bird load for 30 30

D

deertaker

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Sorry i'm sure this has been talked about before but I was just thinking this fall would be nice with my new 30 30 to have some bird loads for the times I see a partridge or 2. does anyone have some loading suggestions?
Thanks,

John
 
Sure, choose a cast bullet between 150 and 200 grs backed by 15 grs of SR-4759, 7 grs of Unique, 20 grs of 3031, or 15 grs of 2400. Velocity will typically be in the 1500 fps ball park. Get a copy of the Lyman cast bullet manual to give you a better idea of your options. Swapping a jacketed bullet for the cast bullet will produce higher pressures, but with these loads will still be safe, although I would stay closer to the 150 gr bullet than a heavier one for best results.
 
Of the loads Boomer suggests, the 7 grains of Unique is by far the lightest and may only be in the 1200 fps range, with a 150, or 165 or so, cast bullet. I would experiment with this and go from there downward. That is still darn fast, as compared to a pistol, except the magnums, and a 38 special say, will tear a grouse up pretty bad. I have esperimented with "basement" loads in the 30-06, where I actually just loaded them, then shot them in my basement, but the loads were much less than this. Even so, the lightest of loads would just make an enlarged hole at 30 feet. Getting the peewee loads to hit somewhere close to your regular sighting is the main trouble.
A far better solution is just to load an accurate load with a cast bullet and shoot the grouse in the head or neck. I have shot the heads off of quite a few grouse and ptarmigan with full power 30-06 loads.
 
I use Trailboss powder and 165gr Cast FP bullets. I load them wiht about 6-6.5gr Trailboss for very quiet, subsonic loads, that penetrate like hell. They exit the barrel around 850-900fps
 
H4831 said:
Of the loads Boomer suggests, the 7 grains of Unique is by far the lightest and may only be in the 1200 fps range, with a 150, or 165 or so, cast bullet. I would experiment with this and go from there downward. That is still darn fast, as compared to a pistol, except the magnums, and a 38 special say, will tear a grouse up pretty bad. I have esperimented with "basement" loads in the 30-06, where I actually just loaded them, then shot them in my basement, but the loads were much less than this. Even so, the lightest of loads would just make an enlarged hole at 30 feet. Getting the peewee loads to hit somewhere close to your regular sighting is the main trouble.
A far better solution is just to load an accurate load with a cast bullet and shoot the grouse in the head or neck. I have shot the heads off of quite a few grouse and ptarmigan with full power 30-06 loads.
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It has been my observation that a low velocity load (1200-1500 fps) crosses the line of sight at about 25 yards with the normal sighting of the high velocity load, thus no re-sighting is necessary. A pointed bullet is likely to do less damage to small game than a flat or round nose. Ptarmigan killed with low velocity bullets from my .375 Ultra showed similar damage as those killed by a hi-speed .22.

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I will go against the grain of the above posts and vote for a 100 or 110 grain jacketed (or semi-jacketed) projectile; 150 or 165 grains of lead seems like way too much overkill for a bird no matter what the velocity. I have shot turkeys with the Speer 30 caliber 'plinker' bullet reloaded in my Savage bolt action 30-30 and it worked like a charm.
 
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