Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 30-30 vs rifled 20 gauge?

Comparing a 30-30 to a rifled barrel 20 gauge.
Which is better for primarily deer hunting & target shooting?
I already have the 20 gauge. Do I really need a 30-30?

If you can take the pounding and can afford (and find) slugs for target shooting with your 20, knock yourself out(!) On the other hand, a 30/30, or lots of other CF cartridges, are extremely useful and versatile, and easily handloaded for economy and performance tailored to the use to which you want to put them.

If you don’t handload, right now the 6mm Creedmoor or one of the elephant rounds seems to be what’s readily available in factory ammunition.

If shotguns with rifled barrels could compete with rifles for deer hunting, then more people would be using them. How many people do you know that use a rifled 20 gauge for deer hunting?

Muzzle loaders are better than rifled shotguns. Why wouldn’t a smokeless 30-30 be at least as good or better?

Rifled shotguns have their place for those areas where rifles aren’t legal, but those places have become fewer since the straight-wall regs have started being adopted. Nearby VA & MD still have some areas that are SG only, I think. I’ll always use a rifle if legal. MLs are great and effective, but require a bit more futzing around with than I care to do during a long season. We get a week of ML, which is no problem.

Been watching the Hunting Public videos and the weaponry they and their friends and relatives carry during the Iowa gun seasons is pretty varied. The younger guys seem to be toting a fair number of .450s.

Actually several around here. For hunting mainly mule deer. We have some nearby areas that are shotgun only. Lots of deer..... not many hunters.
I know one young gentleman who successfully hunts rifle areas with his 20ga slug gun.

Well the .600 nitro express was based on a 20 ga. brass shotgun case. Just saying.

The question wasn't what to use in different situations or regulated areas....If you stick to the question....then the .30-30 wins every time for both...

I took a long look at the slug gun situation a few years ago. As a rule, slug guns are a specialty item. They require deep investment in both guns and ammo to get anywhere near the accuracy and range that even a mediocre rifle and cheap ammo provide. Other things I learned:
• 12 gauge has far better ammo choices than the 20 gauge, plus good loads are easier to find.
• Somewhat lighter recoil is the only advantage the 20 has over the 12. The 20 can go into lighter guns but they kick harder so that’s a wash, especially with deer loads.
• 20-gauge slug quality can be spotty, with much bigger lot-to-lot variations in accuracy and velocity than you’d expect with rifle ammo.
• Smoothbores will kill game. Rifled barrels USUALLY shoot better with one or two loads, but it’s expensive to find out and you need a scope to get the most out of them.
• If your shotgun has interchangeable barrels, then mount the scope on the barrel. Mounting a scope on the action is possible but you need to pin the barrel to the action to really make it work. Once you do that, your gun doesn't have interchangeable barrels any more. Gunsmiths in the Great Lakes region and the Midwest have figured out how to do this cheaply and well. Listen to their advice and let them do the work.
• Once you find a load that your barrel shoots well, buy as much of it as you can find--cases and cases--because you may not be able to find it again on short notice, and even then it may be a different lot that doesn't shoot as well or have the same zero.

If rifles are legal, then they win hands down. We can split hairs with edge cases but all things considered, the typical 30-30 has the accuracy and trajectory to reach about 50% farther on deer than the typical shotgun. It will also be cheaper to feed, easier to use, and simpler to get shooting well.

I’d go 308 over 30-30 but that’s a personal thing.


Okie John

I agree 100%. If you can't use a rifle legally, then the shotgun is the better choice.

In places like SE PA and New Jersey they are required. The Savage 220, 20 ga. seems to be the weapon of choice in NJ. It has a big following both for its effectiveness and accuracy.

I have one and it is an accurate, capable weapon. In fact it is as accurate or more accurate than my sons two 94 30-30s.

BTW I have shot deer with the 220 using sabot slugs. The 30-30 could not have been more effective.

I have never felt handicapped using the 220.

What was the range on your shots?

The fact is, where rifles are allowed, shotguns are almost never the weapon of choice for big game.

And your sample of your son's two rifles vs your one shotgun is just an anecdote. It doesn't mean much in the big picture, same as the results on a few deer. How did you make your comparison to the 30-30 to conclude it couldn't be more effective?

We grew up having to use slugs guns for deer at home. Most all of us used Brownings, Remingtons and Ithaca’s. We all scoped our stuff and did as others mentioned, once we found a slug that shot we’d go buy a ton of it.

I never felt handicapped out to 150 yards which was plenty in our area.

I’d pick a rifle 99/100 and did when they changed the laws.

No question, the .30/30 is the better choice. Hands down.

EDIT: Don't look at the next post...... LOL

When it comes to fire-arms, "what does need have to do with anything"..........


Didn't need this one, but sure wanted it!



CSMC, RBL Professional. Rifled 20 Ga. S xS



ought to roll a hoglet!

ya!

GWB

My scoped Marlin .30-30 routinely shoots sub MOA. I have killed deer with one shot at ranges between 200 and 250 yards several times with a .30-30. It kicks less, shoots flatter, is more accurate and cheaper to feed than your slug gun.

Why are you limited to .30-30 or slug gun ? A .270 or .30-06 beats the shyt out of any slug gun for deer. So do a bunch of other high velocity rifle cartridges.

If I was forced to deer hunt with a slug gun, I’d likely.move, hunt out of state, or quit hunting deer.

That said, Gdub’s SxS is a BEAUT!

Thanks for all the comments. Much appreciated!
I do love that 20ga rifled SxS. Now I need one. I figured someone here would end up being an enabler.
I hunt mostly in a shotgun only area, making good use of my Ithaca for both birds & deer. The rifle areas are further away & don’t seem to have as many deer.
I hate recoil, that’s why I thought about the 30-30.

Yeah, I noticed that.