.30-30 Savage 170 pump

[26Charlie]

Daughter's boyfriend brought over one of these, new to him. Tried it at 25 yards, Federal factory 150 gr JSP. Magazine only holds 3 rounds, is difficult to load. Out of 9 rounds, had 6 failures to eject. Groups OK, less than an inch.

Recommended he trade or sell it for a Winchester or Marlin .30-30. Not good to be out in the woods with a gun that is a PITA.

[pietro]

Out of 9 rounds, had 6 failures to eject.

IME with two, those rifles need to be cycled like it owes you money to feed/eject properly.

The rimmed .30-30 WCF feeds finicky; the semi-rimless .35 REM smooth as water through a goose.

It also might need a deep clean/lube.

My hunting buddy had one in .35 REM before he passed away.

.

[sigep1764]

Charlie, please don't be so quick to judge. Take it apart and give it what it might need. Maybe a cleaning, maybe the ejector is worn. Give it a think.

[35 Rem]

I agree on the cleaning. I'd strip it down all the way and clean out everything, check springs for wear then reassemble and try it again. I've always thought one of those would be interesting to have but not sure I've ever seen one in person

[kaiser]

I bought a new Savage 170 (30/30) when it was first introduced back in the day. It handled much like their pump shotguns marketed at the time, and operated reliably. My reason for selling it was because it did not offer anything over a Marlin or Winchester, other than being faster to fire. The cartridge could not be loaded beyond factory specs due to its "shotgun like" lock up system; and one had to use standard "flat nose", or round nose bullets because of the "tubular" magazine. I don't recall it being particularly accurate, but would occasionally print 1 3/4" group at 100 yards with its favorite load (scoped). They later came out with a carbine version, which also din't sell in great numbers. While the .35 Rem. version intrigued me, because I favor the cartridge, I never pursued that "limited production" model. I did find a Remington 141, along the way in a .35 Rem. that "scratched that itch" for a few years. I do regret selling that rifle!

[Texas by God]

I had the .410 solid frame pump that the 170 was based on and if you didn’t pump it “briskly” it was prone to hanging up like Pietro mentioned.
The Remington pump rifles were the best.


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[26Charlie]

Well, we did cycle it like a pump shotgun (i have Ithaca model 37 16 & 20 gauges). All the problems have been figured out, including feeding, bottom loading, pointed bullets (Remington spiral magazine tube) and 5-shot capacity. In the cabinet i have a Remington 141 .30 Rem rimless that works just fine, and if ammo is needed Buffaloarms has it ($4.40 a shot, latest check) if he must have a pump. But why suffer, possibly see a wounded deer get away, because the rifle required your attention at a critical time?

[Pereira]

I have one in 35 Rem., it required a good cleaning when I first got it, gift from the FIL.
It now runs well and has accounting for a good many deer, the farthest was around 135-140 yds. one shot drop.

RP