Break action or bolt action? Brand?

Break action or bolt gun? Brand?

  • Break action

    Votes: 10 32.3%
  • Bolt action

    Votes: 19 61.3%
  • Revolver

    Votes: 2 6.5%

  • Total voters
    31
Status
Not open for further replies.
Wait a second.....

1: A lever gun is to much trouble to unload quickly. You don’t want to get charged with “road hunting”.

Answer: Ok. So unless I’m missing something, that’s a pretty incriminating statement. Sounds like you’re worried about being pulled over and having a loaded rifle in your vehicle. How about you just don’t drive around with a loaded rifle? I can unload my 10+1 1894 in 44mag in about 8 seconds. My 5+1 444 in about the same amount of time. And it takes about 15-30 seconds to load them.

2. You want an action stronger than a lever gun. But you want to shoot a “primarily” lever gun cartridge. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me either. But to each their own.

It does sound bad, that's not exactly what I meant about the road hunting thing. I was talking about having to unload on the way back to the truck. You do have a good point though. I guess "quickly" was a poor choice of words. We use dogs to deer hunt in addition to stand hunting. So that adds the challenge of staying in front of the dogs. When you have full size Walker hounds they can cover a LOT of ground in a short time. So sometimes you have to drive from one off-road place to another traveling public roads in between.

AGFC definition of road hunting is having a loaded gun outside the vehicle within 50 yards of the center line of any public road.
 
Last edited:
I still want to find a good deal on a 340 or 788 in .30-30.... mostly to convert to 7-30.

I had an hr topper in .30-30 that was suer nice to carry but i rarely used it.
 
Not trying to talk you back into a lever action but I would note that a marlin 336 or winchester 94 are very strong actions and can handle pressures in excess of what a 30-30 case itself can handle.
 
It does sound bad, that's not exactly what I meant about the road hunting thing. I was talking about having to unload on the way back to the truck. You do have a good point though. I guess "quickly" was a poor choice of words. We use dogs to deer hunt in addition to stand hunting. So that adds the challenge of staying in front of the dogs. When you have full size Walker hounds they can cover a LOT of ground in a short time. So sometimes you have to drive from one off-road place to another traveling public roads in between.

AGFC definition of road hunting is having a loaded gun outside the vehicle within 50 yards of the center line of any public road.
I know walkers are primarily coon dogs. Although some use them for hogs. I’ve hunted behind walkers. They can be “big hunters” that will go miles. So what are you using them for?

Depending on pursued game, there may be way better options. Not only in caliber, but also platform.
 
Not trying to talk you back into a lever action but I would note that a marlin 336 or winchester 94 are very strong actions and can handle pressures in excess of what a 30-30 case itself can handle.
Didn't know that. I thought they were all about equal strength.
 
I have a 788 .30-30 that is a good hunting rifle - I loaned it to a friend who killed her first deer with it.
I have no experience or interest in break action rifles unless a way cool European stalking rifle.

Lever actions are common, inexpensive, and dependable. If you worry about the loading and unloading process, you don't have to fill up the tube with all six or seven rounds. A round in the chamber and one in the magazine are twice the "firepower" of a single shot and are quickly removed and replaced.
 
I know walkers are primarily coon dogs. Although some use them for hogs. I’ve hunted behind walkers. They can be “big hunters” that will go miles. So what are you using them for?

Depending on pursued game, there may be way better options. Not only in caliber, but also platform.
Whitetail is the game. I don't remember the actual breed name, but I've always heard them called "running walkers". I guess as opposed to "treeing walkers". In the past our full size dogs have been Blueticks, Redbones, Julys, even a couple Catahoula. Several years before my grandpa died he got a whole litter of 15" Beagles. Those were great for our style of hunting. They didn't push the deer hard, so you didn't have to move as often or at all. All our our dogs will run a coyote or bobcat once in a while, but if you understand how one animal runs compared to another you can just about know what the dogs get after without seeing it, just listening. Coyotes or young deer will make big circles, bobcats will run a little ways and tree, then jump down and repeat. It's really more about listening to the dogs than actually killing the deer. The three point rule made things a little harder, but we learned to get on a crossing to where we could see the deer longer and make sure it was legal.
 
If you can find a Savage 340 in decent condition, jump on it. They're usually tack drivers. The .30-30 is extremely underrated in bolt actions. No more RN's or FP's either.
"...an inexpensive rifle..." That needs defining. A Savage 340 stats at about $215, most running $250 and up, on Gunbroker.
There are no revolvers. Single shot's like Thompson Contenders abound though. Mind you, a TC's barrel alone runs $200 plus on Gunbroker.
"...Feeding isn't great in rimmed cartridge bolt guns..." Nonsense. Ever shot a Lee-Enfield? Fastest bolt action ever made.
 
I'm putting a question out there for opinions on a choice of rifle chambered in 30-30. I'd like to find an inexpensive rifle for deer hunting and occasional plinking with hard cast bullets. Not interested in a lever gun at all, not a hater, just a personal choice. This will not be a target rifle so accuracy is not that big of a deal past 100yds. Thank you for taking time to help out!

Break action.
 
Whitetail is the game. I don't remember the actual breed name, but I've always heard them called "running walkers". I guess as opposed to "treeing walkers". In the past our full size dogs have been Blueticks, Redbones, Julys, even a couple Catahoula. Several years before my grandpa died he got a whole litter of 15" Beagles. Those were great for our style of hunting. They didn't push the deer hard, so you didn't have to move as often or at all. All our our dogs will run a coyote or bobcat once in a while, but if you understand how one animal runs compared to another you can just about know what the dogs get after without seeing it, just listening. Coyotes or young deer will make big circles, bobcats will run a little ways and tree, then jump down and repeat. It's really more about listening to the dogs than actually killing the deer. The three point rule made things a little harder, but we learned to get on a crossing to where we could see the deer longer and make sure it was legal.

That sounds like fun, reminds me of reading "Where the Red Fern Grows" as a kid. I didn't know it was legal to hunt deer with dogs.
 
That sounds like fun, reminds me of reading "Where the Red Fern Grows" as a kid. I didn't know it was legal to hunt deer with dogs.
This is the only way I deer hunted until a couple years ago. It's kinda like that book, but everything happens a lot faster.
In most of South Arkansas and North Louisiana dogs are legal during modern gun season. In Arkansas you cannot use dogs in bow or muzzleloader season or in deer zones and wmas where it's restricted. In Louisiana they have a split modern gun season, first half= no dogs, last half= dogs.
I swear you almost need a law degree to interpret hunting regulations in Arkansas.
 
When I was young I remember my dad going out with some guys coon hunting with dogs but as far as I know thats the only mammal thats legal to hunt with dogs up here. I think in Iowa they hunt coyote's with dogs. We only have bird dogs up here. If you see a dog chasing a deer here from Jan 1st to July 14th you have the legal right to shoot it.
 
...rifle chambered in 30-30.

If you're willing to consider 7.62x39 Russian instead, you'll get a very similar level of power and additional rifles to choose from. The Rooskie round is a more modern design, rimless and short coupled, and available in single shot, bolt action and self loading rifles.
 
When I was young I remember my dad going out with some guys coon hunting with dogs but as far as I know thats the only mammal thats legal to hunt with dogs up here. I think in Iowa they hunt coyote's with dogs. We only have bird dogs up here. If you see a dog chasing a deer here from Jan 1st to July 14th you have the legal right to shoot it.
Shooting a dog here can get you in serious legal trouble. Heavy fines from two law enforcement agencies, loss of hunting privilege for up to five years, confiscated personal property, possible civil suit from the owner, not sure about jail time. It's definitely not a good idea to shoot one.
There is not a lot of public land here so that's probably why it's still legal here.
There are groups that lobby against dogs within the hunting community, but that's with just about anything these days.
 
I would loose my mind if I saw someone hunting deer with dogs where I'm from but I understand that its a part of your culture and I don't have a problem with that. I guess you could argue that its unsporting for me to take my dog grouse hunting just the same.
 
Look into a Marlin lever action gun in .35 Remington caliber. You will not be sorry.
It's got plenty of power and you can mount a scope on it very easily because it is
a side ejection rifle. If you want to unload it quickly just put one cartridge in the chamber.
a quick flip of the lever will throw the cartridge out a country mile.

Zeke
 
I would loose my mind if I saw someone hunting deer with dogs where I'm from but I understand that its a part of your culture and I don't have a problem with that. I guess you could argue that its unsporting for me to take my dog grouse hunting just the same.
I can understand a difference in culture. I've never had to defend the way we deer hunt so I wouldn't be critical of anyone's methods.

From the outside it does sound unsporting to use dogs for deer, but I used to think it was unsporting to hide in a tree waiting on them. I see both sides of the coin now.
 
Wait a second.....

1: A lever gun is to much trouble to unload quickly. You don’t want to get charged with “road hunting”.

Answer: Ok. So unless I’m missing something, that’s a pretty incriminating statement. Sounds like you’re worried about being pulled over and having a loaded rifle in your vehicle. How about you just don’t drive around with a loaded rifle? I can unload my 10+1 1894 in 44mag in about 8 seconds. My 5+1 444 in about the same amount of time. And it takes about 15-30 seconds to load them.

2. You want an action stronger than a lever gun. But you want to shoot a “primarily” lever gun cartridge. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me either. But to each their own.

Same here. You want the strongest actions out there in a bolt action rifle to use a mild performing round like the 30-30? I really don't understand why?
 
I would get a lever .30-30 and put one shell in it before I bought a single shot like a Handi Rifle....At least that way, you would have the option to load more rounds if you wanted to.
 
Same here. You want the strongest actions out there in a bolt action rifle to use a mild performing round like the 30-30? I really don't understand why?
Bolts and singles can take sharply pointed bullets, the bolts have detachable mags, singles are usually shorter and lighter......but in my case I really just like odd stuff, and I want a 7-30 so that means a barrel swap. While I could buy a contender barrel It doesn't interest me as a project so were back to a bolt.

Just a note the 340 and friends only have 1 lug so are not much stronger than a decent lever. They are perhaps stiffer as the lug is on the front.

Here Its legal to have a loaded mag that's not attached to the gun, while driving in hunting area. Its not legal to have rounds in an onboard mag. While a detachable mag doesn't effect my choice of firearm, I do appreciate them when Im using a gun that has them.
 
Last edited:
Ruger No1 sporter rifle or an Uberti 1871 rolling block in 30-30, single shot rifles, might check contender as well.
 
Bolts and singles can take sharply pointed bullets, the bolts have detachable mags, singles are usually shorter and lighter......but in my case I really just like odd stuff, and I want a 7-30 so that means a barrel swap. While I could buy a contender barrel It doesn't interest me as a project so were back to a bolt.

Just a note the 340 and friends only have 1 lug so are not much stronger than a decent lever. They are perhaps stiffer as the bolts on the front.

Here Its legal to have a loaded mag that's not attached to the gun, while driving in hunting area. Its not legal to have rounds in an onboard mag. While a detachable mag doesn't effect my choice of firearm, I do appreciate them when Im using a gun that has them.

If they weren't so expensive I would recommend an eabco 97d in 7-30 waters. He also makes a 6.5-30 that he calls a 6.5 BRM, which also has a blown out shoulder like a 7-30 waters does. His shop is about 10 miles from where I grew up and he is a good friend of my father in law. I always wanted one but the price on them has gotten a bit out of my comfort range.

http://m.eabco.com/Brown97DRifle.htm
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top