I think people's perspective of the .30-30 has been as much influenced by the rifles it's chambered in as the cartridge itself. 30 years ago, it seems to me that most people would say that bolt rifles tended to be a bit more accurate than levers. These days, my impression is that there is a growing preponderance of shooters whose attitude (and belief) is that "Bolt rifles are accurate. Pumps, levers, and semis are not. Period. And I must have a MOA rifle or I can't hunt". And yet every .30-30 I've had could shoot 1.5 MOA or better.
The longest shot I've seen with the .30-30 was about 20 years ago in Alberta. A friend of mine dropped a decent 10-point whitetail, DRT, in a fairly level field. The rifle was a Winchester 94 carbine with a Williams 5D peep sight. Ammo was factory fodder; Rem 170-grain CoreLokt. We paced the distance off at, as I recall, 257 paces. We figured an honest 210 yards.
The .30-30 will certainly get the job done at the hunting ranges I usually shoot at; I have yet to shoot any game animal beyond 175 yards, and don't really expect to.
