Sighting in a 30-30

Drummerdude · 07-19-2005, 11:18 PM

I have a Winchester 30-30 that I am putting a Simmons Blazer 3-9x50 scope on, with see through mounts. I know that the range is about100-150 yards. How should I sight it in, and at what range(s)?

Thanks, Dude

Grendle · 07-20-2005, 12:04 AM

I always found that see through mounts for a scope kind of hamper good shot placement.

I would have kept the scope as close to the barrel as possible.

Jeep4x4 · 07-20-2005, 12:30 AM

What he said. Keep the scope as close to the barrel as possible, its more accurate that way.

If your shots are gonna be no more than 200yds then I'd sight in about 2" high at 50, dead on at 100 or maybe 1.5" high at 100.

HighDesertWolf · 07-20-2005, 12:59 AM

my 30-30 when i had a scope on it i had the see thru mounts, I had the scope zeroed for 100 yards and the open sights zeroed for 50. now my 30-30 is used mostly for a camp gun and the scope gets in the way, i now have my open sights set for 1.5 inches high at 100 yards this puts me dead on +/- an inch from 25 on up to 150 yards.

enthusiast · 07-20-2005, 06:32 AM

Hey DrummerDude, I ran a ballistic test for you with Sierra's Infinity V, here is what it showed:

(I used a 150 grain bullet at 2260 fps, which is what my Marlin shoots)

If you can live with the following bullet rise at midrange, this will stretch the 30-30 to about max for practical hunting.

Zero at 188 yds, scope height of 2.5" with your see-thru

range (yds) drop/rise rangedrop/rise
25 -0.4" 150 2.31"
50 1.23" 175 0.98"
75 2.36" 200-1.09"
100 2.95" 225-3.95"
125 2.95" Note: at 225 yds, the flat nose was going 1596 fs, had 848 ft/lbs of energy, and drifted 10.67"
with a 10 mph three o'clock wind

Drummerdude · 07-20-2005, 07:25 PM

Thanks for the info. The reason that I am putting see thru mounts on is because of the top/angle eject, so that the empty shells will clear the scope. Right now I have a box of 170 Gr. Remington Core Lokt shells (is thattoo much?)
We just acquired the land and have not hunted on it yet, but we have seen deer.

enthusiast · 07-20-2005, 07:38 PM

I would just make sure whatever bullet you shoot out of your 30-30 is made for a 30-30, asthe bullets are made to open at lower velocities.

HighDesertWolf · 07-21-2005, 04:43 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: Drummerdude

Thanks for the info. The reason that I am putting see thru mounts on is because of the top/angle eject, so that the empty shells will clear the scope. Right now I have a box of 170 Gr. Remington Core Lokt shells (is thattoo much?)
We just acquired the land and have not hunted on it yet, but we have seen deer.

Before I started reloading, I used those 170 grain remington core lokts they are a great deer load if they shoot good in your rifle use them you wont be dissapointed.

heres a picture of a 100 yard group i shot with those 170 grain core lokts in my Marlin model 30 AW off a sand bag rest using open sights.

ButchA · 07-21-2005, 12:06 PM

Nice groups!!! Was that at 50 yards? J/K...

I have my Marlin 30AS sighted in dead on at 100 yards with Remington 170gr Core-Lokts too. It likes the 170gr rounds.

Drummerdude... I wouldn't get that big of a scope for a 30-30. Trust me.... It might look a little ridiculous mounted on see-through rings, and will alter the quick handling of the legendary 30-30.

When I bought my 30AS offa co-worker buddy of mine, he had it for years and mounted a 4-12x40AO Simmons scope on it on see-through rings. It was waaaaaaay too much scope. See the image below....
This is how my 30-30 looked when I bought it off my buddy at work:

I learned later that he originally wanted to get a nice .270 andput the 4-12x40 scope on that, but then he never got the rifle... So he had the huge 4-12x40 scope mounted on the 30-30 instead.

I took it all off and made the 30AS into a Plain Jane 30-30 rifle:

Then I realized that open sights at 100 yards with a 30-30 is a bit rough and my eyes aren't what they used to be....

So, long story short, I picked up a used Glenfield fixed 4x32 scope mounted on a weaver base, and had it mounted and bore-sighted for me.
This is how my Marlin 30AS looks right now:

A smaller, slimline, low mounted scope is ideal for a 30-30 (just my opinion...) My 30AS is now dead on accurate and zeroed at 100 yards. I can still pick it up and swing it all around and march through the heavy brush without worrying about it.

Butch A.

missed_another · 07-21-2005, 01:50 PM

hay drummerdude on my dad's old winchesters he always had side mounts for his scopes. this mounts the scope a little to the left of the barrel. which in turn gives you the room you need for the top eject. this keeps the scope lower to the barrel and also lets you use the iron sights if needed. the 30-30 is no 300 mag but itcan kill a deer at 200 yards with no problem. he always set his at 1 inch high at 100 yards. not many guys like the over and under mounts but you canset the zero of your scope pretty closejust by using the iron sights. which can come in very handy if you fall or drop your gun out in the field.