Favorite 30 Cal?

[1948CJ2A]

Two pages and no .30 Carbine yet!

I added it to the poll, then realized I've never seen a 30 Carbine bolt or lever rifle, which is the criteria of this poll... but it won't let me remove it now so it shall stay as a new option.

 

[357smallbore]

My 30-30 for fun
My 30-06 for serious hunting

 

[GRIZ22]

308 hot my vote. 30-06 is better for heavy bullets. Most people have no use for them. Still plenty of 7.62 NATO out there for practice.

 

[luv2safari]

I took the 30-06 over the 308. I have occasion to need 200-220gr bullets, and the 308 ends at about 165gr in practicality.

My 30's:

30-30
300 Svg
308
308 Norma Mag
30-06
300 H&H
300 Wby

 

[1948CJ2A]

I took the 30-06 over the 308. I have occasion to need 200-220gr bullets, and the 308 ends at about 165gr in practicality.

My 30's:

30-30
300 Svg
308
308 Norma Mag
30-06
300 H&H
300 Wby

I agree with your assessment. What's your option on your 300 Weatherby? To me, it's the best of the 300 Magnums... but I know that's a debatable opinion.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I added it to the poll, then realized I've never seen a 30 Carbine bolt or lever rifle, which is the criteria of this poll... but it won't let me remove it now so it shall stay as a new option.

Oops, I missed that part, however it still counts as Marlin made the Model 62 Levermatic rifle in .30 Carbine.
Universal made a handful of pump-action .30 Carbine prototypes as well, but I can't think of any bolt-actions either.

 

[MikeInOr]

For getting the job done 30-06 is my do everything cartridge with the .308 being a close second (really depends on the job). But for just plane old shooting fun the .30 carbine and its M1 carbine companion is my favorite blasting away round so it is what I voted for.

Oh... bolt action.. well 30-06 and .308 second then. But the M1 carbine has a bolt and it is in action when I am shooting so I am just going to leave my vote there... sorry, the pair really are that much fun.

 

[MikeInOr]

30 Mauser…. or was it 30 Luger?

I can never remember which is which.

30 Luger is a little hotter than the 30 Mauser. A C96 "Broom Handle" Mauser is what I think of when I think of the 30 Mauser cartridge. When I think of 30 Luger I think of P08 Lugers and all those great European machine guns/pistols I will never get to shoot the way they were meant to be shot.

 

[Random 8]

I'll be the lone vote so far for the .300 Savage. You've got a thing for the .308, I've got a thing for it's Grandpa, and the rifles that were made in this fine caliber through the glory days of the American sportsman.

Sure, the other 2 .30's are more modern and practical, and I suppose if I hunted bigger stuff further out, I'd have to pick one in the Magnum category, but the 1920's Savage round get's it done for me.

 

[Legionnaire]

I don’t own a .30 cal any more, but my favorite of the family is the .308 Win.

 

[luv2safari]

I agree with your assessment. What's your option on your 300 Weatherby? To me, it's the best of the 300 Magnums... but I know that's a debatable opinion.

It's a German made MK V I got new about 54 years ago. Except for the wrist cracking completely it's been a great rifle in the biggest sensible case for a 30 cal., IMO. Anything more capacity is just burning a lot more powder to get about the same place maybe one or two steps faster, while burning throats and barrels. It finally shot the way I wanted when I repaired the broken stock and bedded everything, then resorted to opening up the barrel channel and making a shim to go under the front of the action at the recoil lug and floating the whippy light barrel. I set the trigger at 2+ pounds, too. It took a lot of trial and re-tries to set the trigger to where it wasn't dangerous but is now very light and breaks like glass.

The rifle looks now like everything I killed with it got clubbed to death with the it. It's been on some tough hunts, more than a few.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have rifles chambered in 308 Win (M1A and Rem 788) as well as 30-06 (M1 Garand). Both great cartridges.

But I like 300 Blackout the best. It is a good defense cartridge out to 100 plus yards or so and reliable in the AR-15 platform.

I feel a 30 Carbine would be a good short range defense cartridge but a USGI carbine should not be put through the rigors of self defense and post war carbines have questionable reliability. Hence, the AR-15 chambered in 300 Blackout.

Other 30 caliber cartridges have their niche depending on what you are hunting.

 

[luv2safari]

I'll be the lone vote so far for the .300 Savage. You've got a thing for the .308, I've got a thing for it's Grandpa, and the rifles that were made in this fine caliber through the glory days of the American sportsman.

Sure, the other 2 .30's are more modern and practical, and I suppose if I hunted bigger stuff further out, I'd have to pick one in the Magnum category, but the 1920's Savage round get's it done for me.

I'll never trade or sell my old Mdl 99EG 300 Savage. It's lived in a saddle scabbard and never let me down, ever. It looks as scruffy as my Wby.

It wears a Weaver K2.5 in a Weaver Pivot Mount and is a wonderful brush gun; I like that I can pivot the scope to use the irons for close work in thickets. It's been good out to 300 yards with my 150 gr Speer recipe.

 

[Frulk]

#1 for me is the Rodney Dangerfield of the 30 cal class: .358 Winchester

#2 very close behind is the venerable .30-06

 

[luv2safari]

#1 for me is the Rodney Dangerfield of the 30 cal class: .358 Winchester

#2 very close behind is the venerable .30-06

LMAO!!

 

[Frulk]

Luv2Safari…case in point. A thread about FAVORITE. 30 cal cartridges and Rodney (the .358) isn’t mentioned until post #64 (my post).

I have it in a Savage 99

 

[luv2safari]

Luv2Safari…case in point. A thread about FAVORITE. 30 cal cartridges and Rodney (the .358) isn’t mentioned until post #64 (my post).

I have it in a Savage 99

(the .358)

"I have it in a Savage 99"

OK...now I hate you! Just kidding...maybe...

 

[45/30-06OKIE]

Does my M1 Garand in 30-06 count even though it's semi auto? I love blasting 165gr 30-06 through it. Especially now that I've gotten it tuned properly for using our SilencerCo Hybrid 46M with it... It's very interesting shooting 30-06 suppressed in a semi auto.
And yes I have an adjustable gas plug and I run my M1 with a healthy dose of red axle grease.

Gratuitous pic of said Suppressed M1.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I am quite enamored with the .300 Blackout, so I would say it's my favorite thirty cal round right now. I certainly wouldn't call it "the best" (whatever that ultimately means) but it's the best fit to my current uses and requirements. It's been a couple decades since I hunted big game and I'm not presently doing much of any long range shooting. If I was planning on hunting again I'd choose the venerable ought-six with the .308 Win being close behind. But ammo is cheap for the .300 Blackout, it's fun to shoot with very low recoil and is potent enough for plinking or home defense tasks. The new stuff from PSA/AAC is around $.60/round, pretty hard to beat and is very accurate in my rifle.

 

[Pat Riot]

I went back and forth between the .308 Winchester and the 30-30. Since the OP said “bolt and lever action cartridges” I settled on the 30-30. I do not own any bolt guns. My 2 .308 guns are semiauto.
I truly like and appreciate the 30-30 so that one is my pick for this poll.

 

[Wolfshead]

I love the .30 caliber!
It just says America to me.
My first rifle was a Remington 700 chambered in 30-06.
I got it as a wedding gift to myself and because of nostalgia.
It has so many wonderful memories and it is such a versatile rifle.
But, I’ve been hunting the last two years with my Tikka T3X in .308 Win. and it is my rifle of choice now.
Maybe we can say that the 700 has been retired, but not completely out of the picture.
My vote at this time is .308 Win.

 

[troy fairweather]

7.65x53

 

[cfullgraf]

I added it to the poll, then realized I've never seen a 30 Carbine bolt or lever rifle, which is the criteria of this poll... but it won't let me remove it now so it shall stay as a new option.

In my opinion, the action should not matter when comparing cartridges.

There are favorite cartridges and favorite actions.

My 204 Ruger heavy barrel AR-15 runs rings around my Savage 12FV chambered in 204 Ruger.

But not all cartridges are suitable for use in a commercially available semi-auto rifle platform.

 

[OS/N]

Trusty ol 30-30 (94 or 336) never let me down, is easy to carry and shoot, and practical to reload for especially using 170 grain cast bullets. For eats, utility purposes, and something to throw in the cab or in a scabbard it is hard to best - doesn't have to be babied and just works.

30-06 is best for all inclusive north american game hunting (deer, elk, moose, bears...).

308 is best in list for targeting.

Just my opinion - everyone has one.

 

[1948CJ2A]

In my opinion, the action should not matter when comparing cartridges.

There are favorite cartridges and favorite actions.

My 204 Ruger heavy barrel AR-15 runs rings around my Savage 12FV chambered in 204 Ruger.

But not all cartridges are suitable for use in a commercially available semi-auto rifle platform.

Different strokes for different folks.

The reason I tried to make the favorite poll inclusive to only bolt and lever guns is because that is what I hunt with 99% of the time. I have a fair share of semi-auto, pump, and single-shot actions and they all have their place. I just prefer bolt actions above all else with levers being a close second.