Quoheleth
Member
My brother is moving to deep southeast CA later this summer and has heard stories of the monster mulies that grow down there in the desert. He hasn't hunted in 10+ years, but the stories have his trigger finger twitching a bit.
Dad died and left his guns to us. Brother's been at Seminary for the past 4 years so I kept them all at my house, including the old Marlin 336 in .30-30. My brother is thinking he may want to reacquire the .30-30 for these Mulies.
So, two questions for you: One, is an unaltered Marlin 336 (this is an older gun but does have the safety) CA approved for hunting? Two, is a .30-30 a good choice for mule deer in that part of the US? I know nothing about animal size, average length of shots, etc., but from what I've heard compared to the central Texas deer we used to hunt (80lbs is a big deer) the Mulies are pretty good sized.
While I don't mind him taking the gun - it's half his - I don't want him undergunned. Yes, I know the venerable "Thuddy Thuddy" has taken more North America game than probably any other centerfire rifle, but there is a difference between "it'll work" and "plenty of gun." I don't think he needs a .338 Magnum, but I'm thinking a .308 or 7mm-08 would be a more useful gun for him than the old Marlin.
Thoughts?
Q
Dad died and left his guns to us. Brother's been at Seminary for the past 4 years so I kept them all at my house, including the old Marlin 336 in .30-30. My brother is thinking he may want to reacquire the .30-30 for these Mulies.
So, two questions for you: One, is an unaltered Marlin 336 (this is an older gun but does have the safety) CA approved for hunting? Two, is a .30-30 a good choice for mule deer in that part of the US? I know nothing about animal size, average length of shots, etc., but from what I've heard compared to the central Texas deer we used to hunt (80lbs is a big deer) the Mulies are pretty good sized.
While I don't mind him taking the gun - it's half his - I don't want him undergunned. Yes, I know the venerable "Thuddy Thuddy" has taken more North America game than probably any other centerfire rifle, but there is a difference between "it'll work" and "plenty of gun." I don't think he needs a .338 Magnum, but I'm thinking a .308 or 7mm-08 would be a more useful gun for him than the old Marlin.
Thoughts?
Q