The 30-30 club, are you in?

The Winchester pre-64 94 is better than any Marlin ever made.
It's common knowledge.
I think it's written in the bible somewhere. ;)

yep, you are correct! I had the exact page number on the tip on my tongue, but my memory slips, best to read the whole bible to find it! Any pre '64 94 beats the Hell out of any Marlin ever made any day of the week-month-U get the pic!
 
A great many here on gun nutz spend all their time arguing which rifle is best, but one thing these Rifleman's Rodeo shoots proved, beyond reason of a doubt, was that the rifle had about 20% to do with winning a trophy, while the shooter had about 80% to do with it! And I am probably being a bit generous here, toward the rifle.
These shoots were designed for hunters, thus quite a lot of hunters came along to shoot. Time after time, we have seen a well known hunter come along, lay down, shoot his five shots at five targets and get a zero score on every target!.
Dan mentioned the Mirdoch family. Al Mirdoch, his wife and three girls were an outstanding shooting family who did serious shooting, virtually year around. Thus, they won a large number of the trophies.
As I said, I have the score sheets from most of the shoots held here at Salmon Arm. I haven't looked it up in the score sheets, but going from memory, I am pretty sure the highest single score ever shot here, was shot by the eldest Mirdoch girl!
Another thing proven, was that light recoiling rifles made the higher scores. I went from a 270 Winchester down to 243 Winchester for the regular events, but Al Mirdoch told me I would do better if I had a lighter recoiling rifle! Their family all used the little BR6, or some such little 6mm.
Yes, the rifles used did make a difference, with the amount of recoil being a very significant factor, but really the rifle was a minor difference, when compared to the shooter.
 
I'm so debating picking up a marlin 336 30-30 right now. I'm also planning on buying a browning x-bolt hunter in 30-06 so just wasn't sure when I'd use the 30-30. I have a .223 for small game, a 10/22 for plinking, an sks for fun, and just wasn't sure if I bring home the 336 if I'd still want to run out for the 30-06 or not. Just keep coming back to thinking I should have a 336 in my safe though.

When you pick up the marlin,you will be fine as long as you put it down, real quick.Grab the Browning and run.
 
Ya, the browning is #1 on my list right now, saving for it at the moment and figuring out which optic to pick up. Thinking I could still get the marlin later as a backup rifle and would be great when I get invited back to my buddy's hunt camp. It'd be great there, bu I mainly hunt open farms so need the browning first.
 
The proof of the pudding!
In the 1970s a very popular shooting competition started in Calgary, then to Salmon Arm, BC, and on to several other centres in Alberta and BC. Briefly, it was a contest designed for hunters and the calibre had to be a bullet size legal for big game in Alberta, which was 6mm. The shooting could be prone, but the rifle could not touch any artificial rest and any sight could be used, basically meaning any power of scope. There were five shots, one at each animal shaped target, ranging from 100 to 300 yards. At 100 and 150 was a running deer or antelope. The three longer range, 200, 250 and 300 yard targets were pop ups that stayed up for four seconds. When one laid down to shoot, he/she said OK and a target would appear, but the shooter would not know which target would appear.
Each plywood animal had scoring rings, with the ten ring on each being about 4 inches, or slightly less in diameter.
There were many classes, including slngle shooter, buddy event (two shooters,) parent and junior, etc.
One popular event was called the "Frontier," class. In this, the cartridge had to have been developed prior to 1900 and the event had to be shot with iron sighted lever action rifles. This boiled down to lever action to 30-30 rifles.
The picture shows three trophies I took from my cabinet to show that I won first place in the Frontier event in 1978 at Salmon Arm, in 1975 I got the trophy shown on the left for second place and the trophy on the right for second place in 1977.
I used a 1956 Winchester model 94 with a Williams Fool Proof aperture.
The father of Dark Alley Dan, on the CGN here, was always a strong competitor, using his 94 in the Frontier event. Dark Alley Dan competed in some type of junior event, but he got all google eyed over one of the cute little girl juniors from Calgary and couldn't shoot straight!
I was secretary of the Salmon Arm Club during these years and I still have the original score sheets, made by the scorers at the time of the shoots.
Going through them I see some interesting things. I notice at least three where I shot buddy in the any rifle/sights event with Eagleye, from these threads!
Damn, Eagleye, some "lucky" shooters always seemed to beat us!
Looking at the scores, it was very rare that any single shooter made a score of 40, or better, any rifle/ any sights, while the Frontier event, lever action 30-30s with iron sights, had winning scores in the lower or mid 30s! Not really that much difference.

Yes, I loved that Rifleman's Rodeo, Bruce!! Shot a 46/50 one year in Salmon Arm with my 6mm Remington [Arnie Anderson said a Ruger HB could never win..heh,heh, showed him!]
When we moved North, I brought the game to Fraser Lake. We shot it for a number of years. I even finally managed to win a Frontier class with a 44/50 [yes, a 30-30 and aperture] I believe I have about 25 trophies won in Rifleman's Rodeos.
Had a 336A, the old one Bill Riley used to shoot till he got so crippled up he couldn't shoot anymore.
Remember the Mirdoch clan well. They were good shooters, mostly used the 6x47 [222 Rem Mag necked up] shooting McCracken bullets that Al Made.
My oldest daughter won a trophy at Rosebud one year.
I remember Dark Alley Dan as well.
Sure was great practice, for our hunting rifles and especially those 30-30 leverguns!!
Regards, Dave.
 
Here's a 30-30 question for you... I really only shoot at paper, so different characteristics aren't as important to me, as if i were hunting or competing in a show or something... but how come a box of 170 grain 30-30 is less expensive than a 150 grain? Seen this at canadian tire and the dreaded walmart
 
Because the 170 grain is the traditional and most common, by far bullet for the 30-30.
Making greater numbers of an item allows for lower manufacturing costs.
 
Thanks for comin' out! f:P:2:

I our family as far is i recall, the 30-30 was unknown to us, my father, uncles, neiborghs, were using Savage in 250-3000, 30-06, 303, 308 and 270 ( still got a 1920 Savage model 99 250-3000, that look like it is unfired in it's original packaging, got that from my uncle will in 1975), so it look like if i ever want a 30-30, i better buy one now... JP.
 
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