When you guys are finding accurate loads for your 30-30 lever guns, including the "standard" 30gr Varget/125gr Sierra FP bullet load, are you seating bullets a certain distance off the lands (within the range of COL that will cycle reliability) or just loading to COL listed in a loading book or case mouth in cannelure? If case mouth in cannelure, are you crimping the case mouth into the cannelure to a significant degree?

Jason I have a model 94 Winchester and it will not load rounds more than .015 over COAL. And I always crimp. I don't know how much freebore I have but its a good ways to the lands. I shoot the 1894 centennial model and they are much lighter than a full octagonal barrel is. I would opt for the heavier barrel if I could.

I crimp on the cannelure at a certain col for my 125's. There is certainly a gap to the lands, but I don't know what it is either. I do a mild roll crimp, nothing too severe.

I'm a huge fan of the 38-55 myself and run two different loads in it Trailboss for Chicks and Pigs and 2207 for turkeys and rams!!
Never rang a ram yet in fact last year a young guy asked to shot mine and he dropped his hand on rams landed 4 ft in front of the rams skipped up knocked it over and he was sold on the 38-55 Nice soft recoil and even the wife is loving hers now days!!!
IMHO out shoot's and out classes 30-30 for Clas but under hunting conditions I'm still a 30-30 type of guy!!

Jason, when starting with a new gun I seat the bullet as long as I can so it will feed and chamber then shoot 3 to see how it groups. I then continue to seat a little deeper each 3 shots after that to find what my gun likes. My new Buffalo Bill does not like them to long. I am seating just below the canalure. I find that I need to crimp them a bit harder like this to keep the bullet from moving any in the magazine tube. The crimp does not seem quite as important on a 30-30 as it does on PC guns but I still use a pretty heavy crimp. A guy I shoot with has his seated way out on a old Marlin (maybe it is a bit wore out) but it does not seem to hurt him at all. Mike Haynes