Experimenting with the .30-30?

I started out with 125NBTs out of that rifle. They worked great for moderate range deer shooting. I only downsized to further reduce recoil. I'll see if I can find any old data. From memory, I was running them slower, 2500ish, with the same hodgdon powders. I don't think I owned AR-comp at that time.

None the less, given your extra 6 or 8" of barrel length, you should be able to scoot them along. You won't have any issue with 200yards.
 
This is my old starting data cover page...

Top is Paco Kelly loads, then trainers, then QL estimates which I know I surpassed (at least with ARComp and tac-x).

There is 125NBT data sprinkled in there at both 45 and 50K psi estimate levels.
 

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Monteria said:
This is my old starting data cover page...

Top is Paco Kelly loads, then trainers, then QL estimates which I know I surpassed (at least with ARComp and tac-x).

There is 125NBT data sprinkled in there at both 45 and 50K psi estimate levels.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much!
 
ducky said:
I've been warned by more than a few not to hotrod, as the .30-30 788 is prone to extractor and ejector failures if pushed to hard. I have a spare of each, but parts are hard to come by. I just want to keep it a functioning rifle, so SAAMI spec is good enough.
Click to expand...
Jack First, Inc has/makes obsolete parts for 788 and many others
 
May be time to experiment with the 150Gr Woodleighs for my 30-30 and see if the load I had 5 years ago still good. Been holding on to them since they're none existent right now.
 
In my early 20's, (1970, 71), I needed a flat shooting varmint rifle, my older friends were getting 700 Remingtons and other nice bolt guns. I went to my local gun shop and ended up buying a 788 Remington in. 243 Winchester brand new for $80. A couple weeks later I was able to buy a cheap scope for it and mounted it. That rifle was a tack driver and I killed many groundhogs with it, a few fox, and a couple deer. One of the very few guns I ever got rid of. Wish I still had it and wish I had one in 30-30.
 
I made this trip in the mid/late 70's. I have had several 788 Remington's and every one was exceptionally accurate. When I went down the rabbit hole of 788/3030 I found that it was also exceptional, enough to win a lot of bets. I don't remember many of the details but this particular rifle liked to run "hot" but only when I used better brass. I used 375 Winchester brass and reformed it, then I was in the berries. If you have extra magazines they were bringing almost as much as the rifle. Sure wish I had it back.
 
The fundamental problem with using .375 Win brass to make higher pressure cases is that it basically doesn't exist. When you find some, like those that EA Brown lists, it is .30-30 brass with the neck pulled out. When you do find some, a box of 20 will cost danged near what a 788 magazine goes for.

Owning that rifle would present a real quandary for me. One hand would want to keep it OEM, the other would want to make it an AI. Not for the moderate increase in powder capacity (I've read that the .30-30 is the largest capacity improvement of all of the cases that Mr. Ackley himself developed), but for the much sharper shoulder that an AI chamber would give me to work with in head-spacing off of it instead of the rim.
 
Ducky- Thanks for posting about your 30-30. You've inspired me to dust of a couple of Savage 340's I have. Actually one is a Foremost made by Savage and it's almost new condition. I've always kept my eyes open for the 788 in a 30-30 but have never seen one come up. I have all of the components to reload for this and never gotten around to doing it. Now's the time!
 
Just this summer I was working up loads for a scoped Marlin 336 30-30. The old tried and true load that I had used for years of IMR 3031 behind a 150 gr flat point in a old Winchester 94 wasn't grouping as good as I thought it should. I used 130 gr, 150 gr, and 170 gr flat point bullets. 130 gr grouped best with H-335, 150's grouped best with W 748 and IMR-4064, the 170's grouped very well with near maximum loads of IMR-3031, IMR-4064, and W 748. With these 3 powders I shot a few 5 shot groups that were around a inch at 100 yards from a bench and good rest. Looking in a older Speer reloading manual (#10), they used CCI magnum large rifle primers with the 150 gr and 170 gr bullets with the 2 ball powders, W 748 and H-335. I also tried both the CCI 250 and Federal 215 magnum primers and they shot very well. I have not chronographed these loads yet.
 
ntsqd said:
Owning that rifle would present a real quandary for me. One hand would want to keep it OEM, the other would want to make it an AI. ....., but for the much sharper shoulder that an AI chamber would give me to work with in head-spacing off of it instead of the rim.
Click to expand...
Believe me, that's a quandry I deal with all the time. I've thought about a new barrel duplicate the contour, 1:8 or faster twist, AI chamber, and threaded for my suppressor. That way I keep the original barrel, and update the new to handle long bullets. Then I remember the magazine is my largest limiting factor. Realizing I'd be better off ordering that barrel for my Encore, throated properly for spitzers.
 
1000005485.jpg

6 shots from zeroing the scope with 150 gr Fed Power Shok ammunition. The first mag produced the two touching and the low left and the second mag opened up. The rifle could use a trigger job or a Timney, as the best way to describe it is stiff. The barrel is pretty hot after 3 rounds and extremely hot after 6.

It seems to throw a similar group from a cold barrel. Here was the first 3 shots on paper. I shot one round first ringing a 10" steel plate at 100yds to see if my boresight was close. I then walked down to hang a target and measure how far off I was from center on the steel. So by the time I walked back and made adjustments it was pretty much a cold barrel for the next 3 rounds.

1000005468.jpg
 
Y'all might want to read this. Mike Turner built a 30-30 for me as well on a custom action and 10T barrel to shoot in prone mid range matches. Unfortunately, due to physical issues, it remained unfired other than pressure testing it using 168 Hybrids.

30-30 600 yard build

Some of you may have seen the post from Nez Rongero in Lee's thread on Lederer barrels. When Nez first contacted me concerning building a 30-30 for 600 yards, he told me his goal was to push a 168gr. Berger Hybrid at 2800 fps. I told him that 2700 fps. was more of a guarantee, but 2800 fps...
benchrest.com benchrest.com
 

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