"The 30-30 has killed more game in North America than any other cartridge"

brotherjack said:
Bah - caliber discussions are for people with too much time on their hands. Grab yer gun and go huntin. If you shoot something that don't subsequently die in short order, you didn't shoot it in the right spot. You run even an itty bitty bullet the size/weight of a toothpick through the right spot on the critter, and you'll eat pretty good come suppertime. :)
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I agree get out go hunting if you have the time, I live in the boonies I go any chance I get, to getout in the woods. But I tell you I have heard guys shoot in sucsetion about 8 times in 5 seconds or less ( must have lots of money to blow through ammo). Unfortunately I like the one shot one kill moto though I have chased a few through the bush firing once or twice more.
 
ben hunchak said:
I'm with savagefan in regards to the .303 in Canada, it edges out the 30/30 in game downed in Canada, but add the USA and Mexico and it's a no-brainer...the 30/30. I read an article years ago that said, in the old days in Mexico, nobody knew there was any other caliber then the 30/30!!
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Consider all the wilderness within the British Empire, or within British influence and we see most of southern Africa, India, Pakistan, the middle east, south Asia, Australia, New Zealand, well, the .30/30 as good as it was doesn't even get out of the gate against the .303. The .303 also has serious limitations and like the .30/30 was used on game that it should of never been used against.

When we talk about house holds that hunted for food by necessity rather than by choice, we are talking about house holds with probably only one or two centerfire rifles. The .30/30 was more popular because a) in some areas it was ubiquitous, and b) it was nice to carry compared to any other rifle. When you are hunting for food by necessity it's not sport any more, and you'll take whatever liberties you have to put food on the table. Today fewer people hunt solely for food. Hunting is recognized as a recreational sport, and as a result has all sorts of limitations placed on it. Fewer and fewer people who hunt are single rifle hunters, and those who are either only hunt deer, or hunt a broad range of game with riles in the .270-.30/06 class. The .30/30 is a great deer rifle cartridge, but to suggest it's suitable for elk or moose, despite having been used for bigger game by thousands of hunters, is to give it more credit than it deserves.

I recall being at the range one day in 1981 or 1982, and an older fellow showed up with a hand made wooden shooting box, with the corners nicely dovetailed together. You could see that he put a lot of time and effort into making that box, and his equipment was immaculate. He pulls out some wooden cartridge blocks, then uncases his rifle and it's a Marlin 336 in, you guessed it, .30/30. That was the day I discovered a .30/30 lever gun could shoot. He shot as well as I did with my bolt gun, probably shaded me a bit, and I have to admit I sulked for a while. But I got over it, (sort of) and gained some respect for the .30/30. But it's still a deer cartridge.
 
Here on the rock, a good portion of hunters don't rely on expensive optics... or any for that matter. I'm willing to guess that a huge portion of hunters are strictly iron sight hunters. I can say that for my area anyway.

Having said that, they actually have to hunt. They actually have to get close enough for a shot. Not taking a 300+meter shot with a Leupold or Zeiss scope with a 300winmag. No, taking their shot with a win model 94 or a LE.

The 30-30 won't win any long range competitions.. but if any of you are stupid enough to scope a rifle in 30-30 and try to do a 300 meter shot, then you're off your rockers. If you can target a moose in 30-30 in your ironsights, then you can take him down. The 30-30 when fired from optimal range (able to actually target with ironsights) has great penetration and bullet expansion.

Just because it's not a belted magnum doesn't mean it's only a deer round. And it certainly isn't the case where "If you can place the shot any rifle will down a moose" arguement. It has great penetration and bullet expansion.

Anyone who argues with me otherwise should come out and talk to my father or grandfather who have taken more moose than you could ever imagine.
 
I hunt with a group of 5 brothers,here's a breakdown of last years hunting.

4 moose-30-06
1 moose-30-30
2 deer 30-06
1 deer 30-30
1 deer .270
1 deer .300 sav
1 deer .303

I'm thinking the 06 will be passing the 30-30 and .303 soon if not already.I wonder what the top selling calibre is these days,I'm thinking 30-06 but you do see a lot of winmags showing up.
 
It's a historical statement, nothing more. At one point, cavemen argued that the wooden spear has killed more game than your fancy-schmancy supermagnum flint-tipped spear.
 
ben hunchak said:
I'm with savagefan in regards to the .303 in Canada, it edges out the 30/30 in game downed in Canada, but add the USA and Mexico and it's a no-brainer...the 30/30. I read an article years ago that said, in the old days in Mexico, nobody knew there was any other caliber then the 30/30!!
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I have heard that there are still places in South America where the only rifle cartridge commonly known is the 30-30.
 
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