I should know this already...

G

Great Crouton

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but it don't.....still kinda new to the firearms scene.

Quick question regarding ammunition.

When I go to the gun counter and request a box of .30-30 I get the question "150 or 180 gr?" I assumed that meant how much powder it had but after starting to look into the reloading thing I'm starting to think it's reffering to the weight of the bullet?

Could someone shed some light on this for me?
 
that is indeed the weight of the bullet.

30-30 is usually available in 150gr, 160gr (with the fancy new plastic spritzer tipped bullets) and 170gr where i shop.
 
It is a bigger bullet . A grain is a measure of weight like a gram or lb. It is 1/7000 of a pound. Powder can also be measured in grains, but it is refering to the bullet or (projectile) weight.
Therefore heavier bullet slower more damage, lighter bullet gets there quicker
 
Ah, very good. I honestly thought I was buying a hotter rnd.

Does that little bit of differenece in bullet weight actually make any difference? (ie, 150 vs 160?) What would cause someone to pick one over the other?

**edit**
That's a dumb question, it must make a difference otherwise why would anyone offer it but the 2nd part of that question still applies.
 
150gr of powder is a LOT of power. My 300WM loads only use 73gr of powder. A 30-30 uses, usually, around 30gr of smokeless powder. It's one of the few modern smokeless cartridges that uses the old black powder nomenclature. For example a 45-70 means 45 calibre and 70gr of black powder. 30-30 means 30 calibre and, because of its age, 30gr of smokless powder. Though that can vary from load to load and powder to powder.

Manufacturers don't ever (in my experience) list how much powder is in a cartridge as it will vary from lot to lot as their bulk powders change slightly. They list bullet weight and a usually exaggerated muzzle velocity.

*edit*
You usually use heavier bullets for heavier game as they generally offer better penetration. They also carry more momentum at the same kinetic energy level as a lighter, but faster, bullet. I find they can also be more consistent (accurate) but due to the lower velocity have more drop over the same distances.
 
Year of adoption by the US military. The 30-06 was 30 calibre and adopted in 1906. It replaced the 30-03 which was adopted in 1903.

Depending on initial use (hunting, military, etc.) and decade of introduction the numbers or letters in the name of a cartridge can mean very different things. It can be quite confusing at times.

The metric (European) cartridge designations tend to be clearer but there are issues there even. 30-30 in metric for example is 7.62x51mmR (rimmed) where as the 308 Winchester is 7.62x51mm (no R). The first number is the bore diameter and the second is the case length, both in millimetres. The issue is that US "7.62mm" bullets are 7.82mm (.308") in diameter but European (mostly Russian I believe) "7.62mm" bullets are 7.87mm (.310"). A .310" bullet in a .308" bore can cause excessive barrel wear. A .308" bullet in a .310" bore can cause reduced accuracy and even bullet tumbling.
 
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I'll say. Was mulling over your description of the 30-30 and thought "That makes sense, that would mean the 30-06 is also .30 caliber and.....what, 6 grains? That can't be right".
 
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