Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How Many Killed Their First Deer With a .30-30?

1984. I was 12 y.o. Hunters safety was a class you took in school. I got my license, my mom took me to the woods. I stepped out of the truck, walked up the hill. First tracks I saw were wolf tracks, after studying them for a while, I looked up and there was muley doe, and I shot her! Not 100 yds from the truck. What excitement that was.

Here here...

I really wished I had. Dad gave it to me in 1968. But the old 7mm Mauser mom gave me for Christmas won the lottery.

Not my first deer, but the only deer I have killed with a lever action was with a 92 Winchester in 38 WCF.

I got to re-reading this thread and the funny thing is---the last deer I killed, end-of-season this year, was with the same M94 I killed my first few with.

It always goes with me for a few days a year, and typically draws blood.

A larger buck that had dropped his antlers, I guess to poor feed this year.

Last kill, 2013-'14, Same ol' M94 I've had for 44 years.

Yep. Model 336 Marlin. Nice 10-point buck that field dressed 211 pounds.

Marlin 336. Remington 170 Core-Lokt. Nice little 8 point. DRT.

My dad bought me the rifle, and died a couple of years following. Shortly thereafter, the Marlin was stolen, never to be seen again.

Savage Mod 340, in 1960.

Yep,My was a Sears catalog Ted Williams model carbine 30/30

Waving my hand high.

Mine is a 94 built in 1927 and it's a carbine. Passed on to my oldest son.

First kill was with a bow, but first rifle was a 30-30 win.

First deer rifle was a Mod 94 in 30-30 in 1976. Bought it at a Wal-Mart in Cushing OK at a 20% employee discount. When I found out that the thing would fall apart unless it was a pre-1964 model, I sold it to my brother and bought a Mod 66 "Yellowboy" in .44-40 and killed my first deer with it.

Never even fired a 30-30 at a game animal.

Hunted with my grandfather's M94 several times in high school, but there weren't many deer around here in the mid 80's and I soon lost interest.

Many years later I bought a Marlin 30-30 from a buddy who was needing money. My first time back deer hunting I went out of state hunting over some big green fields so I though I needed "more gun" and purchased a 30-06 that I ended up killing my first deer with at a whopping 60 yards. Should have just taken the Marlin!

I recently traded into another Marlin 30-30 so maybe I'll get one with it next year.

I did. Marlin 336 in 1993. Haven't killed a deer with it since 95. My son is 3 and should remedy that in a few years

Shot my first elk in 1978 with the same .30-30 my dad shot his first elk with back in 1950. Still have it.

I have owned several .30-30s over the years but have never killed a deer, or anything else, with one of them. I aim to change that.

I bought a Marlin 336 Zane Gray from a fellow 24HC member and put a 3X Leupy on it. It shoots very well with both the W-W 170-grain Power Point factory load and with a handload featuring Remington's 170-grain Core-Lokt.

I'd like to shoot a whitetail buck and/or a black bear with it.

Used a .243 on my first deer. A 336 Marlin has become my primary rifle over the last few years and is perfect for my brushy little Hill Country lease.

That is way cool. Who is going to inherit it from you?

Oh heavans way more powerful than a 30 30 I used .32 Winchester special.