reloading the 30-30 questions

If you need non lead bullets like the solid copper ones, then I think I would look at the 140gr GMX. For powder, I have been staring at IMR8208XBR, and a Win LR primer. Rem. Nickel brass by preference. I do not normally suggest Nickel brass, but in a 30-30 it seems to do a little better for me.

Another powder I have HEARD about but not got my hands on yet is Alliant Varmint. It seems to give nice velocities in 130 / 150 / 170 gr. wt. areas.

Another bullet I have been watching is the Speer Deep-Curl 150gr FN 30-30 bullet. Nice looking bullet, but it IS leaded.

Have a good one!
Gary
P.S. 4895 is also a VERY good powder to use, i would look at the Youth Loads that hodgdon and IMR both have listings for.

 

[former naval person]

Re: Reloading the 30-30 questions

In the .30-30...the classic powder and one which still works great is IMR 3031. Use the 150 or 170 grain bullet...they are the tried and true bullets for that caliber. After all...you are working with a 2200 to 2400 fps rifle. Don't make it too complicated. Don't spend the money on super bullets. At that power range, the simple lead cored jacketed bullets work great! You probably couldn't count the deer slain with that combination. JMHO

 

[armorpl8chikn]

Re: Reloading the 30-30 questions

Another vote for IMR3031...there is simply no way you need anything else in the 30-30. A Model 94 is not an action you want to go farting around with, trying to sqeeze performance out of a reload. Stick to the book, do not under any circumstances exceed max loads. Most of the major bullet makers make 150gr flat nose and round nose bullets, they are all sufficient.
If you need to use all copper bullets I reccomend moving to a state where it isn't required.

 

[SmokeRolls]

Re: Reloading the 30-30 questions

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm using the Sierra manual for my load data and no I don't have to go non-lead, lead is fine in Ky.
The hippies havn't ruined everything in my state yet...Laugh!
Just looking to gain some recommendations on what works well.
I have 3031 and a bunch of Varget and probably 2 or three more powders that will work as well.
Thanks again........SmokeRolls

 

[diriel]

Re: Reloading the 30-30 questions

If you already have 3031, hey Use it! For many years that was my go to powder for 30-30. The reason I said IMR8208XBR is not to get fancy, but because of how temperature stable it is. The 30-30 don't have a lot of lee-way strength wise, so using a powder that stacks the odds a little farther in my favor just seemed like a good idea to me. For me, it has zero to do with FPS! I Look for a good mid pressure accuracy load, and Load-a-lot-o-them!

My brother borrowed my Westernfield 336 a few years back to go hunting. He bought some PMC 3030 ammo, new off the shelf. He brought the gun back the next day with and told me it was real hard to eject the brass. Factory ammo was running over pressure in a gun that has served me well with mostly factory winchester ammo for the best part of 30 years.

Teach me to be out of reloads for my 30-30. For some reason, that is the ONLY hunting rifle I have that I will honestly Some Times buy factory winchester 150s for. I had been out with a good friend "using up old ammo" and generally having a great outing, and had used up all my years old reloads. The PMC episode got me to thinking, and so when I got heavy into my research, the 8208 powder just looked really good for pressure vs. temp and general velocity. As you can tell, I do not take the old 30-30 out nearly as much as it probably deserves. There was a good bit of time between that hunting trip, and my decision to reload up a bunch more 30-30. Anymore, I go in streaks where I reload up a shitload of ammo so I don't have to bother with hitting the Bench every time I want to go out and shoot. It is just not as much fun these days to reload as it used to be. I prefer to be out shooting instead.

What's all this got to do with 3031? Nothing. I have never had a problem with that powder. I DO Live in california

and so I must use all copper bullets when I hunt here. That being said, those speer deepcurl bullets really do look real good, and the price is right.

Good Hunting,
Gary

 

[Longguns]

Re: Reloading the 30-30 questions

SmokeRolls, Try some H4895. I Load 150 and 170 gr Sierras FN and they shoot good. I have a Marlin 336 and a Winchester 94. I don't use them(the rifles)for deer but have them around for the kids you can take hunting. It shoots real good and there is not a lot of recoil esp the 150's. Good Luck and hope the kids put em down. Sure is fun to watch them get one.