Just wondering what kind of dmg using .30-30 170 Grain Silver Tips (Winchester) on a Whitetail would do at approx 40-50 yds...stopping power wise if hit properly..or just wondering on anyone previous experience hunting with this rifle...thnks

Those are Nosler Ballistic Tips, I'd expect that the bullet would be going to fast to reliably perform, it would have enough energy to bounce around inside a couple times. I would lighten the load up a bit or use a lighter bullet.

mattsbox99:

Got to admit, your post kind of confuses me in relation to the original post...not quite sure I'm following.
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40-50 yards with the 170gr. WW Silvertip 30-30....proably just what it was designed to do best...expand, penetrate in more or less a straight line, and generally come out the other side. Just about what a person would want a bullet to do.

At that range, the velocity is still high enough to offer good expasnion, but not enough to severly limit penetration (it's a trade off with soft point ammo...more of one generally means less of the other).

Me thinks He is confusing those new fangled Supreme Ballistic Silver tip bullets with what We know as being the Silvertips from way back in the day.


444fitch

Dead deer- if placement is up to snuff.

One of the best combinations for this cartridge close in.

Steve

Me thinks He is confusing those new fangled Supreme Ballistic Silver tip bullets with what We know as being the Silvertips from way back in the day.


444fitch
Methinks you're right. The 170 Silvertip at that range would be super.

Good long time ago, scarped up enough $ for a Glenfield 30-30 (the cheaper grade Marlin..yes, the few dollard difference was important then). Desided on WW 170gr. Silvertips as the load of choice...hunted with it through high school, college, and the first eyars of teaching. Never loas game from any erro on the ammuntion's part (missed some, but you can't blame the bullet's performance on poor shooting). Eventaully gathered a other rifles arround me...but not so sure I'm better off than I was back then with a tube mag. of Silvertips and the TIME to hunt (have the guns, but a lot less time to use them).

oops! I thought he was using the CT bullets...

in any case... hot rod loads with heavy bullets = lotsa meat damage at close range.

Since when has the 30-30 wcf ever been known as a hot rod load except maybe in the accelerator form. Just my 2 cents

I've used the Silvertips from back in the day with my Savage 170 30-30 pump. They will produce good hits. The aluminum cap can sometimes open up on entrance and do a little ballistic tip type damage but for the most part it's a great round if it's accurate in your piece. My complaint is that the tips nick up a bit but then again that's a darn small complaint. It's a bread-n-butter round, really.

I fired up the ole 170 again this year, mounted a spare scope on it and grabbed a box of American Eagle (federal) target rounds. They are flat tipped for "wadcutting"....silly marketing thing I guess. Still havent taken a deer this year because my buddy only uses it when he has too. Dang thing shoots .80's at 100yds!

Anyway, silvertips.....but my pref is with the lighter 150's for that little bit of flatness out to 150yds.


Perferator

170 grain in my experiance has been overkill for whitetail i would recommend closer to a 150gr.

170 grain in my experiance has been overkill for whitetail i would recommend closer to a 150gr.

Too dead?

Admit, I do like increasing my chances of a nice ragged exit wound so i tend to hevier than minimal bullets...not so much for those nice brtoad side shots, but from those nasty 3/4 away shots.

I guess it all comes down to how much more dead you think dead is than dead.

I guess it all comes down to how much more dead you think dead is than dead.

There are a LOT of factors that you have to consider when you talk about "what bullet to use" ... In my 7mmRemMag that I use to hunt whitetail deer I shoot Federal Premium 140gr Nosler Partitions, and they kill dead as dead can be. Part of the reason is because out of that cartridge, a 140gr bullet at 300yds still has almost 2000 ft/lbs of energy... and "shock" is the main factor in causing cardiac arrest. Since I can get a really flat shot with the 140's, and get that kind of energy that far out, why would I need to use a 160 or 175gr bullet? The ONLY reason would be for taking really long shots in hard wind where I could count on less drift out of the heavier load. But remember, bullets these days are not like the days of old where the only real difference was weight. Bullet's have become so much more effective for their weight than they used to be... 140gr bullets today are doing more damage at times than 175gr bullets did 20 years ago because they are so much more technologically advanced.

My advice is that you choose a bullet that is close to the "average" grain that people use for a certain type of game you are hunting... then find out how well it groups out of YOUR rifle with YOU shooting it... Then, make sure it's going to deliver enough energy to help you make the kill if you dont place a perfect shot.

I get about 1/2" groups at 100yds most of the time w/ my setup, and that's all I need to know. Never had a deer move much at all after a properly placed shot... and never lost one at all from a shot that was not so well placed. So dont let anyone tell you lighter bullets wont do the trick. Find what works well with you and your gun, and go make the kills... Dead is dead, period. And one last thing... the lighter bullet is going to do less meat damage most of the time as well... I consider that a plus.

Part of it is where you live and how you hunt. Isn't a drastic ballistic advantage for a 150gr. over a 170gr. in a .30-30...shoot what works best.

Where you live not only dictates how you hunt (at least local hunting) but how much you hunt. In Louisiana, supose to limit ourselves to no more than 6 deer a season...in some locations, and in eiter sex seasons, can have possitions of one of each sex in a given day..those are pretty generous limits (even though it make take two Louisiana deer to equal one good Indiana buck). Guess that colors my thinkg as I'd tend to go hunting again for more meat rather than worry about a few pounds (or even a quarter deer) ruined by too much gun.

Most of my local hunting is in the thick stuff, short range shooting, but it's amazing what you can hide in the thick stuff unless there is a nice blood trail helping to lead you to it. Like a nice ripped (isn't the star shaped exit called "stellate" as the adjective form?) exit.