30-30 Question

[Skip99]

Hello all, newbie to loading here. I want to start with my 30-30. Looking for bullets I see that the same one can be used for 30-30, .308. 300 Win Mag etc. Why is this when my 30-30 is supposed to have the round nose bullets in the tube?

[maxx03]

Loading pointed bullets in the tube mag may cause the tip to set off a primer.

[Exodus343]

Tubular magazine
Your bullet will touch the next round's primer and so on

[Skip99]

That's my point. I don't get why the manufacturer is listing the same bullet for all those applications.

[rromeo]

Not all 30-30s use tubular magazines.

[WMG]

Another thing to keep in mind if not already is , not all .308 bullets are made to function as intended at 30-30 speeds.
For general example a certain bullet made for 300 win mag velocity may not expand as intended when poking along at 30-30 speeds.
For the record my wife has a lot of years with the Hornady 170gr F.P loaded with Reloder 15 and I will say that bullet has performed very well.

I also have a 35rem in a Marlin and I do know people who have used pointed bullets in their guns and lived to tell about it HOWEVER it is not advised to do so and if you have ever seen a Remington 14 with it's spiral tube mag , the purpose of that was to keep the bullet tip from contacting the primer in front of it.

[ojisan]

Once you get dialed in to reloading, you can make "load two" rounds using pointed bullets.
With these loads, you only "load two" into the magazine tube.
You lever the action to feed and fire the first one, since there is only one left in the mag then, there is no danger of it going off.
Otherwise, you do have to use round nose, flat nose or polymer nose bullets in tube mags.

[MrElectric03]

You CAN use many different ones but have to be careful. As noted above plated bullets shouldn't go past 1200 fps so generally a no go in a .308/.30-06/.300WM. .30-30 is a great hunting round though so as long as you don't load a bunch in the tube you can use a more aggressive hunting bullet.

[Divernhunter]

As pointed out bullets designed for hunting in a 300win mag will have very poor terminal performance at 30-30 speeds.
Years ago(before the internet) we loaded Sierra 165gr HPBT hunting bullets in our 30-06. They were terrible. Some deer where hit(good hits) more than once and ran off to be shot by another hunter in our group using different bullets/cartridges. We found nice pencil size holes thru them. I wrote(that is what we did in the stone ages) to Sierra and they responded with a letter saying that that bullet was designed for mag rifles and were not a good choice for the 30-06/308win and such. They did not explain why they had data for that bullet listed for the 30-06/308win/7.62X54/7.5X55 Swiss/300Savage30-40krag. That was one of my 1st lessons on carefully researching and choosing the proper bullet MATCHED to the cartridge and game to be hunted.
In fact when I make light loads(read lower speed and recoil) for friends in 30cal I use the 150gr RN bullets designed for the 30-30 so that they get good terminal performance. It works well. If I load those same 30-30 cup-n-core type bullets up to hot 30-06 speed they can fail to do their job.

I suggest you stick with bullets designed for the 30-30(150-170gr RN or the Barnes Bullet designed for the 30-30) for better terminal performance and your own safety from having the rounds in the tube touch off.

[Skip99]

Learning more every day. So to start with, 30-30 only. Thanks all for the info.

[LD-Ordie]

I've been using 150gr FP designed for a 30-30 from Extreme. $53. for 500. reasonable $$$. Gets even better when you catch their sales

[fast54vw]

What about using the FTX bullet?

[ElvenSoul]

30-30 used to be available in a bolt action.

Still popular in single shot pistol & rifles.

[Dnele928]

Yes, LeveRevolution by Hornady. As ammo or bullets for reloading. Can buy the LR powder too.

[mark501w]

Don't forget to crimp