My advice is always pick the one that shoots best in your rifle. The difference in performance between the two weights is small enough that accuracy is really all that matters when I choose a load.

 

A friend of mine was telling me that he uses 150 grain .30-30s when deer hunting. I know that works and all but I asked him why he doesn't use 170 grain. He said the ballistics of the 150 grain are why he uses them, he feels it provides better performance. He's been on a lot of successful deer hunts, but what's better for deer?
It might be a random personal preference but I find it weird.

I read the 150 grain has a slightly flatter trajectory than the 170 grain. In other words, its slightly more accurate but provides slightly less knockdown power.

Fred

 

A friend of mine was telling me that he uses 150 grain .30-30s when deer hunting. I know that works and all but I asked him why he doesn't use 170 grain. He said the ballistics of the 150 grain are why he uses them, he feels it provides better performance. He's been on a lot of successful deer hunts, but what's better for deer?
It might be a random personal preference but I find it weird.

I read the 150 grain has a slightly flatter trajectory than the 170 grain. In other words, its slightly more accurate but provides slightly less knockdown power.

Fred

So what would ou prefer to hunt deer with at under 200 yards?

 

A friend of mine was telling me that he uses 150 grain .30-30s when deer hunting. I know that works and all but I asked him why he doesn't use 170 grain. He said the ballistics of the 150 grain are why he uses them, he feels it provides better performance. He's been on a lot of successful deer hunts, but what's better for deer?
It might be a random personal preference but I find it weird.

I read the 150 grain has a slightly flatter trajectory than the 170 grain. In other words, its slightly more accurate but provides slightly less knockdown power.

Fred

So what would ou prefer to hunt deer with at under 200 yards?

Slightly under 200 yards? Id opt for Hornady LE ammo instead of the regular 150 or 170 grain 30.30 ammo. Hornady LE is specifically made for ranges over 100 yards, out to 200 yards.

Fred

 

A friend of mine was telling me that he uses 150 grain .30-30s when deer hunting. I know that works and all but I asked him why he doesn't use 170 grain. He said the ballistics of the 150 grain are why he uses them, he feels it provides better performance. He's been on a lot of successful deer hunts, but what's better for deer?
It might be a random personal preference but I find it weird.

I read the 150 grain has a slightly flatter trajectory than the 170 grain. In other words, its slightly more accurate but provides slightly less knockdown power.

Fred

So what would ou prefer to hunt deer with at under 200 yards?

Slightly under 200 yards? Id opt for Hornady LE ammo instead of the regular 150 or 170 grain 30.30 ammo. Hornady LE is specifically made for ranges over 100 yards, out to 200 yards.

Fred

And LE is 160 grains (right in the middle of your 150 or 170 question).

 

I have killed deer with both, though I havent used the LE's yet. I rarely shoot more than 70 yards, I use 170's. The biggest deer I have ever shot dressed out a bit under 200lbs and that fell to a 150gr corelokt that shattered its shoulder/arm and took out its vitals. Use what u and your gun like.

 

I generally stay with my 150 grain Core-Lokt handloads. If you can't take a deer with 150 grains, 170 won't make a difference. I do prefer 170s for hogs though. They are a lot tougher than deer.

 

I use the same. My 150 grain Core-Lokt hand loads group much tighter than 170 sierras. My rifle hates 160 grain ftx's.

 

"And LE is 160 grains (right in the middle of your 150 or 170 question)."

 

My rifle seems to prefer the 170 gr from an accuracy standpoint. My hunting shots are 70 to 120 yds mostly on hogs. The 170 gr knocks them down on the spot if I do my part.

texwing

 

My 336 straight stock shoots the LE ammo very well and that is what i plan on using to deer hunt with .

 

I agree with every answer given,but I believe also is that a 170 grain is better if you are going to be shooting thru a lot of brush,thickets,and scrub.I put down 2 deer once with one shot with 170 grain.

 

Not sure exactly how I came upon this old thread in my search but I found it interesting and agree with almost every response - the above quote more closely mirrors my opinion on why I use the 170 grn [I mostly use Remington Cor-Lokt]. I love the 150 gr factory round and think it may perform better on deer due to better mushrooming upon initial penetration of the hide [vice continuing with a deeper penetration before the initial mushroom effect begins or exiting before full mushroom can occur]. We have a lot of heavy brush here so I prefer the 170 for that reason overall - well that and the fact that we have a lot of black bear and I would much rather encounter one of those critters with 170 grains in the chamber than 150 if ever needed.

 

I tend to pick a cartridge based on the ballistics I prefer for a general purpose use, and then I tune a gun to maximize what that cartridge does in the real world. After I set the gun up, that cartridge is usually all I'll shoot out of that gun.

My goal is to achive a clean and full penetration on several species of medium to large sized game, with as little meat damage as possible.

A lot of people praise the 150gr bullets out of the .30-30, but in my experience they cause significantly more damage that the 170gr. I belive that this is directly attributable to the "slight" increase in velocity. By my observation, the 150gr seem to enter an animal and frequently cause explosive exit wounds. The 170gr seem to have better penetration and are more likely to achive a full penetration and not leave a gaping, ragged exit wound.

That's just my experience. Others might see something different.

I don't use the 150gr anymore.

 

Accuracy dictates,IMO.My 336 likes 170's(as does my my pre '36 Savage "super sporter").The differance in weight is 20 grains,or, half of a .22 slug.

 

When I got my 336C it shot 170’s better than 150’s, but after a few hundred rounds it started liking 150’s better. Disappointed at first, I tried to find a 170 load as accurate as my 35grs of W748 behind a 150gr bullet. Came close but no cigar ! Then I realized something. A 150gr’s are fine for something deer size and something the size of a bear or moose is a pretty big target specially at less then 100 yards away, I’m not going to need pinpoint accuracy !

 

What ever is the most accruate. Give the LE's a try.

 

A friend of mine was telling me that he uses 150 grain .30-30s when deer hunting. I know that works and all but I asked him why he doesn't use 170 grain. He said the ballistics of the 150 grain are why he uses them, he feels it provides better performance. He's been on a lot of successful deer hunts, but what's better for deer?
It might be a random personal preference but I find it weird.

I read the 150 grain has a slightly flatter trajectory than the 170 grain. In other words, its slightly more accurate but provides slightly less knockdown power.

Fred

So what would ou prefer to hunt deer with at under 200 yards?

Slightly under 200 yards? Id opt for Hornady LE ammo instead of the regular 150 or 170 grain 30.30 ammo. Hornady LE is specifically made for ranges over 100 yards, out to 200 yards.

Fred

How about under 100 yards? If you could only pick 150 grain or 170 grain.??

 

http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php/topic,35924.0.html

I have always like the 170, but had a bad experience with the performance of a 170 Sierra FN bullet. So I tried the Winchester 150 grain PP. They were more accurate, and now my handloads have shot 1 ragged hole with the 150 grain Win PP and H4895. So I like the 150 grain Win PP. As you can see, they have wonderful expansion compared to the 170 grainer. If I were hunting ELK or GRIZ I would use 170's most likely, but for what I have to shoot in AR. I will stick with the the 150's. Read the thread I posted. .753 expansion and 125 grain weight retained.

 

A friend of mine was telling me that he uses 150 grain .30-30s when deer hunting. I know that works and all but I asked him why he doesn't use 170 grain. He said the ballistics of the 150 grain are why he uses them, he feels it provides better performance. He's been on a lot of successful deer hunts, but what's better for deer?
It might be a random personal preference but I find it weird.

here is my basic spiel on the 30.30 lever guns. Basically, these are 100 yard deer rifles, ie; brush guns. They are outstanding for taking up to medium sized game up to 100 yards with regular factory ammo. Maybe not as good as the vaunted 35 Marlin 336, but the next best thing.

Then, after a hundred years of regular 30.30 ammo, comes along a high tech invention...the Hornady LE ammo. The company claims this ammo makes the lever guns a reliable "200 yard deer rifle." Not a bad claim and most everything Ive heard and read, both online and offline, indicates the LE ammo is good stuff.

I have yet to shoot any LE ammo, although Im stocking up on Hornady LE ammo. Bought two boxes of it today BTW. Makes my third box of Hornady LE.

However, my personal, deep seated inclination regarding firearms is I like overloading the target. I like to blow the snot out of what I hit. I like BOTH extreme accuracy plus extreme knockdown power. When I shoot a deer, I want it to fall over dead, right there. Or not run more than 25 yards. That is, providing I have good shot placement. Im a good shot with a rifle, so shot placement is no problem with me.

This personal philosphy of mine, yet to be tested out in the real world yet (will be tested out this spring and early summer though), after I get my Marlin tricked out with all the modifications I am doing to it, leads me to the following conclusions:

For classic 30.30 distances of 100 yards or less, stick to 170 grain 30.30. Afterall, I like to overload the target and blow the snot out of it.

However, for distances of over 100 yards, I think I will opt for this new Hornady LE stuff. Its MADE for longer distances and even has its bullseye on the box as being at 200 yards. Regular 30.30 has its bulleye listed at 100 yards. My readings indicate that Hornady LE overloads the target at distances out to 200 yards, but not beyond.

Since thats what my preferences are, "overloading the target while still having good accuracy," I opt for 170 grain regular 30.30 for shorter distances and Hornady LE for over 100 yards.

How many times have I repeated myself here?

Have you noticed I really enjoy writing I like to overload the target and blow the snot out of it? ;D To me, there is no other way.

I want "BOOM!" and "FLOP." 150 grain 30.30 just doesnt seem to have that ring to it, IMO.

Fred

 

RayadoMan, don't take this the wrong way, but you are ..., I swear. ;D I had two bang flops this year with 150 grain 30-30 bullets, and one was over 100 yards. Thank you very much. One bullet went completely through the length of the deer. I had another shot with a 170 Sierra that I failed to find. I actually think at the speed the 30-30 travels that a 150 grain bullet (as shown in my pics above) is a better choice. Just look on the bullet recovery thread. You will see a factory 170 grain Federal that barely showed any lead after hitting a deer. My 150 grain bullet mushroomed perfectly at 30-30 speed.

I don't know where you get your info. I feel that your experience is null with any of the calibers you comment on. I may be wrong, but in a recent thread you were downing the .223 (as a wimpy round) even with the pics I showed of a 150 lb deer shot by a .223, and then admitted that you have zero, absoultely no experience with the cartridge. You leave me believing the same is true on this thread by calling the 30-30 a 100 yard gun. My .22 magnum is a 100 yard gun.

You are entitled to your opinion, but I am mine as well. So I don't have an issue with calling your report on the 30-30 a crock..

 

Rayado, your speculation doesn't have much of the "ring of truth" to it. It's speculation, pretty durn obviously. You're shortchanging the 30-30. Some of the suppositions you make about how deer "should" react when you "overload" the target and BTSOOT are not correct. As are your ammo analyses regarding game performance.

Past a certain point of damage, a rifle doesn't kill any faster. Honestly.

The lungs can only be so damaged, after all. Once they're gone, being "more gone" doesn't kill any faster.

I've seen shorter death runs, witnessed, with a 14 year old girl (I was mentoring her for the shot) shooting a reduced load 100 grain Core-Lokt bullet at 2300 out of a .257 Roberts (about 900 fps lower than full throttle) than I've seen out of a .270. Same range. Both good sized bucks.

The .270? Hit a buck, a frontal shot smack straight on in the chest with a .270 Hornady 130 at about 40 yards. Over 3150 fps MV so this is moving right along. Ran forty yards. Wasn't a thing recognizable in the chest cavity, admittedly; blood soup with little chunks. "Overload"??. Sure, if that's what you think matters. Except it doesn't.

That deer was blasted. Heck, the entrance hole was three inches across, as it hit bone right away. Still went forty yards.

The 2300 fps reduced load has only 40 percent of the energy of the .270 load. That deer went thirty yards. Believe me when I say the lungs were pretty well shredded and we were impressed by the damage. Was the damage as great as the .270? No, not quite, but more than sufficient to kill the deer very quickly. As fast as or faster than the .270 did.

It will take you awhile to gain enough experience to prove yourself wrong, and you're talking yourself out of proper ammo selection. Let us save you some time, as you're clearly speculating.

The 30-30 works further than you think with conventional, 100+ year old bullet design, and it hasn't been saved by technology in the form of the LeverEvolution bullet. You're a Johnny-Come-Lately and you just don't know this yet. You need a little seasoning.

Come back with some tales of how well it works on deer with bullet weights across the spectrum, as you will once you stick with it. Roundnose or flatnose old school well beyond 150 up to 200 yards, or LeverEvolution at 30 yards, and no, I didn't get that backwards.

If a deer came by at 175 yards, and my gun was loaded with "old fashioned" 150 grain roundnose 30-30 ammo, I'd pull the trigger for sure. After the hit, the deer will probably run about 40-50 yards and keel over. In other words, about like the .270 would do.

Incidentally, you could probably hunt your whole life and you'd never be able to tell a bit of difference in how fast the 30-30 and 35 Remington will kill a deer. Saved you some time there too.

 

I've shot deer with both, I eventually got away from the 170's as I felt something was missing, penetration was fine, but really, how much penetration do you need for a skinny broadside deer, also I had long runs with the 170's which entailed long tracking jobs in really bad places. Yes, they were dead and recovered, but I was looking for some more dramatic results. Switched to 150's, another boat load of deer, and I can say with confidence the 150's gave faster kills, or more accurately, shorter kills, on average then the 170's

I can't see the difference in wounds, I've had ugly ones with the 170's too. Penetration has been MORE then adequate, never recovered the bullet yet.

Fast forward to the LeverE's, now that's performance! More bang flops then ANY other load, shot up meat? no more really then the others.

Now to qualify my observations, most, probably 80% of these shots were heart/lung. if your shooting the neck or shoulder your results may vary, but you need to understand not all deer respond equally to seemingly identical shots, I've been constantly amazed at the vitality of mortally wounded deer, a sample of a few deer taken is not a reliable indication of a bullets ability.

Shoot 20,40, or more with the same round and THEN you can get a grip on what's happening.
I'm hooked on the LE's now, but if necessary, I would go back to the 150's. They work better, for ME.

 

Aint a deer out there thats going to be deader from a 170 than a 150 grain bullet & no 30/30 is "overloaded" for deer. Hell they shoot them with 30/06's, 300 mags & everything under the sun.
JMHO but I only care about what my gun likes better in a 30/30 between 170 & 150 grains. Mines always liked 150's better & everything I ever shot with it died & got ate.
Just a tid bit, a grain, one grain, was originally the weight of one plump grain of wheat. I dont reckon 20 of them add up to much.

Its nice when folks can talk about desired ballistic effects without cussing too. There are children & women reading this stuff.

 

My .22 magnum is a 100 yard gun.

;D mine too....

I'm not sure why one would even buy a 30-30 if they were concerned about its meager range and lack of ability to 'bang-flop' and blow the snot out of the target.

 

Rayadoman,

I hope you won't take this as an insult rather than constructive criticism. But from what you said above, and the words you posted in the Wimpy .223 thread, you show a tendency to spout off on subjects thst you have no real knowlege of, filled with speculations. In the real world you just might have a change of opinion. With 150 grain .30-30s, and with decent shot placement, of course, I can shoot the snot out of any deer walking on this green earth. Granted, I've never had to take a shot at over 100 yards, most considerably less, but if I had confidence in a shot out to 200 yards with a scoped .30-30, I would take it without worrying that my cartridge or bullet were inadequate. The only 170s I would consider favorably for deer would be the Remington factory loads in 170 grain hollowpoint which one of my Winchester 94s absolutely loves accuracy wise. I don't use them regularly because I'm a handloader and I don't think Remington offers them as components. I wish they did.

Please try to restrict yourself to areas in which you have actual experience. That would be for the best, I think.

 

Every gun is a little different, shooters differ too. I appreciate everyone's opinion but I think the answer is simple: shoot them all with your gun and pick the cheapest round which groups best. Between 150g and 170g an accurate hit matters more than projectile weight or velocity.