Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .30-30

This kid got his first-ever Buck on 11/22/09 with my old .30-.30 Win (vintage 1975); the smile says it all.



The .30-.30 is all I use for Whitetails in the Adirondacks. Most shots are 50-60 yds at most. I've got an old Savage 99 that was handed down over the years from my grandfather to my father to me; it does the trick. Here's an 11 Ptr I killed a couple season ago with it.

My ex's Dad had a really old 99 in 30-30, I fired it in 68, it probably had not been fired in 30 years.

Wish I had talked him out of the gun. It would sure look good slinging cast boolits for me today.

I don't think there is a gun in existence with more beautiful lines than the 99.

I agree, the 99 has the look and the feel like no other; I forgot to mention mine is from 1933, ordered from Montgomery Ward.

My 1st thought is don't mess with it... BUT if he said use,THEN USE IT......

Cool Thanks... I will keep an eye on the pressures..

Never killed a deer with the 30-30, but has worked well enough on several caribou, and moose, among other things. I'd trade a bit of accuracy many times for the quick, reliable way an old lever gun delivers.

Nice buck toothless. Sounds like the 99 is a .30-30 also. I used a .32 Winchester Special this year, but didn't take anything with it. I should have been using it on opening day when I got one with a different rifle.

Last October I traded in the .30-30 AS on a Marlin from the 50's in 35 Remington with a 24" bbl and half magazine. Maybe next year I'll use a .30-30, a Winchester 94AE.

No 30-30 in my background and I grewup in the UP. There has been a parade of guns and cartridges starting in the 60s. The past several years have mostly carried a 30/40 Krag single shot in a Ruger #3 or a Contender.

Briefly owned a new M94 in 30-30 many years ago, never shot it, sold it to a cousin.

Killed my first deer almost 40 years ago with a 1920s vintage M94 in 32 Special, which is about as close as I've come to killing one with a 30-30. Also have a M336SC in 35 Rem, but might buy a 30-30 someday, just for the helluvit?

Have seen more than a few whitetails dropped by one. They seem to work fairly well for it? ;O)

I never hunted with one. Briefly owned a Win. 94 in 30/30, with a trigger of around 8 lbs and lots of creep. Could not shoot the damn thing. Also it bucked in that stock configuration. Looks cute but shooter unfriendly.
However the natives up north shoot bear/moose/deer/bison with it.

First deer I killed was in 1987 with my 30/30. Used the gun for 3-4 years, gettin deer each year. Then I stepped up to a 7RM and sold the 30/30. This summer I had a hankerin to get my hands on a another 30/30 and picked one up, mounted a Nikon 2x7 on it and cleaned the heck out of the barrel. After target shooting a 1" group I was all geeked. I managed to kill a doe on a drive and missed two others then noticed my scope was loose. First time ever for that. End of story I killed a deer after 20 years without using a 30/30. Fun Fun stuff, even the missing part. I even got the barrel hot! yeee haaawwww!
20 years is way too long to go. Not gonna let that happen again.

How well did the 30-30 perform on the elk?

I took my last buck in Nov. 2005 with a .30-30. The son missed a small spike on his first hunt ever this year with that same .30-30. Great handling little rifle.

For me no rifle carries, handles or shoots better than my Marlin 30.30. Especially when huting in the woods. I have had a couple occasions when a youngster was being encouraged to shoot a .243 that was intimidating them and I offered to let them shoot my 30.30. Both times they prefered the 30.30. They liked it better and shot it better. I take at least one deer a year with my Marlin.

Was I somehow responsible for resurrecting this thread?

I can only hope so. (See "Another Nice Mississippi 9-Point")

I can't think of a more perfect combination than whitetails and lever-action .30-30's. Deer, because of their size, are meant to be shot at less than 200 yards, at least it's more enjoyable that way in my opinion.

I put an after-market peep on the rear leaf and it made this rifle MUCH more accurate. I still get a quick follow-up acquisition but it usually is not needed.

Mine handles really well with open sights, and I would never consider a scope for it primarily because I could not get a good stockweld even with low mounts.

What I have noticed, in my circles, is that when I uncase that .30-30 around a bunch of scoped, bolt-action rifles, guys take me seriously. It needs no explaining.

Taylor

"...I would never consider a scope for it...."

Ahh, just wait a few years, my friend!

Two of my hunting buddies have taken 3 nice Whitetails with their Marlin 30-30's in the last 3 years. One was a big 10-point that dressed-out to 180 lbs., one was a nice doe, and one was a big-bodied skanky 5-point buck that needed culling out. All one-shot kills at 40 to 80 yards. Fun stuff.

Last 30-30 deer for me would have been about 1975.

I hunted the Missouri thickets for many years armed with my Marlin 1894 44mag. I lost track of how many deer I harvested with it. Someone stole it from behind the seat of my truck so I got an insurance check and bought a 336 30-30 with that check. It's one of the 1970 vintage guns in real good shape. It has been sitting in the gun cabinet for a long time and has been pretty much ignored. However after reading this entire thread I am headed to the gun room to retrieve it. I think I'll sit in my chair and rub some Wonder Lube all over it.

It's kinda funny how everything comes full circle with age in regards to guns of choice. I started out with that old lever gun and have since used much of the latest and greatest shiny and black stuff that'll kill em as far as you can see em. However nothing compares to sitting in the woods with an old blued steel/ walnut lever gun laying across ones lap.

Heck after I get some Wonder lube smeared all over it I'll just go load some thutty thutties. Wonder if mother will notice if I put the old gun under the covers with us tonight!

This thread has been a good read! Thanks for stirring the coals in regards to the 30-30!

No 30-30 but a win53 in 32-20 for my 1st deer back in '62.