I have owned many 30-30 either Marlin or Winchester but seldom hunt with them. I did take a cow Elk in Wyoming with a neck shot at 125 yards because of an ammo mixup I couldn't use my 30-06. I have shot 15 or so feral hogs and very few deer. That said all I have taken with the 30-30 has been taken with one shot and seldom have I recovered a bullet. A buck mule deer I shot at a bit past 200 yards dropped but the high shoulder shot showed the bullet barely expanded if at all but it did exit. I have used 150 and 170 grain bullets and can see no obvious differences in effect.

I've owned a bunch of Marlins and several Winchester 30-30's. Even one Savage. I prefer 170 grain bullets because Bear is often open when I'm deer hunting. I've killed one Moose with the 30-30.

The .30-30 is enough gun in most zip codes for most purposes.

The 94 is actually one of my favorite hunting rifles, though I haven't actually used one since 2014...and haven't used an open sighted one since 2009 or so...I should probably rectify that.

They're perfectly adequate accuracy and power wise, and carry easily. I hunt a lot off horseback, and having a rifle that easily slides into a scabbard and can be banged around all day like 'Slave's mom without worry of a scope getting knocked off is a big deal to me.

I'm dyin'!

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ pretty much so ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

never had a 94 myself. filled a whole lot of freezer bags with a 65 + year old marlin though.
been told it was wholly inadequate to deer hunt with a bunch of times. we used to get to
cull hunt for free in a lot of places in this state that would cost several thousand to hunt these days.
last time i got to go, we each filled our tags with one cheap reloaded 30/30 shell per deer.
these days i read online posts from guys hunting near some of these same areas that can't
seem to kill a deer with anything less than a 300win mag. my buddy's dad (the best shot of all of us)
killed his 5 in one sitting out to 180 yards with his scoped marlin on one trip.

i've yet to figure why folks think a 30/30 round runs out of soup at exactly 100 yards, then turns 90 degrees into the dirt.

I wish I had a dollar for everytime I've heard the 30-30 is a "100 yard gun". I've killed deer at twice that and it wasn't difficult.

I've made kills with the model 94 in three different calibers.

I use one every year.

I did have to put a receiver sight on it, though. Mine's not an AE, and the OEM sights got a little fuzzy.

Besides, there's other advantages to a peep.

I've taken deer with mine out to 236 yards. There are better rifles to shoot deer at that distance, but an M94 is up to the job.

I agree, but as often as that is said, most hunters opt to be overgunned or buy expensive bullets for their foray into the deer woods. Everything has its place. Unfortunately, lever guns and RN/FN ammunition aren't glamourous enough for the 'gun club crowd' anymore.

Cue the band.

Have a couple 94's.. Have used them on coyotes, antelope, whitetail deer, and mt. lion.. I also have a couple Marlins, one in .30-30 and one in .25-35... These have killed antelope, coyotes, mule deer, whitetail deer and mt. lions. Haven't killed any game with them in a few years.. I always liked the 24" barreled Marlins.. I could scope them with a low power scope and it made distance shooting easier.. I always felt the .30-30 was a better killer on game than a .243.

Make mine a pre-safety 336 and you'll have no argument here. I'll pick up a Leupold 1-4x20 or decent little red dot for when my vision goes.

I've always been happy with the 30/30, been pretty comfortable with 170grs <200yards.

Iv owned several 30-30 levers both marlin and winchesters and killed a couple of deer with them. Both were pretty close and drt. In my younger days we shot them a lot at a old strip mine pit and got fairly good at busting rocks at 300 yds or so but of course we had done it a lot and had he various yardeges and sight pictures worked out. I wouldn't necessarily try that on game . I answer the guys that talk about 100 yd limits and rainbow trajectories by saying I'd rather have to hit a 200 yd target with an open sighted 30-30 than a 300 yd target open sighted 30-06 . I sold my Winchester 64a just this last year as I just can't see open sights that well anymore and a scope on a lever action just doesn't feel right to me. Still they are nice guns and not near the handicap that most people think they are.

^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^

I suspect it is because those of us who are 40 or 50 yrs. of age or older grew up reading in all of the gun/outdoor magazines that 100-125 yds. was about as far as one ought to shoot at game.

I get the whole 30-30 lever action appeal, but can't really understand that appeal in a bolt action, seems like the world has moved on.
Kind of like fishing with an old black Penn Senator 2:1, nostalgic as all hell, but slow and not worth the extra weight.
Anyone still hunt a 30-30 bolt?

I can only remember three bolt action rifles chambered in 30-30 and only two them being made during my lifetime:

Remington 788, probably the one with the greatest accuracy potential.
Savage 340 series, including at least a dozen variations sold under different names and, often, in slightly different configurations.
Winchester 54, the most collectible of the bunch.

When I was a kid, the Savage 340 was the least expensive commercial, as opposed to mil-surp, CF rifle around. Several boys from my high school used them with some success. When I got my first FFL, I made pocket money by selling Savage 340s in 30-30 to a pawn broker in Wisconsin. Even in the early 1990's I could regularly buy Savage 340s for between $75 and $125, depending on the condition, and there was still market demand for them in some places. I still buy them when I can get them for a good price and they always sell or trade for more than I have into them, particularly those in 22 Hornet.

I have a few 30-30's near me at all times. I have owned and shot probably 18 to 20 guns so chambered over the decades. I shoot more 30-30 ammo than any other center fire rifle caliber. I have owned several bolt guns in 30-30 but never kept them. Had a Winchester 54 one time as well. I have owned a number of Marlins 39's and 336's. But I never really warmed up to the Marlins and only own one 336 at present. The pre 64 Winchester's are what do it for me. I have hunted a lot of big game out west with mainly a 30-06 but I have carried a 94 for more miles than any other rifle. The OP asked about it as a hunting rifle though. I have not often intentionally hunted with the 94 much. If I know I am going to hunt big game, I carry a 30-06. The beauty of 30-30 in my mind is the rifles they are chambered in. The Winchester 94 is the most comfortable of all the short rifles to carry. Always loaded, it is just always there for me when I go fishing or into the mountains to collect firewood or pack out an elk. Its beauty is it is short, light, rides easy in the hand, carries enough ammo that a magazine, and it is powerful enough to get the job done where I live. It replaces centerfire handguns for me. The Winchester 94 can accurately outdistance my best handgun shooting 10 times and have greater power at all distances. I just do not see a need for a centerfire handgun when my 30-30 is there for the grabbing. I have shot a lot of 300 yard distant targets with the 30-30 for practice. I shot mainly 170 grains but as I get more experienced I am using the 150's now as they offer more distance here in the west. Though I have carried one a lot I have only killed one elk, one buffalo, and a few mule deer with one. This year I will take it doe antelope hunting.

During the past year or so, I have given rifles to four boys, two boys who live on a ranch in Colorado and two boys who live on a farm in Vermont. I offered to get them new 243 bolt guns or used 30-30s. I expected all of them to opt for the 243s, so I bought four Marlin XS7s from CDNN, but I was wrong, as all four of them wanted 30-30s. The boys in Colorado wanted saddle guns, so they got Mossberg 479s, while the boys in Vermont wanted pump guns, I guess they had read about Larry Benoit, so they got Savage 170s, all four rifle had Nikon ProStaff 2-7x32s mounted.

I have five 30-30s that aren't collectible, 3 Marlin 336s, a Mossberg 472, and a Savage 170. If the Marlins won't shoot 2-MOA or better with factory ammo, I figure that the problem is more likely to be with the shooter than with the rifle or ammo.

I have owned several Winchester 94s, but always preferred the Marlin 336 platform as it fits me better. I bet I have owned over 100, but am currently down to one old 336RC made in 1952, It is topped with a Leupold M8 4X and will shoot moa with factory Federal blue box 150s. It is no problem to hit the kill zone of a deer at 200 yards,. I don't even have to think about holdover. I know it is about 2.5" high at 100 and 2.5" low at 200. I would not feel handicapped hunting AL and TN if it was my only rifle.

For those that like pointy bullets I'll add that it is possible to use spire points in your 30-30. You are limited to one in the chamber and one in the magazine. I use to load 125 sp and 130 gr. Speer hp. in mine. Heavier bullets tend to be too long and cause feed problems. Just having two shots i isn't really much of a problem if you think back about the deer you have killed. How often have you shot 3x . In reality the gain in trajectory was not really worth it to me so it was more of a experiment than anything but it works.

i have savage 99 in 3030 and it has turned into my most fun rifle to chase deer with. lost count with how many it has taken but all were DRT. several hogs in texas and again it worked great. the lever evolution ammo works really well. with the rotary mag. i can shoot any type bullet but haven't reloaded for it yet as the factory stuff works so well. i will get around to using the nosler 150 prt at some time if i deside to start shooting past 250 yards but that might never come. the rifle and round are fun and that is what it is all about for me, old patuteeee that i am!

I got one for Christmas in 1974. Sold it in '78 to buy a .270.... always had a empty feeling since then. Bought a 1942 Model 94 30WCF a few years ago and love it... only taken a few deer with it but it is like an extension of my hand. This is my truck gun.

My late FIL and I used to argue that. He was a .243 guy.

Where you finding all these 472's and 479's? I bet I seen a grand total of three of them in my life.

I consider it a fun gun and use it for still hunting when I am in thicker woods. The 30-30 is partially responsible for wiping out deer in some areas, Merriam Elk, Desert Bighorn, Mexican Grizzlies, Mx. Pronghorn and many others species in North America.

I have not shot much over 200 yards but a Sheriff friend who carries a 94 on and off duty as his favorite will reliably kill deer and hogs out to 300+ yards. That involves too much Kentucky windage for me but he is very familiar with the old 30-30 and shoots it almost daily.

Bloodiest CF rifle I own. Deer and pigs mostly, by the truckload.





Some cast bullet load workup

Nice shooting there DD! I used a lot of IMR 4198 for cast shooting when I was doing a lot of it.

4198 is good stuff, but my favorite for the thutty-thutty is Rx15. I'm old school on this stuff, haven't tried any powders invented in this century...yet. Those bullets are an alloy of about 12 BHN with Alox and a dusting of mica/graphite.

I will add, mine has the best trigger on a 94, that I have ever felt.

The assault rifle of its day.

Levers are often overlooked as a defensive firearm too. I would choose something like a 357 or a 44 for that though. A Model 92 with peep sights.

Wish I had a nickel for every Adirondack deer killed with the old thutty thutty.

I recently sold a Coast To Coast Master Mag CC779, a house brand 479, on here and advertised a minty 472 that didn't draw much interest.

For reasons that are unclear to me, they show up more often on GB as Western Field Model 72s, the Montgomery Wards house brand, than as either the Mossberg 472 or 479.

You might find them under "other Mossbergs" if you do a search on lever action 30-30s.

I don't really want one. The Mossbergs seemed like cheap Marlin knockoffs to me.

Looks pretty damn close to new. What did you do, carry it in a velvet lined case while hunting ? I've killed a shytload of deer, woodchucks, crows, coyotes, fox's etc. with mine over the years. It was in good shape when I bought it in 1982. Now the receiver, trigger, lever, hammer and steel buttplate are worn silver from carrying/use and the stock has about 10,000 dents and scratches. Still shoots good though and I used it to fill my buck tag again just this past season.

I've killed a whitetail with every caliber ever made.

They are sort of like a Marlin 336 with a BLR style trigger that travels with the lever. They look so much alike that most people can't tell them apart from less than 10' away. I don't think that they're bad/poor hunting rifles, really not all that much different than the average Marlin 336 in all respects and probably with a little more accuracy potential due to the ease of installing a scope than the average Winchester 94. But they were Mossbergs and few people have ever had much good to say about any Mossberg CF rifle.

Never saw much point in butt stroking zombies when I had ample ammo with me?

It does have a few minor dings but they aren't obvious in the pic. If the finish on that 33 year old rifle makes you jealous mebbe I should post one of my 50+ year old Win Mod 50. You'd claim Photoshop probably, yet it has spent more time afield than any gun I own. Quail and pigs hate that one.

This'n might make you feel better. About 150 years old, it took 2d in a match out in Cody, WY a few years back. .50 caliber front stuffer with a few dings..



Or this 100 year old Marlin 94?

Your under-hammer looks like a lot like a .38 caliber D.H. Hillard target rifle that I inherited.

I've owned .30-30's in semingly every configuration known to man: custom HiWall single shot, bolt action (Winchester 54, Savage 340, and Remington 788), M94 & 336, Savage M1899, and Savage M219 single shot. The M94's and 336's didn't stay too long because even though they were decent guns, they didn't hold a candle to the Savage lever actions.The Savage 340 was a decent utilitarian rifle but, meh. Remington 788 was crazy accurate but had cosmetic issues so it went bye-bye.The HiWall shoulda stayed forever but it and the 219 went (along with other delectables) to fund a house down payment.

That leaves me with the Winchester 54 and a couple Savage lever guns. It's a mighty hard decision come opening day which one to take into the deer woods. They all wear aperture sights for hunting (Lyman 48 on the 54, Lyman 30 1/2's on the Savages), and the 54 currently has a 12x Fecker target scope on it for off-season cast bullet target shooting. Hunting load, for use in all of my current .30-30's: 190 grain cast bullet (flat nosed, gas checked, cast from an old custom Saeco mold, bhn 12, Alox lube), 28.0 grains 3031, CCI LR primer, any old case. Target load: 180gr cast bullet (RN, cast from an old NEI mold, gc'ed, alox, bhn10), 15 grains SR-4759, CCI LR primer, any old case. I would blush to tell you how far under an inch that target load shoots out of the 54 when wearing the Fecker scope.

.30-30's rock, but some really rock.

It is a Hilliard gun, .50 caliber twisted 16" w/ a Rice scope. Weighs about 15-16#.

The only Winchester 54 that I ever spent time with and really liked was a 30-30 that had been reworked to 30-40 Krag that my Father kept around for its novelty value.

Nah, the finish on your 33 year old Winchester don't make me jealous. I've got a 94 XTR made in 1979 that's still in like new condition when I want to look at something pristine. That one hasn't been hunted at all, only shot on the range and handled carefully. My older one { circa1949} has been hunted a ton and shot several thousand rounds. I've taken good care of her, not a speck of rust inside or out but there ain't no way in hell you can shoot/ hunt/carry a 94 that many times for that many years without wearing the blue off'n the trigger, hammer, lever, receiver and buttplate. The scrathes and dents in the wood are not serious and represent about 10,000 miles of carry and a few spills while snaking through blowdowns, boulders, brambles and thorns on these steep catskill mountainsides.

Respectfully disagree on that. I travel to the field with guns cased. We don't have mountains, boulders etc in this neighborhood, nor rocky creeks. I still hunt and wear cotton camo gloves when doing so, nor reason for wear as far as I can see. My "truck gun" rides in a scabbard behind the seat in the p'up. Just shy of 20 years old and it might be the S/S construct minimizes dings as it had none. Looks NIB.

Couple thousand rounds, hey? Almost broke in.

If it's any consolation I carried a new M16 for a year back in the day, it had a few handling marks and the bore was wasted when I turned it in.

Ask Blackheart for a picture.................laffin

I wouldn't waste the time it takes to type a response to Blackheart.

I don't usually wear gloves when I'm carrying/shooting mine. I carry it mostly while still hunting and when on the move my hands don't usually get cold until temps dip into the low teens or less. Human skin can wear blueing pretty fast. I don't know for sure how many rounds I've run through that rifle in the 35 years I've owned it but it's quite a few. Easily well over "a couple thousand" and maybe as much as 2-3 times that.

It's too bad you feel that way. I'm sure you realize, as do I, that you're not alone in that sentiment. Perhaps if so many here weren't such complete azzholes from the day I got here I wouldn't have developed such a sarcastic and often condescending attitude.

I spend too much time in the cellar, never heard of him until now?

What does .30-30 AI mean?

My 37 year old Mouser. The idiot that owned it before me didn't abuse it either. He abused critters with it.

The scope is new.

I'm going to apologize for hijacking this thread and make an admission of sorts. The idiot that owned this old 16 bore dropped it on some rocks, broke the stock and trigger guard. I fixed it.

Pre-WW2 JP Sauer for Daly, Schoverling & Gales if memory serves.



Life is way too short to hunt with an ugly beat to chitt gun, I don't give a hoot what it is.

Unless you're tall, then you get one get out of jail free card.



That's the quiet barrel mounted there. The noisy one is a....are ya ready????....chambered for the .30-30... It don't shoot fer chitt.





I prefer the Model 94.

Dan

Funny, I don't recall ever shooting my old 94 without at least wearing a T-shirt. A cotton T-shirt, and yet the once blued steel buttplate is worn silver. My hands are probably rougher/more calloused than most. Building guns five days a week, 8 hours a day for years will do that to you. I'd still like to think cotton cloth is just as soft here as anywhere. Guess I just never learned how to handle firearms correctly. But then I don't mind hunting a rifle that shows honest wear so I reckon it doesn't matter much .

[quote=BlackheartMy hands are probably rougher/more calloused than most. Building guns five days a week, 8 hours a day for years will do that to you. .[/quote]

Lets see some PICTURES of guns you have actually "built".

Children and retards always need pictures. I'll not reveal who I work for on here. Makes no difference whether you believe it or not. I'll be leaving in the morning to go work on more regardless.

For me, the pics are to admire your work, not doubt your sincerity.

The only "work" Blackfart does is stocking the shelves of the Liquor store he works for.Where he obviously uses the employee discount to the maximium;)

Besides any azzhat like him who can't post a pic to support his BS is obviously not smart enough to do gun work for anyone.

I disagree. I built a AR-15 In .450BUSHMASTER, and I still haven't gotten pics to post right.

You don't post the bullschit here that Blackfart does.

So, you get a pass..

In the meantime I will pray that your computer skills rise to the level of mere competence:)

And they all said, Amen......

Sorry guys, but I post from a phone. No way to drag and drop that I've seen.

Bottom line: any light handy lever action carbine- Winchester, Marlin, Savage- in .30-30 is a wonderful hunting tool, given its limitations. (Said limitations encompassing about 85% of all the deer hunting done in this country.) About as American as you can get.

The .30-30 suffers the stigma of being a good old deer cartridge, but 99% of shooters don't recognize it as a wonderful target cartridge too, and also a well nigh perfect platform for cast bullets.

Well I can't say my using guns are in near as nice a condition as DD's! In fact I like to buy them a bit rough so I can't take all the blame. You can alleviate some of the blue thinning by putting a couple coats of Armorall protectant on your guns before the season. The 94 is a fun rifle to shoot, is light, handy and easy to keep around as a second rifle. This year I think I will put one in the front of the line and use a 243 as backup just in case I run into a situation where I need a scope. The 30-30 might be more than a 150 yard rifle but my eyes with iron sights are 150 yard capable and not much farther!

If I put Armorall on a rifle I would hope I would never have to refinish it. The silicone in it will play absolute Billy Hell during such an endeavor. Nor would I ever even think about putting it in the same room as my other guns for the same reason. Armorall is insidious stuff. You'll get nasty looks from your automotive body man if you take him a car that has endured Armorall inside or out too. No foolin'.

Some products should have died a quiet death in the test phase before marketing. Armorall is one of them IMO.

Slick 50 is one of them. Cost me a new engine. 240 straight 6

I use it as an inside case neck lube when sizing up 30-06 cases to 35 Whelen too, outstanding for this use. And the fact is it will protect your original finish, make pistols slide out of a holster slick as you like and keep holster wear down to a minimum. It is easily removed using rubbing alcohol. I for one hope the product stays on the market for a long time! In fact I think the original protectant version is far more useful than the now water based WD40.

Yeah, I'm sure it has legitimate uses, but none of them are in my life! To each his own.

WD-40 is another one I don't allow within a long golf shot of my shop. If you ever had to deal with fisheyes in a varnish finish on a piece that the customer is paying you a couple thousand bucks for and wants yesterday, then you too would snarl at the mention of WD-40.

Armorall is horrible stuff that leaves a slippery, shiny coating on everything. It does not belong on anything you need to grip, like guns or your steering wheel.

Odd I find it easy to hold myself, there are several versions out there. Many pawn shops use it to keep sweaty hands from rusting up their guns. If you want to keep your blued finish pretty and still handle your guns a lot there is no better product.

Taking pics of/at my workplace is forbidden by my employer and could cost me my job you worthless little big mouthed c#cksucker. We agree in writing not to talk about our building procedures/methods/tooling when we hire on and I will not risk my job for anyone here. I do exactly what I say I do for a living and have likely forgotten more about gunsmithing than you will ever know if you live to be 100.

Apparently it doesn't work as well as cotton gloves.

I guess you told him.

I use a marlin 30/30 each year on stand in the Michigan and kill at least one deer every year with it. last year was a head shot off my knee at about 65 or 70 yards. I like the short and handy rifle in tree stands. I grab the dragon slayer when I move to the open fields for the evening hunt. In 2015 I shot a black bear off the ground at 10 yards in Vermont with the 30-30 as well. first shot strung him from between the arms through the heart and out about 1 inch from his butthole. He spun around to run and I put another one about 3 inches from the butthole through the femur, and strung him completely going the other direction and out the far shoulder. Wrecked his day pretty fast. he made it 10 yards. Plain jane 150 grain Winchester power points.

I have hunted and shot most everything that any hunter would want to do. Africa, Alaska... But I am soooo envious of you guys. I have never taken a deer with a 94. In my parents will I get my grandfather's 94 32 Win SPL. Someday I will check this off my bucket list. I even have 2 boxes of old school Win Silvertips stashed for that special day. Gonna wear Woolrich just like gramps did.

I hunt deer and hogs with my angle eject model 94 fitted with a 2-7X Leupold scope. The largest animal I've taken with this outfit was a red stag which weighed about 400 lbs. 30-30 bullets are built with fairly thin jacketed tips for rapid expansion which is why energy transfer seems so impressive. It always gets the job done for me and that's why 30-30 carbines are still quite popular after all these years.

30-30 is a keeper!

Sherwood

my Winchester 64 in 30 wcf is on the job

Photobucket should be considered a criminal organization!

I killed my first deer (NoDak) with a '94, in 1966

I killed my first moose (Ak) with a 336 in 1969.

The 336 is sleeping with the fishes in the Tanana River after a boating mishap (not mine).

That same 94 is my main walk-about rifle up here, even yet.

I gotta kill something with it again!

A recent acquisition from the classifieds here, a 1943 model 94 shoots the Winchester 170 grain PP very nicely. Lucky for me it is just not pristine enough that I have to worry about any collector value and can use it as I please. Going to have to put some sights on it that are better for old eyes, a thicker front sight and a big square rear sight will get the job done.

With the caveat that it would have a good ghost ring peep sight to replace the semi-buckhorns that I just can't use anymore, if all I had to go hunting deer with was a M94 or M336 in .30-30....I'd still keep my cast iron skillets optimistically seasoned and ready for venison steaks. A good rifle that I can hit a deer with at 150 yards is not a club nor a rock. It's a rifle.

I can still use the semi buckhorns sort of, it is too hard to line them up in a timely fashion. I don't really want to drill and tap for a peep sight which would be the best option so second best is a thick square front sight and a big square notch rear.

Is your 1943 vintage 94 factory d&t for a tang peep sight?

No and I was hoping it would be. I guess improving iron sights back in the 40's was akin to fireforming 300 H&H brass into 300 Weatherby, too much too soon!

However I have been looking at the Lyman #2 Tang sight and it looks like it mounts using the bolt that goes through the tang, the stock and the lower tang. Somebody enlighten me on this please.

Actually there were alot more options in aftermarket iron sights back then than there are now. Things like front bead sights with little mirrors under the bead to reflect overhead light back onto the bead. A big square notch in the rear with a wide patridge type front is the LAST place I'd want to be for hunting with my '94. Old eyes need something highly visible beyond all else for hunting. If using a barrel mounted rear sight I'd want a flat topped sight with a white diamond or triangle under the notch to line up with a white/ivory bead front or fiber optics front and rear. If a receiver/aperture sight in the rear I'd combine that with a flat faced white bead or better yet a green fiber optic bead front. I've used all those combinations on my own '94's and the last is the best, particularly in low light.

I prefer Marlins, but I see no reason a 94 can't be a good hunting rifle. Over 100 years of American hunters experience seems to back my opinion.

I last killed something (my first/only whitetail) with my Dad's '94 back in 1966. I reaquired it about 20 years ago and it is my walkabout rifle here in Alaska. Needs to kill again.

I killed my first moose with a Marlin 336. It did as good a job on that one that other rifles have done on the 20 or so since. Would not hesitate to do it again, and might with the '94 if I get a chance.