.30 Carbine For Deer

Funny about regional preferences. I know guys Down East who have no trouble shooting 30 Carbine at deer and killing them. Go West and a 7.62x39 is scorned as not nearly enough gun. For a while Quebec's hunting regs had a section that the angle of the dangle divided by the mass of the ass squared by the cross section of the hunter's last meal. A really complicated formula to specify acceptable big game cartridges. The trouble was, it unintentionally excluded 30-30s while trying to exclude .243 and 30 Carbine.

To the OP - yes on paper, but ...... There are better choices. The .30 Carbine isn't much more bullet and ballistics than a .357 Magnum IMHO.
 
According to random Internet sources, you should have 1000 ft-lb of energy in a projectile when it hits your deer. According to Wikipedia, the 110gr projectile from 30 Carbine has 967 ft-lb of energy at the muzzle. I found a website that claims 600 ft-lb at 100 yards.

Google is telling me a variety of people (American?) have used it successfully for deer. To me, it appears borderline. That being said, I've read many people using 357 Magnum for deer.

With the right projectile, and the correct shot placement, I suspect that out to (say) 50 yards, it would do the job. Sitting in a tree and shooting a deer from 20 yards would probably be great.

It's legal in Ontario for deer, as any center-fire rifle is fine during rifle season. I would not use my PCC in 9mm Lugar for a deer though!
 
When I took hunter safety they specifically said any 30 cal other than .30 carbine. That was back in the early 90’s. Haha. It can be done, is it advisable? I would say no. I wld keep shots under 50 m and treat it as the same lethality as a .38 special.

If you are wanting to hunt with a mil surp you can triple that 50m with an sks and hornady rounds.
 
While certainly not a preferred choice, it can do it if the ranges are kept short and shot placement is good. Get some good quality ammo, watched a ballistics gel test the other day that made the Hornady FTX stuff perform pretty good.

Plenty of other catridges out there that will afford you more margin of error and greater range. If you have no choice, or your simply really want to get one with the 30 Carbine, I'd suggest setting up like you're bow hunting and have a good rest in your blind/stand. Should make getting off a well placed close quarters shot much easier, and hopefully it'll get you a notched tag.
 
grabbers said:
Did a quick search and didnt see anything...

Opinions ? Is there enough oomph in the .30 Carbine to take down a Whitetail ?
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What are you trying to prove? That it can be done? It has been done. IMHO the 30 carbine is less than marginal for medium game. How about 22 LR in the brain pan, that would work also. Survival situation use whatever you have on hand otherwise remain ethical.
 
StoneHorse said:
What are you trying to prove? That it can be done? It has been done. IMHO the 30 carbine is less than marginal for medium game. How about 22 LR in the brain pan, that would work also. Survival situation use whatever you have on hand otherwise remain ethical.
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Cool the jets there buckaroo... I am looking at buying an Auto Ordnance M1 in .30 Carbine is all and If ethical I would love to use it to stalk deer. Hence the interest in opinions...

Incidentally, while in NS, I have never shot a deer further away than 75 yards.
 
Yes a .30 carbine will kill a deer. With that said so will a 40 grain bullet out of a .22 LR.

Neither are good choices but both will work if distances are short.
 
StoneHorse said:
" How about 22 LR in the brain pan, that would work also ".
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A .22 doesn't need to be in the brain. A broadside shot through both lungs will bring down a deer - or moose for that matter - as long as they are given enough time to expire. Again not recommended - or legal for that matter - but don't underestimate the penetration's of a 40 grain 22 bullet.
 
Some here can't fathom between being a ethical hunter, a survival situation and let's see what happens just because you can.

As for the comment about me underestimating the 22 LR, I have up close and personal experience with the lethality of the 22 LR.
 
I know my grandfather killed more than a few moose and deer with his Winchester 1907 chambered in .351 WSL. That cartridge is pretty similar to 357 Mag ballistics. It can be done.

I'm not specifically advocating it, I have a M1 Carbine as well and have no intentions of using it as a deer rifle. Free country and all, but if it was me, I'd be thinking long and hard before squeezing the trigger on a deer with one. I've had a shot go bad before with a much bigger cartridge, and even though I recovered the animal, it took him a long time to expire. That is an experience I never want to re-live.
 
Plenty out to 100yds
As for ethics, these are personal set, nobody's are the same nore are they wrong so long as you stay within the law. Best not pay attention to the ethics police.
 
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captonion said:
Plenty out to 100yds
As for ethics, these are personal set, nobody's are the same nore are they wrong so long as you stay within the law. Best not pay attention to the ethics police.
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This is the best post so far in the whole thread.

And yes, if you want personal references to the 100 yrd. effectiveness I can personally attest to this. I have killed a couple of deer with my Carbine, a fully mature WT and a fully mature Mule. Both at 80-100 yrds and both one shot kills with complete pass-through's of the rib cage's. The WT made 3-4 jumps after being hit, the Mule 4-5.

The "morality" of these shots never entered my mind for a second...complete confidence that the round would kill comparable or quicker than any "sharp stick" will and the instant I paid my money for the licence fee to kill an animal with a legal instrument made it OK with me.
 
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