30-30 is it still being used today or am I the only one still using it?

In the Northeast USA you'd be hard pressed to not see a 30-30 in the deer field. Old or young, men or women carry the 30WCF out this way. There are many other calibers carried here but that caliber in a lever gun is pretty much as common as the deer themselves.

My Marlin 1893 built circa 1912 still takes a walk or two in the deer woods every year...
It only gets mid-range cast loads for that duty...

Where it really shines is with my 'cellar loads'...

A .310" round ball over 'a few grains' of fast pistol powder...
With it's 26" barrel, that gun will keep round balls on
a 9" skillet all day at 60 yards...

Plenty accurate for keeping vermin out of the vegetable gardens,
and quieter than a .22 short...

If I were to hunt in the local dense-packed mesquite and prickly pear covered lands then I'd likely be carrying one of my .30-30s.
I haven't hunted in a long time, though.

troy fairweather said:

own both 30-30 and 35 rem, the 35 is the one that goes to the woods the 30-30 goes to the range.

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It's like the scene from "Spinal Tap": "Yes, but you see, my amp goes to 11...."

Yep
I even got one that u breech seat the boolit before putting in the case/powder/primer

There are millions of them out there, and they are popular here where I live. I don't use it, as I have rifles in other calibers that suit my needs better for what I hunt and how I hunt.My 3 calibers I use for hunting are 223, 243, and 6.5 CM. The 6.5 is new, so I haven't killed anything with it yet.

Yes.
30-30 is as american as it gets. In recent years its under rated and alot of guys think they need a 460 weatherby to shoot deer and 'yotes. Maybe not as flat shooting or powerful as many other calibers but its nothing to sneer at. Record breaking animals have been taken with less. Ive had my marlin 336 for many years and have shot it quite a bit, this past winter i got a basically new in box win 94 with 300 rds for very very cheap (the guy thought it was junk). So i scoped the marlin and have the slimmer trimmer winchester for walking around with. Love it. While my favorite do all rifle is a 45-70 it really isnt required and the 30-30 comes with me more often. I have an ar and a bolt action in 338 lapua (my only modern designed long guns)but those guns dont bring me any joy, theyre tools and are fired strictly for practice. My true love in firearms is in blue steel and walnut. 30-30 isnt going anywhere, carry yours with pride as i do.

My first centerfire rifle was a .30-30, so it will always be near and dear to my heart.
Works great with a receiver sight in my experience.


It will always have a place in my collection. An American classic.

My 94 is solid as ever. I hunt Mulies, Whitetail and Black Bear with it. And as an all around fun shooter It does that also. Roll my own with 170gr Speer Flat Point and 170gr Remington Core Lokt. I keep all my shots 150 or less. I have a perfect kill score. No misses or wouding. No more then 2 shots to ever anchor my game. 30-30 is alive and well in my home.

I've been hunting since the mid 1970's. I've ran across 2 hunters in that time carrying a 30-30. I have several, but rarely hunt with them. Sometimes after watching a John Wayne move I'll feel nostalgic. In my opinion it is the most OVER rated cartridge out there. It was obsolete 5 years before the 1st rifle was ever made and a huge step backwards in rifle and cartridge development. Sure, it kills stuff, but so do muzzle loaders, arrows, and spears. The day it was introduced it didn't offer anyone any advantages over cartridges that were already available.

midland man said:

so is I the only one still using this grand old cartridge??

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I think that you know the answer without asking.

jmr40 said:

I've been hunting since the mid 1970's. I've ran across 2 hunters in that time carrying a 30-30. I have several, but rarely hunt with them. Sometimes after watching a John Wayne move I'll feel nostalgic. In my opinion it is the most OVER rated cartridge out there. It was obsolete 5 years before the 1st rifle was ever made and a huge step backwards in rifle and cartridge development. Sure, it kills stuff, but so do muzzle loaders, arrows, and spears. The day it was introduced it didn't offer anyone any advantages over cartridges that were already available.

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Like the .44-40, .38-40, and .32-40? All very popular deer cartridges available then, and very much less powerful.
In truth, the .30-30 was a huge step forward for deer hunters in 1896.
Yes, there were more powerful European military smokeless powder cartridges newly available, but not much so in the U.S.
So, the .30-30 was a great new cartridge for its day.
A .30-06 is overkill for deer hunting, but many hunters believe that nothing less than a .300 magnum is adequate for any hunting.

Which brings up a question. Are you serious or just trolling?

jmr40 said:

I've been hunting since the mid 1970's. I've ran across 2 hunters in that time carrying a 30-30. I have several, but rarely hunt with them. Sometimes after watching a John Wayne move I'll feel nostalgic. In my opinion it is the most OVER rated cartridge out there. It was obsolete 5 years before the 1st rifle was ever made and a huge step backwards in rifle and cartridge development. Sure, it kills stuff, but so do muzzle loaders, arrows, and spears. The day it was introduced it didn't offer anyone any advantages over cartridges that were already available.

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But you said 45-70 was the most over rated crap caliber ever, cant be both. You have a very different view of reality than countless successful hunters, including me.

Obturation said:

But you said 45-70 was the most over rated crap caliber ever, cant be both. You have a very different view of reality than countless sucessful hunters, including me.

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I think that jmr40 just likes stirring the pot.
He doesn't know what the truth is.
His attitude is simply that anyone who disagrees with his smug assessments is automatically wrong.

Walmart usually has .30-30 in all three flavors- Fed, Rem and Win, sometimes in multiple bullet weights with each brand. If it doesn't sell well, they don't keep stocking it...

I own 2 30-30's. A 94 Winnie and a 336cs Marlin. The Marlin is a tad bit more accurate, the Winchester a bit lighter and points like a laser. Both wear Williams peep sights and for their intended purpose I can't think of any caliber/ rifle combo that could do the job any better.
The 30-30 is very much alive and for those who use it within it's limits are rarely dissatisfied with its performance. If you reload cast or jacketed you can improve its performance even more. I don't see the 30-30 win round or the rifles chambered for it disappearing any time soon, too much history, nostalgia, and track record performance for it to be overlooked by woodsman who hunt in the thick. It just plain gets the job done when you need it to. Can't ask for more than that. Nuff said.
Happy shooting.

jmr40 said:

I've been hunting since the mid 1970's. I've ran across 2 hunters in that time carrying a 30-30. I have several, but rarely hunt with them. Sometimes after watching a John Wayne move I'll feel nostalgic. In my opinion it is the most OVER rated cartridge out there. It was obsolete 5 years before the 1st rifle was ever made and a huge step backwards in rifle and cartridge development. Sure, it kills stuff, but so do muzzle loaders, arrows, and spears. The day it was introduced it didn't offer anyone any advantages over cartridges that were already available.

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As the first commercial smokeless cartridge in the US, how, pray tell, was it obsolete in 1890 "and a huge step back in cartridge development"? What other 30 caliber smokeless cartridge was available in the US in 1895 that offered as flat a trajectory as flat as the 30-30?

I have two 30-30 lever guns.
A Winchester 94AE Carbine and a Marlin 336.
I do not hunt with them but I do shoot targets and plink with them. The Winchester is my truck gun. Out of all my long guns the ‘94 is my favorite and most trusted long gun.

I have quite a few 30/30's and hunt with them each year. I particularly like my Marlin 336TK. It handles well, is very accurate, and I love carrying flat sided leverguns. My sleeper load for deer is the Speer 130 grn Hotcore over a dose of Varget. It shoots relatively flat and hits hard. For bigger things I like most any 170 bullet. I can't imagine living without a few .30/30's to hunt with.

In fact the .30/30 is so great, it has its own song:

30-30 is a keeper!

TR

I'm no hunter, but I know people who are and from what they say the .30-30 lever action still seems to be a popular choice for deer hunting in the SE US where I live.

Im

A lot of people are still using flintlocks for deer.

I usually bring one along as a spare on hunting trips.

Seven of the last nine deer I shot were with my Marlin 336 30-30 including an Axis buck a few months ago. None of them went over 30 yards.