MacAR
Member
While not always my favorite, I've always kept at least one 30-30 around. Currently have two, a 1972 Winchester 94 with Williams peep sights and a 1974 Marlin 336 that wears an El Paso Weaver 2.5x scope. Someone very near and dear to me refinished the 336 a few years ago, and so it only comes out occasionally. The Winchester I got from an old buddy of mine for cheap and it was a wreck. The metal had been spray painted black and the wood had about 10 layers of shellac on it. I completely dis-assembled it, removed all the finish from metal and wood, re-blued the metal with Oxpho-blue, then re-stained the wood and gave them a couple good coats of BLO. That rifle rides with me just about every day now, it's quite accurate and, in my opinion, the "perfect" truck gun when loaded with my 110gr SP handloads. Varmints don't have a prayer out to 200 yards!
Handloading really wakes the 30-30 up. My hunting load is the run-of-the-mill 150gr RN over a healthy dose of H335, but as I mentioned I like my "varmint load" of 110gr SP's over H332, and they'll fall a deer if necessary. I've played around with shooting round balls over Trailboss or light charges of black powder, and I've loaded up some 180gr RN loads that I'm satisfied would fell a buffalo if the recoil is anything to judge by. Anyway you slice it, handloading really makes the old 30-30 an "all-round" cartridge.
Of course, lots of new things have come down the pike since the old 30WCF was created way back when. Heck, my go-to rifle cartridge is and always will by the 30-06. It's been mighty good for me, taking everything I've ever pointed it at with ease. But then again, I don't hunt anywhere but the Ozarks of Arkansas and there ain't much call for belted magnum elephant rifles in my little corner of the world. But even the greatest fall, and as I get a bit older and my shoulders get more wear, I've gravitated to the 243 as my main hunting rifle. Very little recoil in a very light rifle, but still enough power to sling a 100 gr bullet at a whitetail buck grazing at 250 yards and put him down. Having said that, there is no better rifle for tracking up wounded game than the 30-30. Short, light, quick to the shoulder and quick to reload. For woodlot hunting, the 30-30 has no peer that I've been able to find; at distances of 20 to 120 yards, it excels at putting game on the ground. Perhaps the strangest, but best use that I've found for the cartridge is giving the coup de grace to sick or injured animals both wild and domestic. Over the years, I've dispatched many a sick farm critter with my old 94 and so far have had no complaints. What more could a fella want?
Mac
Handloading really wakes the 30-30 up. My hunting load is the run-of-the-mill 150gr RN over a healthy dose of H335, but as I mentioned I like my "varmint load" of 110gr SP's over H332, and they'll fall a deer if necessary. I've played around with shooting round balls over Trailboss or light charges of black powder, and I've loaded up some 180gr RN loads that I'm satisfied would fell a buffalo if the recoil is anything to judge by. Anyway you slice it, handloading really makes the old 30-30 an "all-round" cartridge.
Of course, lots of new things have come down the pike since the old 30WCF was created way back when. Heck, my go-to rifle cartridge is and always will by the 30-06. It's been mighty good for me, taking everything I've ever pointed it at with ease. But then again, I don't hunt anywhere but the Ozarks of Arkansas and there ain't much call for belted magnum elephant rifles in my little corner of the world. But even the greatest fall, and as I get a bit older and my shoulders get more wear, I've gravitated to the 243 as my main hunting rifle. Very little recoil in a very light rifle, but still enough power to sling a 100 gr bullet at a whitetail buck grazing at 250 yards and put him down. Having said that, there is no better rifle for tracking up wounded game than the 30-30. Short, light, quick to the shoulder and quick to reload. For woodlot hunting, the 30-30 has no peer that I've been able to find; at distances of 20 to 120 yards, it excels at putting game on the ground. Perhaps the strangest, but best use that I've found for the cartridge is giving the coup de grace to sick or injured animals both wild and domestic. Over the years, I've dispatched many a sick farm critter with my old 94 and so far have had no complaints. What more could a fella want?
Mac
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