190gr 30-30 Ammunition
- Thread starter Gatehouse
- Start date
We used to use the heavier bullets from the 303 savage in 30-30's sometimes, if I remember right. - dan
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
It's odd that most all makers of 30-30 rifles go with a 1 in 12" twist. The only maker that had the proper 1 in 10 twist for the 30-30 was Mossberg in the Model 464 levergun.
Bugs me arse that Mossberg stopped 464 production as the plain-jane one I bought shot the tightest of any of the 30-30's I've ever owned. Uuuugh.
Bugs me arse that Mossberg stopped 464 production as the plain-jane one I bought shot the tightest of any of the 30-30's I've ever owned. Uuuugh.
Attachments
And why would they not have a 1-12 twist? That is more than adequate to stabilize any bullet one is likely to shoot in a 30/30. In fact, a 12 twist will stabilize a 190 grain Sierra MK just fine. A 12 twist will also stabilize 220 grain RN bullets with no problem.
Most accurate 30-30 I ever owned was a Rem 788. - dan
My 2023 hunting video project (still in the works) revolves again around the 30-30. For this project, this past summer I did a bunch of performance testing of a bunch of different 30-30 loads, both factory and hand loaded ammunition, including this bullet both as Barnes loads it in their Pioneer ammo as well as hand loaded using LEVERevolution and Barnes load data.
Re velocity: for factory ammo my chrono results mirror those in the video above, with sub-2000fps velocities at 5 meters. I also measured velocity at 50m, 100m, and 150m, but you’ll have to wait for my video for this…
Significant improvement in velocity is possible with Barnes’s published data using LEVERevolution; I was able to safely and easily get north of 2100fps.
Re stability: I have an older Marlin 336 TS, as well as a Glenfield Model 30GT. Not sure what their twist rates are, but these bullets in the Marlin keyhole slightly, but stabilize just fine in the Glenfield. I think this is reflected in the video Testers penetration results too, my suspicion being his gun is just barely stabilizing the Barnes bullet, as there are two “nodes” in his penetration data where some bullets tumbled and penetrated to a lesser degree) and some bullets stabilized better with less tumbling and substantially more penetration. Will have to think about this more, because intuitively it feels wrong to imagine there could be different degrees of stabilization from the same load through the same gun, but maybe that combo is so close to the line that subtle differences in muzzle velocity put him on both sides of the line. Observations from my testing? When stabilized, these things have awesome penetration.
Re expansion and weight retention: I tested this at 50m, 100m, and 150m with both the factory ammo and my faster hand loaded ammo. I don’t want to spoil my video project too much, so I’ll just say now that velocity matters with respect to expansion. In the weight retention department, my findings mirror what the other video tester found - awesome weight retention, and it’s across the entire spectrum of velocity I tested. This is most-definitively not the case with many many of the other common 30-30 bullets, which I’ll talk more about if I can get lucky to finish and share my 2023 project.
Re accuracy: somewhat a function of stability, but I just tested at 200 meters the load I’m using to hunt with my Glenfield, and it easily produces groups that measure less than 2 inches.
Brobee summary: this is a great bullet. I’ve shot a pile of deer with it already this year, and if my luck holds I’ll have an experience with something bigger to share in the months to come.
Best,
Brobee
Re velocity: for factory ammo my chrono results mirror those in the video above, with sub-2000fps velocities at 5 meters. I also measured velocity at 50m, 100m, and 150m, but you’ll have to wait for my video for this…
Significant improvement in velocity is possible with Barnes’s published data using LEVERevolution; I was able to safely and easily get north of 2100fps.Re stability: I have an older Marlin 336 TS, as well as a Glenfield Model 30GT. Not sure what their twist rates are, but these bullets in the Marlin keyhole slightly, but stabilize just fine in the Glenfield. I think this is reflected in the video Testers penetration results too, my suspicion being his gun is just barely stabilizing the Barnes bullet, as there are two “nodes” in his penetration data where some bullets tumbled and penetrated to a lesser degree) and some bullets stabilized better with less tumbling and substantially more penetration. Will have to think about this more, because intuitively it feels wrong to imagine there could be different degrees of stabilization from the same load through the same gun, but maybe that combo is so close to the line that subtle differences in muzzle velocity put him on both sides of the line. Observations from my testing? When stabilized, these things have awesome penetration.
Re expansion and weight retention: I tested this at 50m, 100m, and 150m with both the factory ammo and my faster hand loaded ammo. I don’t want to spoil my video project too much, so I’ll just say now that velocity matters with respect to expansion. In the weight retention department, my findings mirror what the other video tester found - awesome weight retention, and it’s across the entire spectrum of velocity I tested. This is most-definitively not the case with many many of the other common 30-30 bullets, which I’ll talk more about if I can get lucky to finish and share my 2023 project.
Re accuracy: somewhat a function of stability, but I just tested at 200 meters the load I’m using to hunt with my Glenfield, and it easily produces groups that measure less than 2 inches.
Brobee summary: this is a great bullet. I’ve shot a pile of deer with it already this year, and if my luck holds I’ll have an experience with something bigger to share in the months to come.
Best,
Brobee
- Location
- Yellowknife, NWT
I have some 190-grain Barnes Originals bullets I bought for my .303 Savage but I may test them in my 336A in .30-30 Ackley.
freddyfour
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County, Ontario
Pretty slow moving slug, would be a great Blackie round over bait.
Sask_Hunter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan
I’ve got 2 boxes of the Barnes ammo here I need to test. Interestingly the box I picked up last spring has star line brass on it and the box I just grabbed is head stamped Barnes. I have some 190gr hawk bullets I need to load up and see how they shoot.
Mogulrider
CGN Regular
I have many 30-30s and by far the most accurate is my Mossberg 464. That thing shoots lights out.
Is it the barrel twist? Who knows. It shoots 150gr, 170gr, Leverrev, all the same.
What a rifle. It's my cheap go-to bush gun....
Not sure if it would handle those 190s. I don't need them
Is it the barrel twist? Who knows. It shoots 150gr, 170gr, Leverrev, all the same.
What a rifle. It's my cheap go-to bush gun....
Not sure if it would handle those 190s. I don't need them
Is there any real advantage though, over the standard 170gr? I looked at the Barnes 190 gr as a reloading option, but I couldn't convince myself that an extra 20 grs of lead, especially when you have to give up velocity to get it, was going to make any noticeable difference.
