In praise of the good old .30-30

[Nightcrawler]

I need a new rear sight for my Marlin 336W. I was adjusting the stock sight and burned myself on the barrel, causing me to lose that itty bitty screw.

I'd been meaning to replace that icky semibuckhorn with a peep sight anyway.

Any recommendations? Something easily adjustable and not too expensive.

Also, the front swing swivel on my 336 is kind of funny. It rotates 360*, like it's lose, but for the life of me it won't unscrew (I don't have a sling on the rifle, and want to just remove the swivels. I may just put a sling on there after all, but I dunno about that apparently loose front swivel).

 

[Preacherman]

For a quick and easy fix - check out Express Sights (http://www.expresssights.com/). Used to be Ashley Express, then Ashley Outdoors. They make a nifty ghost ring sight for the Marlins. If you want a proper peep sight, as opposed to a ghost ring with its larger aperture, Williams makes one to fit the Marlin: check with Brownells (http://www.brownells.com/homePage.asp).

 

[Johnny Guest]

The Williamson Marlin - - -

Hola, Esteban. Muy bien, gracias, y usted?

I recall when you first brought that Marlin back from Fort Worth. Such a classy little item! Didn't take long to get it sighted in, as I recall. Makes a grand companion to your SMLE Scout, too.

Best,
Johnny

 

[3 gun]

The Winchester 94 in 30-30. Good examples of "if it ain't broke don't fix it."

 

[chaim]

I don't hunt but I need to chime in for the 30-30 as a fun round, especially in combination with the rifles it is chambered in. It is reasonably powerful but in the light rifles made for it you really do feel its kick (something I kinda like). In the lever rifles made for it you really do feel tied into history in ways that not many other guns can (with the possible exception of single action revolvers). It is a very handy combination, makes for fun at the range. I just don't know what it is but this really is the rifle that brings out the most smiles out of me when I'm at the rifle range and to top it off it is among the cheaper full powered factory rounds (of course the 7.62x39 and the .223 are less).

 

[RustyHammer]

Nothing finer than a 30/30 lever gun ...
a lot of dear would disagree!

 

[454c]

I started deer huntin' with my dads Marlin 30-30 and I've liked them ever since.The main reason the bolt action big caiber guys put it down is because of the range limitation,but the majority of deer are taken within 100yds.

 

[Preacherman]

You know, the old-timers would be aghast at our referring to the .30-30 as having "limited range"... I've read a number of magazine articles, etc. from the 1890's and early 1900's, and the writers of the day were all over the .30-30, proclaiming it the finest cartridge ever invented for any North American game, up to and including grizzly bears! It was such a monumental improvement over the old black-powder calibers that they completely lost their heads over it. There are accounts of them taking whitetail at "over 300 yards" with the new "smokeless .30 caliber cartridge" (OK, those may have been early gunwriter yards! ). Thing is, the much higher velocity, and much flatter trajectory, achieved by the new-fangled smokeless powders made the .30-30 about twice as efficient as any deer cartridge that had preceded it. Only with the advent of the .30-'06 was the .30-30 clearly outclassed.

I've used the .30-30 at ranges out to 150 yards with no trouble at all, using a MPBR sight setup, and it works just fine. Since most of our ranges in the heavy woods and thickets of central Louisiana are probably well under 100 yards, this is no handicap at all...

As a matter of fact, the good old flat-nosed .30-30 bullets, with their exposed lead tips, seem to do a very good job indeed on whitetail, in terms of terminal performance. More modern bullets often seem to penetrate all the way through, without expanding unless they hit something solid. The good ol' .30-30 powers on through, but the bullets expand very reliably.

 

[Iggy]

Preacherman

yup.. The old timers, me included thought nothing of taking and antelope or dumping a coyote at 150 yards with a 30-30 Carbine.

Nobody ever saw 30-30 rifle so the carbine was considered a rifle by all but a few collectors..

The rifle I have will truly reach out and touch somebody if I do my part..

Even the carbine will kill most game at "reaonable " ranges and if the shooter is hunter enough to do his part and put the shot where it belongs..

Too many people today substitute Magnum for Skill...

My favorite hunting gun is a 1873 Springfield Trapdoor..

People just look at me funny, but the meat tastes good even if it hasn't been magnumized...

 

[Chipperman]

The old Turdy-Turdy probably has still killed more deer than any other cartridge

 

[seeker_two]

You know...firearm companies & wildcatters have spent countless hours and vast amounts of money to create cartridges that, in the end, don't match up to the effectiveness & handling of the .30-30.

The .30-06 came close, but it's hard to put in a light lever-gun...

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

Howdy All
In praise of the 30-30. The two best elk hunters I ever knew were my Grandpa and his life long friend Fritz. Grandpa used a Win saddle ring carbine. Fritz was left handed and used an old Marlin. I have seen them shoot from oposite sides of the same tree. They are long gone now and I still have both rifles. Still enjoy shooting them. 30-30 will never be obsolete.
Wyo

 

[Coot]

Don't know if anyone is familiar with them, but I picked up a Win M94 Limited Edition Centennial a year ago: 26" half round, half octagon with a curved metal buttplate and really nice wood; with the Outdoor Industries tang sight I use it to dispell opinions at the shooting range that .30-30's "couldn't hit earth at 100 yds".
It's a fun caliber to reload too.

I wish Marlin would reissue its M1893 (I'd buy one of each in
.30-30 and .38-55).

Coot

 

[Iggy]

Coot

My old timer is the 26" full octagonal barrel ... You bet you can hit at 100 yards...

It is a grand old rifle.

The trick with all the old timers is to learn the rifle, not to keep adding gimmicks and trying to make it something it isn't..

When you can do what the old timers did with the tools they had, then you are a Rifleman.

That goes for any rifle at any time.. Learn the gun!!
Gimmicks and add-ons don't make a shooter.. It is the nut behind the butt plate that counts....

 

[roscoe]

Howdy,

Just got an older 94 and was wondering if it were possible to find spire-point 30-30 rounds to use as the first shot. It might add a bit of range and wouldn't be unsafe if the round were always to the first shot, and maybe just kept chambered. Or, it could be the last round.

First post, just came over from TFL, by the way.

 

[Iggy]

Spire point...

Don't know if you would really gain that much over the practical ranges of the 30-30 to make it worth while...

 

[.333 Nitro Express]

Amen, Preacherman

[start inspirational organ music]

The 30-30 will perform even better than it did 108 years ago. We now have better bullets.

The 30-30 will help you judge which shot to take, and which to pass up.

The 30-30 will encourage you to get closer to your quarry.

The 30-30 will kill as humanely as any other .30 caliber, if you know it and its few limitations.

The 30-30 is a solid rock in a world of ever-changing marketing fads.

The 30-30 is All-American!

 

[Butch]

Hum...... 30-30 it just seems so ho hum.
The danged thang just works & works well.

 

[Chipperman]

The biggest reason I don't shoot my 30-30 more is that I can buy .223 and .308 ammo so much cheaper.

I guess that's a good excuse to start reloading. Lemme go tell the wife....

Honey, can I buy a reloader?

 

[Chainsaw]

I love the cartridge, but don't at present own a lever action.
I have a NEF with a 22" barrel and Weaver 1-3x20mm on it. The other I own is an older pre-bancruptcy H&R mid 1980's with a Leupold 1.5-5x20mm and 22' barrel also. The older one weighs just under 6 lb.s with a NEF synthetic stock on it. and the black "topper" forend. I use this for all my whitetail hunting.

We load Barnes 130 and 140 XBT bullets for both these rifles and get 2600Fps out of them if we push them hard.

We load Hornady 130 SSSP's for all the practise rounds. We have a riflerange in our yard and many 1st time shooters have used the NEF to fire their first rifle shot. Low recoil and darn accurate to boot.

I load for several lever guns using Speer 130 grain flatnose bullets behind either Reloder 12 or 15, along with W748. A buddy of mine used this loading in Canada to take a 228 lb buck out of a 16" trapper model in a blinding snowstorm.

 

[Preacherman]

We load Barnes 130 and 140 XBT bullets for both these rifles and get 2600Fps out of them if we push them hard.

Chainsaw, you ain't kiddin'!!! Have you checked the probable pressure on those puppies? I'm not sure how strong the break-action of the NEF/H&R rifles is, but that sounds like one HECK of a "hot" load, even with the lighter bullet! Please be careful...

 

[Chainsaw]

Preacherman, We have less case movement with these rifles than we do with the lever actions we load for. Micrometer readings show no pressure signs. The NEF line is rated for 52,000 CUP because of the .308 and cartridges of the same pressure. We for the most part have stay with the low bullet weights of the 130 grain to keep the pressure low. You shouldn't have a pressure problem until you get to the 150 grain bullet in the 30-30.

The only thing we have noticed is the case life is shorter when loading strong loads. The case neck can split after 2-3 loadings.

The Hogdgon #26 loading manual gives pressre readings for some loads and was a great help in working up load data for us. But we load differently for each rifle, as each is unique on its own.

Paco Kelly has taken the 30-30 modern lever to near 2700FPS with the 130 grain Speer as well. Again this was done with a modern made lever gun. We all know the 30-30 factory ammo is loaded "soft" to accomodate the 100+ year old guns in this caliber.

Anway thanks for thinking of us up here in Cheeseville

 

[armabill]

I have a Thompson Contender in 30/30. You have to know it's limited range in a handgun. I use it for deer and is so easy to carry.

 

[Preacherman]

Chainsaw, you might want to consider annealing your case necks - it might stop the splitting, or at least delay it for a few more loadings. IIRC, .30-30 brass isn't very hard, as it's not designed for high pressures. The annealing might help it to hold up a bit longer.

 

[Chainsaw]

Preacherman, Thought of annealing the cases, but we had been getting most of the brass for nothing anyway.

A source which wants to remain anonymous gave me over 1000 once fired cases after hearing we were training new shooters. Right before receiving that brass, I purchased 1300 once fired at a gunshow for 3 cents each. Used the WW's and RP's but still have most of the Federal left as it is a heavier brass and I couldn't get a load worked up that was satisfactory pressure wise.

I will probably use this for plinking loads and newbies in the future.

Thanks for the reply.-----------Chainsaw