Remchester:
Thank you for your kind and friendly words.
SIZE: this amazing animal was equivalent to two (2) large mulies. Live weight estimated 350 - 425 lbs. I've taken many cow elk and young bull elk that had approx. live weight of 550 lbs.
Penetration: my last shot struck the center of chest as animal faced me. This bullet smashed through hide and muscle and cont'd in a straight line. It damaged the large tube type bronchial organ above the heart and tore through the diaphram; bullet plowed through intestinal organs and halted within the muscle at hip area. Pentration was approx. 55 inches!
Winchester 170 grain Power Point ammo is well designed for 30-30 impact velocity. One can count on fast expansion and straight line penetration along with excellent retained weight. Same can be stated for Hornady InterLock and FEDERAL Fusion ammo. A favorite mule deer load is 150 grain Winchester SilverTip featuring a most unusual alloy tip. Expansion is violent at ranges less than 100 yards; ghastly wound channels are the norm along with drop in their tracks performance. But at 150 yards or so, the 150 grain SilverTip bullet performs like a so-called standard soft tip.
I've never tried Nosler's Partition within 30-30 ammo. But my sister-in-law's 7mm-08 has produced many elk kills with this sturdy bullet.
In my opinion, 30-30 is not for every hunter. It takes hunting skills and patience to place deadly shots at 175 yards or less. It takes practise, practise, practise, to fire accurate repeat shots from make shift field positions. There is certainly no shame in shooting an animal more than once.
30-30 is not a long distance cartridge like .308 or 30-06. But within its ideal power range, the combination of rapid expansion and straight line penetration produce deadly wound channels. 30-30 is a KEEPER!
This large bodied muley was toppled with one shot by my daughter. Distance was approx 125 yards or so. The buck leaped on its hind legs at the shot, punched the air like a stallion and toppled over backward. It kicked a few times and the hunt was over.
Good hunting to you.
Jack