Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Hunting with the .30-30, how fast does it drop them

Glad to see that there are so few who say the .30-30 is not a sure killer.....because it is at any reasonable range. The larger bore rifles will NOT kill any quicker or better than the .30-30.

As to the claims of DRT shooting with the .30-30 (or any other chambering for that matter), I'd never doubt your results....BUT....sooner or later (with any chambering) you WILL have one run. Maybe not far (25-75 yards) but far enough to cause a difficult tracking job in really thick brush.

I don't know what the "thick brush" other posters hunt but in the "Big Thicket" area of East Texas it means being able to see maybe 20 yards at best (less in many spots).There are other areas just as thick (in the swamp country of the deep south, mesquite thickets of South Texas, and I gather in some of the heavy thickets in the northwest...although I've never personally seen these). I'm not talking about "killing" (that's a given with any decent shot placement), but with "finding" after the shot.

The bigger bores WILL NOT kill any better and probably not kill any quicker (if they do it's too small to reliably measure), but they do typically leave a better blood trail. I never learned to love the .30-30 as some do....probably because I started at an early age hunting with the .35 Remington and .44 Magnum and always saw the .30-30 as a step backwards.

I've killed a few (maybe a half-dozen) with the .30-30 and never found it lacking......but never any evidence that would make me give up the bigger bore rifles either.

If you can track well or if your idea of "thick brush" is such that a run of 25-75 yards isn't a problem....the .30-30 will be deadly. It's all a matter of perspective.