What accuracy is typical of my .30-30?

If you are a good shot shooting from a bench and there is nothing mechanically wrong with your rifle or scope you should not be surprised by 2" groups at 100yds.

If you get poor groups the most likely cause is having your scope mounted so high it prevents you from truly anchoring your cheek on the stock. Scope mounts that raise the scope supposedly so the shooter can use "either/or" (scope or irons) are one of the worst inventions in Shooterdom. But they sell well because so many people don't know any better and the salesgirl at Wallymart tells 'em "Everyone buys 'em".

Would suggest you try the 150-gr. Winchester "Power Point" ammo first.
It's good deer medicine.

The Savage 340 series of bolt rifles, I guess thats what you have, are generaly accurate rifles.

I would think it capable of 2" groups at 100yds. I installed and sighted in a scope for a coworker a couple years ago. A Springfield version of the 340 in .223, his rifle was easily capable of 1" or less groups at 100yds.

My fathers Savage 340 in .22Hornet was likewise quite accurate.

I bet the .30-30 will shoot fine too.

I got my coworkers mount from Midway I believe. The rifle should have 4 holes in the left side of the receiver to accapt the scope mount. The Mount I believe is a B Square, but could be wrong about the brand. Pretty slick mount that worked great for that particular rifle.

Will the round I chose leave me tracking a deer or will it drop on the spot?

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Guess you haven't shot very many deer.

You can't expect them to always "drop on the spot" even if you shoot them with a .458 Magnum.

Your 30-30 will kill them just fine, but you may have a blood trail of 25 - 50 yards or more with a heart / lung shot, just as you might have with a 30-06 or .338 Mag.

The only time a deer will for sure drop on the spot is with a brain or spine hit.

rcmodel

I suggested the 150-gr. for two reasons.

* I've seen it be very accurate in just about any rifle it was shot in.

* It is designed to perform well even at close ranges. Deer are just not "beefy" enough to provide a lot of resistance. I happen to be someone who likes a bullet to expend ALL its' energy within the game animal. I am also greatly in favor of shots to the CNS rather than "heart/lung" shots.

I don't know anything bad to say about the 170-grainer, though. I've just never used it and don't recall ever seeing a deer shot with it by anyone else.

Good Luck !

The Winchester 150 gr and 170 gr loads are equally accurate in my T/C Contender. Try them both in your rifle and, if equally accurate, I would opt for the 170 as well.

I have a Springfield 840 with a cheap scope, I think I paid 115 bucks for it. I can tear the bullseye out of a target from 50 yards. Mine seems to really like the cheap blue box federal flat nose ammo.

I'd bet that any decent rifle can shoot accurately enough to put a deer down at 100 yards.
I just got a Marlin 30-30 the other day. Only shot 10 rounds out of it to test function/sight regulation (I had to borrow those and haven't had a chance to load any handloads for it yet) but my last two shot group at 50 yards had both shots almost touching.
The 30-30 will do the job.
BTW - the loads I used were the last leftover box of Federal 150 grain SP's we had around. But I've read about magazine tube KB's with them, so I'll be going with handloads or factory loads of another flavor once these are gone (I only shot them with two rounds in the rifle at a time).

Also, something I was taught about hunting deer was to wait until you see the deer exhale before you fire. The explanation I've got is that a deer can run as long as it has a breath of air. I've seen them run with no heart and I've even seen them keep moving with a brain injury so I KNOW they can keep going after taking a solid hit. But an experienced old-time hunter told me that about waiting for the exhale.
I haven't hunted enough to have proven his theory to myself yet but I'm prepared to take him at his word.

My Marlin .30-30 is best with the Rem. Core-Lokt 170-gr soft-points.

Won't shoot any 150-gr worth a hoot-in-Hades.

Have not tried the Hornady Leverevolution stuff yet.

My 336C 30.30 shoots Leverevolutions the best, so I use those. I forget whether it likes 150's or 170's.

I surprised myself and took out a clay pigeon at ~100yrds with open sights on my winny 94.

I've shot both the 150 and 170 and enjoy the 150's more then the 170's. The 170's cause me to flinch more.

I have had excellent results with w/w 150 h/p. I used to use 150 core locks, but switched many years ago.

I drilled a quarter at 25 yards with a 94. I think it was with 170's.