Win 30-30 for rural defense?

[J. Parker]

Hey good folks,
IYO, would a Winchester 30-30 be a sound choice for rural defense? I'm not a long gun person but I'm a lefty and I'm a sucker for a nice lever-action. I live in the boonies and I have a chance to get a Winchester model 94 AE in excellent condition. Is a lever-action okay for rural homestead defense?

~Thanks, John

 

[Al LaVodka]

Immediately, it is better than nothing.
Historic: the gun and cartridge were literally made for each other a century ago, and have lived a long life.
Then, it is a relatively short, fast, repeater. Good.
Then, it is a common if not "aged" but very decent, proven, inexpensive cartridge. One of the most popular in the world for a reason. It is effective (balistically consider it the same as an AK round). Good.
Reliable, light, gun. Accurate. Controllable. OK capacity for what it is (6 round tube?)... Good.
Inexpensive deal I presume and it will retain value. Excellent? $425 plus or minus? Good.

Very good!

Al

 

[M1key]

30-30 is a good one. Also 357m loaded with 158 or 180gr bullets.

Also the Marlin 357 holds 10 rounds as opposed to 5 or 6 for the 30-30.

I like the Marlin line over the Winchester. Stronger action, IMO.

 

[batex]

My opinion is that it is an excellent choice. I'm a Marlin guy, but a 30-30 has a lot going for it. The 30-30 is an excellent medium power cartridge for ranges out to 250 yards, a lever gun will hold 5 or 6 rounds, quality factory ammo is cheap and readily available, it should be plenty accurate enough for defense as well as hunting, it can take care of any any animal up to black bear in size, recoil is mild, and finally I think lever guns are just cool. Now many will tell you, simply because it's been around for a 100 years that there are better cartridges out there and they're right. However, teh 30-30 has been around for so long and is still with us precisely because it get's the job done very well without a lot of hype and fuss. Oh, in a defensive situation, it will arouse a lot less attention than an AR...after all, it's just an old huntin' rifle. Just my two cents....

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

You won't be undergunned with a .30-30 at all. I've never liked the 94's, but Winchester made over 7 million of them so they can't be bad. Ammo is cheap too and you can buy it anywhere that sells ammo.

 

[XxWINxX94]

I'd say anything would be alright as long as its a medium-large caliber.

Go with the Winchester, you will be quite satisfied.

Glad to see theres people who like these classic guns like I do

Heres my Win 94 carbine, and I've also the L/E Cenntenial 100th Anniversery

 

[Avenger29]

I've had a Marlin 336 that filled the role of a defensive arm for a long period.

The biggest problem with my marlin was that tilting the rifle to the left while working the action would cause it to jam up. Otherwise, it was pretty quick. I put a set of XS sights and one of their scout rails on it and was saving funds to buy an Aimpoint for it. A change in my personal financial situation enabled me to purchase an AR-15, and then the Marlin was retired from that role. Now, it will get a quality scout scope in the future.

The .30-30 is a good round for what you get. Decent performance, decent cost, usually chambered in decent guns. Just don't try to make it something it's not.

I'd suggest that if you don't reload, that you get a Lee handpress or one of the lee classic loaders (the hammer together kits) and get set up with some IMR 3031, primers, and bullets and have yourself a cheap, barebones reloading setup and get some practice with your .30-30.

 

[336A]

Absolutely it is. It has laid low more bad and good guys alike than we will probably ever know about, and that was with the original loading of a 160gr JSP bullet at 1970fps. With the newer ammunition available today it has only gotten better with age. Though not used in rural SD if you need a better idea how well it works, do some research on Tom Horn. A lot of men were put to ground by him and his .30-30 Winchester in Wyoming/Colodrado at the turn of the century. None lived to tell the tale of the incident either. It was also very popular during the Mexican Revolution as well.

 

[THe Dove]

Get it!!!! I'm a lefty as well and have loved that particular rifle since I was 11 years old.....

The Dove

 

[XxWINxX94]

It has laid low more bad and good guys alike than we will probably ever know about

And Deer........

 

[336A]

BTW the 30-30 will work on animals larger than deer and black bear quite well. Here is a link to a thread started by poster Golsoviia who is from canada. Look at his signature photos at the bottom of his posts, you will see him with a Moose taken with Rem 170gr Core Lokts. Nuff said as to its' effectiveness.

http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php/topic,52129.0.html

 

[Geno]

The first time that I had to present a firearm in home defense, I was 17-years old. Home alone even...seriously. I had a .30-30 Win (bolt-action) at my side while working on my car inside the garage. Seems two fellas' faked that their car over-heated, and they needed water.

Short of it, the smarter of the two perps noted the rifle. He hinted for his buddy to look right... Well, they decided they didn't really want to illegally enter the house. Here's where it got real funny. God reached down, the clouds parted, light rays illuminated their blessed vehicle, angels sang glorious tunes, and Praise Jesus, the Lord Himself commanded "Damn, let that engine start!" So it was spake; so it went-down. And Jesus turned the radiator's vapors into water. Okay, maybe it was the perp screaming that... As they departed to the sounds of squealing tires, I smelt the faint combination of burning rubber, human fecal matter and a touch of urine.

I subsequently bought a Model 94 .30-30 Win for home defense. I had that around for years, and never felt under-gunned. Apparently, the bad-guys didn't think that .30 cal rifle looked under-gunned. I personally loaded with 150 grain, round-nose HPs.

Geno

 

[Armored farmer]

I always liked the fact that you can top-off the magazine w/o opening the action

 

[JustsayMo]

I use the 30-30 for my general purpose rifle at my rural retreat. Portability is second only to handguns. Versatile, especially if you reload - subsonic Grouse loads to full on Moose meat makers.

For those that say it's only a short range brush gun probably haven't tried it. Earlier this month I was visiting a friend and we used our 30-30s on the 500 yard 20" X 32" dinger. He connected on his second shot - offhand.

Here's the vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiQGPmo3hmM

It took me a few more shots.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT92PEgnIb0&feature=related

 

[Publius1688]

Absolutely. There was a Win 30-30 by the back kitchen door of my grandparents (very) rural farmhouse for their entire 68 year marriage. A great varmiter, deer rifle, and home defense weapon.

 

[CraigC]

Some, due to popular misconception, may look upon it as antiquated machinery but in the real world you'd be hard-pressed to beat a good levergun for just about any purpose. Including home defense. Though I would prefer a short pistol cartridge carbine over anything firing a rifle cartridge.

 

[Eb1]

absolutely nothing wrong with a lever gun in any situation that constitutes the use of a firearm for defense or hunting. there are situations that other guns will due better, but with most situations of warding off intruders, varmints, or quarrying for food, you will not have any issues with a lever action in any caliber that one is offered in, and YES, this includes a .22 LR/Short/WMR IMO.

 

[LeontheProfessional]

My dad has a Marlin and a Winchester. I personally prefer the Marlin. It is as good as it gets. Very fast handling and very accurate.

 

[ms6852]

It's an excellent home defense weapon. Short enough to make it difficult for anyone to yank it out of your hands, yet very manuverable in house going from room to room, and you can reach out and touch someone from a long, long distance.

 

[AStone]

Does my heart good to see that so far, there's not a single "no" response.

And of course, I add my voice to the chorus of yes votes.

Nem the 336 guy.

 

[rondog]

I used to have a Marlin 30-30 years ago, currently have a Winchester Trapper in .44magnum. Its name is Thumper.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

Yes, it would be a good weapon. I've been reading Col. Jeff Coopers "Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip" vol 1. He talks quite highly on many occassions about the Win 94 for your specific application.

 

[Kernel]

Great cartridge and rifle for home defense. One concern, though. Since it’s an AE (Angle Eject) wouldn’t it throw the burning hot empty shell casing right into the face and/or eye socket of a left handed shooter? Assuming you keep the rifle on your shoulder when cycling the lever (like you’d want to do in a HD situation). Don’t know, for sure. Just asking the question. Maybe another lefty could comment.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Does my heart good to see that so far, there's not a single "no" response.

Absolutely unsuitable in every way! You need an AR with an Aimpoint and Surefire lights and multiple 30-round magazines to even begin to have enough for HD!

Seriously, I like the Marlin 1894 in .44 Magnum, 11-rounds of .44 Specials, fast, light, reliable. But I'd take the Winchester AE in .30-30 in a heart-beat too.

 

[CornCod]

Lever-action 30-30's are fine self-defense guns. Probably the only downside for the non-handloader would be cost of ammunition. As far as ammo costs go, 30-30 is considered a "hunting" round and thus a little pricey. Military calibers like 7.62X39 and 5.56/.223 are a lot cheaper. If a shooter has his heart set on a 30-30 as a home defense carbine, they might want to get a cheap lever-action .22 like a Henry Model 01 as a companion piece. Becoming a good shot with your weapon system is much more important ultimately than the choice of the weapon itself.