Why Do some guys bad mouth the .30-30?

[Texas30]

.30-30

This is what a well respected ballistician had to say about the .30-30 detractors: "Those who cannot cleanly dispatch their game using a .30-30 are either shooting to far, hunting inapropriate(too large) game or are simply incompetent." Mic McPherson.

 

[Nhsport]

Couple of points I would like to make---just for fun
At a point in time the 30/30 lever gun was THE high preasure,flat shooting , most modern wiz bang must have newest thing in the hunting world.
Lots of the guys bad mouthing the 30/30 for not being good on deer past 150yds couldn't hit a deer sized target with any gun past 80 yards and haven't seen a deer in the woods past 60 yards in the past 20 years.
I belong to a gun club that has a huge range "experts" and when I look at this whole talk we are haveing about the 30/30 I have to compare the guy with a 30/30 with a silly 3X9 chain store scope mounted on extra high see thru rings (who has trouble hitting a paper plate at 100yds off the bench) with the cowboy shooter who has taken the time to clean and tune up an old antique older than himself and is wacking away at tin cans out at 200 yards.
Yes,different guns have different potiental but the thing that really makes or breaks a hunting situation is how well we utilise that potential ! It is not so much the gun as it is the shooter!

 

[SSN Vet]

new peeps on my 336C...

first range session after installing a Williams 5D

.....I got really lucky and was only 3" off the POA at 50 yds.

After a small windage and elevation tweek, I switched to the 100 yd. range and put 10 out of 12 rounds into an area the size of a 3x5 post card.

I was shooting with my elbows on the bench and the sling wrapped around my forward elbow (no bags, etc...).

OBTW....I am not an experienced rifleman by any measure...

My conclusion.....either I got an exceptional rifle (bought off the used rack) or Marlin 30/30s are just plain good to go!

Can't wait to get back out and take a crack at the 200 yd gong.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

My dad adores his. BUT, he noticed something about the ammo as he grew up, and later as an adult. The original ammo that he used as a teen was all lead, hard to be sure, but all lead. Dropped 'em deer quick. Then the jacketed bullets came into vogue, and the .30-30 had some detractors. (I don't know if the problems came with factory ammo, or if the re-loaders were using inappropriate bullets, and poo-pooing the results. I wasn't around back then ) My dad was way too busy back then to do much hunting so he never really tried the "new" bullets in his rifle. Then the Winchester Silver Tip came out, and the .30-30 was again considered a good rifle by the outdoor writers, and my dad did get to successfully hunt with the Silver Tips.

Well, recently when he ran out of some of his vintage silver tips, he couldn't find any at a local store in time for his next hunt. So, I found a person to re-load some moderate .30-30 loads with all lead bullets like he had as a kid. He tried them at the range, and they grouped very well, so off he went. Again he dropped a deer where it stood. Now my dad has always had some vision problems, so maybe he's patient and only takes close shots..., or maybe the ammo makers messed up a good combination or in other words fixed something when it wasn't broken when they applied jacketed bullet tech to the venerable .30-30? Today we are way ahead in bullet tech than when we had the original jacketed projectiles, so perhaps the problem has been rectified, if it ever existed at all. Just a question to ponder.

LD

 

[AStone]

This thread - along with a couple of others (including several over on the Marlin Owners Forum) is making me really hungry to get my 336. SSN Vet's story above is a real motivator.

I keep hoping that Santa is going to bring one for me, but I'm afraid I'll have to wait until sometime in spring ...

One clarification about brvheart's post #95 from page 4:

Guess you haven't heard of the new Marlin 308 Express? A joint project between Hornady and Marlin. The .308 in a levergun!

I'm watching that project with interest, also.

I'm assuming everyone knows this, but just to make sure: the new Marlin .308 levergun is .308 Hornady, not .308 Win. The Marlin won't shoot .308 Win. Different cartridge design, different ballistics, although reportedly "superior" to .30-30.

I may ultimately decide to add a lever in .308 Hornady to the toolkit, after it's gotten a bit of field time (by other people), but for now, I'm still going with a good ol' thuty-thuty.

(Ooops, I wasn't supposed to say that... )

 

[aspade]

Oh, that it is, yup it sure is! Guess you haven't heard of the new Marlin 308 Express? A joint project between Hornady and Marlin. The .308 in a levergun!

This was done 25 years ago, it was called the .307 Winchester.

 

[blgoode]

I wonder if I can get .30-30 "Regular" bullets when .308 express isnt on the shelfs. I'd like to add a .308 express in a few years I think but I too would like to see the gun get used first in the field

 

[AStone]

I wonder if I can get .30-30 "Regular" bullets when .308 express isnt on the shelfs.

Precisely. I'm betting the answer is yes.

.30-30 is nearly ubiquitous, at least in the US. It's everywhere and common, especially in backwater towns.

If things ever "get bad" on this continent (economic downturn, say, or ... who knows what else), I'm betting .30-30 will be far more available for far longer than .308 Hornady.

Of course, there's the cost issue, also. I can stock up on hundreds of rnds of .30-30 for half what I'd pay for Hornady.

 

[blgoode]

I hope I can get the 336 finally wednesday!!

 

[ranger53]

Well, my 30-30 Win. is my first love. And since I reload for it, now it's even better. I know my daughter wants it when I go the the hunting lodge in the sky. I told her when you want to go deer hunting just let me know, and I'll work up some loads for you!
tommy

 

[AStone]

And since I reload for it, now it's even better.

I know that this question is better addressed in the H&R forum,
but since I'm asking specifically about .30-30, maybe the mods will humor me.

If one wanted to reload for .30-30 specifically, what would be the best reload rig to buy,
and about how much would it cost (just reloading equipment, not the powder, primers, bullets, etc)?

BTW, an excellent THR primer on handloading/reloading is available here.

 

[AStone]

A worthwhile overview of the venerable .30-30.

Chuck Hawks on .30-30.

 

[AStone]

Even with 3,963 views - more than any other Rifle Country thread on the first two pages right now ('cept a sticky, and they don't count ), this thread still fell off the first page of rifle country.

Bumping this thread, cause I'm so hungry to talk about .30-30.
(If I can't hold one yet, I want to at least read about them ... )

 

[JohnKSa]

Stop it! My safe is full and you're making me want to start looking for a 30-30 rifle...

Not only are you gonna cost me money, I'm going to have to get rid of a rifle or two to make space.

I had a beautiful 336CS at one time. The wood was actually attractively figured and the gun was just plain NICE. Wish I hadn't traded it.

 

[AStone]

I had a beautiful 336CS at one time. The wood was actually attractively figured and the gun was just plain NICE. Wish I hadn't traded it.

John, I feel your pain.

In the 80's, I had to sell a beautiful 336C in .35 to stay afloat in grad school.

I so wish I'd just eaten more ramen.

Now, I'm playing catch up, but am going .30-30 this time.

 

[jonsidneyb]

I think I see both extreams happening. I see many wanting to use something too light and others thinking they need too much.

The people saying it depends on where you are I think are correct. Often I think the common 30-06 or .308 is even overkill but the cartridges are versitle.

What I like about the lever guns chambered for 30-30 is that they are easy to cover tough cover with easily. They are easy to hold in one hand when you need to.

I am kind of an efficiency nut in some ways but I am starting to realize that the quest for efficiency is inefficient in itself at times.

I would have no problem carry an 30-30 lever gun for deer in most areas.

When I was younger I did become guilty of the latest and greatest craze but not anymore. There are some neat things that have come out but it has not make the older stuff less effective unless the deer have become tougher.

It is kind of silly to bad mouth a gun cartridge combo that works as designed as long as it is used with in its design parameters.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

You Are Getting Sleepy

You are relaxed . . .
Breathe deeply . . .
Close your eyes . . .
You are getting very sleepy . . .

You want a Marlin .30-30.
I want a Marlin .30-30.

You need a Marlin .30-30.
I need a Marlin .30-30.

You must have a Marlin .30-30.
I must have a Marlin .30-30.

You will awake when I count to 3 . . .
One . . .
Two . . .

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Precisely. I'm betting the answer is yes.

.30-30 is nearly ubiquitous, at least in the US. It's everywhere and common, especially in backwater towns.

If things ever "get bad" on this continent (economic downturn, say, or ... who knows what else), I'm betting .30-30 will be far more available for far longer than .308 Hornady.

Of course, there's the cost issue, also. I can stock up on hundreds of rnds of .30-30 for half what I'd pay for Hornady.

I agree with this 100%. The only rifle cartridge that would be more ubiqutous in the USA would be .30-06. There are A LOT of thutty-thutties out there even if many of them don't get shot more than a few times a year. For most deer hunting the .30-30 is plenty powerful and has a long enough effective range. And if TSHTF or it's TEOTWAWKI, a .30-30 will make a very competent weapon.

 

[AStone]

Bumpity bump.

This thread just refuses to die.

And if TSHTF or it's TEOTWAWKI, a .30-30 will make a very competent weapon.

Do I hear an amen?

This thread:
Replies: 119
Views: 4,236

Top rated thread in rifle country.

But wait, the question (thread subject) was,
"Why do some guys bad mouth the .30-30?"

Perhaps because their threads don't get as many replies and views?

 

[db_tanker]

I just wonder if the editorial staff of some of the gun-rags come on here and have a look around to see what everyone is talking about...

I am not sure what the popularity is of this fine cartridge is over in Europe, but I do know that they have chamberings for it in their drillings and vierlings as well as single shots. 7.62x51R

And I must say that my 14" TC compliments my 94 quite nicely...I can do with my scoped 14" TC what I can do just as easily with my 20" 94 with the longer sight radius.

Plus you can also judge a cartridge by how many wildcats and other factory chamberings it has spawned...the 30 WCF has a few to its name...

D

 

[Snowman92D]

I've packed a .30-30 Marlin with a Williams 5-D receiver sight in the back of my police car for almost 30 years. It's never let me down when it came to cleanly euthanizing road-injured livestock or deer, and it's made short work of assorted varmints, too. Federal Cartridge loads a 125-grain jhp .30-30 load that is superbly accurate and flat-shooting with a bullet that's tough enough to penetrate through and through on even big-bodied whitetails.

I can't recommend that caliber and load combo highly enough for being an easy-shooting, accurate and highly effective hitter in a handy little utility rifle. We've done some ballistic gelatin-testing and there are several loads commercially available in .30-30 caliber that are about as "urban-safe" to use as any center-fire can be for SD work. PM me if you want the info and photos.

Here in Indiana, our DNR is in the process of changing the law to finally allow us to hunt with center-fire rifles during deer season.

So far, the proposed law makes provision only for certain revolver cartridges, namely, .357 magnum, .41 magnum, .44 magnum and .45 Long Colt, as being acceptable for center-fire rifle hunting for deer. However, the calibers that will be authorized in the final draft of the law isn't set in stone. So I'm hoping that the state's Natural Resources Commission gets enough positive input from the public to convince them to include the .30-30 and other medium range brush cartridges like the .35 Remington included as authorized calibers.

If you deer-hunt in Indiana and would like to see the .30-30 included as a center-fire rifle hunting caliber during our firearm season, please feel free to make your thoughts known to the state's NRC. We can use your help in this effort since the state has already okayed the use of high-octane rifle calibers, like the .308 and .30-06, for deer hunting with specialty handguns (like the Encore) for nearly a decade now with no problems. I can't see how a brush caliber center-fire rifle would create any greater downrange hazard. If you'd like to send an e-mail to the NRC about this, please contact Jennifer Kane at: [email protected]

A lot of us would be grateful for your help. I know I'd really enjoy being able to hunt whitetails with my Dad's .30-30 Winchester. It's a caliber a lot of us have grown up with.

 

[AStone]

Federal Cartridge loads a 125-grain jhp .30-30 load...

Snowman, that's a very interesting bit of information. I wasn't aware of that. Great to know that a lighter load is out there. That extends my enthusiasm for a .30 even more. Thanks.

Also, are you sure about that email address?

[email protected]

Web URL's usually begin with www, but email addresses usually don't. I'm not saying it isn't right, but just double checking.

Nem

 

[Snowman92D]

You're right....skip the "www." part. My bad. I need to go to bed and sleep non-stop for a couple of days. [email protected] would be better.

The Federal Cartridge 125-grain jhp (catalog #3030C) has been around for quite a while in Federal's economy "Power-Shok" line of rifle ammo. Another superb anti-personnel load in .30-30 is the plain-jane Winchester 150-grain jhp, cataloged as X30301. That load does the "lead snowstorm" fragmentation thing when hitting a torso and has to be the most devastating close-range .30 caliber load in existence. I know it far outclasses anything I've ever seen in the .223 line. Makes a pretty decent "homeland security" rifle to my way of thinking.

 

[tubeshooter]

Snowman, I hope the .30-30 makes it in over there in Indiana. .35 Rem, too.

I just put a new set of peep sights on my 336 along with a Truglo front, and I can't wait to give it a spin!


And yeah, 125 grain has been around for a few years now. Adds some versatility to the mix.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Nem, Remington also offers a 125 grain .30-30. IIRC, it's in their reduced recoil lineup.

Also, Cabela's currently has Remington Express 150 and 170 grain JSP .30-30 loads on sale for $11.99/box, which is the cheapest I've seen it online. I just ordered 10 boxes, which combined with the $20 off coupon from Cabela's I that came in the mail last week, makes for a pretty nice deal.