Only thing I can add is that in a lot of areas of the south, hunters would use buckshot loaded shotguns to hunt deer "back in the day", standing on dirt roads and open areas waiting for a bunch of hounds to chase the deer out of a swamp so they could hopefully get a shot, and as I recall, the seasons were very short. This was the traditional way to hunt since colonial times.
I remember as a little kid my Dad talking about one of his co workers hunting deer by "climbing a tree and waiting because the deer don't look up" as if it were a new thing. This was probably around 1972 and by that time guys could pick from the same group of cartridges most people do today. I would not be surprised if the .270, .308, '06 as well as the 12 gauge has taken more deer than the 30-30 in these parts since the population recovered. People would buy 30-30's for their kids because they were cheap but if the kid stuck with hunting he would eventually get something else. No real need to in most cases, but most people think bigger is better, plus a lot of people put stands on big fields and I guess some of the others would be a better choice for that and still work in the woods.
I think the reason the 30-30 is "iconic" is because while there were few deer around up until the mid 20th century or later, where there were deer were places like the big woods of New England, the Adirondacks or maybe the upper midwest, Minnesota, Michigan, etc. Likely the traditional way of hunting was still hunting and a Model 94 or 336 was and is hard to beat for that. Photos were taken and prints and ad copies in magazines were made showing these old Yankees around the fire or the meat pole in their plaid jackets with their lever guns. These images stuck in everybody's head and became "iconic".
Last edited by RJY66; 09/19/18.
