The Deer Hunter's Cartridge

[mustanger98]

I really enjoy my Winchester .30-30 and I've said so in many pro-.30-30 threads. This rifle eats anything I feed it and, with proper adjustment of elevation for each load, hit's where I put the front sight.

I agree that it's a system... levergun and .30-30 and the system works.

Ugly bolt actions, though... I don't think my M340 Savage looks so bad. It's not a real high end kind of rifle, but it's not bad. It puts 'em where I put the crosshairs. Groups better with handloads though.

 

[SwampWolf]

Did they have cars back then Vern? Seriously, I bought my first Williams receiver sight at their shop (plant) in Davidson, MI back in the early sixties when I was stationed at the Wurtsmith USAF SAC base (long gone now). Though Lyman also makes good receiver sights, I've always been partial to the Williams brand -mostly because I'm more familiar with them.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Did they have cars back then Vern?

I was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and there was a post regulation forbidding cars to come on post. It seems one had, and scared the horses.

 

[George Hill]

It's a mistake to think of the .30-30 as a deer cartridge. It's a deer system.

Lady's and Gentlemen, that is a prime example of overthinking it.

 

[Shawnee]

I would certainly agree wholehreartedly that the 30/30 cartridge and the lever gun is a great combination... but from having reloaded for, and shooting, a couple (rather ugly) bolt-action 30-30s I know full well that if someone would make a really nice, well-designed bolt-action in 30-30 it would be a heck of an impressive and valuable hunting rifle - and I'm not talking at just 100 yds. To hear the 14" and 16" 30-30 barrels on Thompson/Center handguns turn in better-than-excellent performances doesn't surpise me one little bit at all. MY NSHO is that the 30-30 is the most underrated cartridge in the Republic.

 

[KBintheSLC]

There is not a thing wrong with using the good 'ol 30-30 for deer hunting. Hell, I would strap on a .45 LC if open carry was less risky. Fact is that ammo technology has hardly changed in the last century. It is still just a metal projectile propelled by a combustible powder, housed in an easily-replicated brass case, with a built in primer.

I personally prefer the .308 so I don't have to by too much different ammo for different guns. It works in bolts, levers, and semis. However, if you like the 30-30... go with it. It's all the same to the deer.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Lady's and Gentlemen, that is a prime example of overthinking it.

No, it's a prime example of understanding why bolt action .30-30s have never been wildly popular, but the lever action .30-30s have been among the most popular rifles (if not the most popular rifles) of the last century and more.

 

[missouri dave]

While I prefer other cartridges, namely the 6.5 swede and good old '06, there not a thing wrong with the old thutty-thutty. Notice you don't see it's detractors lining up to be shot by it.

 

[blgoode]

.30-30 is also a very afordable caliber! 20 for $10. I buy about a box a month just to stock up

 

[LeonCarr]

My first deer was shot with a .30-06, but the next four were shot with four rounds from a Winchester 94 .30-30 shooting 170 grain Remington Core-Lokts. Even with the modern .300 Loudenboomer type cartridges coming out nowadays, they have a long way to go to catch up with the number of animals taken with the good 'ol Turdy-Turdy .

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[Yellowtail3]

In favor of the 30-30 - I'll testify, Brethren.

I got one a couple years ago, after owning and hunting with shotgun, 270, 30-06, and a couple diff muzzleloader. I'd been without a centerfire for a couple seasons, and decided to get the 30-30. Got it in even trade for a pistol I didn't need, and put a Bushnell Trophy 1.75x4 on it.

The Marlin 30-30 was a good choice. As a kid, I dismissed the 30-30 because when you're looking at the ballistic charts, it's pitiful compared to more modern cartridges. But twenty-five years later I'm a hunter, and here the 30-30 is just fine.

If I put the shot in the right place, the deer drops RIGHT THEN or very shortly. If I hit them in the gut, they usually run a bit. I've shot two bucks that ran a 50 or 100 or so yards, hit through lungs. All that I've shot through the shoulder, have dropped within a couple seconds - and most dropped IMMEDIATELY. My experience is... a deer hit properly with the 30-30, drops just as fast as those I'd hit properly with the .270

The 30-30 doesn't kick hard (though I did get a mild case of Scope Eye once, shoot straight down at an odd angle). It isn't very loud, and ammo is cheap.

On the ballistics chart, the 30-30 is sorely lacking; in the deer woods, it is deadly on the whitetail, while easy on the shoulder, wallet, & ears. Get one.

Here's my last hunt of 2007 season, first deer of 2008 - mo' venison in the freezer!
http://forum.trianglefreeforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=3317