Over the last several years, my friends and I have killed lots of game. We use small 7s, a 270,280, 308, 300H&H and a couple of '06s. We shoot mostly whitetail and exotic does, pigs, one red hind and two cow elk. The deer and the pigs were in the same size range, 75-140lbs. They all died within 100yds. all the pigs died within feet of where shot.Most deer ran, at least a little bit. This is mainly because we try to shoot pigs through one shoulder and deer are heart lung shot. All of them shot with a 30-30 would have been just as dead. Not counting long range shooters, how many deer would you have gotten just as well with a 30-30? capt david

All but 1 I guess but I don't hold any special cult love of the 30-30 so that doesn't mean much to me. Own a pre 64 Win 94 and an Savage M1899 both in 30-30. The rifles mean a ton to me. The chambering does not.

From the last five years I can only think of two that couldn’t have been harvested with stick n string....30-30 would have worked for those. More dependent on hunting locations methinks.

Are we still beating this dead horse? [bleep]...

Out of 200+ deer only two I probably couldn't have killed with a .30-30. Course I've killed several at 200 - 250 yards with my .30-30. My longest kill ever was 440 with a .243. Don't think I'd have tried that one with a .30-30.

What most shooters seem to miss is a fact that it's a bullet HOLE that kills, not the bullet, not the cartridge, not the scope, not the rifle.

It's the HOLE!

So if you can cut a 1" or a 2" hole clear through a deer, elk moose or bear or anything else.... what cut that hole is pretty much irrelevant. Archers do it all the time with sharp sticks that don't even remove the tissue in the hole the was a bullet will.

You can use a spear, an arrow, a bullet or a hand drill and all the game would be just as dead, just as completely, no mater what tool was used to make the hole.

The tools make the "installation" of the hole easier. But 100% penetration with a 2" diameter is going to work just was well to kill a deer as any other "2" clear-through hole". Different guns can make for different diameters of holes and different depths of holes, but what works is diameter and penetration. How big around is that hole and where did it go through! It truly is that simple.

Faster bullet drop less so they make range estimation easier. They deflect less in wind too. But the idea that velocity itself is more deadly is simply not true.

Sometimes a higher velocity bullet will make a larger HOLE because of the shocking effect it has on tissue filled with fluid, but that is still all about the size of the HOLE! In many cases a wide hole that is made by a bullet breaking up is not AS deadly as one that is narrower but goes clear through and doesn't deviate much from it's line of travel.

So I have to agree that within it's range to make a hit and expand a bullet, a 30-30 kills deer as well as any other rifle including the magnums.

Sometimes the larger holes made by more powerful guns drop the deer faster, but they don't end up any deader. I have killed about 15 with 30-30s in my life and seen about 20 others killed. If the hit is in the vitals a 30-30 seems to drop deer about as fast as a 300 Savage, a 30-06 or a 7MM Mag. Not as far away I am sure, but I never saw a deer killed over about 225 years with a 30-30, and I personally never killed one with a 30-30 over about 150 myself.

Speaking strictly for myself, I have made so many longer range kills in 50+ years that it's almost not fun to do it now. I will probably use a 30-30 or some other iron sighted rifle to kill my deer and antelope this year again, because I like to HUNT them and get close enough to be sure of my kill, even with rifles that only shoot bullets at 2000 to 2400 FPS and have bead front sights.

Oh, probably most, but I shot most of them with a muzzleloader or a single action revolver instead. I think a .30-30 would have worked, other than the poaching aspect of using a c.f. rifle during a ML-only season for some of them.

Tom

My second longest shot on a deer (200 yards) was with a 30-30. Only deer farther than that was 300 yards with a 30-06. That one I wouldn't have attempted with a 30-30.

I agree with this. I've never shot one with a 7mm mag. or .300 Savage but I have killed a bunch with the .30-30, .30-06 and .308 and never saw enough difference to say so.

None of them legally. All of them otherwise.

I think that the 30-30 is under appreciated and that JOC got it pretty close to right when he wrote the chapter on the 30-30 in The Hunting Rifle close to 50 years ago.

My Marlin 30-30 with Hornady Leverlution ammo was very accurate well beyond 100 yards. I killed deer with it out to 175.

The only one that comes to mind was the unlucky 8 point that took a 180 grain Partition from a .300 WM when he was on the run behind a 6" diameter ash tree. Through the tree then nearly the deer lengthwise. A M94 carries real well, but they never fit me too well and I like the precision of a low mounted scope on my bolt actions.

I've killed a few farther than I would try with a 30-30. But the rest the 30-30 would have worked.

I made one or two shots when I hunted in Oklahoma and Texas that I would not have attempted with a 30-30, but it would have been fine for everything else.


Okie John

Pretty much all of mine could have easily been taken with a 30-30. I hunt the woods of Alabama where bow range kills are more frequent than shots past 100 yds.

I have used my 30-30 to take most of my deer in the last ten years. Most shots are under 100 yards. The only exception is mule deer hunting the shots have been longer. In that case, the 30-30 stays home.

I've killed three doe antelope 2 where with a 30 wcf and this year's was killed with a 6.5x55 swede,i have no problem using a 30 wcf.

would you like to talk about gaymoor's?

Leave the .270 out of this.

didn't say anything about a 270 at all

The 30-30 is a fine old deer killer. My Marlin 336 has worked its magic with 170 grain bullets many times. With that said, I have enjoyed reaching out with my 260, 270, & 7mm08 to distances (+150 yards) that I would not have chosen to shoot with the 336.
I guess we are all on the quest for the perfect deer rifle. I hope we never find it cause it would take away the fun of the quest.

30-30 is my woods rifle.... If it's further than about 100 yards I have plenty of other stuff that's much more suitable. Nothing wrong with a 30-30.... To me it's a "niche rifle".

It will kill just as well. Killed my first dozen deer with a 30-30. It’s location that kills. I kill a deer every year with my bow plus pigs. I killed a 200 lb Aoudad with a bow. He didn’t run 30 yards. Grandkids have killed deer-pigs with loaded down 243’s. It’s location of the projectile that kills.

Out of the fifty or so deer I have killed with a gun, perhaps half a dozen were farther than I would have been comfortable shooting at with a 30-30. Those shots were 200 to 250 yards plus one at 400.

I have been deer hunting here in the northeast for over 40 years. I can think of one deer that might have been iffy with a 30-30. All of the rest were close. Same with bear and moose.

doing all my hunting this year with my savage 99 in 3030

If faced with the proverbial "one gun for deer the rest of my life", please dear god let it be a .30-30 - in a quality bolt gun like a M54 Winchester or a Savage lever gun.

I would guess 80% of the deer I have shot I would have missed with a 30-30 with open sights. Now if I had a accurate single shot or bolt action 30-30 with a scope and spitzer bullets that number drops dramatically

Odd why would you shoot at all with a "80%" miss rate?

What?

30-30 is more than enough to get her done as has been proven well over the years. Personally Taken 2 deer at 300 yards plus with a 6mm Remington that I would not have trusted a 30-30. Recent years the bolt action 6.5 Grendel has become my go to cartridge of choice.

Have friends and relatives that have toyed with the 30-30 and served them well. I just have had diffrent cartridge preference and generally smaller caliber with a bit more velocity & a more efficient BC. So many good choices. I have grown up on the planes and the 30-30 has lacked appeal for this topography. iIn a forested area Ill better understand the 30-30 appeal.

Suspect the lower velocity 30-30 is a friendlier recipe in terms of saving meat.

I'm sure over 95% of my game could have been killed with the Marlin 30-30 I used decades ago.
The only change I would make on that old gun is putting a Skinner peep-sight on it, if it was still in my safe.
I once tried putting a 4-power scope on that gun, but just didn't like it and took it off. (just my bias)

With the proper rifle , load & scope the shots I made at 300-400 yards were very high percentage shots. Those same shots with an open sighted 30-30 would have been a stunt for ME.

This thread is interesting as to the different conditions we as deer hunters face in different geographical locations.

I tend to hunt deer in very open country and long shots are the norm

Most of the deer or goats that I have killed I would have been questionable with an open site 30-30.

With a scope would have changed some, I would hesitate with a 30-30 over 200 yards.

I could get by with a .30-30

I've taken a few in the 3-500 yard range that the .30-30 would not have been ideal for.

-Jake

If this season we all went to a .30-30, there would be a lot more game available during the next. Most here say they won’t tolerate a rilfle that isn’t at minimum moa capable, yet they are going to be happy with a short range .30-30? Makes no difference if most shoot game under 100, today we have better choices.

Okay, the water is getting a little muddy. I have a Marlin 336 WITH a scope that I am comfortable shooting deer out to 150 yards. You can zero the rifle at 100 and it is flat out to 150 requiring no holdover, and believe me, I need to keep things simple. I've shot at and killed coyotes further than that with a 30-06 but no deer, so yes, I could have used a 30-30 and not have changed the results of my hunting much. The round itself is plenty potent.

If we are talking using open sights, particularly the factory supplied shotgun bead sight on my 336, I would probably have to be restricted to just a little farther than bow range. Big difference.

30-30 was and still is a fine "woods rifle". Yes, the lower velocity at short range tears up less meat. Mine is probably MOA at 100 yards unless I screw up......for two consecutive shots. Then as the barrel warms the groups open up. Not a big deal because the rifle was/is designed to kill big game, not shoot tight groups.

Reality is I haven’t crossed paths with any using a .30-30 in at least 30 years. In fact not sure of the last time I have seen a lever rifle. Other than the couple days I may carry my Grandfathers .32WS. For the better part they have become little more than curiosity antiques.

Funny I still run into folks carrying .30-30's fairly regularly here in NY. I've had a bunch of Marlins and Winchesters chambered in .30-30. Marlins will almost universally group 3 shots under 2" at 100 yards, some will do sub MOA with favored loads. All the Winchesters I've owned would do better than 3" at 100 for 3 shots and some will do MOA with favored loads. This is all assuming scopes on the Marlins and a good receiver sight setup on the Winchesters with a good shot behind the buttplate. Anybody who can't take deer dependably out to 200 yards with a scoped Marlin or 150 with a Winchester wearing good sights is just not much of a marksman period. Many deer still fall to slug guns every year in areas where their use is required. I used one myself for alot of years when hunting in the slug zone here in NY. Truth is, a slug gun is a very effective deerslayer in the woods. A .30-30 is a death ray in comparison.

It may be funny in NY, but it is reality here. It is what it is.

Maybe it's also a season length thing. Like here, gun season is 2 months long and you can legally kill 3 deer a day, everyday. All the states I have lived in had long seasons so it was always fun trying different things for the hell of it

All deer shot would have fallen to a 30-30. I agree with the above, if deer season was longer and deer more plentiful you would see more here in the Northeast. I hunt Maine, VT, PA and Ct. On occasion you still see lever action 30's and 35's but pumps out number them at least 3 to 1 and bolts now outnumber them at least 10-1

Makes sense.

We are allowed one buck a year and maybe an extra doe of two depending upon location. For the buck tags we tend to use the most effective tool possible.
Many like to experiment with different guns on the doe tags though.


Although at times we even experiment with buck tags......
30-30 victim




Flave, with a 30-40 Krag victim.....
Close to a 30-30

I know I've hunted with over a dozen different rifles during the course of a season. That's more rifles than some seasons...

Bout sums it up.

You'd never hear that me. The last deer I killed with a 30/30, it was either the 3rd or 4th shot I had ever fired through the rifle. I put out a few hedge apples and walked off 50 yards and busted one hedge apple per shot offhand. Called it good for hunting.

If it makes alot of difference then there's alot of shytty hunters out there. I've got a safe full of scoped bolt rifles all capable of sub MOA accuracy. None give me any appreciable advantage over my scoped Marlin .30-30 where I hunt. In fact most of the time my bolt guns stay home and the Marlin goes hunting. I've killed more deer with the Marlin than any three of the bolt rifles combined. In more open country I'm sure it would make a difference but hell even then you aught to be able to put yourself within .30-30 range. I hunted open farm land for 20 years with a slug gun and always filled my tags.

I still see a decent number of leverguns but they're mostly 45-70. The 45-70 has taken off like wildfire around here. And heck, I use one too.

I might be a contrarian and use a 32 Special this year. As all good looney's know the 32 is way more caliber than a thutty-thutty that's why they call it Special.

A friend uses a 45-70 and in his hands I call it the deer educator as he takes cracks at deer 300+ yards away and then wonders why the bullet landed at their feet. Go figure?

Every single one of them.

This large bodied buck weighed almost 300 lbs but was no match for my well placed 170 grain Power Point bullet. I shot him through the chest organs at a distance of approx 125 yards or so. 30-30 is a keeper!

Sherwood

I've got to admit, that's a new one on me.

Better choice isn't what hunting is about. Some people jump at all the newest and latest, not knowing that nothing new has happened in the past hundred years since smokeless powder, jacketed bullets and bottleneck cases. Most people couldn't shoot an MOA group with a gun that was capable of that.

I shoot old rifles because they still work and kill stuff. I think the 30-30 is a bit overbore and like the 25-35. Everything from varmints to Grizzly bears...

I'm sure much is new to you every day.

Except your posts. Different day, same old sh**.

Look in the mirror dipshyt.

I speed read your post and didn't get it right. I too use the rifle most likely to do the job and for some of my hunting a 30-30 or 44 magnum carbine do just fine.

Now hold on there, Baba Looie; maybe, maybe not. If we believe that a .30 WCF is up to the task (as I do), then using one isn't an impediment to success, except maybe some places out West or over beanfields. I can only think of one deer that might have gone free on my meager list of kills. And more game isn't necessarily a plus everywhere either. Most places in the East, South, and
maybe the Midwest, there's no shortage of deer, but finding places to hunt them can be tough. As it is, outbreaks of various diseases sweep through heavy deer populations periodically like the gnat-borne one that hit here about 2011 or so.

The reason I don't currently own or use a .30/30 is that few to none of the new ones appeal to me, and in addition most aren't especially good candidates for the other facets of shooting that draw me. I like bolt guns and falling blocks, and am starting to get interested in kipplaufs, should one within my budget appear. The .30 calibers I have get loaded to approximate the ballistics of rounds from the .30/30 to the .308, and others generally get loaded a bit under max but up to the job at hand. Everyone likes good groups, but if I'd demanded moa out of all my rifles, I'd have stayed home most of the time over the years. If anyone wants to use a .30/30 or other levergun, or limit themselves to iron sights, or whatever else winds their clock I'm all for it, as this is, as Old Jack said, all fun and games, just so long as they don't start on me for using "Sniper Scopes" or whatever else offends their tender sensibilities. I've heard all that crap before.

I have a new Marlin 30/30 loaded up with 34gn of H 335 under a Barnes 150gn TTSXFN which is really a cave point bullet for 2456fps.
Accuracy is .6" @ 50 yards sighted 1 inch high. Because I tend to change rifles with each hunt, I may have it in hand if the opportunity arises.
John

nicely done sir!

i too use and love the 25/35

Trying to think if there have been ANY where my .30-30 would not have worked just as well.

Yet it remains one of the few unblooded rifles in my safe.