The 30-30, who says they can't shoot distance!

S

SARuger

New member
I recently bought a Savage 340A. That rifle lead me to the reloading world so that I could make some 130g spitzer rounds for it.

After some load development I now have it dialed in and its a tack driver! 130g Hornady SP pushed by Reloader 15. Clean and accurate!

With Williams FP-TK rear sight and Marbles front ramp I can ring the 400yrd 24" gong with it almost every shot. Honestly, if my 50 year old eyes were better, I could hit the 18" gong.

So I decided to start loading for my 1981 model Win 94AE and yesterday at the range I was able to ring the 250yrd gong 6 out of 15 shots, standing off hand, rapid fire, with 165g coated Missouri Bullets! I actually ended up knocking the gong off and it now needs repairs.

I hear it all the time, the 30-30 won't go the distance. But it will! I will never get bench rest match results but for ringing steel, and ringing it loudly I might add, the 30-30 gets it done!
 
The distance limitation for the .30-30 is mostly due to the typical buckhorn sight on a lever action. Makes it difficult for accurate shot placement out past some 150 to 200 yards.
 
Do a search for "30 American". It's a benchrest cartridge that is nothing
more than 30-30 with a small primer. Nothing wrong with the cartridge,
it's the typical platform that limits it. In iron sighted lever carbines it's
MAYBE a 250 yd cartridge.

I ended up with a 340 in a trade. Clunky rifle, never going to win any
beauty contests--but the darned thing was sub MOA with factory 150's!

Still keeping an eye out for a Remington 788 in 30-30.
 
Six out of 15 isn't anything to brag about. "Most" 30-30's are used for hunting where you would need to hit an 8 inch "gong" 10 out of 10 times and preferably a 6 inch "gong" which would bring you back down to the 150-200 yard range.
 
Three rounds of Federal 150 grain 30-30 at 200 yards, rested, from my old 1976 beater '94. Many of these old guns shoot way better than they're given credit for; and I agree with Art on the buckhorns. I run a flat top rear sight and 1/16" white bead on all my iron sighted rifles.

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Well I'm not that great of a shot so I'm proud of my shooting yesterday. I would not be able to see anything 6" in diameter at 200yrds. I could easily shoot for the shoulder of a deer though.
 
The 30-30 is more capable than people think. Not to mention its like using Thor's hammer on Whitetail! The 160gr FTX bullet flat out WORKS in my 336. I've shot it out to 300 yards and landing the shots on a 12" target wasn't real hard. Although I'm cheating and looking through a Nikon :D. But still the rifles will do it. I love it when people say "oh the 30-30 is only a good 100 yard rifle". Still some GREAT shooting guys with your Iron Sighted Levers.
 
Good for you, SARuger! You found, like me and others, a 340 that shoots well. With a good handload they often do about one MOA, and that will get a 24" gong at 400 yards quite well, even with some wind.
 
Two problems limit accuracy in the typical use of the .30-30 cartridge. The first is its use in lever actions. The most common, the 94 Winchester is in fact a very accurate rifle/carbine, but the setup, with the magazine attached to be barrel, almost guarantees poor accuracy. With the foreend and magazine attachment relieved (or removed entirely), the typical 94 is very accurate.

The second problem is that due to the tubular magazine, bullets used in factory .30-30 rounds are flat tipped, not the best shape for accuracy. And then, of course, no one has done much in the way of research or load development for accuracy for the .30-30. Who cares? It is a "deer round", not used in any competition.

Jim
 
Accuracy and trajectory have nothing to do with each other. I was told (and I believe it's true) that the most accurate projectile firing gun in the world is actually the Army's new 155 howitzer. If we were to scale the cone of fire down from 12 miles to 1000 yards, the 155 would shoot a 1.4 inch group.

Remember also the records that were set in the 1880s and 1890s with 44 and 45 cal black powder Sharps and Remington rifles. Not as good as what we see today at 1000 and 1200 yards, but considering the sights vs. the scopes being used today, those old records are still very impressive.
The 30-30 shoots a lot flatter than the old black-powder 44s and 45s.
So in a rifle that is set up correctly with sights that can take advantage of the accuracy, and being used by a shooter that can ho,d it, the 30-30 is just fine for accuracy out to probably 700 yards at least. It is loosing velocity as it goes down range, so being able to hit a 10" plate at 700 yards doesn't make it a 700 yard elk rifle, but the lack of power is not what we are talking about here. It is more accurate than most people think in a good rifle.

I have a marlin 336 that I have shot some 1.25" groups at 100 several times so I believe the rifle will do it every time, or at least very close to that size every time.

If I could dope the wind correctly I am sure I could shoot some very impressive targets with the marlin at 500 yards, but so far I have not tried it. I have done some group shooting at 300, but the wind messes up any bragging I might have done.
 
250 yards ain't long range. Just saying. And hitting a steel plate ain't the same thing as having enough energy to put down game. The 30-30 is still at it's best at 100-150 yards.

If you'd done this with any other cartridge it would be no big deal.
 
I would like to see half of you hit six out of 15 at 250 yards with a scoped .223, let alone open sights, standing off hand. Maybe some of you don't understand what "off hand" means.
 
My BIL bought a Win M1894 back around 1980.

He can shoot a 6 shot 13" group @ 100yds. with it 7 days a week.

I can do a 6 shot 5" group @ 100 yds with my stock 44 Mag in SBH.

I told him to cut the barrel to 7 1/2" so he could try for the 5" group. He said something ugly back to me.

One nephew got a Rem M788 in 30-30 and decided to AI the thing.

It shoots a good 2" group @ 100 yds with 6 shots any day of the week. Open sights to boot. I would like to have it, but it is anchored to his safe when not in his hands.
 
I have killed a deer or two 'offhand' at or near 200 yards when no rest was available. I have also passed way more of those than I've taken. When hunting, the logical thing to do is use a rest for a long shot, if one is available. Personally I evaluate each shot, based on what I know the rifle and capable of.
 
I would like to see half of you hit six out of 15 at 250 yards with a scoped .223, let alone open sights, standing off hand. Maybe some of you don't understand what "off hand" means.
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I have killed deer at 300 yards offhand with an iron sighted 30-06 without so much as a sling for support. I wouldn't try it now with my eyesight but I have done it several times and no I never lost one at that range either. I grew up hunting across soy bean fields and if you couldn't make a 300 yard shot you might as well stay at home.
 
Well I am damned impressed, standing, rapid fire , works for me!

And an aside:

Some of the Tank Rifles (big rifle) are amazingly accurate

even more so are the smoother bores! I think under an inch at 1000.
 
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Thanks all! Yes I know the 30-30 will not take a deer at 200+ and it wouldnt be an ethical shot for me anyway.

I'm just in awe that either of my 30-30's shoot as good as they do.

And yesterday, I was on my game! Best shooting I have done in a while! I'm okay from the bench but not so much standing off hand. I probably could do better slinged up but I haven't put any swivels on my 94 as I don't hunt with it. i spens my deer season with a 10.5" Super Blackhawk in my hands and looking for deer 50yrds or less.
 
The 30-30 is limited only by the bullets fired and the sights typically found on rifles chambered for it. Don't forget that when it was introduced, the 30-30 took the country by storm, and obsoleted many cartridges overnight. It is only the US obsession with squeezing the absolute last ft/sec out of cartridges that relegated it to the back seat of rifledom. The 30-30's 150 gr at 2,300 fps is not all that far behind the 300 Savage's 150 gr at 2,500 fps that everyone was raving about, nor is it far behind the 308. Tom Horn claimed it was like shooting lightning, that he could easily hit a man at 400 yds. Winchester chambered the models 54 and 70 in 30-30 before WW2. And the list goes on. The 30-30 is one of the greats of American cartridge history.
 
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