.30 Remington

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A side-by-side cartridge comparison of the .30 Remington (left), .30-30 Winchester (center) and .30-06 Springfield (right). Image from "Vintage Outdoors" (ammoandguncollector.com).

The .30 Remington cartridge was created in 1906 by Remington Arms. It was Remington's rimless answer to the popular .30-30 Winchester cartridge. Factory ammunition was largely produced until the late 1980s, but a couple of smaller makers such as Reed's Ammo and Buffalo Arms do still produce it.

History

The .30 Remington was made as a more modern rimless cartridge to compete with the highly popular .30-30 Winchester. It offered essentially identical performance, but has the advantage of being able to use pointed spitzer-style bullets, fired from a rifle with a box magazine (such as the Remington Model 8, but also utilized in guns like the Remington Model 14, which apparently had a tubular magazine designed to prevent accidental primer strikes from the gun's recoil, but more info needed!!

The change to more modern bullets probably had advantages over range with considerations such as ballistic coefficient as well, but this is mostly speculation on our part. These cartridges may just not have enough velocity to take proper advantage of such factors.

Despite identical ballistic performance, the .30 Remington and .30-30 Winchester are not interchangeable in any way.

Handloading Possibilities

It is said that .30 Remington cases can be made from .30-30 Winchester cases by turning off the rim, cutting an extractor groove, and fire-forming the shoulder. While this certainly sounds laborious, it may be an interesting way to source difficult to obtain casings.

Ballistic Performance

The ballistic performance of the .30 Remington is basically identical to the .30-30 Winchester. Below is some basic data for a few load types:

Bullet Mass & Type Velocity Muzzle Energy
150 gr (10 g) Core-Lokt Round Nose 2,123 ft/s (647 m/s) 1,500 ft lbs (2,000 J)
150 gr (10 g) Core-Lokt Round Nose 2,364 ft/s (721 m/s) 1,859 ft lbs (2,520 J)
170 gr (11 g) Core-Lokt HP RN 1,893 ft/s (577 m/s) 1,350 ft⋅lbf (1,830 J)
170 gr (11 g) Core-Lokt HP RN 2,114 ft/s (644 m/s) 1,682 ft⋅lbf (2,280 J)

Specifications

  • Case type: Rimless
  • Bullet diameter: .308 in (7.8 mm)
  • Base diameter: .421 in (10.7 mm)
  • Rim diameter: .422 in (10.7 mm)
  • Rim thickness: .045 in (1.1 mm)
  • Case length: 2.06 in (52 mm)
  • Overall length: 2.525 in (64.1 mm)
  • Maximum CUP: 38000 CUP

Derived Cartridges

While the .30 Remington itself is mostly antiquated (though some ammunition is still made), its biggest claim to fame in the modern era is that it's the parent cartridge of a number of modern offerings such as the 10mm Auto, the 6.8 SPC and .224 Valkyrie cartridges.

Other information

External Links

Buffalo Arms - Place to obtain .30 Remington ammo.

Reed's Ammunition - Another source for finding .30 Remington ammunition.

"Lost To Time: A Brief History of 4 Capable Remington Cartridges" - Article from American Hunter on the .30 Remington and other cartridges that fell by the wayside.