|
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 22,884
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 22,884 |
I've hunted deer for 31 years now.
I've never met a person, in person, who actually killed a deer with a 30-30. I've never met a person in the field carrying one either.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 7,132
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 7,132 |
When I was a kid a .30-30 was about all you ever saw around here (north Mississippi.) Occasionally there was a guy with a .30-06 and all the .30-30 guy's said he was using too much rifle.
Times change
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 5,179
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 5,179 |
When I started deer hunting 40 years ago, the camp, which I am still a member of, only had one bolt gun on the rack. The rest were lever actions (mostly .30/30), semi-autos (742's in .30/06, .270 and .308) and shotguns of all flavors. Yes, we did run dogs back then. It was all woods; no clear-cuts or ROW's, long shots were 125 yds.. Currently you'll find one or two lever actions, no semi-autos, no shotguns and a butt load of bolt guns (lots of magnums). But the hunting has changed. We don't run dogs anymore, we do have clear-cuts and we now have almost 2 miles of high line ROW running thru our camp. Since I don't hunt the clear-cuts or high line very often I usually take one of my lever guns (lately my 99 in .375 Win.) and a lightweight bolt gun (lately a 6.5x55 or a .308).
At our farm in eastern AR we hunt a big field and fairly small wooded patches. Over there I'm toting a flat shooting bolt or single shot.
Personally I think most of us woods hunters would be better served with one of the modern slug only shotguns.
Different guns/calibers are more popular in different areas of the country. As I understand it, in the northeast the pump and lever action rifle are still very popular. I'm a certified rifle loony so I have a wide selection of calibers in bolt guns, lever actions and single shots.
Some people are educated beyond their intelligence.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 5,659
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 5,659 |
The .35 Rem is very underrated. I think it was always over rated. Had one for a few years and killed a bunch of deer with it. Never could see that it did a damn thing my .30-30 didn't do just as well or better. +1 .35 Rem has become very hard to find and when I do find it cost too much.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much" Teddy Roosevelt
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 17,812
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 17,812 |
I harvested my first buck more than 40 yrs. ago with a .308, that was my cartridge of choice for many years. Twenty or so years ago I had a .30-06 rebored to .35 Whelen and about that time I added a .257 Roberts. They are my current favorite deer rifles.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,800
Campfire Outfitter
|
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,800 |
I grew up in SW Arkansas in the late 1970s and 80s at our camp, there were a few 30-30s, one old man with arthritis used a 742 .243, and everyone else used 742s in 30-06. The kids mostly used shotguns. We hunted clearcuts with dogs and there were some impressively, almost unbelievable in retrospect, long shots made with open sighted 30-30s on running deer. At age 14 in 1984 I brought the first bolt action into camp. It was in the oddball caliber of .270.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 151,303
Campfire Savant
|
Campfire Savant
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 151,303 |
I doubt if any animal you shoot with a so called underrated cartridge will feel like it's underrated.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 2,517
Campfire Regular
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 2,517 |
The Amish and mennonites for example almost never have bolt guns because they're trying to kill deer not punch sub moa groups. 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. The Amish almost never have bolt guns because they fling lead and kill most anything that moves. Pumps and levers hold more rounds, and can fire them more quickly. Accurate bolt guns don't fit thier style of hunting, around these parts at least.
Oh, and believe it or not, deer bite. Fairly hard.
|
|
|
|
582 members (160user, 17CalFan, 007FJ, 12344mag, 1337Fungi, 10gaugemag, 64 invisible),
2,451
guests, and
1,190
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,191,778
Posts18,477,043
Members73,942
|
Most Online11,491 Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|