looking into getting a lever action and am trying to decide between a 30-30 and a 45-70. I've been trying to research online and I'm having trouble seeing why people choose one over the other. from what I'm reading both are good to about 200 yards and the 45 has more kick but will take bigger game so I'm leaning that way i think. any real advantages to either one over the other? curious to hear opinions i tried the search button but didn't find much.
help with lever action caliber
- Thread starter Andrewstclair
- Start date
they’re very different, and in most cases there are better options than either.
Without understanding your needs, it’s hard to make a recommendation.
Bigger game? Bigger than what? A 30-30 is fine for everything up to moose. Big bears, you might be undergunned with the 30cal, but for black bears it’s just fine.
45-70 has an appeal (I love it) that has very little to do with performance and practicality. 30-30 performs great, is very practical, but is as boring as they come. Completely opposite
Without understanding your needs, it’s hard to make a recommendation.
Bigger game? Bigger than what? A 30-30 is fine for everything up to moose. Big bears, you might be undergunned with the 30cal, but for black bears it’s just fine.
45-70 has an appeal (I love it) that has very little to do with performance and practicality. 30-30 performs great, is very practical, but is as boring as they come. Completely opposite
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For Hunting the 45-70 is a better choice. You can get bullet from 300 to 405 grains in factory ammo that can go up to 1800 fps +. Serious power.
The 45/70 shine with reload and lead bullet..can be dowloaded in the 1100/1200 fps range.
The 30/30 in the 94 is the gun for deer in a lever -5 millions + made.
If you are recoil shy -stay with 30-30. If you don’t reload..factory ammo is a lot cheaper than 45/70
I shoot and reload for the 45/70, thats my choice over the 30-30. Owned more than one 30/30 but do not now. Just 45/70 in a Sharp and a 1886.
The 45/70 shine with reload and lead bullet..can be dowloaded in the 1100/1200 fps range.
The 30/30 in the 94 is the gun for deer in a lever -5 millions + made.
If you are recoil shy -stay with 30-30. If you don’t reload..factory ammo is a lot cheaper than 45/70
I shoot and reload for the 45/70, thats my choice over the 30-30. Owned more than one 30/30 but do not now. Just 45/70 in a Sharp and a 1886.
As implied above, the question is what do you want to do with this rifle?
Are you going to shoot it with the open sights or a mount and use a scope (or best of both worlds... mount a scope in QR rings and bases so you can do both)?
If you are just deer and/or average sized black bear hunting and your typical hunting range allows for 100-200 yard shots, then the 30-30 will work just fine, but go with a Win Model 94 AE for mounting a scope, or a Marlin (throw in Henry, Rossi, etc. as your preference dictates).
If you are looking at large black bears, moose and elk, then the 45/70 may be your better option. But you are going to be limiting your range on these animals depending upon retained energy appropriate to these animals (1000, 1500 and 2000 ft.lbs at the animal, respectively) for best performance. The 375 Win is a great cartridge and I have used it quite a bit on moose and black bears, but it is best kept for the less than 130 yards on larger animals.
As mentioned above, there are other lever action cartridges that I would recommend if you are mainly looking to hunt moose and elk with this rifle...307 Win, 308 ME, 308 Win, 338 ME, 356 Win, 358 Win are going to provide better performance (bullet weight, velocity, energy, penetration) on these larger animals, and provide this performance at longer distances that may be encountered, depending on where and how you hunt. It also opens up your options in rifles with iron sights that can be used with scopes (e.g., Browning BLR, Winchester Model 88, Savage Model 99, and Sako Finnwolf). Hard to beat a BLR in 308 Win, but the 358 Win is a favourite and will handle elk and grizzly out to 250 yards!
Hope this helps, and best of luck in your quest!
It is hard to beat the fun and experience of owning, shooting, carrying and hunting with a lever action!
And be aware; it is addicting! You may end up with a whole array of leverguns!
Are you going to shoot it with the open sights or a mount and use a scope (or best of both worlds... mount a scope in QR rings and bases so you can do both)?
If you are just deer and/or average sized black bear hunting and your typical hunting range allows for 100-200 yard shots, then the 30-30 will work just fine, but go with a Win Model 94 AE for mounting a scope, or a Marlin (throw in Henry, Rossi, etc. as your preference dictates).
If you are looking at large black bears, moose and elk, then the 45/70 may be your better option. But you are going to be limiting your range on these animals depending upon retained energy appropriate to these animals (1000, 1500 and 2000 ft.lbs at the animal, respectively) for best performance. The 375 Win is a great cartridge and I have used it quite a bit on moose and black bears, but it is best kept for the less than 130 yards on larger animals.
As mentioned above, there are other lever action cartridges that I would recommend if you are mainly looking to hunt moose and elk with this rifle...307 Win, 308 ME, 308 Win, 338 ME, 356 Win, 358 Win are going to provide better performance (bullet weight, velocity, energy, penetration) on these larger animals, and provide this performance at longer distances that may be encountered, depending on where and how you hunt. It also opens up your options in rifles with iron sights that can be used with scopes (e.g., Browning BLR, Winchester Model 88, Savage Model 99, and Sako Finnwolf). Hard to beat a BLR in 308 Win, but the 358 Win is a favourite and will handle elk and grizzly out to 250 yards!
Hope this helps, and best of luck in your quest!
It is hard to beat the fun and experience of owning, shooting, carrying and hunting with a lever action!
And be aware; it is addicting! You may end up with a whole array of leverguns!
30-30 is a easy to find gentle cartridge for 200 and in. 45-70 is expensive wannabe African boomer that has an extreme rainbow trajectory past 150 and lots of recoil unless you load it like a 44 mag. Levers are fun toys for most users, unless all your hunting is under 150 yds.
Are you a reloader? Campro makes two different 45-70 bullets, but (AFAIK) none for the 30-30 (I guess you could reload the 30 carbine bullet - it's round nose but 110gr).
It may sound funny but much of my firearm purchasing decision rests on supply of inexpensive plinking bullets for the range. Campro (IMHO) rules! Still wish they made plated 0.310-0.313 projectiles for my P14, Lee Enfield, M91/30, and M44
It may sound funny but much of my firearm purchasing decision rests on supply of inexpensive plinking bullets for the range. Campro (IMHO) rules! Still wish they made plated 0.310-0.313 projectiles for my P14, Lee Enfield, M91/30, and M44
Big bore dinosaur
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- NORT OF COW.TOWN.EH
Agreed 100% I mean if you dont like the 454 cassul or 460 s.w. 500 is pretty awesome
I would start with the 30-30. Higher availability and typically lower cost for initial purchase and ammunition. Once you're bitten by the bug a bigger bore lever will follow. Like golf clubs, you need putters and drivers lol Oh, personally if hunting I wouldn't be pushing either out to 200 yds. as there are better options for that (JMO).
From personal experience, factory 45-70 ($3 a pop) kicks harder than a 2.75" full-power 12ga slug and the Limbsaver doesn't help. Target practice would be unpleasant while a 1-2 shots during hunting would be ok. A heavier gun would help but then you would have to carry the weight on a hunting trip.
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45-70 a massive cartridge in a svelte lightweight rifle, what could be more delightful than that?
The thing about a hunting rifle is you need to practice with it a bunch in order to be competent with it. Full power 45-70 will kick the living crap out of you and be absolutely zero fun to shoot.
There are 57 examples of 45-70 lever action riles listed for sale on #######. Most of those will be people who bought something they thought would be "cool" only to discover that the physics of recoil are a real thing.
The thing about a hunting rifle is you need to practice with it a bunch in order to be competent with it. Full power 45-70 will kick the living crap out of you and be absolutely zero fun to shoot.
There are 57 examples of 45-70 lever action riles listed for sale on #######. Most of those will be people who bought something they thought would be "cool" only to discover that the physics of recoil are a real thing.
Dorian Gray
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
30-30. You can find ammo anywhere. You can afford shoot it at least twice as much, which will make you a better rifleman. It will kill anything up to moose sized game just fine. It also won't kick the #### out of you when firing it, making it less likely that you develop bad habits like flinching.
Re lever action
Hi
i've had 2 45-70's
1 lever action and one double rifle
i bought them new
sold both of them.
I missed 2 bears with the double rifle 45-70
now i own 3 30-30's
1 marlin 336c in 30-30
one h&r combo 30-30/20 gauge
and 1 winchester model 94, 30-30
all are very accurate.
The recoil on the 45-70's was a bit too much for me
i'm an old fella 77
i would never go back to a 45-70
Hi
i've had 2 45-70's
1 lever action and one double rifle
i bought them new
sold both of them.
I missed 2 bears with the double rifle 45-70
now i own 3 30-30's
1 marlin 336c in 30-30
one h&r combo 30-30/20 gauge
and 1 winchester model 94, 30-30
all are very accurate.
The recoil on the 45-70's was a bit too much for me
i'm an old fella 77
i would never go back to a 45-70
- Location
- Western Manitoba
Circa 1930's my Grandfather in North Central Sask had a Winchester lever gun of some sort in 38-55 - was considered a really serious round in those days in that environment. My Dad tells us that neighbours would come over to borrow that thing to get their winter's moose - usually the rifle was returned with a chunk of moose meat, and one or two cartridges less than it had left with. I think the "modern" Win 375 is sort of an "updated" 38-55 - more than a 30-30, but less than a 45-70 for recoil - which is important in a handy dandy lightweight rifle. As I understand it, back then and there, most people had like 38-40 or 44-40 lever-action rifles for deer and black bear - I am sure a few moose went down to them as well.
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