I had been getting an itch to own a Marlin .30-30 for some time. A couple months ago my Dad ended up giving me his .30-30 quite out of the blue. It is an old JC Higgins 45 which was a Marlin 336 rebranded for Sears. It was unexpected and very much appreciated.
Thinking back to when I was a teenager I had remembered that specific rifle as being very smooth and very accurate. Taking it to the range with some of the leftover 170 grain Federal ammo Dad had really opened my eyes. Just as smooth to operate as I remembered and the fit and balance was perfect for me.
When shooting it was a real treat to shoot a rifle with so little recoil and yet with power enough for its intended purpose. Accuracy was the really pleasing part. So far with a couple boxes fired the worst group has put five shots into 2.25 inches. Three shots typically go around 1". For an iron sighted rifle I find this to be remarkable.
This spring I plan on hunting black bear in Quebec with it. I have a 35 Whelen I could use but I will likely use the .30-30. Black bears really aren't that hard to kill, foliage will make distances short, and the .30-30 is accurate enough and has the trajectory for shooting up to 200 yards in my opinion. It is compact, handy and utterly reliable. If I shoot well the 170 grain Nosler Partitions I plan to use will take care of things.
