30-30 Winchester

The 30-30 Winchester centerfire rifle cartridge is a .30″ caliber, rimmed, bottleneck cartridge case design and reloadable.
Rifles chambered in this round have a barrel bore land to land diameter of .300″ and a bore groove to groove diameter of .308″.

Common barrel rifling twist rates for the 30-30 Winchester are;
1 in 12″.
Common barrel lengths for the 30-30 Winchester are;
16″, 18″, 20″, 22″ and 24″.

Variables such as riflescope choices, rifle scope mounts, which affect the line of sight above the bore centerline, rifle barrel length, all of which contribute to the ballistics of the 30-30 Winchester.

To achieve maximum accuracy from your 30-30 Winchester rifle you need to properly mount your riflescope, break-in your rifle barrel and then accurately sight-in your rifle.

The 30-30 Winchester was introduced to the public as the first smokeless powder sporting cartridge by Winchester in 1895 as the .30 WCF, chambered in their then new model 1894 lever action rifle. It has been chambered in several different action types but the lever action is by far the most popular with Winchester’s own Model 94 rifles running into the millions of firearms produced. The 30-30 Winchester is well beyond 100 years since its introduction and sales are still high for this cartridge.

Simply put most deer are shot within a 100 yard range limit and they are found mostly in the woods where shots are limited to under 100 yards and the 30-30 Winchester cartridge in a short lever action rifle is more than adequate to get the job done and is excellent for hog hunting as well.

The 30-30 Winchester is slowly coming into its own with the latest technology in ammunition manufacturing, adding a little more effective range is a good thing for any rifle cartridge and for the old 30-30 Winchester cartridge, Hornady has certainly give it a boost with their new LeverEvolution 30-30 Winchester ammunition by adding another 100 yards to the effective range of the cartridge.

Bufflao Bore now manufactures a 190 grain Hawk bullet loading that surely adds stopping power on larger game animals at close range to the once and still very popular 30-30 Winchester.

The 30-30 Winchesters recoil is less than the 308 Winchester cartridge and light enough for most individuals to enjoy shooting all day long with no ill effects felt from recoil. Just remember to use only round-nose or flat-point bullets for use in tubular magazine rifles.

30-30 Winchester Centerfire Rifle Cartridge:

The popular 30-30 Winchester centerfire rifle cartridge is a commercial, rimmed, bottleneck cartridge case design that is loaded commercially (factory produced ammunition) or reloaded by individual handloaders with various combinations of primer, powder and .308″ diameter bullets. Handloaders can calculate the kinetic energies of their handloads with the use of these formulas.

30-30 Winchester Reloading Specifications:

Bullet Diameter – .308″.
Primer Size – Large Rifle / .210″ Diameter.
Case Neck Diameter – .330″.
Case Shoulder Diameter – .401″.
Case Base Diameter – .422″.
Case Rim Diameter – .506″.
Minimum Case Length – 2.029″ / Trimmed.
Maximum Case Length – 2.039″ / Stretched.
Minimum Cartridge Overall Loaded Length – 2.450″.
Maximum Cartridge Overall Loaded Length – 2.550″.

30-30 Winchester Reloading Data:

For the Antelope, Deer, or Hog hunter hand-loading or reloading his or her own 30-30 Winchester ammunition, Western Powders, Accurate 2520 rifle powder does an impressive job of launching 160 grain .308″ diameter bullets at high velocity.

Accurates online reloading data shows that a 160 grain .308″ diameter Hornady FTX bullet using just 29.8 grains of Accurate 2520 powder can be driven to a velocity of 2,144 feet per second loaded at a maximum cartridge overall length of 2.535″ in the 30-30 Winchester. This load does not top out until the 160 grain bullet is at 2,316 feet per second at a chamber pressure of 41,579 PSI.

For the 160 grain bullet reload if you sighted your 30-30 Win. hunting rifle in dead on at 165 yards it would only be 2 inches high at 100 yards and only 2.7 inches low at 200 yards which would be an excellent Antelope, Deer and Hog load.

30-30 Winchester Load Data And Ballistics Table

30-30 Winchester Load Data Sources:

Hodgdon Reloading Data Center: The reloading data information displayed on this site, including ballistic data, was derived from tightly controlled laboratory conditions, by ballisticians and expert handloaders. Lists pressure test results as well. Data for Hodgdon Rifle Powder, IMR Rifle Powder & Winchester Rifle Powder.

Accurate Reloading Data Center: The reloading data information displayed on this site, including ballistic data, was derived from tightly controlled laboratory conditions, by ballisticians and expert handloaders. Lists pressure test results as well. Accurate is an exclusive brand of Western Powders Incorporated.

Ramshot Reloading Data Center: The reloading data information displayed on this site, including ballistic data, was derived from tightly controlled laboratory conditions, by ballisticians and expert handloaders. Lists pressure test results as well. Ramshot is an exclusive brand of Western Powders Incorporated.

Barnes – 30-30 Winchester: Load data for the 30-30 Winchester featuring the use of Barnes bullets.

Nosler – 30-30 Winchester: Load data for the 30-30 Winchester using Nosler bullets. Features; varying case capacity and load density for each bullet weight and accuracy loads.

Norma – 30-30 Winchester: Load data for the 30-30 Winchester featuring the use of Norma rifle powders.

Vihtavuori – 30-30 Winchester: Load data for the 30-30 Winchester featuring the use of Vihtavuori rifle powders.

IMR – 30-30 Winchester: Load data for the 30-30 Winchester featuring the use of IMR rifle powders.