30-30 at 250yds

[shoota]

The ballistics out of my .30-30 really surprise me. Shooting 150's with a 1-4x scope. Sighted in for 50 yard bullseye shoot at 100 yards it's still bullseye. I am guessing it drops like a rock after that. It's my brush gun and don't foresee it shooting anywhere past 100.

 

[WhelanLad]

down -15 inches is very workabkle at 300meters, my 7-08 prints more dramatic drop than that at present! (300 meters )

the bullet? i dont know or have any experience, if it was old 30-30 150gr 170gr etc, i would deter but the FXT might be sweet for it.

i see you said 250 yards... heck yeah.

 

[kodiakjack]

Killing a deer in field conditions is significantly different from "ringing a steel plate."

Too many people do a direct correlation from range results to field results with regard to shot placement... That practice will surely result in wounded (and perhaps unrecoverable) game over time. Always best to leave a health margin for error when heading afield... A .30-30 @ 300 yards is not enough margin, IMO, if there are other available options.

I think the biggest reason the range doesn’t translate to the field, is the known ranges and target sizes. The 200 yard berm will always be at 200 yards. The 8 1/2”x11” target is always an 8 1/2”x11” target.

But in the field, estimating distances is vastly different. Deer drastically vary in size, which affects the ability to gauge distance. A good range finder helps, but terrain doesn’t always allow confidence in the numbers presented. Being off on your range estimate by 30 yards is a non issue at 100 yards. But for a 30-30 at 300 yards, that’s a wounded animal.

 

[Workin Man]

so on paper hornady leverevolution drops 13" at 300 yds and still maintain 1000lbs of energy so a hunter should be able to take deer at 300 yds, is this realistic or a bunch of bs

Someone already pointed this out, but the Hornady leverevolution ammo was developed in conjunction with Marlins XLR series rifles. These rifles all have 24" barrels and the advertised velocities, energy and trajectory for this ammo is based on results from these rifles. The velocity and energy at 300yds will be less with a typical 20" barreled 30-30 and as a result the amount of bullet drop will be more.

Jim

 

[Kilo Charlie]

I can get a bit more velocity out of my .30-30 Ackley (Marlin 336A, 24" barrel) and it's deer-accurate out to 300 yards.
That said, I'd hold back to about 250 in the field.

My take on the XLR and Leverevolution back when it was introduced was not that they had made the .30-30 a 300-yard deer cartridge, but that they had made it a very reliable 200-yard cartridge.

 

[Eagleye]

I had my 336A out yesterday, getting it ready for deer season.
My pet load is the 160 FTX, chased by 36.0 grains of Leverevolution.
It clocks 2450 in my 24" barrel.

It also shoots right at MOA right out to 300 yards. [scoped with a 1-4.5x Bushnell]
Would I shoot at a deer 300yards away? Very unlikely. 250 yards, probably would.
200 yards, definitely would take the shot.

The 170 grain Speer FNSP also shoots very well in this rifle, but due to it's dismal
BC, is dropping more than the FTX at 250. Limit for it....200 yards. Dave.

 

[Sir Plus]

so on paper hornady leverevolution drops 13" at 300 yds and still maintain 1000lbs of energy so a hunter should be able to take deer at 300 yds, is this realistic or a bunch of bs

100% realistic on paper but remember:
The barrel length of your actual rifle
30-30s often have heavy trigger while the rifles are very light
And you need a scope. Nobody shoots deer at 300m with irons.
If you account for this, and you are capable of grouping acceptably at 300m, and your scope has enough magnification, then it will be as good a deer dropper as anything else.