There’s a lot of talk about the accuracy of 30 cal. and how it compares to the 6PPC. Now I realize that I may be opening up a can of worms here, but this sort of thing is what makes this forum so interesting. All of you 30BR, 30PPC, and other 30 cal. shooters please feel free to jump in here. We are out numbered.
First of all I would like to say that the 6PPC has two advantages that have nothing to do with tha accuracy of the cartridge itself. The first would be low recoil. The lesser amount the rifle moves while the bullet is in the barrel has a direct affect on accuracy. The amount this affects accuracy greatly depends on stock design, bags, and shooter technique. The second has to do with odds of winning. If you have 60 shooters with the 6PPC, and only 1 or 2 with a 30BR, your odds of winning are small. I have placed well with my 30-30 every time I shot a match with it, but there is not one person that could guarantee me a win or even a top 5 agg. if I was shooting a 6PPC. The 6PPC is just as accurate as another 6PPC, but only one of them wins, so when your 30 gets beat by a PPC remember two things. Every PPC out there got beat by a PPC, and a lot of PPC’s got beat by a 30.
Next I would like to talk about the accuracy of the cartridges themselves. A lot of people who shoot the 30BR say that it stays tuned, while I see a lot of PPC shooters chasing their load during a match. I have no doubt about this. I have always shot the same load with a given powder match after match. There was even a time that I would preload my 30-30 a day or two before the match, and I was never surprised in a bad way.
Another thing is that we have weight limits for class we shoot. This gives the 6PPC an advantage that 30 cal. shooters can do nothing about. A typical 6PPC load with a 68gr. bullet on top of 29gr. powder at 3300 fps in a 10.5 pound rifle will have a recoil energy of 3.50 ft/lbs. My 30-30 with a 125gr. bullet and 40gr of powder at 3100 fps in a 10.5 pound gun produces 9.05 ft/lbs of recoil energy. The PPC has a muzzle energy of 1644 ft/lbs while the 30-30 makes 2667 ft/lbs. This would indicate that to fairly compare the accuracy of the two cartridges, the 30 would need to weigh 17 pounds based on muzzle energy, and a huge 27.15 pounds based on recoil energy. Yet the 30’s still compete.
I will conclude by saying that my 30-30 has won as many agg. matches as score matches against the 6PPC. The Bluebonnet match that Jackie speaks about was clear proof that a 30 cal. rifle can compete at very high levels against the 6PPC. My first three 100 yard groups were .150, .190, and small group of the match, .123. I did have some bad luck after my third group. My rear scope ring broke and I had no idea that it had happened. I just knew something was wrong when my first shot at the sighter completely missed the paper. I managed to get it back on paper and shot my two final groups bringing my agg from a .1543 to a .2346. I didn’t notice the broken ring until I returned home. I have not shot an agg. since I made new rings, and have never been fortunate enough to try BIB bullets. There is a lot of room for you 30BR and 30PPC shooters to do better. I have attached a picture of the broken ring.
Michael
First of all I would like to say that the 6PPC has two advantages that have nothing to do with tha accuracy of the cartridge itself. The first would be low recoil. The lesser amount the rifle moves while the bullet is in the barrel has a direct affect on accuracy. The amount this affects accuracy greatly depends on stock design, bags, and shooter technique. The second has to do with odds of winning. If you have 60 shooters with the 6PPC, and only 1 or 2 with a 30BR, your odds of winning are small. I have placed well with my 30-30 every time I shot a match with it, but there is not one person that could guarantee me a win or even a top 5 agg. if I was shooting a 6PPC. The 6PPC is just as accurate as another 6PPC, but only one of them wins, so when your 30 gets beat by a PPC remember two things. Every PPC out there got beat by a PPC, and a lot of PPC’s got beat by a 30.
Next I would like to talk about the accuracy of the cartridges themselves. A lot of people who shoot the 30BR say that it stays tuned, while I see a lot of PPC shooters chasing their load during a match. I have no doubt about this. I have always shot the same load with a given powder match after match. There was even a time that I would preload my 30-30 a day or two before the match, and I was never surprised in a bad way.
Another thing is that we have weight limits for class we shoot. This gives the 6PPC an advantage that 30 cal. shooters can do nothing about. A typical 6PPC load with a 68gr. bullet on top of 29gr. powder at 3300 fps in a 10.5 pound rifle will have a recoil energy of 3.50 ft/lbs. My 30-30 with a 125gr. bullet and 40gr of powder at 3100 fps in a 10.5 pound gun produces 9.05 ft/lbs of recoil energy. The PPC has a muzzle energy of 1644 ft/lbs while the 30-30 makes 2667 ft/lbs. This would indicate that to fairly compare the accuracy of the two cartridges, the 30 would need to weigh 17 pounds based on muzzle energy, and a huge 27.15 pounds based on recoil energy. Yet the 30’s still compete.
I will conclude by saying that my 30-30 has won as many agg. matches as score matches against the 6PPC. The Bluebonnet match that Jackie speaks about was clear proof that a 30 cal. rifle can compete at very high levels against the 6PPC. My first three 100 yard groups were .150, .190, and small group of the match, .123. I did have some bad luck after my third group. My rear scope ring broke and I had no idea that it had happened. I just knew something was wrong when my first shot at the sighter completely missed the paper. I managed to get it back on paper and shot my two final groups bringing my agg from a .1543 to a .2346. I didn’t notice the broken ring until I returned home. I have not shot an agg. since I made new rings, and have never been fortunate enough to try BIB bullets. There is a lot of room for you 30BR and 30PPC shooters to do better. I have attached a picture of the broken ring.
Michael
