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Posted: 3/31/2011 7:55:16 PM EDT
I have a 30/30 Marlin I'd like to try my hand at bear hunting with. I have a goodly amount of experience hunting deer with shotguns and revolvers. I am a better than average woodsman. I can shoot well to a hundred yards with irons under field conditions(200 yards at the range lol). What loads should I be stoking my 30/30 with for hunting big black bears in the Southeast? Am I just kidding myself and need a bigger gun? Thoughts?
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Posted: 3/31/2011 8:06:58 PM EDT
[#1]
Leverevolution.
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ID, USA
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Posted: 3/31/2011 8:13:21 PM EDT
[#2]
Aye, perhaps a wee small bear.
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Posted: 3/31/2011 8:38:33 PM EDT
[#3]
I absolutely hammered the shit out of a 400 pound blackie with fully jacketed bullets from a G3. I think a 30/30 is fine.
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Posted: 3/31/2011 9:19:07 PM EDT
[#4]
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Posted: 4/1/2011 12:00:35 PM EDT
[#5]
Guys shoot them with a 44 Mag and the 30/30 has a whole lot more power then that. My worry would be that you need and want a good and solid bullet that will penetrate well. I would stick to the 170-gr bullet over the 150s to get better penetration. I am not convinced the leverevolution ammo is better then a normal Rem or Winchester Round Nose as hunting bear most shots will be pretty close.
If you want to shoot longer distances, then you really should get a bigger gun (30/06 or 300 Win Mag) will give you a clear step up from your 30/30. JMHOs, I hunt PA Black bear with my 12-gauge slug gun but I hunt a swamp where a long shot would be 100-yards and most shots would be under 50-yards if one came to visit. I have yet to get a bear though but I have seen them 
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CA, USA
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Posted: 4/1/2011 5:23:54 PM EDT
[Last Edit: jeepnik]
[#6]
Well, the 30-30 has been killing bears since 1895, so I figure it should still do a pretty good job. It doesn't matter what you use, it matters where you hit said bear. And the bullets available today are much better than those available in 1895. So, if you keep your range reasonable, and hit the critter in it's vitals, it'll do just fine. The new gummy tips are pretty good stuff, as has been previously mentioned.
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Posted: 4/9/2011 12:46:51 PM EDT
[#7]
Okay. I was having an inferiority complex with my 30/30. I picked up a .450 Marlin here on the EE and am now well armed.
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Posted: 4/9/2011 11:02:50 PM EDT
[#8]
Originally Posted By jeepnik:
Well, the 30-30 has been killing bears since 1895, so I figure it should still do a pretty good job. It doesn't matter what you use, it matters where you hit said bear. And the bullets available today are much better than those available in 1895. So, if you keep your range reasonable, and hit the critter in it's vitals, it'll do just fine. The new gummy tips are pretty good stuff, as has been previously mentioned. This!! |
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CA, USA
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Posted: 7/19/2011 2:37:36 AM EDT
[#9]
You might try a " Premuim Bullet "
http://www.shopcorbon.com/DPX-Rifle/30-30-Win-150gr-DPX/DPX3030150-20/400/Product PAPI |
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CA, USA
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Posted: 7/20/2011 5:16:49 PM EDT
[#10]
Folks used to kill them with sharp sticks, so I'd guess a 30-30 would work just fine. Any premium bullet will work, but like with everything else, you gotta hit the target in a vital area. CNS shots are best, but trying for a CNS shot on a charging bear would be a luck shot more than skill. It's a small target that moving all over the place.
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CA, USA
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Posted: 10/23/2011 5:23:29 PM EDT
[Last Edit: PAPI]
[#11]
New " Premium Bullets ".
ESP RAPTORS News: 10/19/2011 The 30 Caliber 130 grain ESP Raptors are now in stock and ready to ship! We are in the process of testing various other ESP Raptor calibers that will be availble shortly. Watch for the following calibers to be available in the next couple of weeks: http://site.cuttingedgebullets.com/pages/news 
" At any rate, I think we can breath some new fire in the Old 30/30 cartridge! Quickly this morning I got a test in with the 130 ESP Raptors, in the 30/30 as we have talked about earlier. As suspected, no surprises, the bullet performed very good. I had no real load data on 30/30, and if I did I just never thought enough of it to even record it as data, as I know I have loaded 30/30 in the past, and still have most everything I have loaded. I just picked 34 gr of TAC out of the Barnes book, Max load for the 130 TSX. Did not seem like much to me, so I am sure velocity can be increased, but I was shooting a 16 inch barrel Winchester... Michael ". http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4711043/m/2861098911/p/195 PAPI |
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Posted: 10/25/2011 9:12:12 PM EDT
[#12]
Use a 170gr flat point, not that LeverEvolution shit.
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Posted: 10/25/2011 9:57:15 PM EDT
[#13]
Originally Posted By MagnusM4:
Use a 170gr flat point, not that LeverEvolution shit. Have you used the bullet and found it wanting? |
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Posted: 10/26/2011 4:56:53 PM EDT
[#14]
Originally Posted By Combat_Jack:
Originally Posted By MagnusM4:
Use a 170gr flat point, not that LeverEvolution shit. Have you used the bullet and found it wanting? Yep. If it was a bonded bullet then I think it would be good, but I've found that the jacket separates very early and then you only have the small lead core doing the damage. It works for deer, but for a bear a better bullet should be used. |
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Posted: 10/26/2011 5:50:31 PM EDT
[#15]
Interesting. A friend of mine swears by it. Will have to try it anyway and see.
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Posted: 10/26/2011 6:49:44 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Warhawk]
[#16]
Originally Posted By MagnusM4:
Use a 170gr flat point, not that LeverEvolution shit. I'm no fan of the leverevolution ammo either, it's accurate, but the bullet sucks. The stuff I tried was in 45-70, shot a nice buck and two hogs with it. The bullet never exited any of these, and that is ONLY time I've ever shot anything with a 45-70 that wasn't a pass thru. I found the bullet in the deer. The core had separated and I found a 178 grain chunk of it (the bullet started out weighing 325 grains). I never found any of the jacket. The deer was dead, but hardly bled at all and would have been very tough to track. I like two holes, to let the blood out and make a nice blood trail. OP ... The Remington 170 core lokt 30-30 ammo is very good stuff. As is the 350 grain round nose Hornady load for the .450 Marlin. |
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NV, USA
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Posted: 10/28/2011 11:52:59 AM EDT
[#17]
I just used my .30-30 for bear over hounds. The shot was short. (About 50 feet up in a tree), but the bullet did its work. I am shooting a Marlin 336 Texan with the 18" barrel. The load is 26.5 grains of IMR 4895 behind a 170 grain Speer FP, with CCI 200 primers. The bullet went in just touching the near elbow, and blew fur out the other side after going through the shoulder blade. I tested that load, and averaged 1780 FPS. It was a good sized boar as well (300 lbs +). I have also taken 1 lion with this load, and another lion with a 150 grain Hornady. I have no reservations with using the current load for black bear.
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Posted: 10/28/2011 12:30:04 PM EDT
[#18]
Originally Posted By Combat_Jack:
Originally Posted By MagnusM4:
Use a 170gr flat point, not that LeverEvolution shit. Have you used the bullet and found it wanting? I've used them in a .45 Colt lever action. The friggin bullets were too long... had to cut the plastic tips off, or they'd jam in the action. Whomever planned that out missed an important step. |
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Posted: 11/1/2011 9:10:22 AM EDT
[#19]
It's killed many a bear around here, but i just upgraded to a .450 bushmaster. Not so much for the caliber, but my 30-30 was getting beat up, and i didn't want to tear it up, since it was my grandfathers.
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KY, USA
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Posted: 1/20/2012 2:37:51 PM EDT
[#20]
30/30 is fine for black bear.
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Posted: 1/21/2012 7:34:30 PM EDT
[#21]
Originally Posted By Combat_Jack:
Interesting. A friend of mine swears by it. Will have to try it anyway and see. That bullet is pretty soft if you get into bone or heavy muscle. |
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Posted: 2/21/2012 1:39:15 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Tim_the_enchanter]
[#22]
The Indians up in Ontario shoot moose with the .30-30. It will take a black bear.
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ID, USA
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Posted: 2/21/2012 2:29:10 PM EDT
[#23]
The .30-30 is more than adequate for black bear.
Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement, that's the key with any caliber. Shot placement matters if you're hunting black bear with a .30-30 or a .577 T Rex. I would wager that the .30-30 and the 6.5x55 have killed more POLAR bears than any other calibers. .30-30 in the hands of people on the North American continent, 6.5x55 in the hands of Europeans. Modern thought of what different firearms and calibers are capable of seems insane to me. When the .357 Magnum came out Smith & Wesson hired men to hunt big game with them to show their effectiveness. The .357 Magnum produces less ft-lbs of energy than the .30-30. It's been theorized that the .30-30 win. has killed more deer and elk than all other calibers combined. I don't know if I buy that but it has killed a lot. Elk are a far harder critter to kill IMHO than black bear. Think of the thousands of buffalo killed with a patched round ball! Or a wooden lance with a stone head for that matter! Personally, I would not hesitate to hunt anything in North America just short of the great bears (grizzly and polar) with my .30-30. Now I might have to hunt harder to get the right shot, and I'm not going to shoot very far, but that's what makes it hunting and not killing. |
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CA, USA
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Posted: 6/20/2012 2:05:58 PM EDT
[#24]
The 130 308 Raptor was taken to Africa and killed a variety of large plains game. Some of the impact velocities are what you can expect from a 30-30 and there were pics and reports of breaking both shoulders and exits on Wildebeest and others. Quite an impressive bullet.
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Posted: 6/20/2012 2:41:55 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Warhawk]
[#25]
Oops ... Didn't realize this was an old thread.
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TX, USA
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Posted: 7/8/2013 11:26:33 PM EDT
[#26]
I have shot several deer and wild pigs with Hornady Lever Evolution and Federal's 170gr 30/30 ammo.
Either one should work, However... The Federal 170gr is a tougher bullet, I would not hesitate to shoot a Black Bear with that load. |
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Posted: 7/9/2013 1:51:27 AM EDT
[#27]
People over think bullet selection for black bear. They are not thick skinned animals and most lower 48 bears are 250-450 lbs. They will go down just fine with a well placed bullet from 223 and up.
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KS, USA
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Posted: 8/7/2013 12:58:48 AM EDT
[Last Edit: fknipfer1]
[#28]
If I used a Marlin 30/30 I sure wouldn't use the leverevolution ammo. The Micro-groove rifling doesn't normally like the Lvrolution ammo. My Winchester does but it is real cut rifling. My Marlin I would use Rem 170 grain,any ammo in Winchester will shoot all. If you had a .32 Winchester Special that would even be better.
fknipfer1 |
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Posted: 10/21/2013 9:21:08 AM EDT
[#29]
On the Reservation where I hunt, the .30-30 is banned for bear hunting. Not sure why that is honestly, probably has more to do with the hunters than the round......I would agree though, bears are no harder to kill than large hogs and nobody thinks twice about blasting hogs with a .30-30.
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AK, USA
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Posted: 10/21/2013 12:33:40 PM EDT
[#30]
What kind of Indians do you have down there? Here in Alaska, the Indians think 30-30's have a spiritual power and prefer them to any other gun. They hang onto their grandpap's guns. More grizzly bears have been shot with 30-30s than anything, no joke. At Potlatch, they'll usually have 25 30-30s laying all over the floor with the blankets and gifts to be givin away to guests and village members. In fact, 30-30s are always picked up when for sale and kept around to be givin away as gifts at the nx Potlatch. Wait till I tell my Indian Buddies the Indians down your way don't like 30-30's; they won't believe me.
Most the Indians where I call home, here along the Yukon, don't keep much ammo around; lucky if they got a box of shells in their cabin; they spend all their money on booze and not for me to judge. I just reload all their old brass for free, they really appreciate that especially when it's awful hard to buy ammo at the nearest gun shop 200 miles away and the caribou are migrating through the village, "fresh meat". No joke, all I ever reload for them is 30-30 & 308 as that's the only guns they like, old lever actions & cheap military guns. My kids have shot all kinds of blk bear with a little 6.8 stag, 110 grain ttsx, 28 grains H-322. They run 20 yards and let out their bawl. |
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Posted: 10/21/2013 1:37:20 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Zhurh:
What kind of Indians do you have down there? Here in Alaska, the Indians think 30-30's have a spiritual power and prefer them to any other gun. They hang onto their grandpap's guns. More grizzly bears have been shot with 30-30s than anything, no joke. At Potlatch, they'll usually have 25 30-30s laying all over the floor with the blankets and gifts to be givin away to guests and village members. In fact, 30-30s are always picked up when for sale and kept around to be givin away as gifts at the nx Potlatch. Wait till I tell my Indian Buddies the Indians down your way don't like 30-30's; they won't believe me. Most the Indians where I call home, here along the Yukon, don't keep much ammo around; lucky if they got a box of shells in their cabin; they spend all their money on booze and not for me to judge. I just reload all their old brass for free, they really appreciate that especially when it's awful hard to buy ammo at the nearest gun shop 200 miles away and the caribou are migrating through the village, "fresh meat". No joke, all I ever reload for them is 30-30 & 308 as that's the only guns they like, old lever actions & cheap military guns. My kids have shot all kinds of blk bear with a little 6.8 stag, 110 grain ttsx, 28 grains H-322. They run 20 yards and let out their bawl. Apaches. Not to derail the thread but I have been watching the Yukon Men and lots of those guys seem to have AR15's. One of them was actually hunting MOOSE with an AR15.....that to me was a little much but I've killed a shitload of pigs with mine. Moose? That's a whole 'nuther deal though! |
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Posted: 10/22/2013 1:55:07 AM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Will: Apaches. Not to derail the thread but I have been watching the Yukon Men and lots of those guys seem to have AR15's. One of them was actually hunting MOOSE with an AR15.....that to me was a little much but I've killed a shitload of pigs with mine. Moose? That's a whole 'nuther deal though! Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Will: Originally Posted By Zhurh: What kind of Indians do you have down there? Here in Alaska, the Indians think 30-30's have a spiritual power and prefer them to any other gun. They hang onto their grandpap's guns. More grizzly bears have been shot with 30-30s than anything, no joke. At Potlatch, they'll usually have 25 30-30s laying all over the floor with the blankets and gifts to be givin away to guests and village members. In fact, 30-30s are always picked up when for sale and kept around to be givin away as gifts at the nx Potlatch. Wait till I tell my Indian Buddies the Indians down your way don't like 30-30's; they won't believe me. Most the Indians where I call home, here along the Yukon, don't keep much ammo around; lucky if they got a box of shells in their cabin; they spend all their money on booze and not for me to judge. I just reload all their old brass for free, they really appreciate that especially when it's awful hard to buy ammo at the nearest gun shop 200 miles away and the caribou are migrating through the village, "fresh meat". No joke, all I ever reload for them is 30-30 & 308 as that's the only guns they like, old lever actions & cheap military guns. My kids have shot all kinds of blk bear with a little 6.8 stag, 110 grain ttsx, 28 grains H-322. They run 20 yards and let out their bawl. Apaches. Not to derail the thread but I have been watching the Yukon Men and lots of those guys seem to have AR15's. One of them was actually hunting MOOSE with an AR15.....that to me was a little much but I've killed a shitload of pigs with mine. Moose? That's a whole 'nuther deal though! Some of the elders used the old lever action calibers 25-35 and 25-20 on everything. They would get with a couple of feet to bears than shoot them. |
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AK, USA
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Posted: 10/22/2013 10:51:53 PM EDT
[#33]
Moose go down easy, they got a pie plate size kill zone that anybody can hit at 300 yards. My kids, nephews, and me have shot close to 50 moose over the last twenty some years. Most with the 7 mag, but also with 308 Scar, 338 fed AR-10, and I have watched the Indians shoot many moose with SKSs. Local Indians where we live in Eagle, 4 miles from Canadian Border use cheap old military guns mostly; 308s & .556s. Everybody in Ak (out in the sticks) hunt with ARs. They are great for shooting on the fly with 2 point around your neck.For years, we shot caribou with my old pre ban Colt, but when that 6.8 came out, the .556 ARs all got put away for good, no joke.
30-30s are seen as a special gun mostly used around the village and for gifts at Potlatch. Nobody would ever give any other gun but a 30-30 at Potlatch; tradition & superstition. Indians around my house are Athabaskan, good bunch actually; I spend alot of time with those guys hunting, fishing, Caribou swam the Yukon this fall in Eagle, first time in 38 years. The 40 mile herd is expanding it's range, a good thing. |
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PA, USA
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Posted: 11/20/2013 11:05:09 PM EDT
[#34]
30/30 is used a lot in PA for bears. Mostly drive for bears so its super handy.
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Posted: 6/4/2014 11:08:01 PM EDT
[#35]
A lot of PA bears are taken the the 30/30.
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AK, USA
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Posted: 6/5/2014 1:47:35 PM EDT
[#36]
Spring bear is in full swing where I call home. 30-30 is good enough for any bear, grizzly too. Thing is using a semi auto is way more applicable, having the ability to bang off 3-4 quick shots is so much better than picking shots as the bear moves off through the brush. We get very few standing still shots. My family likes the 308 Scar with 165 A-FRames or the 6.8 Stag with 110 TTSXs. We have killed a bunch of bear too. Seems as though there are a bunch of bear luvers on the site, don't want to offend anybody but the control of bear numbers has a very positive outcome: Much higher moose calf survival, bear take 85% of the moose calves soon as they drop in early June, bad deal for the future of the Moose.
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Posted: 9/6/2014 2:22:35 PM EDT
[#37]
I'd go with a 170 gr. FP.
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Posted: 9/6/2014 2:26:07 PM EDT
[#38]
I have taken blacks and 1 grizzly with a winchester 30-30 using 170gr silvertips. Worked fin. As always shot placement is key
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Posted: 9/10/2014 2:57:18 PM EDT
[#39]
PA bear hunters kill lots of bear every year with tne 30/30.
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Posted: 8/14/2016 8:28:19 PM EDT
[#40]
 " />
Shot it into 1 gal waterjugs. Almost 24" of penetration. Busted my "box of truth" that I built. I wouldn't bat an eye to shoot a bear or a big ol hog with it. |
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MS, USA
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Posted: 8/14/2016 11:02:58 PM EDT
[#41]
Forget the leverevolution, Barnes, or other fancy bullets. Use the Federal Premium load with the 170 grain Nosler Partition bullet or handload the 170 grn Partition. Plenty of punch with that bullet.
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Posted: 8/15/2016 9:20:03 AM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By MagnusM4:
Use a 170gr flat point, not that LeverEvolution shit. This ... The Remington 170 core lokt is hard to beat. I have not used leverlution in 30-30, but in 45-70 I had one of the gummy tip loads break up and fail to penetrate on a big Kansas whitetail. |
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Posted: 8/16/2016 4:29:21 PM EDT
[#43]
I think leverev now makes bonded bullets. I noticed the jacket detach on a boar way back before the change.
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