I fully agree having packed a 30-30 very shortly after rotator cuff surgery.
Failing that hunting would have been a no-no.
I have a very high regard for the old 30-30..
Light recoiling deer/black bear caliber for 150yards
- Thread starter delboybc
- Start date
I fully agree having packed a 30-30 very shortly after rotator cuff surgery.
Failing that hunting would have been a no-no.
I have a very high regard for the old 30-30..
That is amazing results
IMO .243 is hard to beat. I have shot deer with a very mild load and 85gr Partitions. I haven't chronographed it yet but I bet it is doing no more than 2800 fps at the muzzle.
Near side:
Far side:
Prior to taking the "inside" pictures:
Edit - looked up the load - 33.0gr of IMR4064, book velocity is 2809 out of a 24" barrel and I am shooting it out of an 18.5 barrel so my MV is probably 2650 or something. How is that for mild?
Didn't know they made managed recoil loads, looks like I can get some fusion lite stuff for the 30-06 that has less kick than a 30-30, it launches a 170gr bullet for ranges up to 200yards, should be plenty for black bear. I think I will give that a try first.
justinb1981
Regular
- Location
- Hamilton, Ontario
6.5x55
Didnt Savage or was it CIL make a 30-30 Bolt action?
I mean how hard can this be?
But, then again I do not have a rotator cuff injury at this time.
Had issues last fall, but the physio took care of that.
If it is a current injury then its time to take the season off till the injury has healed or shoot with a camera.
There is no easy cartridge for every situation.
Rob
You can see the bump on the hide slightly in front of the off-side shoulder in the last picture - that's where the bullet came to rest....after breaking the off-side shoulder. These modern cartridges have amazing performance, even with mild loads. I got the idea of trying this after reading an excellent article out of an African hunting magazine where they talked about the popularity of the 6x45 (.223 necked up) using regular cup and core 100gr bullets at 2300-2400 fps for Bushveld (up to about 150 yards) hunting of Impala, Blesbok and the like.
This load has about 1/2 the recoil of a 7mm-08 with a light 120gr load.
Almost seems like I should also change my aversion to lever guns.
The only reason I don't like lever guns is because of the experience I have had with maintaining them in the past, I had a couple of marlins and when hunting here in BC many days it is like someone is holding a fire hose on you while your walking around the bush, after a few days of this found the rifles started to rust up and when home from the trip it was like taking apart a swiss watch when compared to a simple bolt action or basic semi automatic.
The only reason I don't like lever guns is because of the experience I have had with maintaining them in the past, I had a couple of marlins and when hunting here in BC many days it is like someone is holding a fire hose on you while your walking around the bush, after a few days of this found the rifles started to rust up and when home from the trip it was like taking apart a swiss watch when compared to a simple bolt action or basic semi automatic.
- Location
- In the shadows of the Rockies
Consider a stainless laminate .30-30 Marlin XLR -
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/xlr/336.asp
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/xlr/336.asp
TheCoachZed
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
OP:
For sure, try some of those reduced recoil loads in your .30-06. I suspect you'd be very happy.
If not, then I'd say you have three common calibers to choose from: 7.62x39, .30-30, or .243. All the guys recommending 7x57 and 7-08 and the like are right, those are great killers, but not as easy to find.
7.62x39 is cheaper to fire surplus than reload. Ammo very available.
.243 is probably better long-range gun (it's poo-poo'd by many, but it actually has great results if you read up on it and ask around to people who use them).
.30-30 is probably your best bet for ease of acquisition of factory ammo vs. cost. But probably not as accurate as the .243 and not as cheap as the 7.62x39.
I have a bolt action .30-30 (CIL 830) that I like a lot. Lots of them out there, but speculators are driving up the price for some reason.
For sure, try some of those reduced recoil loads in your .30-06. I suspect you'd be very happy.
If not, then I'd say you have three common calibers to choose from: 7.62x39, .30-30, or .243. All the guys recommending 7x57 and 7-08 and the like are right, those are great killers, but not as easy to find.
7.62x39 is cheaper to fire surplus than reload. Ammo very available.
.243 is probably better long-range gun (it's poo-poo'd by many, but it actually has great results if you read up on it and ask around to people who use them).
.30-30 is probably your best bet for ease of acquisition of factory ammo vs. cost. But probably not as accurate as the .243 and not as cheap as the 7.62x39.
I have a bolt action .30-30 (CIL 830) that I like a lot. Lots of them out there, but speculators are driving up the price for some reason.
Do you have experience shooting bears with .257 bob? I have one that my wife uses for deer and I'm interested how it would work on bears and calf moose?
