good versatile all around rifle / caliber ?

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good versatile all around rifle / caliber ?
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Who takes deer at >300 yards?
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One of the key words in the question is "versatile" . I've hunted the woods of northern MN where most shots are taken under a 100 yds. That doesn't mean there are no shots taken at longer ranges, and where forest clearings allow one to place stands on the edge of the clearings, and get shots out at 300 yds and a bit more.

Most hunters who have hunted states with praire ( Nebraska, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, Dakota , Texas ,etc) take deer at 300 yds and a bit further. My friends last deer was taken in Nebraska at close to 500 yds. (7mm mag.)

The .308 will simply outperform the other two claibers - period. With lighter bullets it also makes a good varmit caliber, with heavier bullets it is fine for larger game like Elk .

I like lever guns and have a Model 94 in 30-30 which is great for deer out to 150 + yds , but remember the tube feed prevents you from using other than flat nose bullets. Not a problem, but a limitation that a bolt gun doesn't have.

My opinion is that a bolt action in .308 is a much better choice if you want a versitile gun.
 
I had a similar dilemna a while ago. While a 30-30 would never be a bad choice, I decided that a .308 would give me much better performance. takes down pigs and goats with authority.

IMHO choose a calibre first, then the firearm to match it.
 
Most hunters who have hunted states with praire ( Nebraska, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, Dakota , Texas ,etc) take deer at 300 yds and a bit further. My friends last deer was taken in Nebraska at close to 500 yds. (7mm mag.)
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Ahemm, I think you forgot one very important Western state!
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We have the highest Elk population in the US (350,000 estimated this year) and some of the biggest mulies you'll ever see. And ranges on trophy animals can extend beyond 500 yards (they don't get to be what they are by being stupid). While most Elk are taken in the mountains, a great many big mulies are taken on the plains (as are some really nice antelope). This is why I have worked up handloads for my .25-06 using 100 grain Barnes TSX bullets that will only drop 43 inches at 600 yards and still retain over 1300 FPE. (The rifle is a 700 BDL with a Leupold VX-III 4.5-14x and a full-time Harris bi-pod)
 
a bolt 308 a lever 3030 or a M1 you pic all work, all meet different requirements
 
came home with a .30-30 Marlin today

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions and input. I came across a VERY nice Marlin 336 .30-30 lever action at my favorite gun shop and came home with it today. It's a 1971 model (very pre-lawyer)and looks like brand new...no scratches whatsoever, pretty walnut stock, bluing looks fantastic with NO signs of wear anywhere. I'm guessing this gun was bought new and maybe used for a season or two to deer hunt with, and stored ever since ? Anyway, I traded my Smith and Wesson model 60 J frame revolver for the Marlin plus 1000 rounds of CCI 9mm (to feed my CZ P01). I didn't really like the revolver as it was a bit small for my hand and I never was very accurate with it. Did I do okay ???
 
Tylden, I'd say you did really REALLY good. I don't think you can beat the rifle you just described. Those rifles will work when everything else is down.

Now, I'd advise you to lay in a good stock of .30-30 ammo. I like, shoot, and recommend Remington's 150gr CoreLokt (in the green box) and Winchester's 150gr PowerPoint (grey box). Both are affordable and do the job. That bulk pack stuff from Cabela's is okay, but I personally prefer Remington and Winchester. Just my experience.

Also, those Marlin's have "microgroove" barrels. Stay away from cast lead.
 
Thanks for the info on the ammo and the kind words Mustanger. I'm really pleased with this rifle....it even still has the original "solid American walnut" sticker on the forestock. I can hardly wait to take it out and shoot it ! I'll be stocking up on ammo Tuesday :D
 
-you cannot unload the gun without feeding all rounds through the action
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Man, I hope none of you guys are doing that! :uhoh: You rack a shell out with the muzzel in the air, leave the lever open, roll the gun over up-side-down to dump the next shell that is sitting on the loading ramp into your hand, roll the gun right side up with the muzzel pointed in the air, close the lever on an empty chamber and repeat these actions. You will never close the lever on a loaded round and it takes just seconds to empty the gun. :)
 
30-30 or 7.62x39?

Better idea...54R! Get a mosin nagant and it'll do better than either an SKS or a 30-30 lever gun for MUCH cheaper. Ammo is slightly higher than the short russian stuff (7.62x39) but its still cheap.
 
I love Russian calibers but they are an extremely poor choice for all-around use. I don't consider FMJ available only at specialty gun shops versatile. You did great with getting the Marlin. Perfect for nearly any application besides high volume plinking and fighting wars.
 
I'll throw in that if I just HAD to make a choice of 1 rifle and 1 rifle only, and assuming I had ready & ongoing access to plenty of reloading components for it, then I would probably choose an AR15 or XCR with a 6.5 grendel upper with an 18 or 20" bbl as the do-it-all rifle, if you're talking both hunting/varminting and SHTF.
 
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