.30-30 150 or 170

mosinmaster

mosinmaster

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Hi,

I've been shooting 170gr in my Marlin 336 and found them to be decent. In your experiences, do you prefer the higher velocity of the 150gr bullet or the heavier weight of the 170gr on game? Is there a preference in which the microgroove rifling of Marlins prefer?
 
mosinmaster said:
Hi,

I've been shooting 170gr in my Marlin 336 and found them to be decent. In your experiences, do you prefer the higher velocity of the 150gr bullet or the heavier weight of the 170gr on game? Is there a preference in which the microgroove rifling of Marlins prefer?
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Both weights should shoot ok in a micro groove barrel and basically it comes down to what shoots better in your rifle. On paper the lighter bullet has slightly better point blank range but in practical terms there is not much difference.
 
Watch that Micro-groove barrel!! They are great, and usually very accurate.
However, you should be aware that Marlin made more than one design of micro-
groove.

At home, I have 2 Marlin 30-30s, a 336 Carbine, and a 336-A [24" barrel] The
carbine will not shoot the 160 FTX at all, and quite often the bullets show
an oblong hole in the target at 100M. This same carbine shoots the Speer 170
FN into about 1" at 100, and never shows any sign of instability.

The 336 A shoots everything I have put through it,, including the 160 FTX, into
very nice groups, without any issues at all. I believe that the FTX is slightly smaller
in diameter, and is not being "spun" by the very fine rifling in the carbine [18 groove]
The 336 A has the 12 groove rifling, and it seems to grip that FTX better. Dave.
 
For what it is worth. I met a old northern Cree hunter way back in the mid 70's. He used only one rifle for all his hunting his whole life. A Winchester Model 94 30-30 loaded with 150 grainers (I forget which brand). I asked him why he used 150 gr and not 170's. His reply was a box of 150 gr was less money than 170's at the HBS.
 
I have tried federal and Remington 170gr out of a '72 Winchester 94 I picked up
So far the best I have been able to group off a bench is a 1.5-2 inch group at 100m with irons but its shooting about 3 inches high left. I am not sure if I should fire another few rounds through it to see if it needs a break in since it was a rarely used highly carried gun. I will likely try another w0-40 rounds and maybe then see about adjusting the sight.

Might try 150gr federal before I tinker too much too and maybe some more ammo types too.
 
philhut said:
I have tried federal and Remington 170gr out of a '72 Winchester 94 I picked up
So far the best I have been able to group off a bench is a 1.5-2 inch group at 100m with irons but its shooting about 3 inches high left. I am not sure if I should fire another few rounds through it to see if it needs a break in since it was a rarely used highly carried gun. I will likely try another w0-40 rounds and maybe then see about adjusting the sight.

Might try 150gr federal before I tinker too much too and maybe some more ammo types too.
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If you get a Williams Firesite and replace the factory bead and then remove the factory rear sight and mount a Williams Foolproof receiver peep sight, your groups will most certainly shrink in size.
And a Lyman sight slot blank fills in the rear sight dovetail quite nicely.
 
I’ve always been a 170 grain type of guy.
Be it factory, or reloads(Rem Core Loct, Speer FN)

2150-2200 FPS is totally doable with reloads in a 20” carbine, and sighting in 2” high at 100, will leave you around 4” low at 200 yds.
Plenty of rifle given the typical rifle and typical types of sights available to the average hunter.
 
Lefty #### said:
I’ve always been a 170 grain type of guy.
Be it factory, or reloads(Rem Core Loct, Speer FN)

2150-2200 FPS is totally doable with reloads in a 20” carbine, and sighting in 2” high at 100, will leave you around 4” low at 200 yds.
Plenty of rifle given the typical rifle and typical types of sights available to the average hunter.
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I, too like the 170 grain bullets best. However, the 160 FTX seemed to work well on the one whitetail I shot with it.
If you want a bit more velocity, may I recommend trying Leverevolution Powder. I get 2325 with the 170 in a 20" tube. D.
 
Berry's 150gr cheap target ammo. less then 20 cents per bullet.

for hunting, I'd go with 170gr for the extra stopping power.
 
Lefty #### said:
I’ve always been a 170 grain type of guy.
Be it factory, or reloads(Rem Core Loct, Speer FN)

2150-2200 FPS is totally doable with reloads in a 20” carbine, and sighting in 2” high at 100, will leave you around 4” low at 200 yds.
Plenty of rifle given the typical rifle and typical types of sights available to the average hunter.
Click to expand...

You are on the right track friend. And if you zero it 3 inches high at 100, you extend your point blank range a bit more. This is certainly doable with an after market tang or peep sight.
 
I have a bad habit of holding high just because(mind warp), my MPBR is a lot further than a lot of your typical hunters, so it’s not a big deal to me.
 
A deer don't require 150gr of lead a 123 gr SP works just fine from a 7.62x39. I usually go with whatever is on hand or sighted in for.
 
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