30-30 in colorado

[bowhunter84]

Looking at getting my dads old 30-30 with this be an ok rifle for starting out to hunt with in colorado. form anything form mule deer, to elk and black bear. I like to take closers shots but not sure if i really can in colorado. I'm used to taking shots less than 100 yards in michigan and looking at gettting started to hunt in colorado

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I think you're asking if a 30-30 will work for hunting in Colorado.

It will do, if you do your part.

 

[WTBguns10kOK]

It will work fine, just limit yourself to the shots you're comfortable with. 30-30 doesn't reach out all that far anyway...

 

[Kachok]

30-30 will kill elk sized game if you use proper bullets like the 170gr Partition and keep the range short. If you plan on hunting open country save yourself the heartbreak and get something a little longer ranged. I used to use a 7mm Rem mag for such occasions, but changed to the 270 WSM last year and have not looked back. Flatter trajectory, shorter barrel, lighter weight, and less recoil then the big 7, I am sold When hunting the brush I like lower speeds and would use a 30-30 except I have a long standing love affair with the 6.5x55.

 

[natman]

Is it possible to kill an elk with a 30-30? Absolutely.

However, given the ranges you're likely to see elk in CO during rifle season, I'd really, really rather have a 30-06.

 

[CoRoMo]

All the elk I've killed have been no more than 100 yards away. The first two elk I killed were each shot once, with my Dad's model '94. I hunt in thick woods, so you can't really see much farther than that anyway. I did, once, spot some elk out quite a ways in a valley while hunting a black powder season some years ago. They must have been 400-600 yards out there, but there's not making that shot with a muzzleloader. If I had only had one of my .270 rifles though! Other than that, all my elk are quite close in when I find them.

 

[BikerRN]

The 30-30 will work, within it's ballistic limitations.
Many of us are fond of eliminating as many ballistic limitations as possible. That's why we use other calibers.

BikerRN

 

[BENBRU]

I'll echo what everyone else says. Not ideal, but 30-30 can work if you know your limitations(mainly range). Personally I'll use 30-06

 

[Smokey in PHX]

I normally use a 300 Mag for elk. But I took a day during elk season to scout a deep canyon in New Mexico about five miles from the road so I took my Mod 94 instead of the 300. About half way through that canyon I took a break for lunch. About fifty yards from me in a blowdown was a bull elk watching me. I broke a dry stick and he stood up and I shot it with the 30-30. He just fell forward on his face.

I have shot a lot of elk and that was the biggest one yet.

 

[brnmuenchow]

.30-30 Win. is good to go!

 

[X-Rap]

If I were planning a trip from Michigan out here to CO. I would look for a little more gun and one that can have a good scope mounted to it. You can see further than you can walk in a week out here and that will be a disappointment if the range of your rifle is your weak spot.
A good 30 cal. (my choice would be a 300 mag ) and ample practice to 500 yds will make for more successful opportunities in general.