The 30-30 Winchester Centerfire Rifle Part I

01/07/2024 – In the words of Buddy Guy, “It looks like we’re in for stormy weather”. One snow storm is due to arrive this evening, the next is forecast for a Wednesday arrival, both predicted to deliver 12″ – 18″ of snowfall. I can only hope the national weather forecast will prove to be as inaccurate as is typical.

We’ve just recovered from a 60 knot windstorm that left us without power for 4+ days. Does God have a special plan for Mainers? I don’t care. The tractor is fueled, the snow blowers and snow shovels are good to go. Worst case? Four hours of outdoor buzzing around in the snow on the tractor and enough manual shoveling to skip the day’s workout.

Overview

When firearms appear on Real Guns, it is not a personal endorsement or recommendation. It is just an offer of information based on direct use and examination. People use firearms in all sorts of applications, and each person has their own set of preferences. So who would I be to suggest a solution to unknown circumstances?

Joe, what is your point? OK. Don’t get snarky. I’m getting there. In comparison to some of the wonderful firearms that often grace the pages of Real Guns®, my firearms tend to be more rudimentary, devoid of enhancements, lower in technology, and mostly without batteries… or optics… or slings.

Why? Because, at this point, determining my age involves a particle accelerator and a head count of my remaining carbon 14 atoms. So I don’t run up and down mountains in search of food I can buy in the supermarket. I never was a trophy hunter, anyway.

I live in the boonies, and can pretty much hunt off the porch. Maine, and its persistence in its dense growth of trees, is the home of the 50 +/- yard shot. Subsequently, not much is needed in the way of firearm enhancements.

Pictured left, my 1957 Marlin 336C lever action rifle, chambered for the venerable 30-30 Winchester. The major modification is the hammer extension, installed so that my thumb does not slip off the hammer, in cold or wet weather.

I have put together “modern” M1895s and M336s, changing many parts: levers, sight systems, extended magazines, extractors, followers, recoil pads, and polymer stocks. Modification have included trigger jobs, springs, threaded muzzles, and rails systems. Each gun was sold within a few weeks of being finished.

Why? Because they were the products of investigation, evaluation, the sources of information that appears on Real Guns®, not my personal sustained use.

In 66 years of ownership of my M336 and 24 years of M1895 ownership, I never had an ejection or feed related parts failure, nor have any worn out. The factory sights are fine inside 100 yards. My hands have seemingly learned how to work the lever without resorting to large open loops.

It probably needs a new barrel. It has a dark spot in the Micro Groove bore, but it can shoot under 2″ +/1 at 100 yards with the right ammunition, about what it did when it was new, and I don’t want to lose the original barrel. I have a 2023 production gun that can shoot MOA or better with just about any factory ammo.

Why don’t I use the new gun? Its accuracy is not needed it at the distances I shoot, especially when it is open sight hunting, and I enjoy hunting with my old gun. Old guy, old gun? Seems appropriate.

I know every part of that Marlin, I know the origins of every dent, ding or wear spot. When I pick it up, I can recall every hunt it was ever on, and every person that shared that time with me. I remember the places we’ve been, the things we’ve seen and the experiences shared. It is part of me. I love that old gun, but It is not better made than the new gun.

My Marlin Vs Their Marlin

My plan… yes, I do too have a plan, is to work up some better handloads based on accuracy, rather than velocity, shoot them and collect target and chronograph data. That data will be published here in Part 1. THEN, I will pull the new generation Marlin out of the safe, subject it to the same handloads, collect the same type of data and, AND, compare it to my old Marlin. The results will then become the world wide standards for judging “JM” Vs “R” Model 336 rifles. No, not really.

This does not come without cost. As an example, both guns were clean and stowed in an arid environment. On completion, I will be forced to clean them both. If you knew how much I hate to clean firearms, you would know the degree of sacrifice I am making.

The 30-30 Winchester Centerfire

There are, generally, thirty three product listings in retail channels for the 30-30 WCF cartridge, ten of which are actually available. Of the ten, five are colossal wastes of time at $43 – $90 per box of twenty. One other available type is 125 grain, Remington Managed-Recoil… for a 30-30 WCF. A 30-30 WCF has no recoil of note to manage.

Honestly, I don’t know who dreams up brand names and tag lines assigned to some ammunition. I will not spend $65 for a box of 30-30 WCF Underwood Ammunition because it is loaded with “Controlled Chaos” bullets. Nor will I spend $46 for a box of Federal Premium Meat Eater Ammunition with Trophy Copper Tipped Boat Tail Lead-Free bullets. Have any of these people hunted with a 30-30 WCF rifle?

Barnes tells me, “Bring your lever gun out of retirement—it’s time to experience the superior on-game performance of Barnes Pioneer ammunition”. I did not know I had retired by lever guns. Besides, the old Barnes is gone, it is part of the publicly traded Clarus Corporation, makers of: Black Diamond®, Sierra®, Barnes®, PIEPS®, SKINourishment® and Rhino-Rack®.

The least expensive, and probably offering the best performance for the deer and hog hunter, is the 150 grain flat nose, soft point Prvi Partizan at $24.99/20 ct. Although, that is not within my consideration, as I load my own ammunition from inventories of 150 grain and 170 grain Core-Lokt bullets, Winchester and Remington brass and, mostly, from an inventory of IMR 3031.

Yes, I do assemble other combinations for the 30-30 WCF. Some the product of experimentation, some the product of related articles that appear on Real Guns. What follows is a demonstration of my open mindedness and visionary thinking associated with handloading components. Brace yourself, as Chaos is about to happen… Now imagine an appropriate dramatic musical underscore!..!!

Super… No, make that Super Duper bullets

From left to right, 1) Prvi Partizan 110 Grain “Round Pounder”, Barnes 150 Grain “Bladder Buster”, Remington 150 Grain “Antler Eater”, Sierra 150 Grain “Hog Exploder”, Hornady 160 Grain “Pointed Perpetrator”, Remington 170 Grain “Rump Thumper”, Sierra 170 Grain “Rib Ripper”. They had boring brand names, so I made up my own.

I use 110 grain bullets, not always of brand specificity, for property pest control, especially when loaded with Trail Boss. Why? The bullets expand well at that combination’s velocity, it isn’t noisy and it eats only a small amount of powder.  It is also a good combination when I just feel like punching holes in paper with my old Marlin.

The Barns TSXFN bullet is for folks who live in state with no lead laws. I don’t typically use copper bullets. Their low sectional density forces long length, which does not stabilize well with typical rifling twist rates, and they eat up case powder capacity. Additionally, this particular bullet has a plain, rather than banded shank. It generates a good deal of bore friction and tends to copper load Micro Groove rifling. Combined influences have kept handload velocity on the low side.

Remington Core-Lokt bullets, and the 30-30 WCF cartridge, have worked well for me in bringing about the rapid demise of 50 – 300 pound mammals. They penetrate well, maybe stir up a little meat, but they don’t fall apart. Yes, I do use round nose ammo in tubular magazines… a lot. No, I have never experienced or seen a round nose igniting a forward round in a magazine. Remington and others list them as 30-30 WCF specific.

Sierra Pro Hunter bullets, for me, are very similar to Core-Lokt bullet performance. I have used Pro Hunter bullets in concert with many calibers, always with good results. I like the flat base, even if this causes the ogive to be fattened a bit. When my Core-Lokt inventory is exhausted, this will be the replacement.

Hornady’s FTX is very… pointed. The flexible tip is safe for use in a tubular magazine. Hornady claims this makes a 30-30 WCF a legit 300 yard rifle. The bullet actually doesn’t have a great BC and it’s advertised loaded ammo ballistics is based on a 24″ barrel. When I want my 30-30 WCF to be the answer to a 300 yard shooting situation, I leave it home and bring my 7mm Rem Mag. That said, I know some of you like the novelty of pointed ammo in tubular magazines, so it was included.

The Remington 170 grain Core-Lokt is ditto to the 150 grain. Why 170 grains then? I have no logical reason, as I have seen no difference when hunting. Sometimes I just get bored and use the “other” 30-30 weight just for the sake of diversity. In my experience, there is no real difference.

Sierra Pro Hunter? Ditto to the previous dittos.

Handload results – Old Marlin

I was having a bad day…

Reloading takes discipline to avoid mishaps. As an experiment, I tried full length sizing with the expander ball removed from the sizer die, in an effort to put greater tension on the bullet shank, and less dependency on the crimp. I had forgotten how fragile 30-30 WCF brass could be. Several neck accordions later and I remembered.

For me, handloading has a motion rhythm, and constant checking data to components even after the station is set up and underway. 50 rounds into the process, all of the handloads went into the salvage bin, equipment was taken down and components put away.

Between storms past and pending, and our shop manager taking a fall on the ice, serious enough to require an ambulance and hospital stay, my concentration was out the window. Sometimes you just have to call it, clean up, and try another day. Handloading is not a casual pursuit.

Notes

For all of the loads listed compressed in mainstream manuals, I only encountered one, as denoted with a “c” next to its charge. Good 30-30 loads require chamfering to start bullets into fragile brass and properly inside neck expansion.

There is no reason to over pressure the 30-30 WCF. It is a turtle and it cannot be turned into a rabbit. For deer, and even elk at close ranges, it will get the job done.

Next up, the same with the new production Marlin 336 and a comparison.