30-30 vs 44 magnum for deer

My deer hunting got off to a start in the late 60's in the Almaguin area of Parry Sound, in an old style camp of a dozen guys who had been using hounds for years. My first two deer were taken with a rather ancient "loaner", a 44-40 Winchester rifle. The next half dozen + were with a Model 92 rifle rechambered to 44 Magnum, a Marlin 1894 in 44 Magnum and the old style Ruger carbine in 44 magnum. A moose and a bear were also in that mix. I used a Model 94 rifle in 30-30 for a several years thereafter, accounting for maybe another half dozen deer.
No complaints with any of them ! If you're the guy doing the "dog punching", then I favour the Ruger carbine hands down. If your taking a stand on the drive, any of them will do just fine. I regard the 44 Magnum to be a good 100 yard gun ... the 30-30 suitable out to maybe 150, but for the vast majority of shooting I've had to date, 75 yards or so seems to be about the max ... and 40 to 50 yards is much more common.

For "stand" shooting in more open situations I have both a 257 and a 25-06 ... but that ain't huntin' with the hounds !
 
It's funny about the 30-30. When it was introduced it was considered something of a laser death day killing machine. :)

Now we wonder if it will kill a moose. :)

I'd personally go 44 mag just because I like pistol cartridge carbines but the 30-30 might be more versatile.
 
I bought a '77 30-30 from a buddy 2 years ago and since it's been my favorite rifle. I've been playing around with all kinds of loads etc. but haven't hunted with it yet. Where I usually hunt the shots are between 100 and 350 yards so I like my 7mm but if I get to hunting in tighter bush one of these days I'll be taking the 30-30.

I also have a rossi .357 that I've been looking to develop a deer load for. I actually bought it before the 30-30 but I didn't have dies yet so I started with the 30-30. One day I'll take a deer with the rossi I hope.

A .44? More than capable. The issue with pistol calibers in rifles isn't the caliber, I've found. It's the shooter. There is no point and shoot, you have to be able to judge distance and figure drop quickly and that is where the skill comes in.

Reminds me of knocking pigeons off of the neighbor's house with my pellet gun as a kid. You have to know your trajectories.

For me? I love learning each caliber and how to work with it.
 
My brother and another friend hunted most everything in the Yukon with .44's for a few years. They both limited their shots to around 100 yards, maybe a bit more in ideal situations. To the best of my knowledge they never wounded anything.

So I'm thinking if you can reliably knock down big Yukon/Alaska moose, and grizzlies, with a .44 mag, you'd probably be okay shooting a deer....

BTW, I've nothing against the 30-30, but quoting energy levels to compare the 30-30 to the .44 is pure silliness.

A decent .44/45 cal bullet in the 260 - 300 grain range that is loafing along at a measly 1100 fps (impact velocity) or so will penetrate a good 3+ feet of animal. That's a complete through-and-through on most animals, of course. And while most animals don't care one whit for math as it relates to energy levels, a thumbprint sized hole through their entire chest cavity and out the other side does affect them very greatly.
 
Northman999 said:
My brother and another friend hunted most everything in the Yukon with .44's for a few years. They both limited their shots to around 100 yards, maybe a bit more in ideal situations. To the best of my knowledge they never wounded anything.

So I'm thinking if you can reliably knock down big Yukon/Alaska moose, and grizzlies, with a .44 mag, you'd probably be okay shooting a deer....

BTW, I've nothing against the 30-30, but quoting energy levels to compare the 30-30 to the .44 is pure silliness.

A decent .44/45 cal bullet in the 260 - 300 grain range that is loafing along at a measly 1100 fps (impact velocity) or so will penetrate a good 3+ feet of animal. That's a complete through-and-through on most animals, of course. And while most animals don't care one whit for math as it relates to energy levels, a thumbprint sized hole through their entire chest cavity and out the other side does affect them very greatly.
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I like reading your post, always based on real experiences and not 'internet experience' and you seem to stay out of the mud slinging. This is why I come here!

Side note, have you been able to harvest any game with those 340gr monsters for your 454? I grabbed a 100 from Ben after reading you thread on them but have not been able to connect with them yet.
 
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caramel said:
You are right, i should order a 30-30... JP.
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You don't have one? :p

Personally having no experience with either cartridge and this will be my first season after deer with a gun(went out a couple times last season with crossbow without success)I'd go for the 44 because I like to shy away from the pack. 30-30 is the standard deer gun and I prefer not so standard. I was eying a 44mag carbine last year but after buying an H&R Survivor and perfecting a good accurate load with my cast 230gn bullets I'll be using the 45Colt for a short range deer gun. Can't justify that 44 carbine right now nor in the near future but I'd still like to pick it up one of these days. For some reason I think the clerk might try to talk me out of it though as he kind of snickered when I said that might make an interesting new toy. Being a hunter first and foremost I guess he doesn't get the need to try something different.
 
Home3 said:
The biggest Grizzly bear ever hunted was apparently shot with a .22 LR. It died too. ;)
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Not the biggest and not hunted but you are correct that a big grizz was killed with a .22 by a little old Native lady in Alberta once.
 
sheephunter said:
Not the biggest and not hunted but you are correct that a big grizz was killed with a .22 by a little old Native lady in Alberta once.
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I was actually under the impression that it was a record Grizzly in some fashion. But I could be wrong.

In any event, the point I was trying to make was that just because a certain caliber "can" kill a game, doesn't mean it is same as the next caliber which also "can" do the same.
 
Home3 said:
I was actually under the impression that it was a record Grizzly in some fashion. But I could be wrong.
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You were wrong and the bear wasn't hunted but killed by Bella Twin in self defence(there is a difference). She shot it seven times in the head if I remember correctly.

Look up the facts before posting new Internet fables.
 
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