Win 94 in 30-30: Best factory Ammo?

[Onomea]

Well, I imagine I'll get bumped off soon to another forum, or subforum, but, what say y'all?

I got a Win M94, DOB 1936 or so. (Early on, not knowing better, I reblued her. Had the straight -- not a pistol grip — stock checkered. A beautiful little rifle.)

So tell me. What's the best factory ammo? Brand, weight, config, etc.

I do love that l'il M94.... Been through a lotta rifles, but she is the all around best.

 

[calmex]

Onomea:
Hello. The Model 94 in .30-30 is the substitute standard rifle here in Mexico as we cannot have Military style rifles or calibers. In fact, during the Commandante Marcos problems in the 1990's the Mexican Army refused to register the Model 94 for a while -- even though it is legal -- because they felt it was the "poor man's AK".

We can buy Winchester 150 grain factory ammo, and out of my own 1913 manufactured version that stuff works okay. However, being "allowed" to buy and actually being able to is a different matter as the Mexican Army often makes sure that there are insufficient stocks to go around and thus one might only be able to buy a few boxes a year.

An excellent reload we have developed uses the Saeco 196 grain .30 caliber gas-checked bullet sized to .309 and loaded over 18.5 grains of 2400 using a standard large rifle primer. Velocity out of the two Model 94 20-inch carbines I have tested it from run around 1,820 fps so it has about the same "impact" as the factory round. It is accurate, and when cast hard enough leaves no appreciable leading in the barrels. LOA is just at MAX LOA for the cartridge and the case has to be crimped into the barrel-riding section of the bullet using the Lee Factory Crimp die to be able to make correct LOA.

Recoil is softer than the factory round, and from the "lead cloud" that appears when we smack 100 yard metal chickens I do not think it would be a good load to be hit with. POI at 100 yards is very close to POI of the factory 150 out of our two rifles (mine made in 1913, Michael's -- formerly Colonel Phil Maher's Model 94 -- made in 1925).

You probably don't want to go through the pain of making these rounds and if we didn't have to, we probably wouldn't either. The Winchester factory 150 grain round we can get from time-to-time works well enough. We have installed the Marble Tang sight on both our rifles that folds down to allow the use of the regular barrel-mounted rear sight -- both of which we have installed to be fold-down sights so that when we can use the Tang sights they don't interfere with each other. The Marble Tang sight has full side-to-side and up-and-down adjustments which we found preferable to the elevation only adjustments of the Lyman #2.

Enjoy your rifle, I sure like mine.

 

[30-30remchester]

If you can tell by my name I am kinda fond of this round. For decades I shot only 170 grain ammo. But in hind sight I now realize that the 150's would have been better. I live in elk country and the 170's I thought would be the correct load in case I ran into an elk while carrying a 30-30. After decades of elk hunting I shot only one elk with a 30-30. The rest I took with varying calibers. Now I use only 150 grain as they shoot flatter and faster and they are easier to hit with at unknown distances. About any brand of factory ammo shoots well in any of my 94's.

 

[Ranger514]

Have you tried Hornady LeverRevolution? Might be more accurate at longer ranges, but I doubt it would matter for a brush gun that mostly get used at distances less than 200 yards.

 

[GatorFarmer]

Different rifles like different loads. The .30-30 has been around for a long time. Any of the basic factory offerings have had plenty of time to mature. Regional differences influence whether 150 or 170 grain is more available. The recent shortage of ammunition even spilled over into .30-30 at one point, for a brief period about 18 months ago, I had to be patient in searching for it.

If I lived somewhere with predatory animals, and had a .30-30, I suppose I would opt for the 170s.

 

[m1gunner]

I have had very good results with the Privi 150 gr load. Inexpensive, and more accurate than I am.

 

[gregintenn]

150 grain Remington CoreLokts are hard to beat.

 

[Dominus_Lex]

If there where a State Rifle here in Mich., it would be a lever action 30-30. I hate to admit this, but with one exception, I do not see much difference in 150gr loads from Rem. Win. and Federal, when used under our normal hunting conditions (i.e. shots from 50 to 125 yards).

Now for the one load I do not care for and why, the Federal Fusion. For whatever reason they simply fly different from the other loads. My rifle which remains true with any and all of the other loads, does not like the Fusions, and wants to send them 4" or 5" off (in any direction) at 100yds. That said I do not want be too tough on them, as I know several folks who love them. They simply don't work for me.

 

[mjr]

I am fond of Federal 3030C, which is a 125 grain hollow point. Try a box (if you can find one). A very useful round for medium game and smaller varmints, though less than ideal for elk and bear. If you keep a .30-30 for defensive use, there may be no better load.

 

[30-30remchester]

I am fond of Federal 3030C, which is a 125 grain hollow point. Try a box (if you can find one). A very useful round for medium game and smaller varmints, though less than idea for elk and bear. If you keep a .30-30 for defensive use, there may be no better load.

I have shot mountains of 30-30 ammo but have never shot any of the 125's. I agree they would be ideal for self defense. My question is, where is the impact when a rifle is sighted in with 150 or 170 grain ammo? In my limited experience the 160 Hornaday LeverEvelotions hit 6 to 8 inches away from like sighted rifles.

 

[mjr]

My question is, where is the impact when a rifle is sighted in with 150 or 170 grain ammo?

It's been quite a while since I've shot any .30-30s other than the 125s, but as I recall the 150s did hit a little lower than the 125s do. All my shooting with my Model 94s was with iron sights, mostly off-hand, and I never did buckle down and try to determine the difference in point of impact exactly. (I'm sort of embarrassed to admit. ) But I found I was shooting better with the lighter bullet.

 

[Texas Star]

Does anyone make a premium .30-30 load with Nosler Partition bullets? Might be useful on larger game.

 

[m1gunner]

Does anyone make a premium .30-30 load with Nosler Partition bullets? Might be useful on larger game.

Federal does in 170 gr

 

[cowart]

Federal does in 170 gr

MidwayUSA claims to actually have it in stock at $30.99 a box.

 

[Lt JL]

The Hornady Leverevolution is good, but pricey. I like the 160 gr FTX out to about 150 yards or so, I only use open sights on my '94.

 

[calmex]

I got a Win M94, DOB 1936 or so. (Early on, not knowing better, I reblued her. Had the straight -- not a pistol grip — stock checkered. A beautiful little rifle.)

Do not feel bad you reblued yours. I have far out-done you. Mexicans look at my rifle and when I tell them it was made in 1913 and probably came down here for the Mexican Revolution they tell me I have "desecrated it". I always laugh and tell them "I know" so they have no doubt about the importance I put on their "revolution". Canada was fighting in W.W. I at the same time and had like nearly a 12th of the population "over there". Important as it is to the Mexicans, I sort of twirl my finger in the air when we get into these Mexican Revolution discussions because The Great War was a bit of a bigger deal.

A friend of mine from Canada gave me two Canadian Silver 5.00 dollar coins and then went out and almost immediately got himself killed in a car accident. I inlaid those on either side of the stock. This old photo shows my rifle with a coin inlaid beside a second rifle I am restoring that dates from 1912 and probably came down here for the revolution. Anyone who knows about such things will tell you straight up that the first step in restoring Mexican Revolution Rifles is to put gaudy gold bands on them -- and perhaps lay in silver coins from the U.S. or Canada. Anyone who knows. At this point in time my rifle still sported the Lyman #2 Tang sight, properly laid to windage by layers of aluminum foil placed under the base to get it "just right".



I did some work for the Mexican Army during the Chiapas problems, somewhat talked about in the thread:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...issue-38-spl-model-10-a.html?highlight=calmex

Anyway, at about that time an Officer in the Mexican Army asked me "what is the difference between .30-30 Winchester and .30 W.C.F.?"

"Why?" I asked cautiously.

"Because we are going to temporarily ban" he immediately answered, "the .30-30 Winchester and Marlin rifles because they would be dangerous weapons for the revolutionaries to get their hands on."

"Hmmm," I replied. "The .30 W.C.F. is an old, obsolete cartridge from the turn of the century." So for a while there, it ended up that one could buy and register any Marlin or Winchester rifle marked .30 WCF but they would not let you buy or register a .30-30. Yes, Mexican readers, I'm perhaps responsible for that. My '94 dates from that time. A good shot here of the caliber marking and the fold-down front sight I have installed. By the way, Onomea, my wood came with this sort of gaudy checkering, I did not do that. Although the wood did get repaired and covered with Spar Varnish during my rework, I will take credit for that.



Idiot Michael Spar Varnished my coins for Pete's sake, keeping up with the gaudy theme of this restoration. But this photo shows the now-mounted Marble Tang Sight, which is fully adjustable and eliminates the need for building up one-or-the-other side of the sight base with aluminum foil to get your windage bang-on. Hey, that's one of my 200 grain bullets there!



Here's the front sight in the "up" position, and another look at the .30 WCF markings. Pepe's blue seems to have gone a little purple, but that's okay, it just makes a gaudy rifle all the more...gaudy.


The carbine in it's entirety. The gas BBQ on the patio is my constant background for gun photos if I don't subsitute an Iquipal chair instead. Gaudy rifle aficianados, note those Gold Bands!!!



A shot of the ammo. 196 grain Saeco gas-checked bullets that actually weigh 200 grains all ready to load. I stuck my 627 into the corner of the photo for the S&W aficianados who fall asleep without S&W eye-candy every second post or so.



For real Winchester aficianados, I should mention that when my friend Michael inherited Phil Maher's 1925 era Model 94 the rifle was in excellent condition with a Lyman Tang sight mounted and all Michael has done to that particular rifle is to substitute a Marble Tang Sight and install a folding mid-barrel sight as I have on mine. Otherwise, his is original: no coins in the stock, no Spar Varnish, and no Gold Bands. As the Mexicans say, "everything that shines is not gold."

 

[Acebow]

The Marlin Youth Model I just sold (sigh, sniff) really liked the Prvi Partisan 150gr load. I'm betting it would work in a Winchester--which I'll find out if I can ever get a brother-in-law to sell me back one I mistakenly let him have some years ago.
Next choice here would be the Remington Core Lokt. Then again, if another brand or weight shoots tighter out of your rifle, I'd imagine the deer won't know the difference. Acebow

 

[Farmer17]

I have an old Marlin 30/30 with a Weaver V1-3X scope. On 1x it is really fast on moving game and at 3X it is OK at longer ranges but I can't hardly see a 6" bullseye at 100 yards. A 9x scope is much better for longer range but I have other guns and scopes for distance. I like the Leverevolution ammo but I think about any load works fine for what the lever carbine was designed for. I usually buy whatever is cheapest at Walmart like the Coreloct or Federal ammo that is about 13 bucks a box, and it will put either of those rounds in one hole at 50 yards.

 

[mmaher94087]

Calmex, a little thread drift; my last name is Maher but I doubt there is any relation to Phil Maher. Sounds interesting. My 30-30 is a stock configuration Winchester manufactured in 1928. It loves Federal ammo.

 

[tops]

In my past life I used Win. 170 gr. Silvertip. I don't know if they still make it but I have a few boxes left. When I reload I use a Hornaday 170 gr. flat point. Larry