I own a 30-30. It's a 336 Marlin. And I am not a new hunter. I am 55 years old and have been hunting whitetails here in Alabama since I was a child. Not sure how many I have killed but well over a hundred. Killed them with a recurve and a compound bow. Killed them with muzzleloaders. Killed them with buckshot back in the dog hunting days. Killed them with a 243, 25-06, 7mm-08, 30-30, 35 Rem, 7.62x54R, 8mm Mauser, 45-70, 30-06, and a 7mm Mag.
And my opinion of the 30-30's performance on deer is a resounding, meh. They die, eventually. Often a 100 yards away out through a briar thicket where you have to locate them with a flashlight and a scant or non existant blood trail in the dark.
Maybe this is the problem for me. My personal Marlin 336 will not group any 150 grain bullets worth a flip. It will however shoot 170 grain Winchester power points well enough. Nothing to brag about but more than adequate for a 150 yard cartridge. Our Alabama bucks typically weigh about 170 pounds and the does considerably less than that. Maybe these 170 gran 30-30 bullets at such a low velocity just don't expand very well on our deer. Because my experience has been caliber size exit holes and long sparce blood trails.
To me even a 243 leaves the 30-30 in the dust when it comes to deer. Never understood the love for the cartridge outside of nostalgia for using the same lever action rifle that grandpappy used to own. Whenever I carry a lever gun in the woods now I take my 45-70. A slow bullet doesn't need to expand as much when it starts out 15 calibers larger. LOL!
Last edited by Willto; 05/05/21.
