30-30 pointed bullet

[gambleone]

Looking for a good polymer or hollow point bulet for 30-30 for deer. Been using round nose &
they don't expand very good. Shot a buck 5 times. Never hit a bone, but didn't expand at all.
Any suggestions on a good bullet?

 

[Bill K]

Check out Hornady's new 140 grain Flex tip 30-30 cartridge. That should do the job you want.

 

[brokeasajoke]

I've used some of the factory lever evolution with good results.

 

[Dimner]

Looking for a good polymer or hollow point bulet for 30-30 for deer. Been using round nose &
they don't expand very good. Shot a buck 5 times. Never hit a bone, but didn't expand at all.
Any suggestions on a good bullet?

A gazillion people have shot deer with a round nose with a 30wcf. If you are magazine feeding I would just try a different round nose bullet. Look on midway for reviews of RN bullets and people using it at 3030 velocities. I've killed plenty of deer easily with the Hornady 150gr interlocks RN.

The only poly tips that Hornady says work in tube mag are the FTX line.

If you are dead set on risking it in a tube mag or have a Savage 99, I'd try a 30 cal SST. I bet they would do really well at 30wcf velocities. For an HP, Sierra has some 30 cal game kings.

 

[JB10]

I have some hornady flex tips to try in my daughters. But i have not loaded them up yet.

 

[Tommie]

Looking for a good polymer or hollow point bulet for 30-30 for deer. Been using round nose &
they don't expand very good. Shot a buck 5 times. Never hit a bone, but didn't expand at all.
Any suggestions on a good bullet?

What bullet/ammunition have you been using? Generally any 150 grain softpoint is deadly inside of 200 yards.

 

[john 800]

Hornady makes a 150 sst for the 300 save that is slightly shorter and designed for a little lower velocity than most bullets. That would be what I would try if I was looking for a better bc in a 3030. As we all know pointed bullets are a no no for safety reasons in tube mags, but what I have always thought of is that you could put one in the chamber and one in the mag, giving you two shots at a deer, or…. Sst is n the chamber and load the mag with round nose bullets

 

[CJ6]

Hornady makes a Flex Tip specifically for lever guns.

 

[gambleone]

Thanks for all the replies. Ordered a box of the hornady fix 160 gr. I may not have been running
the round nose fast enough. was using imp 4064 at 31.5gr. Sold my crono, so i don't know
the speed.

 

[Walt Krafft]

For the little bit of ammo needed for hunting, I would just buy a couple of boxes. I would just load practice ammo.

 

[Dimner]

Thanks for all the replies. Ordered a box of the hornady fix 160 gr. I may not have been running
the round nose fast enough. was using imp 4064 at 31.5gr. Sold my crono, so i don't know
the speed.

What distance were the 5 shots at?

 

[dellet]

It would be interesting to know what bullet and distance you were shooting? Might have just been a poor choice.

Rule of thumb for .308 hunting bullets would be most have a lower velocity threshold of 1800 fps. If designed for 30-30 velocities, 1600 fps. 300 Blackout will be 1400 and lower. It’s a matter of whether or not you can use a hard point bullet.

The FTX line works very well, just note there is both a 30-30 Winchester, and Marlin bullet. The difference is bullet profile that effects loaded length.

 

[gambleone]

What distance were the 5 shots at?

about 40 yds.

 

[gambleone]

What bullet/ammunition have you been using? Generally any 150 grain softpoint is deadly inside of 200 yards.

Sierra 150gr RN

 

[dryhumor]

Hornady Lever Evolution 160 FTX factory ammo is pretty accurate in my 336. So much so, I haven’t hand loaded the first round…

 

[Webster]

Looking for a good polymer or hollow point bulet for 30-30 for deer. Been using round nose &
they don't expand very good. Shot a buck 5 times. Never hit a bone, but didn't expand at all.
Any suggestions on a good bullet?

Can you use a pointed bullet in a tube magazine. points against primers?

 

[gambleone]

Can you use a pointed bullet in a tube magazine. points against primers?

The FTX soft point were designed for the 30-30 from what I understand.

 

[nakneker]

What is your 30-30, lever action I assume? In my levers I’ve had ok results with Hornady 150gr round nose, they usually take the hit and run 20-40 yards and topple. However I tried some of Lehigh defense’s controlled chaos in one of my levers and it was a totally different result. One buck and one doe volunteered to be test subjects and both of those deer went down where they stood. The vitals were destroyed, both shots were behind the should off of the shoulder bones It really was impressive.

I’ve had a 30-30 in a Remington 788 and I have a #1 in 30-30. with those rifles you can use any .30 cal bullets you want pretty much. Both rifles are MOA capable. I’ve been using 150gr TGKs in the #1 with good results as far as accuracy, SD and ES but I haven’t filled a tag with it yet. If your 30-30 isn’t a lever or pump then your bullets choices just expanded by leaps and bounds.

 

[distinguished]

Are you sure you were hitting the vital zone? 5 shots at 40 yards, should have put a deer down.

 

[Mark W]

Sierra 150gr RN

If it’s a Sierra 2135, I don’t think they are made specifically for a 30 30, so you might not be getting enough velocity to make them expand.

I’ve never had an issue dropping whitetails with a factory 30 30 ammo. I once dropped 6 in a row that all fell in their tracks.