Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Deer hunting with a 30-30

Though currently infatuated with the "little" 30-30, there will always be room in my meager battery for other rifles that work better at longer range. Current residents in that category include 6.5x55, 7x57, and my big rifles, the 30-06 and 45-70. I sold all my 30 caliber magnums. Don't need-'em. The ones leftover are my favorites after 40 years of "sorting." Funny how they are all military rounds. Must be some sort of Freudian thing.

Oldmanms2003,

Those are some buster bucks! Congrats on your success, and thanks for posting your pics.

I have others, but a Winchester M94 was my first centerfire, bought when I was 13, and is currently used to this day. It has accounted for many, many deer, and some hogs and bear, too.

I did change the sights, a Williams FP on the back and a Marbles fine bead front sight, partially to accommodate my eyesight (I still have 20/20 vision, it's just at 20 feet.), and to improve on the factory offering.

It has accounted for deer from powder burn to a lasered 236 yards.

I started out killing my first few deer with a 30/30 and then sold it and bought a 7mag. I still have the 7 mag and have since bought a marlin 30/30 and killed a few with it. Due to surgery this year, I will not be able to make it out in rifle country to use it. We always used the 150 grain offerings from Federal or Winchester. I topped the Marlin with a 2x7 and the thing is a lazer. Shoots honest 1" groups from a bench with Winchester 150's and can hold that to about 3.5" at 200. When stand hunting or doing deer drives in the thick stuff its a perfect gun. Short and fast with plenty of killing power. Not to mention the cool factor for killing stuff with a little ol 30/30 when so many guys think it can't be done. I am planning a daily backpack hunt to a place in northern michigan one of these seasons and the 30/30 will get the nod for sure. All shots will be short anyway and the short gun will pack well.

I'm back into them. I inherited my fathers. A 1940 something vintage Win 94. Presently working up a load and either 30 or 31 gr of 3031 looks very promising .I really wanted Sierra 170 gr FP, but Hornady was all I could find,but I am sure it will work admirably.
I'm seriously considering adding a pep sight,but this rifle is in very good condition factory original in every way and I hate to reduce the value by adding holes.Still I have been holding 3" groups at 75 yards with the factory sights and my 68 yr old eyes.
I have almost two boxes of 1950 vintage 150 gr Silver tips for it also.

Presently, I hunt the thick stuff with my 44 mag Marlin 94 and have successfully killed elk with it ,but the 30-30 will replace that.
Everyone should own a good 22, 30-30, and 30-06.

Yeah like others I shot my first deer w/ the M94 thuddy-thuddy my aunt & uncle bought me for my 16th bday. Like you, I've never killed big game w/ anything but a handload.

I also killed my first 'yote w/ that rifle. I don't hunt it as much as I should, as I've been intending to put a Williams FP set w/ high-vis front post on it for a long time and haven't gotten around to it. The Weaver K2.5x that I have on it now kinda ruins the handling, though it is fast and accurate out to 200 yards.

I run 150s (Hot Cors, Power Points, Interlocks, Core Lokts, whatever) and RL15 in mine.

Saddlesore,

Every 94 I have seen was factory-drilled for a peep sight. Are you sure yours is not? Look on the left side of the receiver. There should be two small screws, one on either side of a pin. Those are filler screws for the peep sight mounting holes. No? Maybe I'm thinking of Marlins? I don't know.

Not all 94's were drilled for a peep site. I have a 1950 model that is not drilled and tapped.

I used a 30-30 last year to hunt. It is a Model 64 from 1939. I could have killed a little buck with it. It was a perfect shot for the 30-30 at 105 yards but I left him to grow another year.

ain't got pics of the wifes buck with the 30-30 contender, and I'm only starting to use it again this fall...

But an 1892 in 32-20 works fine, so I doubt I'll have any issues with the 30-30, especially since the last thing I shot with it and killed was a Nilgai bull....

Oh yeah, so much for not hunting in blue huh?

1952 was either the first year Winchester drilled and tapped the receivers for a sight, or the last year they didn't. The memory is the first thing to go.

I went to the range with a buddy of mine- pretty big guy- and he shoots a .300 Win Mag.

After a few shots to sight in, he was done.


I shot a hundred or so 150gr FN bullets out of the 336 before I went over to the pistol range where he had migrated to.

Couple of weeks later, he missed a deer because of flinch.

I didn't.

Wow, that is very interesting to me. How much practice shooting is typical? I don't do a whole lot of practicing with my '06 aside from getting it sighted in. I practice with a .22

I shot my 30-30 this year, which was the first time in a few years. I forgot how much fun my 336 Texan is to shoot. I own rifles in a few other calibers, but I could easily get by with a 30-30 for all my hunting needs. I just won't tell the wife.

I had an interesting conversation with a gun shop owner I know. The 30-30 and 243 came up in conversation, with high remarks for both. A funny comment was made about the 30-30. The gun shop owners gunsmith used to say that "most people (the average hunter) are over-gunned if they carry anything more than a 30-30."

Dale

What can you tell me about your 32-20? I've got an old 1892 that I'm getting ready to shoot for the first time, lead bullets only most likely. I'd like to hear about your gun and load. Thanks!

You sir, have hunted.

Ive killed one doe with my 336 30-30 and Federal 170gr Powershoks. Ive been toting it around the last few days to fill a few doe tags i have left. Could have shot some last night but didnt want to mess anything up for my little sister who still has her buck tag. Ill kill at least one with it this year. I love packing it around. There is just something about a 336 and 30-30 that makes me smile. I love it

Some turn up their nose at a .30-30 because women and kids use them...it ain't manly enough for them. Or it doesn't say 'Magnum' on the headstamp. Or it won't shoot into the next zip code as flat as a laser.

And then there are some who use it because they choose to use it. And they usually get deer..but then, they'd get deer with most anything.

The old .30-30 has killed a passel of critters, from small to large, deer to griz. It'll still do the job if the user knows what he's about.

I carry one, for the same reason I sometimes carry a .45-70 or a 444...because it makes me happy!

The one criteria I was concerned about most with the 30-30 was penetration. I just am not happy if the bullet does not exit, and I prefer to aim at the shoulders for DRT results, so a cartridge/load has to have some penetrating ability to please me. My loads with the 170gr Hornadys all exited and the deer went plop. That pleases me.

Who told you a 30-30 wouldn't penetrate a deer? I've never seen a deer shot with a 30-30 ( probably a dz or so) that wasn't a pass thru.

Something to remember:
A 357 mag pistol with a 158 gr bullet ( mv of 1300fps) is noted for having pretty good penetration and I would guess that few of us would pass a shot at 2ft on a good deer and not expect it to kill it pretty easily with our favorite 357 revolver.
A 150 gr 30-30 bullet started at 2300fps has more speed at 400yds (about 1350fps) with a bullet of much greater sectional density than a 357 bullet does , yet people doubt the ability of a 30-30 to penetrate or kill at even 200 yds. Go figure.

Note velocity/ ballistics figures are pulled from speer manual.

Hey bangeye, remember the bad old days when all the magazine articles told us that at best a 30-30 was a 150 yd deer rifle and only then if you didn't have something better to use? Then along came the Contender pistol and they chambered it in 30-30 with 10 and 14" barrels and all of a sudden it was good deer cartridge to 200 yds? Allways gave me gas reading that. Magnum man