[Mr. Chitlin]

I need to order some stuff from Midway tomorrow and will include in the order about 3 or 4 boxes of bullets for my 30/30.

For years I've been shooting the 150 grain Rem Cor-Lokt bullet over a good load of H4895 at ~2200 fps and have absolutely no complaints.

You know how a reloaders mind gets to thinking though. I'm trying to decide whether I want to go with 170's or stick with the 150's. This rifle is mainly used for Arkansas Ozarks whitetails, and may be used for hunting hogs sometime in the future.

If I go with the 170's, it will probably be between the Rem Cor-Lokt (on sale at Midway for 24.56/100) or the 170 grain Speer Deep Curl (24.99/100), which looks good so far but I've not shot them or seen any field data on them.

Am I over thinking this and just need to stay with the tried and true 150 or will the 170 give me something that I am missing? Any experience with the Rem bullet vs the Speer?

Thanks for any info.

 

[furlong222]

if'en it aint broke...dont fix it

 

[preacher]

I've had 4 Marlin 30-30's and all preferred the 170 anything over the 150, for some reason, or I just never pursued it very far. I grew up shooting deer/hogs south of you there, between Houston/Beaumont, and we felt the 150 killed quicker than the 170. These were Winchesters.
I say get two boxes of 150's, one box Remington 170, and one box Speer 170 Deep curl, then go crazy! That's the way MY reloader's mind works,ha.

 

[papajohn]

If your 30-30 shoots that 150 Core-Lokt into little bitty groups, I'd leave things as they are. If the accuracy isn't all you'd hoped for, then it might be time to do some experimenting, but bear in mind most rifles tend to shoot one bullet weight better than the rest. My 1964 RC loves 150-grainers, but doesn't do as well with anything else. I haven't tried every bullet, but since the gun averages WELL under MOA at 100 yards, I'm not looking too hard for a new load. Mine likes the 4895's and the 150 Core-Lokt, but going noticeably slower than your load.

The Core-Lokt concept has been around for several decades, and has seen a lot of new designs introduced by other bulletmakers. Remington has seen no need to improve the design, or even tinker with it, a testament to how good it really is. For whitetail hunting, you'd be hard-pressed to find something "better". 8)

 

[Charlie98]

My 336 never liked the 150's so I just left them alone. For many years I was a Speer guy, so I loaded the Speer 170grn HotCore bullet on top of H322, with workable accuracy... 3-4" groups at 100yds. For a long time I thought that was all there was to lever-gun accuracy. I happened upon some Winchester Silvertip 170grn component bullets and tried them... immediately my groups went to 2-3" @ 100yds!

Chances are, any modern bullet you get (the Core-Lokt has been around forever, the DeepCurl is new, but I think Speer did their homework,) will perform on game... I wouldn't even worry about that. As some of the others have said... if you are happy with the accuracy and performance of the 150's, stick with them. But maybe in this box of goodies you are ordering, try something different... a box of 170's, or a different brand of 150's and see where they go. If you are feeling really frisky, try a different powder. I always used H322, but experimented with Rl12 and will be trying IMR3031 the next .30-30 loading session.

 

[brewster7]

Buy the one that works and buy a lot while its on sale! That's the conservative view and a good one.

That being said, I didn't follow my own advice. I saw Midway's Blemish Bullets sale (which happened before the Rem Core Loks went on sale) and bought two boxes of 100 each 160gr poly tipped spitzer. I don't know if my 30-30 will like them or not but its gonna be fun finding out.

 

[swany]

a search locally and see if they will match the price, also ask about bulk buying 500 or more, they may well have a good deal for you at the bulk rate that can not be matched by the likes of any item after shipping costs from catalogs.

My local pusher always makes me better deals, go figure.

 

[Travis 186]

I'm going to pick up a box of the 170gr. deep curls tomorrow if possible. Will let everyone know how they shoot.

 

[Travis 186]

Well shoot I couldn't find them.

 

[shooter69]

Like furlong22 says: If it ain't broke don't fix it!

 

[horseshoe]

Never ever shot the 170's but have been around the 150's for a long time. It stands to reason that the 170 would be more accurate being a longer bullet but I have always thought that it would not expand on deer as well as the 150. Just my opinion.

I was hunting with a young man and heard him shoot and after a while I walked down to where he was on the pipeline and he was looking around on the ground for blood so I helped him. We found no blood but I did find a plug of hair with some hide and a little bit of blood on it. We just assumed that he drilled him and that was the reason for no blood. He was shooting 170 grain bullets in his 30-30. He said he was aiming behind the shoulder but there is no telling where he hit the deer. My guess would be a gut shot. I don't think I ever considered shooting 170's after that in a 30-30. There is probably not enough difference in the two weights to sneeze at but I'll just stick with the 150's.

Horseshoe

 

[Travis 186]

Shot a deer with the 170gr. power point and the deer bleed out before it made it 20 yards from where I shot it. Perfect lung shot.

 

[Gunjunkie]

I use 170's and never lost a deer .. all were DRT.. same as 30.06 and 180's.. I don't change if they shoot accurate and do the job..