Bolt-Action 30-30

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DeadFlies

DeadFlies

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I have an opportunity to pick up a nice looking Coast to Coast 843 (savage 340/Springfield 840) in 30-30. I don’t own a centerfire bolt-action rifle, but I do have a model 94, which reload for. The model 94 is a pain, honestly, because the sights are not great and I fear the scoping it is going to be disappointing. It has other issues, too.

So, I was hoping the 843 would be a fun shooter and deer rifle that I could reload for, spritzers and all. Scoping it is relatively easy and it would be a nice accompaniment to the lever.

Anybody have trigger time with one of these? What can I expect? I’m not going to hot-rod any handloads, btw. I know about that.

Edit to add: prices on these things, and Remington 788, have really gone up in the last few years. The Rem is somewhat rare, but gunbroker lists multiple Savage 325/340 for well over $300. Since when? I thought these were on par with a pump shotgun, $200 or so. Times change.
 
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I really enjoy mine.

It's about a 2 moa gun. Williams peep sights are a very worthwhile upgrade.

I load mine with 180 grain cast lead GC at 1900 FPS. It's cheap, fun shooting and deer capable should the need arise.

It's a single lug bolt, but that is fine for 30-30 pressures .
 
My dad has one (340) I believe he bought it for $100 in the 80's. I've shot it with factory core-lock and wasn't impressed. In order to scope it, it requires a weird mount. If someone offered me one for $ 100 I'd take it as a truck gun maybe.
 
My great-grandfather gave a Savage 340 to my grandfather years ago. My grandfather never fired even a single box of ammo through it, opting to use his 16 guage instead for deer. My older brother now owns it, but also has never used it.

I have seen these, of late, selling for $350ish. As to "worth" as a contemporary hunting rifle, I would pass. There are other options in that price range that are far superior.

As a piece of American firearms history, it speaks to America's historic love for all things .30-30 Win, with limitations. It can be used within reasonable limits, and it's a cool piece of history.

Geno
 
My uncle bagged a lot of deer in WV, Kentucky and Ohio with a Savage 340. It's a decent working grade rifle. Personally I think it kicked pretty hard, though I don't recall if it had a steel or plastic butt plate. It hit what I aimed at with iron sights, don't recall shooting it past 100 yards.

He even brought it out to elk hunt in Colorado.
 
Geno said:
My great-grandfather gave a Savage 340 to my grandfather years ago. My grandfather never fired even a single box of ammo through it, opting to use his 16 guage instead for deer. My older brother now owns it, but also has never used it.

I have seen these, of late, selling for $350ish. As to "worth" as a contemporary hunting rifle, I would pass. There are other options in that price range that are far superior.

As a piece of American firearms history, it speaks to America's historic love for all things .30-30 Win, with limitations. It can be used within reasonable limits, and it's a cool piece of history.

Geno
Click to expand...

I think you are right that at that price point, there are better alternatives. I paid $165 for mine, and continue to think of that as being the "right" price, which it usually is not anymore.

Originally, they sold new for under $100.

I do have one of those goofy scope mounts floating around somewhere. Could be talked out of it.
 
I have the first model. A Stevens 325. Nice little rifle i use for plinking with 150grn cast Lee FPs I load for my lever actions. If I squint right I can put 5 shots in 2" or so on a paper plate at 100yds. They are good, simple guns made for people on a budget. Use standard 30-30 loading data. The action is fine for 30-30 pressures. The main weakness is the spring collar extractor that won't pull cases out if you get a little hot.. The use of pointed bullets will give you a boost over leaver action but not a lot. Fun little guns. I'd like to find one in .22 Hornet.
Heres a great site with info. Scroll down to the 325/340 info. PS! If the price is in the 300 dollar range or so as many are you may want to get a modern bolt action that available for not a lot more in a modern caliber like .308. Just saying.
http://www.leeroysramblings.com/Firearm Related Articles/Firearm related articles.html
 
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All depends on the price tag. I have shot a couple of them and neither was stellar in any measure. It worked well enough, but in the age of cheap accurate rifles you would be doing yourself a disservice by not buying a modern rifle and a set of dies in whatever caliber you choose. I would look hard at 308 and 300BO if I wanted to mimick 30-30. Minimausers in 7.62x39 are also good options there. If the price tag is more than about 2/3 of a savage axis and a set of rcbs dies then your decision should be made. If it's less than half of that price then likewise, your decision should be made.

If you really want a nice 30-30 then look at TC Contender carbines and Ruger No. 1s
 
denton said:
I think you are right that at that price point, there are better alternatives. I paid $165 for mine, and continue to think of that as being the "right" price, which it usually is not anymore.

Originally, they sold new for under $100.
Click to expand...

I looked up a 1953 advertisement and the 340 was listed at $48.75.

That would come to about $455 in today's money!
 
DeadFlies said:
I have an opportunity to pick up a nice looking Coast to Coast 843 (savage 340/Springfield 840) in 30-30. I don’t own a centerfire bolt-action rifle, but I do have a model 94, which reload for. The model 94 is a pain, honestly, because the sights are not great and I fear the scoping it is going to be disappointing. It has other issues, too.

So, I was hoping the 843 would be a fun shooter and deer rifle that I could reload for, spritzers and all. Scoping it is relatively easy and it would be a nice accompaniment to the lever.

Anybody have trigger time with one of these? What can I expect? I’m not going to hot-rod any handloads, btw. I know about that.

Edit to add: prices on these things, and Remington 788, have really gone up in the last few years. The Rem is somewhat rare, but gunbroker lists multiple Savage 325/340 for well over $300. Since when? I thought these were on par with a pump shotgun, $200 or so. Times change.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't go over $250 for a perfect 340- based gun......although workable, they were really at the bottom of Savage's quality bell-curve. +1 on broken, weak extractors- though Numrich still showed them in stock last time I looked.

If you want a really want a .30-30 to run spitzers in, go with a Savage 99- these use a rotary mag and are some of the strongest, smoothest, most accurate rifles ever made. I have 2 and they are lasers! They can be expensive (though the quality is such that you get what you are paying for), but cosmetically challenged examples can still be found in the $4-500 range.

Either way, good luck!:)
 
I can remember circa 1969 that Otasco-Economy Auto stores were selling the Savage/Stevens M340 with a budget scope combo for $69.95.
A friend of my older brother bought one. We took it to a farm one of my aunts lived on to shoot it. It shot decent and was the second centerfire rifle I ever shot.

In early ‘80’s, I had one. It too shot well, especially with some gas-checked cast bullets I made loaded with IMR3031. I traded it as it looked “homely” and “cheap”
My how times change...
 
Dr.Rob said:
My uncle bagged a lot of deer in WV, Kentucky and Ohio with a Savage 340.
Click to expand...

How old is your uncle? I'm getting pretty long in the tooth but I can't remember anytime in my lifetime when the .30-30 Winchester was ever legal for hunting deer in Ohio. You could always hunt Buckeye woodchucks and such with one if you were so disposed.
 
I have one (Springfield 840) which I got in rough condition (exterior) but a good bore with a 4x scope already mounted and two extra magazines for $75.I painted it (OD green stock and flat black metal) and have shot it a good bit. A good shooter. For $300+ I think I would seek a different rifle since you can get a new Mossberg Patriot in that price range. OTOH if someone said that they were going to drop me into a wilderness with my 840 and a supply of ammunition I'd feel pretty good about my armament.
 
I tried to buy one a month ago but someone nabbed it before me. It was $200 with a Leupold VX1 on it. I was going to take the leupold off to put on another gun and put a 2-7 on it. Sometimes you have to be quick on deals.
 
I have an 840 Springfield and you can have a real neat time with handloads.
I have a hoot with 125 gr Sierra HP bullets using some IMR4895. If you handload then you can really do some magic with this rifle since its a mag fed rifle.
 
db_tanker said:
I have an 840 Springfield and you can have a real neat time with handloads.
I have a hoot with 125 gr Sierra HP bullets using some IMR4895. If you handload then you can really do some magic with this rifle since its a mag fed rifle.
Click to expand...

That’s a fun bullet in a 30-30. I’ve run some through the model 94 using H4895.
 
three of my 30-30,s, a handy rifle, a rem 788 and win 94. all shoot well with the 788 getting the nod for accurcey.
 

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The clip magazine makes the 340 a good choice if you want to load spitzer bullets. Tube magazines limit you to flat nose or flexible polymer tip bullets.

One of my son's co-workers had a chain store brand Savage 340. Forget which chain store or model number but it was obviously a basic 340. He had a scope and mount. It fell to me to mount the scope and zero it. With Walmart Winchester Powerpoint 170gr at 100 yds from the bench and sandbags, it printed three and five shot groups well under 2 inches.

Back in the 1960s I saw these rifles in the store racks at Western Auto, Sears, and so on with house brand names and just dismissed them as a bargain rifle for those who couldn't afford a Winchester 94, Marlin .30-30 or Savage 110 but who wanted more than a "semi-sporterized" military surplus rifle. Actually shooting one changed my opinion of them. Still, the condition would have to be good and the price low. They are a good solid utility hunting rifle but not rare or premium.

Numrich Arms Gun Parts Corp has parts pages for
"Savage Model 340 also Stevens 325, 325A, 325B and 325C" in .30-30 and
"Savage Model 340 and Springfield 840 and 840 Series E" in .30-30, .222 Rem, .223 Rem, .225 and
"Savage Model 340, B, C, D, & V" in .30-30, .222, and .225.
Savage is to Stevens and Springfield as Marlin is to Glenfield (their economy label).

Extracting 325, 340, and 840 from "Gun Parts Corp, Cross Reference, "Store Brand" to Original Manufacturer"* I got:
House Brand and Model = Manufacturer and Model
Coast to Coast 843 = Savage 340
Coast to Coast 843 = Springfield 840
Coast to Coast 843 2 DS = Savage 340 (.222)
Coast to Coast 843 3 DS = Savage 340 (.30-30)
Cotter & Co. 842 = Springfield 840
C.I.L. 830 = Savage 340
J.C. Penney 6400 = Savage 340
Sears 101.53521 = Savage 340
Sears 101.53527 = Savage 340
Western Auto 101.53521 = Savage 340
Western Auto 225 = Savage 340
Western Auto 230 = Savage 340
Western Field SB712 = Savage 840


* Numrich Arms, Gun Parts Corp., Cross Reference
Many major retailers (Sears, Wards, etc.) have always put their own brand name on guns they have sold. The following list shows the brand name and the original model it should cross over to for parts ordering. Numrich Arms, Gun Parts Corp. would appreciate comments, additions and corrections to the list.
 
Here is the rifle in question. Looks decent. I was going to trade my extra shotgun for it, but I broke the ejector spring in my turkey gun (Winchester 120 FTW!) so I don’t have an extra shotgun right now.
But I might just pony up the green anyway, if I can get s good price. 3ED17961-4FC3-4D8C-9C23-0561572BA58A.jpeg BCF168B5-4A18-4BD1-8FB5-5D34764B8510.jpeg
 
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