Not many will probably be familiar with the name Jim Kjelgaard. He wrote fiction geared toward boys. His most famous work was Big Red. Anyway I was in love with his books as a kid and the main characters in his books almost always used 30-30 rifles. Even though I grew up in a 30-06 family his books are responsible for my lifelong love affair with the 30-30. And he wasn't even a gunwriter.
Did you read Firehunter by Kjelgaard? My favorite of his.