Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Never had a 30-30, if I want to try one, which maker is the one to try

I would choose in the following order.

1) Savage 99.










The end.

If you can find it and like peep sights, this is the one to look for in my opinion.

If you want a scope, then find a good, clean, pre safety Marlin 336 that is already set up for a scope in what ever version suits your fancy. Don't drill and tap an old Savage 99 or Marlin.

Savage made a bolt gun....model 340. They were crudely finished but good quality and if you can find a scope mount they do shoot really well.
Rem did the 788 in 30/30. With good hand loads the 788 will hold its own with just about anything...they bring pretty good money tho...

The Savage 99 is a magnificent but when chambered in .30-30, it's vastly inferior for the job than the Winchester 94.

The 99 is for higher power, longer range cartridges. But it's much fatter, a bit heavier and doesn't carry nearly as well as the 94.

For 30-30 jobs, give me the 94. If my deer hunting is in more open fields, give me the 99 in .250 or .300 Savage.

Winchester 64 Deluxe with a Redfield peep.

A dream to carry and still hunt with.

You want a pre '64 Winchester. I have four Marlins in other camberings that the model 94 never had, but none in .30-30. While the Marlins have good points, I started with a Winchester, and Marlins never feel right.

A 24" barrel/short magazine model like the model 64 feels better to me than the 20" barrel models, but this is a minor point.

It is too easy to bump the safety on while hunting. My Marlin 444 has one, and it is an actual problem.

There is a very easy fix for that.

Remove the buttstock, find the little screw that adjusts the detent spring.

Move safety to "off" position.

Tighten the hell out of the detent spring, so the safety won't move. It takes a very small allen wrench. Loctite if you feel the need.

Reinstall buttstock, use halfcock safety, and never worry about that little button mofo again.

Reverse procedure if you want to sell rifle and buyer would like that bothersome damn feature.

The Marlin safety is very easy to disable if you want to eliminate your problem.

Funny, I never had to replace a broken machined lifter but did have to adjust/straighten a couple of the bent stamped sheet steel lifters.The 64-68 Winchesters were junk. Black chrome plated cast iron receivers that looked like hell and got worse when they started to flake, stamped lifters and those lovely, stained, stud grade birch stocks. No thanks. In 69 Winchester started correcting it's offenses to the 94. By the mid 70's they were back to where they really weren't too bad but they were never to be nearly as well made as the pre 64's again.

Hard to imagine the need to replace high -grade machined steel. Sadly, the stamped steel guts gave the post-64 M94s a bad name when there were actually several years of post-64, pre-AE guns which are very good guns (having either forged or cast steel parts inside - probably the latter.) I have shot and abused the heck out of a pair of 80's vintage M94s and they have been utterly reliable with nothing more than rather paltry care.

Agreed on all counts.

Retrotastic, but 3 shots and my cheek feels like I went a round with Mike Tyson.

A 94 was my first centerfire rifle. Still have it. Should carry it more. As already said, a pure joy to carry and shoot.

I love the 99's.

Marlins are fuggin' uglier than sin, but they're the obvious choice if ya have to mount a scope.

I have a Legacy Model 94, before they jacked the prices up on them dramatically... bought it for less than $400, new in the box...has a 26 inch barrel, and the magazine goes out to the end of the barrel, so it holds more than the shorter 20 inch barrel..

I can't remember if I have even shot it...

also have a Stainless Marlin in 30/30, that was a limited run when they were testing the waters.. got that one on a close out down at BiMart for like $250.00

Then my 3rd 30/30 is a Model 94, my dad bought new in June 1966 in England at the base Rod and Gun Club before coming back stateside...think it was $50 new in those days...never was a tack driver.. but it seems to love SR 4759 loads giving an MV in the 1850 fps range...and then it loves the handload I experimented with, a 220 grain round nose ( deep seated in the case) fueled by W 748...

The Marlin and the Legacy have scopes ( 1.5 x 4 Bushnell 3200s) and the 1966 Model 94 is open sights...

On my short list of desired rifles is a Model 54 Winchester in 30/30....in pristine shape of course..

One that you don't see every day, but a great shooting .30-30. Savage 170 pump gun.

cool Sam....

I know I'll piss off the purists, but as I have aged, I have come to the conclusion, that for most real world deer hunting, the old 30/30 cartridge is all ya really need.. regardless of what you are shooting it out of...

the little Savage shucks 'em slicker than eel chit. Accurate as well, grouping two inches at 100 yards. Don't know about other places, but a good .30-30 will keep you in venison and pork here in Florida.

This^^^. If I want to carry a longer, heavier gun, there are better choices than the 336.

There are more effective bows than recurves, but none are more of a joy to carry.