thurty-thurty winnie for all na game

30-30remchester here ya go

-Win 94 30-30 w/ Rem 170gr Corelokt. 5x5 bull elk ~650lbs, 125 yards. 1st shot he froze, 2nd shot dropped and got back up, 3 shot started running, 4th shot dropped for good. All 4 bullets were found in far lung didn't hit any bones.
 
I guess so, they were all perfect mushrooms. Not nearly as much damage as I am used to with deer, but plenty to do the job. He only ran about 30-40 yards. I think the key is, whether you are using a 30-30 or bigger gun, if you can put another in him, do it.
 
More Wording

I guess if you etched the word "magnum" on the rim of a .30-30 cartridge then it would become a 1000 yard moose rifle. My God, add the words super or short and you have a round capable of interplanetary ranges.
 
TELEMARK your experence with the core-lokt bullets are similar to mine with same brand bullets of different calibers. I always had reliability issues with later manufacture (1970 and later) core-lokt bullets. The fact they didnt strike bone and it didnt penatrate to the offside ribcage is more evident of a bullet expanding too rapidly, thus stunting penatration. Just a guess on my part though. I would imagine a Nosler Partition would have given deeper penatration, again just a guess as the only animal I shot with this bullet was a mule deer at close range. I guess this would be the time to add my two large animals I shot with a 30-30. First was a large cow elk shot at 200 yards using OLDER Rem 170 grn core-lokt Hp. First shot broadside lung shot. She took off with the herd. I found her alone @2 minutes later, alone, very weak and about to go down. A second shot at 200 yards broadside lung, dropped her. When I got to her she was dead. One bullet passed all the way through and exited. Another bullet under skin on off side. The other animal was a VERY large buffalo bull that was head shot and didnt die but wasnt going anywhere. I shot it as it was laying down at close range and bullet entered at brisket and stopped in hump. Again used older Rem 170 hp core-lokt.
 
Shot a coon with rabies in the dark while some one else held the flashlight. It sure looked like 500 pounds coming at us, but turned out much smaller. I think a large bear would have the same effect. I would load the magizine full and have two rounds in my hand.
 
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I took this large bodied red stag last February with my 30-30 carbine. Distance was approx 85 yards or so. First broadside shot through the chest organs had no noticeable effect. Second shot slowed him considerably. Third shot was facing me and my bullet toppled him. The expanded bullet was recovered from the hip area. But first two bullets crashed through the hide, ribs, and chest organs with enough power to exit into the snow covered hillside.

30-30 is a KEEPER!!

Jack

PS red stag meat is tastier than elk; a genuine trophy on the dinner plate
 
From what I've seen and read over a bunch of years, the real issue about the .30-30 is not the power of the cartridge. Nor, to a great extent, its capability at what we generally think of as the usual hunting distances.

It's more about the user's ability to deal with the usual rather-coarse buckhorn sights and in having some knowledge of the trajectory out beyond 150 to 200 yards.

Granted, power comes into the equation when you get to some of the larger animals. There is a vast difference between killing and stopping--particularly with the large bears.
 
Coming from traditional black powder hunting (patched round ball), I accept the shortened range of the 30-30. Knowing that it is a major step up from most BP loads with round ball, and knowing how well my 40 cal longrifle could anchor a deer, I am confident that if I want to get close enough to shoot it, I can kill it. I just don't want to get that close to a big bear.....:D
 
JACK O'CONNER, that is just what I was looking for, first hand experence. With your excellent shooting and observation skills it is easier to have imformed discussions. From what I can tell this stag is size wise between a big mule deer and a smaller elk. Is that correct? On on frontal shot I assume it was between the front legs? Could you guess how many inches of penatration?
 
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!

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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
 
the 30/30 has the power to take the largest of beasts in North America, but is limited by its range. He will need to be closer to a grizzly bear with the 30/30 than with a 300 Winchester magnum, or a 30-06 to place a good shot.
 
I am sure it can be done, and who knows maybe it has already. Just myself I think the Nosler Partition is a good choice, but that is just me there are lots of ways to go. If it was me I would be making some caliber changes depending on what it was for his game. But again thats just my feelings. Sounds like he has alot of confidence in his rifle, himself, shot placement, etc. I know for just myself the confidence is a big one. Shot placement I think is important no matter what your shooting at or using, and leaving whatever it is walk if you can not get it. More than once I let some nice size bucks come in and leave, just could not get the placement or I was spotted. To sum it up I believe it can be done, but just myself I would make some caliber changes on the game I was shooting.
 
heck, i think it was Dan Wesson that took every NA big game animal with a .357. Thats not got the punch of a 30/30 by any means.
 
TOWELIE, not to start a contraversy or arguement, but when a man accomplishes these feats it isnt the same as if we the average man can do. Most of us dont have the finances to hire guides to hunt all the species and we most importantly dont have the time to hunt till we get just the right shot at the right range. This is an aspect of this tread that has not been addressed. While I am a huge fan of the 30-30, just check out my name, I feel on game larger than deer at moderate ranges, that the 30-30 isnt the best choice. While it capable of taking lage animals at close range, modern hunting isnt often accomidating. Where I live the average hunter get 1 chance in 7 years at an elk. And antelope in our state takes up to 15 years to get a tag. Moose and bighorn sheep? I have tried unsucsessfully for 24 years to get a license. So when the chance does come to get an elk or moose or sheep I dont want to pass up the only shot I may get simply because the range is beyond the capability of the 30-30 yet still within the ethical ranges of hunting.
 
Jack just clarified what I was saying and what my experiences have been. The 30-30 within its range is a fine hunting weapon. Like I said, the bullet design for the 30-30 was perfected decades ago. You don't need a premium bullet for the 30-30. At 2100-2300 fps the bullet will hold together perfectly fine. The blunt nose of 30-30 projectiles expand very well even at lower velocities. Its not sexy but the 30-30 just works. For some reason the projectiles fired from a 30-30 usually display classic text-book expansion and pretty solid penetration. You just have to avoid hitting big bones on the larger animals. Unless you are using Nosler Partitions, which hold together better.

I've seen a lot of guys with Magnum cartridges disappointed with the performance of their rifles at very short ranges. Its very hard to predict how a bullet is going to behaveimpacting at above 2800fps. Bullets can completely blow apart. There is no perfect rifle cartridge or perfect bullet. For the most part bullets are either designed to expand at lower velocities or higher velocities. The bullet designed to hold together at short range probably won't expand well at long range. Those designed to expand at long range will probably bust apart at short range. The 30-30 is designed to work within a certain range and it works at that range. Very misunderstood cartridge. Even with cheap ammo it just plain works and recovered bullets are usually perfectly mushroomed with high weight retention. Like I said, its not hard to design a bullet to perform at the velocities that the 30-30 produces. The Leverevolution ammo development has also brought the 30-30 to another level. On deer sized game that load is good out to 250+ yards. I'm not sure I would trust that particular load on Elk though.
 
I also happen to be a 30-30 fan. I've shot deer with everything from a 350 Rem, 257 Bob and everything in between. The 30-30 anchors them just as fast as anything else and I'm talking deer dressed out at over 200lbs. I think the 30-30 was marginalized back in the day due to ammunition limitations. With today's improved ammo and stronger rifles the 30-30 is a more capable cartridge than ever before. I feel it is now a very capable 150-200 yard rifle using ammo like the Hornady leverEvolution.

I am a thick woods N.H. hunter and it doesn't get any better than the compact fast handling Marlin 336 I use. Once in a while a 100-200 yard field or open hardwoods area is encountered and today's 30-30 is not handicapped in such a situation.

Once upon a time I was a young inexperienced hunter listening to my peers make jokes about the 30-30 and bragging about the killing power of the 30-06. Well I finally understood ballistics and the fact bullet placement is critical no matter what caliber your shooting, and learned to respect the 30-30 for what it truly is, a great legendary North American hunting round.
 
.30-30 for all NA big game is a noble and respectable goal.

Have you considered hard cast flat point bullets for the largest game (elk, moose, etc.)? I have used them in handguns but not in a rifle, maybe someone with experience can chime in.
 
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