30-30 bullet tumbling?

V

VaDeerHunter

New member
I have a new to me Marlin 336 30-30 with the microgroove barrel, and i was trying to sight it in with the hornady leverevolution ammo, and at fifty yards the bullet was keyholing tryed some different ammo federal powershok i think and it wasnt tumbling at fifty yards but the accuracy was terrible. Checked the scope and rings everything tight, so tooke the scope off and just used iron sights and accuracy was still very poor. I am by no means a benchrest shooter but i am a decent shot. The gun is about 35 years old and i cleaned it before i shot it. Just wondering what you guys think could be causing the tumbling or the poor accuracy.
 
You didn’t mention what bullet weights you’re using.
medicdave is correct. Lighter bullets should help.
If it continues to keyhole with lighter bullets, you may have a worn out barrel. It’s pretty hard to wear out a 30-30 barrel though. Can you be more specific about group sizes? 30-30’s are not known for tack driving accuracy. If it shoots 2” at 100yds, that’s about as good as can be expected.
 
marlin 336's either hav a 1-10 twist or 1-10.5,i believe...also inspect muzzle's crown real closely for damage...lever action are treated by some like they would a shovel...where cast bullets shot thru it?...though you "cleaned" it, there maybe "strata" of lead and copper in barrel that may require sum serious cleaning ...back in the 70's most folks just used #9 solvent to wipe out powder fouling...doing zip for lead/copper removal.
 
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Good info from the guys above.
You're not the first guy who has reported bad accuracy with the Hornady Leverevolution 30-30 bullet. I was all hot to get some for me and my son's Marlin 336's. Then I read about others having difficulty with them, and I backed off from buying them.
I load Nosler's 170 grain Partition 30-30 bullet and accuracy is there, for both rifles, and those bullets are excellent killers. I just got my 336, shot it at the bench, but never on Deer. My son has used his to kill some Deer.
I think you might try a box of the Nosler's to see how they shoot for you. I watched my son shoot three shots with the Nosler's at a 100 yard target and the group measured slightly over an inch, using a 4x scope. I doubt that the 336 can shoot better than that, and that accuracy is far better than I thought a 336 would ever shoot. Good enough for northern Michigan White Tails.
 
Thanks for the info guys i will try to seriously clean the barrel tonight, the hornadys are 160 grains and the federals I was shooting were 170 grains. I will try a box of 150 grain ammo to see if that helps. As far as accuracy could not get a group under 6 inches it was just all over the place I will also inspect the crown. I know they are not tackdrivers, but im not sure I could hit a deer with it at 100 yards. Thanks for the help, and anymore is appreciated I will keep you updated.
 
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