The Below Information Has Been Provided From Our Gun Caliber Dictionary And Is Meant For Informational Purposes Only. It Is Not Intended to Describe The Unique Specifications For This Ammunition.
The 30-30 Winchester (30 Winchester Center Fire or WCF) was introduced in Winchester's John Browning-designed Model 1894. The rifle was intended for smokeless powder…but the first smokeless powder sporting cartridges, the 30-30 and 25-35, weren't ready for release until 1895. Its "30-30" designation meant ".30-caliber, 30 grains of powder." This is a carryover from blackpowder designations, but 30 grains of smokeless powder gave the 30-30 unprecedented velocity for its day. The 30-30 quickly became America's gold-standard deer cartridge--and despite the many faster cartridges now available, it remains a very effective deer cartridge out to perhaps 150 yards. It has been chambered in single-shots and bolt-actions, but its traditional home is the tubular-magazine lever-action...which requires very blunt-nosed bullets, the lone exception being Hornady's FTX with a compressible polymer tip. All major manufacturers offer 30-30 ammuntion, and rifles are available from multiple sources. — Craig Boddington
