Another victim of the .30-30 hollow point

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  • Last Post 07 October 2023
Wilderness posted this 02 October 2023

At the risk of becoming repetitive, here's another hog shot with the hard cast .30-30 hollow point bullet. And another one to answer the question of whether these bullets will kill larger pigs.

This one differs from those previously described in that the shot was in the ribs at 90 degrees and out the the other side with no shoulder involvement. The hit was about 4", maybe even 6", too far back, which is why he ran about 100 meters before going over. The exit wound was similar to the entry wound - all the interesting stuff happened in the middle. The exit would have been just the wadcutter type slug remaining after the bullet nose had broken up.

Bullet is 176 gns, alloy about 11% non-lead, and the hollow point removes 5% (10 gns) of original bullet weight. Muzzle velocity is 2200 fps. Pig was shot inside 50 meters so got most of it.

Measurements were 57" overall snout to butt of tail, 43" top of skull to butt of tail, and 43" heart girth. Estimated weight in pounds is heart girth in inches (43) squared, times length in inches from top of skull to butt of tail (43), divided by 400 = 199 pounds. Not sure how accurate this is, but it's better than nothing. This fellow is a real Roly Poly, so may have actually weighed better than he measured.

I spent most of the trip home trying to do this sum in my head - I was off by a couple of points after the decimal. A good anti Altzeimers exercise.

The afternoon yielded three other hogs, all dispatched without fuss. I may never buy another jacketed bullet.

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pat i. posted this 02 October 2023

You must be fibbing because everyone knows hard cast will blow up on impact, if they even make it that far without flying apart in the air. 😉

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Wilderness posted this 03 October 2023

Yes Pat, it looks like pigs are not as tough as water bottles.

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Wilderness posted this 03 October 2023

In the course of my search for the appropriate degree of hardness for my HP bullets, I did shoot several pigs with straight linotype HP bullets. They were a serious disappointment, behaving like FMJs. The only sure shot was through both shoulders.

Big solid revolver bullets used against large animals could be an entirely different matter. I speak only of .30-30 bullets against pigs.

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delmarskid posted this 03 October 2023

Years ago when American Rifleman had their “How I Did It” column a fellow wrote in explaining how he layed thin strips of paper across the bore riding section of his mold back behind the bullet nose . This made a breaking point at impact in effect creating a thee piece bullet. This bird said it killed deer just fine. I made some but never got around to using or shooting any. I do remember that it wasn’t easy to lay the strips straight, keep them straight on closing, and not burn myself. Aluminum foil and a tweezers might be the way to go. I think what you’re doing is just about cool as heck. I’ve got a ’99 in 303 Savage that I like a lot.

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Wilderness posted this 03 October 2023

DMK - thanks for the thought.

At least one of the old Ideal manuals showed the cigarette paper across the nose trick. I tried it once with something low powered. I recovered the bullet with one petal still on it, and the other detached. Making a couple of hundred a year would be beyond consideration.

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smokyboom posted this 05 October 2023

That is a beautiful rifle. Care to share the details?

-------- Andrew BPCR in 45-70, and 38-55

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Wilderness posted this 05 October 2023

Thanks SB - pretty simple, I bought just the action in 1980 with some parts missing. It was originally a .22 HP takedown, but the takedown hardware was missing also. Savage came good with the required parts, including a new 24" .30-30 barrel (12" twist - relevant to CB shooting), and an original sale date - 1922. I fitted the barrel as a solid setup with a thin shim. Cartridge guide was a proper .30-30 guide from Numrich. Spindle was opened up slightly at the front for the fatter cartridge. I made the stock to suit the Lyman 57SA peep sight I used at first, but then had to add the comb raiser when older eyes necessitated a scope. The comb raiser seemed a more sympathetic solution than making a new high comb stock. Buttplate is Niedner. That's a Leupold VX1 2-7 scope. The collar on the back is the adapter for my NV device.

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EVR_Forge posted this 05 October 2023

Excellent writeup and answers to posts.

A good CB HP especially in the medium velocity rounds is not to be ignored.  I have had excellent results with the old now discontinued LEE 400 grain (402 in WW's) HP in .45-70.  Truly an impressive bullet.  Acts quite like a Nosler Partition in that the front end blows up and out and the remaining 300 grain shaft penetrates very deeply.  I've had quite some adventures w/ that one on bear and a couple injured range cows, one of them very gamey indeed.  Plus deer. 

 

 

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Wilderness posted this 05 October 2023

EVR - thank you.

Yes, injured or bogged cows can be very inconsiderate when you're trying to help them. A week or so ago one of my benefactors had to extract a cow from the mud. They got her out, then every time they stood her up she tried to kill everyone and then fell over again. She got the bullet, and now reposes in front of a game camera awaiting the arrival of the pigs. If they oblige, they will be fodder for the .30-30 with NV attachment.

Your experience of .45-70 HP bullet behaviour sounds very much like mine with the smaller stuff - the nose comes apart and creates its own cone of destruction, while the base penetrates a long way, being progressively ground down by its passage through the animal. The recovered bullet will be from a little to a lot shorter than the original non-hollow part of the bullet (relevant to choosing depth of hollow).

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mashburn posted this 06 October 2023

Hello Wilderness,

Don't worry about becoming repetitive on my part. I never get tired of hunting stories, with pictures and specs. on the rifles and ammo used. I've made shots on hogs with jacketed bullets and high velocities that ran as far as you pigs are running. Some didn't run near as far, but some did.

I've got to make contact with you by PM or telephone or something. I need to pick your brain. The last couple of years I have switched to cast,GC, powder coated bullets for my hunting rifles. I shoot a 30-30 and a .375 bore rifle. I have good loads for them, but I have a lot of questions.

Mash

David a. Cogburn

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smokyboom posted this 07 October 2023

@Wilderness, Thanks for the details. Very handsome rifle.

-------- Andrew BPCR in 45-70, and 38-55

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Wilderness posted this 07 October 2023

SB, glad you like it. Handsome is as handsome does, and this one does nicely.

Jack O'Connor quotes one of the old time stockmakers as saying every line of a classic stock should be either a straight line or a segment of a circle. Not bad advice. That and managing the transitions between surfaces - from flat receiver to oval pistol grip (panels), from pistol grip to butt proper (flutes), from end of pistol grip to bottom of stock etc.

When you start looking for it you can see what a hash some of the factories make of it, flutes especially.

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