Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow
member
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2007
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- 13,146
would the convenience of similar calibers between firearms trump the extra power of a 30-30?
No. The extra power trumps the convenience. Convenience and the whole same ammo for handgun & rifle issue is overplayed in modern society. That was a useful concept back when a cowboy and his horse were out on the plains or desert or mountains in the old west, far from any town, with a pistol and a rifle. Neat concept, but outdated in a society where a 1-10 mile drive will find you a store with both 30-30 and .357 mag. Thank you, J.S. for explaining the significant ballistic differences.
Having said that, the .357 mag levergun is itself very very versatile. But if you want to maximize versatility, get the rifle that can do quite a bit more than what your handgun can do, not just a smidge more.
And above, I said .30-30, but a pretty good case can be made that a .22 mag rifle is the most versatile. I mention this because a .22 mag can be had in a levergun also.
I too recommend a .22lr in addition to the .30-30 or whatever you run with.