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Author Topic: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?  (Read 1261 times)

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Offline messer454

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.308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« on: January 30, 2007, 12:11:32 PM »
I have a 12 ga H&R and a 20 ga NEF.  I am looking to get my first handi rifle as kind of a truck gun and a back up deer gun.  I was wondering about recoil of .308 and .30-30 in the handi.  I would think it is less than a 12 ga. slug, is it more than a 20 heavy 2 3/4 field load?  Please enlighten me.  I would think .308 would be more recoil than .30-30 but is it noticeable? I am looking to stick with .30 cal adn don't like problems I've read about with 7.62x39.  I would like to capitalize on cheap surplus .308 before it is gone but I reload so a .30-30 would be okay too.  I also like back up sights on .30-30 more than no sights.  Thanks for help.
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2007, 12:27:10 PM »
Getting a 7.62x39 is pretty much a moot point, they don't make it anymore because milsurp doesn't work well in it, as for recoil, check out the table. Shooting milsurp in any H&R/NEF is not recommended by H&R, nor does it shoot well in most that have tried.

Tim

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm
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Offline MSP Ret

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2007, 12:45:38 PM »
As a reloader I say go with the 30-30. It is cheap in factory ammo, brass is everywhere, you can really get it to it's potential in a Handi single shot loaded with spitzer bullets, and Handi's are in thier element with a rimmed case. The 30-30 is a classic that everyone should have in a Handi, after they get thier 45/70....<><.... ;D
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Offline carbineman

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2007, 12:54:48 PM »
Shooting a 30-30 in a handi is kinda, sorta like shooting a 233 on steroids. The iron sights will probably not be useable with a scope rail mounted on the 30-30 as the rail covers up the sighting plane on the rifle. The 30-30 is a blast to shoot and works well for the beginner as well as the recoil shy veteran.
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2007, 01:12:19 PM »
Having back up sights on a rifle is really an obsolete practice with modern scopes, and as carbineman stated, won't work on any Handi I own with iron sights, it might with a tall front sight so the rear sight is way up, but not with my Hornet, .357 or .45-70 standard sights. Scopes used to have a real problem fogging in bad weather, I had my share I know, used to use the old Weaver hinged tip off mount, thought that was the greatest invention since sliced bread!! :D

Tim
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Offline messer454

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2007, 02:51:49 PM »
As usual guys thanks for the info.  I did not realize that about the iron sigts........that kinda changes things.  If military ammo isn't very accurate I guess that pretty much brings me the .30-30. quickdtoo-thanks for the table on recoil  think you could post me the one about shotguns so I have something to compare it to?  -45-70 seems a little much for plinking in Ohio.  That would use up my wheel weight lead in a hurry.  Thanks all.
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #6 on: January 30, 2007, 02:54:16 PM »
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Offline Sourdough

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #7 on: January 30, 2007, 02:57:38 PM »
Like someone else said the Handi being a single shot you can load spitzer type bullets and get a lot better performance than the  factory ammo.  Also the rimmed cartridge is perfect for the Handi rifle.
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Swampman

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #8 on: January 31, 2007, 10:45:06 AM »
My .30-30 has almost no recoil.  I see no reason the soup up the .30-30, it's all a deer hunter needs right out of the box.  I don't like rimless cartridges in the Handi and even though I love the .308, I'd never own one in the Handi.
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Offline wilderness

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #9 on: January 31, 2007, 11:02:51 AM »
Shotgun and rifle recoil are two different things. Too me shotguns have more of a straight back recoil where as a rifle has almost a jolt with muzzle rise. I have the heavy barrel .308 and after a day at the range you can feel you shot it a bit, but by no means a bad kick.

In my opinion alot of people over bore their hunting rifle thinking it will have more stopping power, when in fact the more comfortable you are with the caliber you shoot, the better you can place a shot. I used a .243 for 8 or 9 years and never had a problem killing a deer with one shot. It's good to build your shooting skills on a low recoil gun and work your way up because the anticipation of heavy recoil can cause folks to pull shots. I like to keep on my toes with those calibri .22 rounds, for those who don't know they use the primer only to fire the bullet. They are more quiet than a air gun and have great speed and work great in the handy. For $20 per 500 they are cheap and fun.
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Swampman

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #10 on: January 31, 2007, 11:52:07 AM »
My .45-70 has almost no recoil with the 405 grain Remington factory load.  I won't hunt deer sized game with anything less than a .30 caliber.
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Offline EVOC ONE

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #11 on: February 01, 2007, 01:43:05 AM »
The .30-30 is a great choice in a Handi.  I find it very comforatable to shoot.  Very little recoil, exellent accuracy, cheap ammo.  Virtually a "must have" Handi caliber.   ;D
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Offline fastbike

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #12 on: February 01, 2007, 05:33:29 AM »
I'm about to make up some 30-30 loads for my son's Handi. What COL do you use w/ spitzers? I was going to guesstimate based on COL for a flat nose, but some actual results would be nice. Going to use 150 gr Speer w/ either Varget or IMR4064.

Quote from: MSP Ret on January 30, 2007, 12:45:38 PM
As a reloader I say go with the 30-30. It is cheap in factory ammo, brass is everywhere, you can really get it to it's potential in a Handi single shot loaded with spitzer bullets, and Handi's are in thier element with a rimmed case. The 30-30 is a classic that everyone should have in a Handi, after they get thier 45/70....<><.... ;D
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #13 on: February 01, 2007, 06:03:12 AM »
There's lots of 30-30 spitzer data out there for Contenders, Lyman shows a COL of 2.745" and 29g to 31.5gr IMR4064 for the 150gr Hornady SP. Hornady shows 2.715" for all of their 150gr/155gr bullets, but no 4064.

IMR shows 2.855" with a max load of 34.4gr 4064 for the Sierra 150gr SP.

Tim
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Offline ONE HOLE 4570

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #14 on: February 01, 2007, 07:09:11 AM »
I have loaded 125gr sierra sp & 130gr hornady single shot pistal bullets with good sucsess. If you need to down load it for a youth H4895 works great. My son got his first deer this year with a 30-30 125gr sierra, great round will not part with this one. He is now shooting full power loads with the above bullets along with factory 150's with no trouble (9yr old)

I load using contender info for single shot pistols as Quick mentioned
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Offline fastbike

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #15 on: February 01, 2007, 07:33:48 AM »
Thanks. Hadn't thought of looking for Contender specific info. I'm inclined to try Varget first since all loads I find show less pressure than IMR4064 at the same velocities.


Quote from: quickdtoo on February 01, 2007, 06:03:12 AM
There's lots of 30-30 spitzer data out there for Contenders, Lyman shows a COL of 2.745" and 29g to 31.5gr IMR4064 for the 150gr Hornady SP. Hornady shows 2.715" for all of their 150gr/155gr bullets, but no 4064.

IMR shows 2.855" with a max load of 34.4gr 4064 for the Sierra 150gr SP.

Tim
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #16 on: February 01, 2007, 08:30:02 AM »
I think that's a good choice, I'd just use the 150gr FN data and load close to the lands which in 99% of Handis will be considerably longer than any COL data, if you can reach them at all!! Hodgdon shows a start of 31gr and max of 34.5gr Varget with a 150gr Sierra FN. They show the same data for pistol and rifle, but I think BL-C2 might be an even better choice using the rifle data, better load density at 33gr start to 37gr max, slightly better velocity, but pressure is over 2kcup less. ;) I haven't loaded for my 30-30 yet, but the COL to the lands with the 150gr Nosler partition is  2.71" and 2.77" with the Nosler solid base.

Tim
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Swampman

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Re: .308 and .30-30 handi recoil?
« Reply #17 on: February 01, 2007, 10:41:48 AM »
I plan on usng Varget in my .30-30s when I get around to reloading for them.  It seems to provide great accuracy in most of the cartridges I shoot.  I really like the 150 grain Remington Core-Loct designed for .30-30 velocites.  If I'm after hogs, I'll probably use the 170 grain Core-Loct..
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