30-30 vs. .308 out to 200 yards?

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Ratshooter's figures are right in the same ballpark as mine, with 1602fps and 969ft/lbs of energy at 200yards.....thru my 20in bbl Glenfield 30-30...via Winchester 170gr Power Points.( BC = .241)
I would be interested in what others have found via their own rifles, ammo, and equipment. (IE a chrono)

Intentionally aiming with a gut shot in mind might explain why Float Pilot guides photographers now, and not hunters.

Maybe it might be wise for average shooters to decrease their maximum effective range IOT consistently place the shot in the vitals when it comes to hunting at least?

Thoughts?

Note: It is probably a good idea to keep this thread concentrated on hunting, and not defense. ( A moderator has already suggested this advice.)
 
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If you deer hunt in woods and protect the homefront the .30-30 would be a fine do all rifle. Handy .308 bolt with lower power scope will accomplish most any task. Only problem is every time the do all rifle threads come up someone expects a gun to be a top notch CQB gun and reach out to 1000 meters. I just nip it in the bud. No do alls.
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Understandable.:)
 
Float Pilot.

PM received, and reply sent.

My email aint running right now, but the wife plans to work on it tonight while I'm out hunting hogs.

Take care.
 
Cartridge dependent energy @200 yards.

150 gr .308 = 1850

150 gr 30-30 = 859

You decide.
 
I am with CraigC.

I have hunted with a 30-30 for 30 years. I even load it with 125 grain FNHP from Sierra now instead of shooting 150 - 170 grain soft points.
The only reason I bought my .25-06 was because I started hunting huge pastors where my 30-30 would not allow me to hit the fence lines from the big pine tree in the middle of the field.

Good thing I did as there was an oak tree 150 yards from my stand, and 150 yards from the fence. Well just so happened a couple critters never came to the oak tree, and after a long wait for them to come closer the .25-06 reached out to 300 yards and dropped both with two shots.

If I had to choose a 30-30 over a .308 for my 200 yard animal get'r/personal defense rifle. I'd go 30-30 9 times out of 10 because you just never can be 100% sure you wouldn't need a 300 yard rifle, but with the 30-30 you can do it all withing 200 yards. Be it elk, hog, deer, coyote, p-dogs, intruders of the two legged kind.
If you hand load then you can load the 110 grain half jacketed HP from Speer for some serious explosive results @ 2500 fps using H335, and they are very accurate, but you want to know about the 170 grain .308 bullets from both guns.

My favorite 170 grain for the 30-30 is the blue box Federals. Second would be the 170 grain Power Points from Winchester. They seem to be the most accurate for factory ammo.

Anyway back the question from the OP. The lever action from Marlin can be topped off where the Winchester has a flaw in its loading gate IMO. Also the lever gun can be cycled much faster and keep target acquisition IMO over the platforms the .308 Winchester is shot out of.

If a bread basket shot is made with a 170 grain soft point hunting round from a 30-30 or .308 Win you are going to have the same results. Death.

P.S. What is fun is loading 170 grain .308 30-30 flat nose bullets in a .308 or a .30-06 at speeds past 2500 fps. More along the lines of 2700-2800 fps. Talk about an instant ballistic tip. The soft lead nose made to flatten at 30-30 speeds just turns itself inside out with tons of "energy" and "explosive" results.
 
haha. Pastures. Sorry. I am tired. Unexpected death in the family and not much sleep. Whoa. Man, that was to much.
 
I got a buddy who uses a 336 Texan, and he kills deer every year from 200 yards to 10 yards since I have known him.
That rifle is the most accurate lever action rifle I have ever shot. At 100 yards it will, and I promise, put three shots in one hole if you can hold that tight. I have done it, he has done it, and he has done it often.

You can lever through the magazine in seconds where a bolt action, i.e. .308 Win, would take a while. If you could find a .307 Win then that'd be a different story all together, but you still have the loading gate problem where the next round backs up into the receiver.

I say 30-30 Marlin from 1972-1989, used for a buck-fifty please, Pat.
 
Id say if you shot 10 deer at a 100 yards youd see very little difference. I also say that if you shot 10 at 200 youd see the 308 kill quicker.
 
My ca10 308 cycles a bit faster than my 30-30 marlin. I think the 30-30 is a great round however I don't believe it can hold a candle to the 308. With 175gr 200yd zero I'm 1" high at 50yd and 2" high at 100yd about 10" low at 300yd 170gr 30-30 gets about 2" at 50 4" at 100 and -16" at 300.

I think the 308 is a much more effective round. Then there's ammo availability and variety. But its just my opinion.
 
FloatPilot beat me to it. I was gonna ask if your beef was with preachers or fat people in general. :)

I even load it with 125 grain FNHP from Sierra now instead of shooting 150 - 170 grain soft points.
Click to expand...

I have heard nothing but wonderful things about that bullet. They say it really changes the way the .30-30 performs on deer sized game.
 
hatt said:
165 gr .30-378 = 3435

Now what? If more is better...
Click to expand...

Wow, you sure got me. Funny how that wasn't the damn question and I stated facts and told the OP to decide based on the data presented. Where in my post did I say more is better?

Now go away and stay on topic and try harder to actually add something to the actual topic next time.
 
The 308 is hands down the better round...funny how hard people will try to prove the unproveable. I hunt with both rounds.
 
AP, being that we're neighbors there enough of both.
 
HKGuns said:
Wow, you sure got me. Funny how that wasn't the damn question and I stated facts and told the OP to decide based on the data presented. Where in my post did I say more is better?

Now go away and stay on topic and try harder to actually add something to the actual topic next time.
Click to expand...
Had you read through the thread you'd observed a company makes a bullet just for this discussion.
 
If I needed a gun for ranges out to 200 yards, I would go with the .308 every time. The .30-30 is a great round for close-in hunting, but IMO is a 150 yard deer cartridge. At that range (200 yards) the trajectory is starting to drop and the bullet energy is becoming marginal for deer sized game.

Not saying it won't kill one at 200 yards, but its not ideal when there are so many other, better choices.
 
The .44Mag will get you to 125yds with a handgun or 150yds with a rifle. I think the old .30WCF is good for more than that.
 
The .44Mag will get you to 125yds with a handgun or 150yds with a rifle. I think the old .30WCF is good for more than that.
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I guess its in that grey area where the hunter has to decide what he will accept. I consider the energy of a .44 mag out of a rifle at 100 yards to at the edge of what I deem acceptable for deer. I would certainly never use it beyond that range. Again, I am certainly not saying you can't kill a deer at 150 yards with a .44 carbine, but I don't consider it optimal. If you have a choice I would use something better.
 
Even if you believe in energy, which I do not, a .44 rifle will have the same velocity at 150yds as a revolver at the muzzle. A good Keith bullet at 900fps will penetrate end to end on any deer that walks. Even at handgun velocities it doesn't drop that low until 250-300yds. The .44 does not want for killing ability until way beyond any shooter's ability to place a bullet accurately.

The world will be a better place when shooters stop believing the energy myth.
 
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