If you've been paying attention to AmericanHunter.org (and I sure hope you have!), you know that we firmly believe the .30-30 Win. will never die. Contributor Philip Massaro made that clear in a recent web feature, and quite a few of our readers confirmed they felt the same way. Last year proved that the folks at Federal Premium are on board, at least—for reasons that I'll explain in just a moment—given that they rolled out a .30-30 Win. Vital-Shok Trophy Copper load. Here are five things you need to know.
1. .30-30 Win. is still very, very popular.
As noted in a story on AmericanHunter.org late last year, the .30-30 Win. cartridge is still selling like hotcakes. It's a Top 10 seller for Federal Premium—No. 4 among rifle cartridges in 2014, believe it or not. That made the decision to add it to the Vital-Shok Trophy Copper line even easier.
2. It's lever-action approved!
What good's a .30-30 if it isn't going to work in your favorite lever-action? Federal understood that, and took steps to ensure that the 150-grain bullet would be an all-copper hollow point projectile with a rounded polymer tip that's safe for feeding from a tubular magazine. Better yet, the cartridge is loaded to safe pressures for older .30-30 rifles. Feel free to break out Grandpa's old deer rifle.
3. It delivers on expansion.
The copper-alloy construction retains up to 99 percent of its weight for deep penetration in an expanding bullet. Federal’s in-house tests at 100 yards out of a Marlin 336 produced an upset frontal diameter of about .55 inches.
4. It's lead-free.
Just in case the "Trophy Copper" moniker didn't give it away, this is a lead-free design.
5. It's versatile.
Federal loaded the cartridge with a very temperature-stable propellant, so you should be able to count on it, regardless of what the weather's doing. The bullet's boat tail is meant to ensure better long-range accuracy. The polymer tip is there to increase ballistic coefficient, but, as I noted, has been rounded to maintain lever-action safety.
