After a 80 round day with the 30-30, I asked my self, is there an easier way to do this? My Win 94 shoots great, but delivered a bit of a beating. Also watched several shooters ring animals, pigs thru rams. No such problem with the 30-30. I don't think I'm shooting hot loads, 30-33 grains of Varget, 150 and 170's. Only thing that comes to mind is a 44 mag. I am not gong down the cast bullet road.
Thoughts?
thanks
chuck

38-55..... Very nice on the shoulder and Seldom rings anything when the 260 gr bullets smacks the nasty ole Rams.....

Kinda comes with a nice reverse retro snobbery with the (near) straight wall cases from a long passed era.

When I read what folks are shooting for .30-30 loads, I wonder why. My shooting partner used to shoot .32 sp. and that was probably even worse. I have been shooting .38-55 which seems much gentler when loaded with 250 gr cast bullets going maybe 1400 fps using either black or smokeless powders. Everything falls over when I hit them too. Slow and steady gets it done everytime.

I shot a friend's heavy old Marlin (88?) .45-70 which he had downloaded. It was softer yet, but quite a lot and yet everything fell over just as it should.

Go big, heavy, and SLOW.

ChuckD, Try some Sierra 125's in your 30-30. I use 30 grs. They are good out to turkeys. They are a lot milder to shoot. If it gets real windy I just use my ram loads at the turkeys.

Al Foust

go with what cslcAl said. the 125 hp sierra over 30gr varget for the first three. easy shooting load. forget the 44 mag thing. i worked hard on getting the 44 mag to work. it was a big waste of my time. what i found is the 44 mag will not group at rams, most of the time the group is off the ram. it was so-so on turkeys. work great for pigs and chickens.

I will third what Al said... I shoot a 26" 1894 hex barrel and that tank is so heavy that factory 150gr don't seem too bad. Download 125gr for the first 3 animals and it's no big deal. 125gr will take down rams if set light also.... If your shooting a light 30/30 then yeah, it's going to kick....

Thanks Guys,
Loaded a bunch of 125's tonite. Present ram load is 32 Varget with a 170. Any suggestions?
I am shooting a Win 94 Texas Lone Star State Comm and love the feel. Was considering going back to the Canadian Comm with the big barrel, to suck up some recoil. Staying with the Tex is the way for me to go.

Thanks
chuck

ChuckD, 32mgr of Varget is what I use for Rams also. I very rarely lose Rams. I can only recall maybe 1 in the last 6-7 years. I also use a Texas Lone Star. I like the pistol grip, and the balance with the 1/2 round, 1/2 octagon bbl. Did I mention I have 3 of these Lone Stars?

Al Foust

Chuck,

There was an array of equipment on the line Sat. Some fire breathing 30-30 and some gentle 45LC. There was some experimenting going on with the 44 Rem Mag/41 Rem mag using PCCLA loads for CLA. Clearly 200 g projectiles and 5g of Titegroup are not up to a well set pig. In truth, NH has the easiest animals to knock over. It does not take much and why we take target damage seriously, there is no need for it.

Steel must weigh more in Pennsylvania I have decided. I am not a fan of recoil and tend to shoot loads with just enough energy to knock over a ram. I shoot baby bullets at Chickens as you just don't need much. Dial in your bullet for what you feel you need to knock them over. Just remember, if you travel to an out of State match, you may need a little more umph!

Some people like playing with non standard cartridges because it adds to the challenge. 30-30 is likely the easiest path to take. Using a PCCLA round like the 41/44 Rem Mag, 357 or 45LC makes it all that more rewarding when you can post a solid score. Sean shot two 27s with his 44 leaving some pigs each time. I trust he will get it sorted and personally I enjoy watching his and other's progress as they "shoot what they own".

JD in NH

What's the draw for the Lone Star version? I see the pistol grip but I'm not a fan of brass. I also see the 94 centennial rifle with a pistol grip and checkering, with blued steel. It's not drilled and tapped for a receiver sight but does come drilled and tapped for a tang sight. If I hadn't just ordered that 1873 for pistol cartridge, I might have to track down one of those 94 Centennial rifles with the half-round-half octagon barrel. I bet that 26" barrel with a tang sight would be great for sight picture, if I could get used to a tang sight.

The Lone Star seemed to be easier to find and less expensive than the others. It was a couple hundred less than the Teddy R model is what I found. They all shoot really well for Silhouette. It is a bit gaudy, but feels nice in the shoulder.

Jason, when I bought my first one I was helping another shooter look for a Teddy Roosevelt as he wanted a pistol grip stock. I had seen this Lone Star on Gun Broker but he wanted the TR. I decided to buy it myself and have some fun with my Texas pals at Nationals. Well I won the CLA title with that gun that year and it's Lone Star forever for me. They just hold better than my other guns.
The brass on the receiver is some sort of plating. Yes it is a little much but I didn't buy it to look at. I did win an award at Pa States one year for the "purdiest gun".
I tried tang sights last year. Great sight picture no place for my thumb. I shoot with my thumb pushing down on top of the tang. Wrapping around the tang causes me to roll the gun.
Al Foust

I shot 110 gr. Round nose in my 3030 for chickens and pigs last time with 28 gr. Of reloader 7. Those rounds shoot close to the federal 150 factory which i used on turkeys and rams. I think i could have used the 110 loads on turkeys but had not tried it for elevation before hand. I shot 28 so not an expert but i dont think you can beat the 3030. I dont change sight settings just aim a bit high on the rams but not over top so its not toohard to do.

I don't know your barrel length. I tried the 125 /170 combo and it does rattle your teeth. My marlin has a 20 inch barrel. I tried a berry 150 plated using 24 grs of varget. My shooting partner tried this load in a marlin waffle top made in the 50s. He tried 4 rounds and had pressure problems. We found this load was 250 ftps slower in his rifle. I have had no problems. I tried 12 rounds last weekend with Ray at EMSC 3 at pigs 4 at turkeys 5 at rams . Missed two animals and knocked the others down. I look for more bang for my buck. Costs 37$ for250 bullets. Recoil was mild.Running about 1650 fps bullets will go to 1950 fps.
You may have to have several loads depending on where you shoot. Some rams are easy some are hard depending on target setters or condition of targets with a bit of weather thrown in.
I shot last weekend with a 357 mag henry big boy steel. I used a 125 berry plated with 6.5 n320.
Knocked over all it hit. For rams 180 Serria with 13.1 n110. Hit 7 rams rang 1.

My wife shot a 20" Buffalo Bill and shot 29 grains of Varget with a Sierra 125 for C P T and a Sierra 170 with 32 grains of Varget for rams. She did not mind the 125 load at all the 170 load she was happy to only have to shoot it at 1 animal. The 125 is a very good bullet to shoot at C P T even with a bit more Varget the recoil is minimal. Stay away from the PC calibers for CLA. They just don't work on the rams and you will get your self frustrated.