Has anyone loaded the Hornady 160 gr Flex Tip bullets?

[jimbob86]

What load data did you use, and what kind of muzzle velocity/ballistics are you getting?

Will this bullet make the .30/30 a 300 yard deer rifle?

[Doyle]

Will this bullet make the .30/30 a 300 yard deer rifle?

Factory Hornady LeverEvolution loads with this bullet do indeed pack enough punch at 300 yds to effectively take down deer. The problem is one of accuracy. Finding a lever-action 30/30 that shoots 4" or less groups at 300 yds is a bigger problem. Not impossible - just not something you just walk into a gunshop and hope to pick up off a shelf.

I've seen lever-action guns that shoot those factory rounds just fine but I've also seen guns that sling them all over the place even though those same guns will group a normal round-nosed bullet just fine.

[jimbob86]

Muzzle Velocity?

Anybody?

[Brian Pfleuger]

...Unwanted Assistance Offer Retracted...

[jimbob86]

I have H335, IMR 4064, and RL 15 that I have used in the past in my daughter's 336 ...... I don't have .30/30 load data for any 160 grain bullets in any of my manuals.

I'm guessing I could probably get 2200+ f/sec out of it- I have a load for a 170 gr nosler partition that averages 2200 with 34 gr of RL15.

[Brian Pfleuger]

...UnWanted Data Retracted....

[jimbob86]

..... for deer hunting loads. I have experienced loss fo muzzle velocity in cold weather (H414 in .270 WIN, was fixed by using a Magnum primer per Speer #13). I have no problem w/ compressed loads..... my best .270 loads are compressed.

I'd pick the RL-15 ...... 2200 f/sec, BC of .330? (for the Hornady Flex Tip)..... Trajectory ? Point blank zero (bullet path 6" under/over LOS)?

Anybody do this?

[t45]

I do not see my 30-30 ever being a 300yd gun and it shoots .75-1" at 100yds. Not enough velocity or energy. It starts dropping like a sack of rocks after 200yds.

[Brian Pfleuger]

...Unwanted, unrelated, discussion retracted....

[Jim Watson]

I loaned my 788 .30-30 to a huntress whose .270 had been stolen.
I furnished some Hornady "rubbernose" factory loads.
Accuracy was fair; we set it 2" high at 100 yards which should have put it on at 190 based on Hornady claims for BC and velocity.
She got her deer with it, although I don't know the range.

[teeroux]

This is what I use farmerboy worked up a load off of it. I don't have a chrony so I don't know the velocity. I can tell you though its a wickedly accurate loading.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...ghlight=varget

[GeauxTide]

A 30-30 is not and will not be an accurate or reliable 300 yard game cartridge. Most levers in the caliber can't stay inside of 2MOA at a hundred, much less 4MOA at 300. I also consider 1000# as the minimum energy number for deer.

[Brian Pfleuger]

...Unwanted, unrelated, discussion retracted....

[jimbob86]

I do not see my 30-30 ever being a 300yd gun and it shoots .75-1" at 100yds. Not enough velocity or energy. It starts dropping like a sack of rocks after 200yds.

The .30-30 loaded with round nosed, flat based 150 grain bullets (with a ballistic coefficient slightly better than a brick, but cosiderably better than your sack of rocks) drops pretty fast past 200. 170 grain bullets are not much better............ THAT is why I am asking about others' experience with this bullet: Is it worth buying some to try out?

A 30-30 is not and will not be an accurate or reliable 300 yard game cartridge. Most levers in the caliber can't stay inside of 2MOA at a hundred, much less 4MOA at 300. I also consider 1000# as the minimum energy number for deer.

IF I can get a rifle to shoot an inch and a half group at 100 yards with a bullet that will retain enough velocity to not have to hold over a foot and a half and still deliver 900 ft. lbs (minimum Nebraska legal requirement for energy at 100 yards for rifles) at 300 yards, then it IS a 300 yard rifle, for ME. YMMV.

I don't want to bother working up a load toward the 300 yard rifle goal with a bullet that that is not capable of it in the first place. IF this is possible, I would like to try it out.

And correct me if I am wrong, folks, but 2MOA is 2MOA, whether it is 100, 200 or 300. The circle is bigger (increasing with distance), but the angle stays the same. A 2 MOA rifle is capable of shooting into a (roughly) 6 inch circle at 300 yards.

[jmortimer]

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[jimbob86]

A .45 Colt 255 grain hard cast SWC at 950 FPS and 511 ft lbs will shoot through any deer and leave two holes - 11.5 mm plus and a very dead deer.

Will it do that at 300 yards? Provided you knew how many feet to hold over?

[Brian Pfleuger]

...Unwanted, though related and mentioned by the OP, discussion retracted....

[jmortimer]

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[Brian Pfleuger]

...Unwanted, unrelated, discussion retracted....

[jimbob86]

Personally, if I were shooting at deer, I'd want to be able to hit a 6" circle, at worst, at whatever distance. That means no worse than 2 inch 100 yard groups for 300 yard shots.

Me, I think 8" circle (deer's heart/lung area) is the limit. For ME. ...... but that is not the question I posed......

I was hoping to get somone who has used these bullets to give me an unbiased opinion, and maybe some load data.

Barring that, maybe I'll call Hornady. I doubt they'll be unbiased, but they oughta have relaible load data.

[jimbob86]

According to JBM, a 255gr SWC at 950fps would have to be 85 inches (7 feet) high at 165 yards to be zero at 300... and it would retain just 105 ft/lbs.

Elmers writings have always been a bit... far fetched.... for my tastes. I believe that he believes it.... that's as far as I can go.

7 feet exceeds my MPBR standard by quite a lot .....

.... and Elmer is dead. Has been for nearly a quarter century. His ideas on heavy cast lead bullets at gun abusing velocities are not germaine to this discussion, and not helping me at all.

[jimbob86]

A call to Hornady got me an answer re: load data

......MV of 2100 f/sec with H4895 ...... .33 BC. Not looking good for 300 yards. I'm guessin' I'd need a MV closer to 2400 to get 900 ft. lbs at 300.

[Win_94]

I shoot them with .5moa accuracy from my Win 94, 30-30. I use VIHT N 135 and get 2150 fps.
At 300 yards it is traveling at 1503fps with 803ft-lbs of energy.

Compare that with a 150gr RN starting with a muzzle velocity of 2300, at 200 yards, 1515fps and 764ft-lbs.

170gr FN with a muzzle velocity at 2000fps, at 200 yards, 1346fps with 683ft-lbs of energy.

Seeing how many people have no problem shooting deer with a 30-30 at 200 yards, I would think the FTX bullet, (assuming an accurate shot,) would be just as effective at 300 yards. I would take the shot if it presented itself.

to get 900 ft. lbs at 300

My 357 can only muster 464ft-lbs at the muzzle, so far it has it killed deer, (passed through,) at up to 65 yards.

[ONEEYE7]

those are what i use in my marlin. i worked up a load with H4895 and i can get all rounds to touch at 100 yards all day long. suprised the heck out of me. dont know about 300 yards but two hundred, for sure. it was in the middle of what hornady recomends. if you have a 30/30 i would recomend them to anyone. might not make a 300 yard gun, but should make your 30/30 the best it can be.

[jimbob86]

Thanks, guys.