Battle of the 30s

[TNKnoxville]

Awesome review thanks for taking the time!!!!! Did any of the Nosler factory ammo shoot decent?????

 

[FURMAN]

Awesome review thanks for taking the time!!!!! Did any of the Nosler factory ammo shoot decent?????

Every rifle I have seen with a SAAMI chamber shoots the Nosler 30 Nosler 180s under .5 moa but es is large and although I have shot several small long range groups with it I just can't see it holding up. As I stated if you want to shoot 180s get a 7.

 

[hawk45]

Great write-up Ryan! Thanks for the time/effort and resources you put into this battle.

 

[Robinhood21]

Good stuff Ryan, thanks!


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[COwineguy]

My Rbros 30 Nosler shot the first 40 Nosler factory with 210s really well. Not as well as it is shooting the 212 eldxs though. Still happy I went with the 30 Nos for the build. Thanks for the write up.

 

[idaho-shooter]

Great write up and comparison. Held as many variables constant as possible, then made the comparison. Good scientific work. Thanks.

 

[TheTinkeringEngineer]

Good read! Thanks for sharing the information with us.

 

[FlyingScot]

Can you shed any light on the freebore you added to the Nosler chamber to get it to play nice with the 215s?

 

[FURMAN]

Can you shed any light on the freebore you added to the Nosler chamber to get it to play nice with the 215s?

I have shot 215s in many different chambers with no problem. I’ve shot 215s in SAAMI spec 30 Noslers and custom throated. They both shot as expected. The longer throat will allow, in most cases, a little more velocity. If I were picking a freebore for any 30 cal to shoot 215s it would be around .200”.


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[Sodbuster]

Thanks for taking the time to do this and then writing it up.
Information I can use.

 

[lintond]

Thanks for the write up. I’ve been considering a 30 cal build and this helps me.


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[montanaoutdoorsman]

Very interesting! Thank you!

 

[FirefighterVT]

Maybe it stems from fond memories of our fathers or grandfathers pulling the ol' 30-06 out of the cabinet with the faint aroma of Hoppe's No. 9 or from reading too many Jack O'Connor stories. Maybe it's another reason altogether. It seems as if most of us have a very strong opinion of what the best cartridge is. Over the next several months I will be testing an old warrior along side two of the newest and hottest 30 caliber cartridges. I will be testing the 300 Winchester Magnum, the 30 Nosler, and the new 300 PRC. The plan is to have three 26" barrels, using H1000, and Berger 215s to see how they compare. I will also be testing a few select factory ammo offerings in each. Will we have a clear winner? I guess we will see. Stay tuned.

Left: 300 WM with 215 Berger seated with the boat tail junction at the neck shoulder junction
Middle: 300 prc factory 212 ELD-X
Right: 30 Nosler with a 215 Berger seated .030 off the lands of a SAAMI chamber.

I keep debating about which .30 cal to use for a lightweight build. Still leaning towards a 300WM, but time will tell!

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Realistically, what can we expect in terms of ammo availability for the 30 Nosler going forward? I've been wanting a new rifle and found a nice one for sale locally used in 30 Nosler. It looks like a good performing round but I don't reload so worried I won't be able to buy ammo for it.

 

[FURMAN]

Realistically, what can we expect in terms of ammo availability for the 30 Nosler going forward? I've been wanting a new rifle and found a nice one for sale locally used in 30 Nosler. It looks like a good performing round but I don't reload so worried I won't be able to buy ammo for it.

Like I eluded to in the article I would not own a 30 Nosler to shoot factory ammo. If you are not going to reload pick one of the other two cartridges. I would NEVER own a 30 cal to shoot 180s and the 210 accubonds do not shoot very well in most rifles. As far as what the future holds once again I addressed that in my article. I shoot to much to care. I will never have the same barrel long enough to care what happens in three or four years.



If you are into long range hunting you should be shooting enough to be in the same boat. If you are not shooting long range the cartridge is not going to make one bit of difference.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Like I eluded to in the article I would not own a 30 Nosler to shoot factory ammo. If you are not going to reload pick one of the other two cartridges. I would NEVER own a 30 cal to shoot 180s and the 210 accubonds do not shoot very well in most rifles. As far as what the future holds once again I addressed that in my article. I shoot to much to care. I will never have the same barrel long enough to care what happens in three or four years.



If you are into long range hunting you should be shooting enough to be in the same boat. If you are not shooting long range the cartridge is not going to make one bit of difference.

Thanks for the reply, I did read the article and it's a good read. My main interest in this is I found a good deal on a used rifle that would be a big upgrade for me. I agree with sticking to a more common caliber and I'd jump on it already if it were a more common caliber. I want this rifle and the 30 Nosler would obviously perform better than I would so it would work, but concerned maybe it's being offloaded on the cheap due to it going away. That's the main reason for the questions.

 

[FURMAN]

Thanks for the reply, I did read the article and it's a good read. My main interest in this is I found a good deal on a used rifle that would be a big upgrade for me. I agree with sticking to a more common caliber and I'd jump on it already if it were a more common caliber. I want this rifle and the 30 Nosler would obviously perform better than I would so it would work, but concerned maybe it's being offloaded on the cheap due to it going away. That's the main reason for the questions.

I do not have a crystal ball but the 30 Nosler is only bested by the RUM and it has limitations as discussed in the article. We will have a better look at the future in a couple of years as Hornady's marketing department destroys Nosler's. The 30 Nosler is the far superior case design hamstrung by Nosler's rearward thinking throat design. I think custom rifle builders/purchasers like me will keep the 30 Nosler around for awhile. When throated correctly the others can not match it. As far as shooting factory ammo I would still recommend one of the others. The Berger 300 wm 215 ammo shoots very well in almost every rifle.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I do not have a crystal ball but the 30 Nosler is only bested by the RUM and it has limitations as discussed in the article. We will have a better look at the future in a couple of years as Hornady's marketing department destroys Nosler's. The 30 Nosler is the far superior case design hamstrung by Nosler's rearward thinking throat design. I think custom rifle builders/purchasers like me will keep the 30 Nosler around for awhile. When throated correctly the others can not match it. As far as shooting factory ammo I would still recommend one of the others. The Berger 300 wm 215 ammo shoots very well in almost every rifle.

You rock brother, thanks for the replies even though I understand my questions are pretty rudimentary here.

 

[msalm]

I do not have a crystal ball but the 30 Nosler is only bested by the RUM and it has limitations as discussed in the article. We will have a better look at the future in a couple of years as Hornady's marketing department destroys Nosler's. The 30 Nosler is the far superior case design hamstrung by Nosler's rearward thinking throat design. I think custom rifle builders/purchasers like me will keep the 30 Nosler around for awhile. When throated correctly the others can not match it. As far as shooting factory ammo I would still recommend one of the others. The Berger 300 wm 215 ammo shoots very well in almost every rifle.

Someone should have just ‘reintroduced ‘ the 300 Dakota....with a rebated standard mag rim size.

 

[WesternHntr]

I've just started load development with my 300 PRC , and so far I'm really impressed.
I just got rid of a 300 Norma Mag,way too much blast and recoil..
I'm shocked that my 300 PRC is coming within 50 fps of my NM with all loads, and I'm using 10 grains less powder.
Good bye to the super over bore mags, not worth the minor increase in velocity