.30-30 load for moose

[HowSwedeItIs]

Greetings Gun Gurus, Ammo Authorities-

The more I've been scouting for my moose hunt next year the more I want to kick it old school and use my late grandad's .30-30, partly to honor him and also because its a little more practical for the area than my model 70. What kind of factory loads would you recommend? It seemed like all of the heavier (170) grained bullets were soft points and I knew there had to be better options for an animal like that. Should I just try and order some of the buffalo bore heavy ammo? Can I even use that in a pre '64 win 94?

[catnthehat]

I used 170 Hornady Frontiers fir several years and killed everything from moose to coyotes with them in s single shot H&R'S
Cat

[HowSwedeItIs]

Thanks Cat I'll keep an eye out for those frontiers, if I can't find any do you think the 160 grain leverevolution rounds would do the trick?

[elkhunter11]

Lead Tipped bullets out of the 30-30 have killed many moose over the years. Most of those were round nosed or flat nosed bullets.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by HowSwedeItIs

Thanks Cat I'll keep an eye out for those frontiers, if I can't find any do you think the 160 grain leverevolution rounds would do the trick?

I have always been s fan of flat nosed 170 grain bullets in the 30/30 ANC kept them inside 125 yards .
I never shot anything else , relying on the heavy bullet weight and large meplat to do the job and was never disappointed when I put one in a critters lungs.
Cat

[Dick284]

For Factory fodder, 170 grain Winchester Silvertip's(the aluminum ones)
For reloads, it would be 170 grain Speer's

[bigjohncdn]

Yeah, 170's work well. I've had good success with them.

[Alaska]

The Federal factory load with 170gr Partition

[Pioneer2]

I use 170gr Partitions/Win brass/Fed mag primer and 32gr of Win 748...Harold

[Flight01]

I have shot a few weights and brands of 30-30 factory ammo. Though lever guns aren't praised as overly accurate , the best ammo for my marlin was 170 grain federal soft point. Shot groups ranging between 2.5" to 3" at 100 yards. That accuracy was more than acceptable for me as I only intended for shots of 150 yards or less. I've only shot at 2 animals with the 30-30. The black bear at 40 yards went lights out at the pull of the trigger, the doe at 135 yards fell with the pull of the trigger as well. She never twitched . I used a bent sapling as a rest as I shot down and old pipeline I was walking.
You can really hear the Bullet impact. As others have said the heavy flat or rounded traditional bullets have a wide meplat and dump all of their energy into the animal very effectively. I did have pass through on both animals so I can't say that ALL of the energy was delivered but I do like the lever guns and the big flat bullets they drive for any bushwalking or sub 150 yard hunting.

[lyallpeder]

Winchester power max bonded 170gr?

[colroggal]

When I did have a 30-30 I liked the 170 Cor-lokt's. First rifle I had and first three deer I ever dropped. I'm also a fan of Sierra Pro Hunters - if they can be found.

Colin

[troutLakeJohnnie]

Far and away, the best bang-for-buck has been Hornady Leverevolution 160s. They hit hard and stay together. My Savage 30-30 pump and CIL bolt love them. Very accurate.

Originally Posted by HowSwedeItIs

Greetings Gun Gurus, Ammo Authorities-

The more I've been scouting for my moose hunt next year the more I want to kick it old school and use my late grandad's .30-30, partly to honor him and also because its a little more practical for the area than my model 70. What kind of factory loads would you recommend? It seemed like all of the heavier (170) grained bullets were soft points and I knew there had to be better options for an animal like that. Should I just try and order some of the buffalo bore heavy ammo? Can I even use that in a pre '64 win 94?

[Moo Snukkle]

Leverevolution 160 gr will do the trick. They hold together very well. Recovered mine from neck of moose I recently harvested. My model 94 loves them.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Moo Snukkle

Leverevolution 160 gr will do the trick. They hold together very well. Recovered mine from neck of moose I recently harvested. My model 94 loves them.

You took that bull with a 30/30?
Cat

[HowSwedeItIs]

Haha wow quite a few options it seems! I'll have to make a list, thanks everybody!

[bb356]

Winchester 150 or 170 power point will do the trick.

[densa44]

He hunted moose in New Brunswick, in Albert county when the season opened after being closed many years. He said he sat on a stump, at the edge of an apple orchard, and called the moose. If I didn't know that it had been an apple orchard 50 years prior I wouldn't have guessed it, but the moose knew.

He shot a 32 special, which I believe is very similar to a 30-30. He used open sights well into his 80's and the range was around 50 yards.

When I asked him where he shot the moose he said "behind the ear." when the child (me) asked "what if he is looking the other way?" Grand dad looking over his glasses said "you just wait until he turns his head!"

Good advice then and now.