Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 5 Most Underrated Rifle Cartridges for Hunters

There were a lot of other chamberings in those two great rifles. The .30-30 blew them all away.

He has a good point. If the 30-30 was great there would be a bunch of bolts in this caliber. Good low cost rifles and ammo made this popular.

Retarded.



Travis

It was the best seller among a bunch of mildly popular cartridges.

"Underrated" is a bit ambiguous.

A better word may be under-appreciated.

There are many cartridges out there that have solid followings and have great merits.

In the USA the market it driven by "new" and if something catches on it has a tendency to replace the old. It's like that in every place and in every industry, but in the USA it's a fad to replace things with other things that are really not an improvement at all.

That how marketing works.

But its all fun, and if that's what you like then go for it.

As long as it's safe and usable I see not reason to condemn any of them.

But in most cases it's also not a reason to buy the "new and improved" either. The only real reason is "I want, therefore I need".

The ballistics of a cartridge are seldom as important as some seem to think. Once you have enough power, more may be fun, and even something that makes some shots easier, but in most cases It's the skill of the shooter that is 98% important. 2% is what he's got in his hands.

I have killed a deer with a slow wood arrow with a 3/4" wide broad head.
I have killed deer with super fast magnums, and bullets that left the muzzle at 3300+ FPS in 25, 27 and 30 cals.
I have also killed antelope, deer, elk, moose, buffalo and bear with 375H&Hs 416s, 458s and 50-140 Sharps, 44 mags, 357 mags, 454 Casulls and a LOT of other calibers I am bothering to list here. And I have done it plenty of times with lead round balls fired from muzzleloading flintlocks and cap-locks too.

They are all still dead.

If something old or new pleases you, get one.

Learn to use it with a high degree of skill and it's ballistics will not be all that important to the deer or elk.

The .30-30 was number one in centerfire rifle ammunition sales until the 1960's when the .30-06 finally dethroned it. Not counting the .223, it's still number 5 in CF rifle ammuntion sales, right behind the .30-06, .308, .270 and .243. I'd say that makes it a bit more than just a best seller among a bunch of mildly popular cartridges.

Could that be because of so many NON shooters that deer hunt occasionally and DONT reload ?

Just sayin.

Jerry

An ADDENDUM

I'm being honest and sincere:

Since 1974 -- the last year I hunted a 30-30 -- I've hunted in 4 States, several counties in Ark, and have been a member of THREE large deer leases.

I have known ONLY 1 man to carry a 30-30 - WHEN - he drove dogs thru timber/thickets to jump deer. His stand rifle was a 7 RM.

I knew a young man who's first rifle was a 30-30..

That's all..

Jerry

250 and 300 savage.
Hell, anything 25 cal.
All we need is 25 cal in 90% of hunting.
25 rimfire, 250 savage, 25-06.

I don't know what you think you'd accomplish with your .270 or 7 RM here that you couldn't do just as well with a .30-30. Here where I hunt, you step off the road you're in the woods. You aren't going to get a shot beyond the effective range of a .30-30 period. My average shot is probably less than 50 yards and the longest shot I've had in the last 20 years was about 150 through open hardwoods. I have good, accurate bolt actions in .243, .308 and .30-06. They offer no advantage over my .30-30's and usually stay in the safe while one of my lever guns goes hunting.

Well, you hunt where you hunt, and I hunt where it looks like this:



My son is standing in the middle of the photo, where his dead antelope is, and I took the photo from where he shot.

A 30-30--even thought it was the first gun I carried for deer--is sucking wind out here. A .270 and a 7mm Rem are both far better suited to the terrain.

Going back to the original post--the only cartridge he lists that I do not have is the .35 Remington.

Don't forget the marvelous 257 Roberts!

Awesome point. lol. By your line of thinking the .357 mag, .44 mag, .35 Rem, and .45-70 Gov't were never great either because there isn't a plethora of bolt guns chambered for them. You do realize that there's more out there than just bolt guns right? Maybe you don't know it but there are a lot of us who can live without bolt actions just fine. I've known many who wouldn't be caught dead owning a deer rifle with a bolt. The Amish and mennonites for example almost never have bolt guns because they're trying to kill deer not punch sub moa groups.

Sure didn't, my first rifle I bought was a 6mm REM. Great Ruger m77. I was trying to pare down to 3 action lengths for rimfire, varmint & deer, and deer & bear plus long range.

The amish are a strange lot. They won't use modern farm implements, electricity, appliances or transportation but come deer season they will use modern, repeating rifles. I don't get it.

Not all Amish are the same...

http://emtoast.com/wp-content/uploads/amishgirlwcell01.jpg

http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get2/I00000nsS4dlYcS0/fit=1000x750/amish-047.jpg

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/02/22/172626089/inside-an-amish-trade-show

My underrated favorite is a Model 94 in 32 SPCL with receiver peep.

250 and 300 Savage.....

I live right in the middle of one of the fastest growing Mennonite communities in the country. In addition, a few miles south of me are many Amish. And before someone asks....yes, there is a big difference between the two, with many differing groups within their ranks. The Amish seem to use more open sighted rifles, such as 30-30's and old military rifles, plus shotguns. The Mennonites around me, for the most part use bolt action rifles that scoped. They like rifles chambered for easy to find cartridges......30-06, 270, 308. Also, you see some 25-06 and 243, they like those so they can coyote hunt with them. I do see the occasional Mennonite with a 30-30, but they prefer the bolt actions, or so it seems. You won't see any top of the line rifles, with most being the ones in the lower price range.

30-30 used to be a great deal from a money standpoint for a working man's rifle or a kids first rifle. Its dead flat from zero to 150 yards and just as deadly as any other 30 caliber rifle on deer or anything else at that range. Bullets loaded by the ammo companies are made specifically for the cartridge, they perform beautifully, and are generally less expensive than the other rounds. It was a lot of rifle platform for the money, that is why there is so many of them out there. People have always underrated the 30-30's ability to inflict death on critters that get in its wheel house.

Now days, a new 30-30 is going to cost you more than a plastic fantastic bolt gun chambered in your choice of bottleneck round that shoots MOA or thereabouts at long range. That is now a pretty tough sell economically to a guy with a limited budget who wants to get into hunting, much as I like my old 336.