yes my son shot a huge bull elk with his bow ,but i am still not using a 30-30 for deer or elk, i have better rifles and cartridges. as far as the cowboy who killed an elk with his 30-30 probably shot that elk by a hay stack out of the truck ? and this cowboy has all season to kill an elk from where he lives , most of us have a week or two hunt elk .
I've found it does all that ever needs to be done to a deer at the ranges I normally shoot them.
sometimes i need to make that one shot at 300 - 500 yards and it will be with my Ruger # 1 257 Weatherby mag. this cartridge with my handloads 30 feet or 500 yards it will get the job done on a good buck and i won`t have to follow a blood trail too far either or that buck might just drop right there dead, that`s why i no longer use a 30-30 . i still own my Win. lever 30 -30 and i also have bowhunted for now over 55 years so i know how to get close to deer and elk., so when i rifle hunt with my #1 i only shoot bigger bucks and that won`t be every year and to honest i have shot more big bucks with my bow in my lifetime.
You'll never see a deer from 300 yards where I hunt. I've killed over 80 deer with my .30-30's and never had one go more than 75 yards after the shot yet. Most go down in less than 50 yards and while I've rarely needed a blood trail, the few times I did it was always there. If I need/want one to drop right there, I shoot high shoulder, neck or head. That is regardless of what cartridge the rifle in my hands is chambered for because I've seen plenty run after being shot through the lungs with everything from a .22 mag. to a 338.
