Why dosen't the .30-30 get any respect?

[336A]

This is a question that is posted on another forum that I frequent. I wanted to post this question here as there seem to be a lot of folks here that like to poo poo this graand ol' cartridge, and I didn't want to Hi jack another posters thread. A lot of people like to think that the .30-30 is for the novice hunter, I think nothing could be further from the truth. Though it does offer modest recoil to the begginer to be sure, but so do a lot of other cartridges.

The other argument is that it is just not good for anything but deer and then ranges should be kept to about 100 yards. I laugh at such such fool hardy statements. While a hunter is limited in distance when using iron sights, scopes are popular on leverguns and pretty much common place anymore. With Hornady LE ammo the grand ol' .30-30 is now nipping closely at the heels of the much vaunted and respected .30-40 Krag. If a .30-30 is not good for anything but deer then someone should tell this elk http://www.hornady.com/team-hornady/scrapbook/2010-hunting-pat

Then there is the ever popular statement that a .30-30 levergun is not accurate, really Well here are a couple of pics of what my cheap $299 2003 vintage 336A with a Bushnell Elite 2-7x32 scope is capable of at 100 yards using 150gr Fed Fusion or Win Power Point ammo. These groups were shot last year just before deer season to confirm zero. The other folks ceased sneering at my 336A when they witnessed the targets




My groups with the 160gr Hornady LE ammo is not much larger, while 170gr ammo goes about 1.5" - 1.75" at 100 yards. I'd have no reservation taking a 250 yard shot with the 160gr Hornady LE ammo on a deer.

It is funny how the .30-30 is well over a century old and seen the demise of much better supposed mouse traps, yet still keeps chugging along with strong ammo sales.

 

[littlebluevette]

I think more deer have been taken down with the 30-30 than anything else.

 

[BigN]

I've been a gun owner since I was 5 years old and have had literally hundreds up to this point. But, I've never even shot a 30-30 until several weeks ago a friend of mine had me take it home to mount a scope on it. Of course I took it to the range to dial the scope in at a hundred yards. I was surprised to see groups under 2" at that distance. The recoil was nice, noise was minimal and it was very light and comfortable to carry. I'm looking for a lever action 30-30 now. I think people look at them as an old timer cowboy gun but they're much more than that, now that I have personal experience with one.

 

[jbkebert]

Nothing at all wrong with the 30/30. I would say it remains even more popular than the 30/06. Yet there is always some new do all caliber the folks think they can snipe moose and deer at 16 miles. The 30/30 has taken a good portion of all the others combined.

 

[mc223]

I think you will find that most shooters that have actually used a 30-30 are right there with ya. Although there will be some differences in results, both ways.

There are some however whose traditions started on a different path. Maybe 06 or some other equally as fine caliber. And those who only read on the internet that 30-30 was whatever to whomever at that moment.

I like them just fine. I do however use a different caliber for hunting and most target type shooting.




o

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

a nephew has a 336 I've done some 'tuning' to and handloaded some 130gr spire point sp's, primed with primers made for machine guns so's the magazine recoil won't set them off.
off a rest 100 yds with a 3X9 infinty glass it will stack them up if I'm haveing a good day.
any man @ 300yds is in deep kim-shueey!

 

[336A]

BigN, how close are you to Cranberry Lake? I'm over in Clayton.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Ain't nothing wrong with a .30-30. I hunt mostly out of a tree and usually shoot well under 100 yards. The two times I have dropped a gun out of a tree, I wish it would have been a Walmart special .30-30 instead of what it was.

 

[Jeff82]

@Marlin:

Where do you get machine gun primers??

 

[longknife12]

30-30 has killed every critter in North America! I use others but still have a couple of 94's in the safe!Started both my kids on one for a center fire.
Dan

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I love the 30/30 and working on getting another one since I let the first on go. :banghead:

 

[Kachok]

Who is bad mouthing the old 30-30? I will set them streight REAL quick. Sure the 30-30 looks inferior on paper, but last I checked I don't hunt with paper. Is is shorter ranged....sure, but the avarage deer in North America is still taken well under 100 yards, and over 98% are taken within the 30-30s practical range of 200 yards. The 30-30s main strength is it's ability to perform well in compact rifles. While the 30-06 and 270 need 24" or more to reach their potential and reduce the muzzleblast, the 30-30 is happy to perform in very brush friendly 18" and 20" barrels. A marlin 336 is 4 whole inches shorter than my "compact" bolt guns. and about 8" shorter then my magnums. I recall the word of an old very experenced hunter, he said his 300 magnum never killed anything more dead or more quickly than his 30-30 in the brush. I give alot of respect to those old calibers that have survived over a century and are still a mainstay of seasoned hunters worldwide. That is a very short list; 30-06, 30-30, 6.5x55, 7X57, and the 45-70. If you want to bad mouth any one of those you don't know didly about hunting. My personal favorite is the even older 6.5x55 which is still a marval 120 years after it's creation.

 

[CraigC]

Elmer Keith wrote a long time ago that American shooters were obsessed with velocity and it still holds true. The .30WCF does not attain enough velocity to appeal to the chest thumpers who think you need a .300Mag to shoot deer under 200yds. Fortunately for those of us who don't need our egos pumped, it still does quite the fine job without all that racket and recoil.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

When I was a boy back on the old Circle H Ranch, I carried a .30-30 on the saddle and killed many a deer in season, along with coyotes, wild dogs and various other critters.

The .30-30 isn't sexy, but in a light lever action carbine it's hard to imagine a better saddle rifle -- or deer rifle, either, ina wooded environment.

 

[christcorp]

Before hornady leverevolution came about, I basically reloaded my own. I've been shooting a 30-30 for more than 30 years. I would load 160-165 grain bullets in them with nosler partition and some sierra boat tails. Obviously, for safety, I would put one in the chamber and one in the magazine. I've shot my 30-30 at 200 yards many times. Anyone who doesn't think a 30-30 is practical at 200 yards; especially now with poly-tips, is quite ignorant. I've taken deer, elk, javalina, and wild boar with my 30-30. When I lived in east texas, it was my primary gun. Granted; living in Wyoming now, and shots at 300-400 not being uncommon, I've relied strictly on my 7mm remington magnum. But my 30-30 Marlin 336 is still my backup gun. For deer season, I have 160 grains loaded in it, and for elk, I have 180 grains loaded.

With my 3-9X32mm Bushnell; that I've been using for more than 20 of the 30 years I've owned this gun, I couldn't be more pleased. There is absolutely nothing that could make me trade in or sell this gun. I've got some big name guns like weatherby and sako. But there are 4 that I'll never get rid of. My 1955 H&R M1 garand; My new M&P15 AR; of all my hunting rifles, my most accurate and trustworthy is my inexpensive Savage 110E 7mm Rem Mag that I've had for about 20 years; and my Marlin 336 30-30. Matter of fact; I won't even loan these guns out. But I have loaned out regularly my $2000+ weatherby Mark V 30-378.

Thank you for bringing up this thread. Even I have taken my trusty Marlin 30-30 for granted. 30+ years ago, I had a really nice Winchester model 94. For some stupid reason, I sold it after a couple of years. I kick myself in the a$s every time I think of it. Luckily; not long after; a friend of mine was in financial straights, and he didn't hunt any longer. He gave me the deal of the century on the Marlin. He didn't want to borrow; he wanted completely out of debt. I've had that marlin 336 ever since. And I'll never get rid of the 30-30. Not happening.

 

[GunsBeerFreedom]

Elmer Keith wrote a long time ago that American shooters were obsessed with velocity and it still holds true. The .30WCF does not attain enough velocity to appeal to the chest thumpers who think you need a .300Mag to shoot deer under 200yds. Fortunately for those of us who don't need our egos pumped, it still does quite the fine job without all that racket and recoil.

While this is true, it's also how the 30-30 got to be such a commercial success. With it being one of the first smokeless powder cartridges, it was a marvel able to produce velocities in excess of 2,000 FPS. For a 19th century round, that's pretty substantial.

 

[35 Whelen]

There's nothing wrong with the 30-30. People forget that all it takes is a bullet through the lungs to kill a deer. The 30-30 is perfect for this. I haven't owned one in years, but right now I'm on the prowl for an H&R (old style) single shot 30-30 with which to plink and carry around my place.

The "problem" with the 30-30 is as someone mentioned...it's not "sexy". Macho hunters would rather be caught pleasuring themselves than show up at deer camp with a 30-30.
Here in Texas, most hunters set up a feeder 100 yds. or less from a hunting blind, then sit there with a .300 Eargeschplitten-Loudenboomer Magnum wearing a SteinrovskiPold 6-88X scope complete with salt and pepper shaker sized turrets, when a 30-30 with a 2X or 4X scope would be perfect.


35W

 

[Tomcat47]

Love em! Love The New Hornady ammo too!

Also love the Common ammo as well. Federal HP Power-Shok 125 gr. Hollow Point is a very fast hard hitting round to be only 125 Gr.

I have seen whitetail taken at beyond 150 yards with this round.

I was just thinking about my 30-30 before I seen this post. I have known many black bear taken in TN & NC, but was thinking.. I wonder how how many Grizzlies have been taken with a Marlin and Winchester 30-30?

And Im Sure there are skeptics, but I also am sure a train load has been taken with a 30-30. (and a really Looooonnnngggg! train too)

And it is now one of my favorite things to do now....scour pawn shops for decent 30-30's.....just putting them away for kids and grandkids I suppose! But I like my safe ful of them....Marlins,Winnies,Brownings .....any of them I like them all!

 

[arizona98tj]

30-30 was the largest cartridge I ever shot in a handgun. Back in the 70's, using a T/C 14" barrel in 30-30.....it was a handful but manageable. I have a lot of respect for it.

 

[336A]

Christcorp, that is an impressive resume of game that you and your .30-30 have racked up. I haven't hunted with mine nearly as long as you but I'll get there one day. Since I've been hunting with mine however I tried my darndest to recover a bullet. I've shot deer as close as 30 yards and my farthest at roughly 140 yards. In all instances the bullet exited, there is always a nice short blood trail with a deer on the ground at the end of it Best of all there is hardly any blood shot meat.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

The 30-30 gets plenty of respect but it's heyday was well before al gore invented the internet so it doesn't have the online presence of later rifles like the AR-15.
If Wild Bill Hickock had the internet I'm sure he'd be on Ye Olde HighRoad.org writing about how "This 30-30 is made of teh win and awesome! LOLZ"

 

[blarby]

When the first picture gives you the second picture ( my wifes trigger work btw- I could never shoot that) on the 100 yard berm, with a 45 cent handload, whats not to love ?

Tacticool ? No.

".300 Eargeschplitten-Loudenboomer Magnum wearing a SteinrovskiPold 6-88X scope" Nope. 2100 fps, 3-9x40 BDC nikon though.

Freezer filling, wallet sustaining miracle from 100 years ago. Yep.

Some people are always willing to fix what isn't broken in the name of "progress" and name the predecessor "inferior". Sadly, its the nature of post industrial-revolution capitalism

There's a few other "Inferior" things I love too : Zippo lighters, home-canned peaches, and multi-generation craftsman hand tools top the list.

 

[BluegrassDan]

The best group I've shot with my pre-64 Winchester 94 is 5/16" at 50 yards with the open buckhorn sights (i.e., 5/8 MOA)...

...of course, I will likely never replicate that.

 

[Dr.Rob]

People who bad mouth it probably haven't used one.

 

[smithman 10]

Respect for the .30-30

I bought a used Winchester Model 94 a few weeks ago at a local shop. I had been telling myself I'd pick one up for years and used ones were cheap back then, but I never got around to buying one.

But when they stopped making them, prices on used 94s went way up. When I finally saw a pretty nice example for $250 I bought it.

I don't hunt right now, but shooting the 94 is a lot of fun and I managed about a 1.5" group at 100 yards with the open sights. Surprised myself!

This rifle seems to be just about as accurate as my 1903A3 with its much better sights. Or my M1 Garand. Just a lot less recoil and weight to contend with.

It's a great little gun. If I see another nice one for a good price, I'll buy that one too!