Skip to content

.30-30 Winchester Ammo

The .30-30 Winchester cartridge (commonly referred to as thirty-thirty) was the first small-bore, sporting rifle cartridge designed for smokeless powder in the United States. The first ".30" refers to the caliber of the bullet, and the added "-30" is for the standard load of 30 grains of early smokeless powder. It was first used in the .30 Winchester Smokeless rifle in 1895 and was designated as the .30-30 when rival gun maker Marlin used the cartridge in its Model 1983 rifle. The .30-30 is a common hunting cartridge and is considered effective on deer and black bear sized game.