Under 100 yards

Go with .30/30 and make sure you have lots of ammo, if you run out while hunting, you will never hear the end of it.
 
You asked for folks with experience - I dont but hunted a few years with a guy with one of those Ruger auto 44mag carbines ... and he was ALWAYS successful. He said the combination was light so he could push ridges and stay out longer. In most Eastern hardwood it had all the range it needed and when he connected the animal was down - he thought it was VERY quick to put on target .. was more than accurate enough - was perfect for his style of hunting and he was very good at it. I became pretty impressed with the 44 as a result - so did other friends who watched (and envied) his performance ... one even went out a bought a 44 Marlin for his wife (lovely little rifle)-- then "hogged it" all deer season!
 
it really depends what you mean by 'brush' if you are in fact shooting through brush I would recommend the 44mag. If you are carrying the rifle through brush and shooting through open spots I would recommend the 30-30.
 
I started my hunting days many many moons ago with a pre '64 Win 94 30-30 and am just lately getting round to the Ruger rifles in 44mag. I have 4 of them to get started with. Of coarse I've hunted with many other rifles and cal's. I'm really looking forward to the spring/summer ahead of us. We don't do much shooting in the winter time.
 
mike t said:
I'm looking for opinions from people with experience with these two rounds. Trying to decide on a 44 mag lever or 3030 as my primary brush rifle, shot will be anywhere from 30 yards to no further than 100 yards. All advice is greatly appreciated. Once again 100 yards will be the absolute farthest shot
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Actually, I've never caught onto the allure of chambering a rifle for a handgun cartridge, so I have a .30/30 lever gun because those long cartridges won't fit into the cylinder of a reasonably sized 6 shooter. Then again my shooting has never been restricted to "within 100 yards". Had it been, my point of view might have favored a .44 magnum or even a .44-40, but more likely I'd have chosen a .444 Marlin or a .45/70, an option which I did enjoy for a time. But when I swapped that .45-70 for a .30/06, it (the .30/06) proved much more suitable for my purposes, and remains my favorite today.

Perhaps an examination of my own experience might be of some benefit. Although you haven't indicated what part of the country you hang out in, its my opinion that big game hunting conditions which limit shots to within 100 yards are relatively rare. Throughout my formative years, I spent much time in the Precambrian shield country of south eastern Manitoba, where one might expect the ranges to be short and the shooting quick. Sometimes they were, and sometimes it was, but more often than not game was spotted at a distance: across a large patch of muskeg, a burn, perhaps on a distant rock outcrop, or along a lake shore, a power line, or a railway right of way, and there was often sufficient time to get into a solid supported shooting position where such a shot could be reasonably made. It didn't take me long to realize that while I needed a rifle that was suitable for quick use in the thick stuff, that rifle also needed to be chambered for a hard hitting, flat shooting cartridge that would allow me to reach out to a quarter mile or so. Like many, I started with a .303, mine a Churchill Arms #4, but despite the 5 groove barrel, and a better than average stock, the moderate range accuracy of that rifle, despite my best efforts, was discouraging, being more appropriate for a 12 ga slug gun. After a bit of experimenting with various smaller bores, the .45/70 and a couple of magnums, a Remington 700 ADL in .30/06, topped with a Weaver K-4 in Redfield mounts, and usually loaded with 165 gr Hornady's over a slightly compressed load of H-4831, became my ideal, although the fixed magazine was clearly inferior to a hinged floorplate, but then as now, I didn't care much for the appearance of the BDL. Had I been a few years older, a M-70 Winchester would have been the obvious choice, but in those post '64 years, in my small world, nothing good was ever said about post 64 M-70s, so by default I became a Remington enthusiast, until that is, I discovered Brno some years later.

Due to the longer ranges which can be encountered and exploited throughout much of the country, and despite a couple of tricks which can make the .30/30 a 300 yard capable rifle, I'd be inclined to urge you to consider a CZ full stock carbine in 6.5X55, .308, or .30/06 particularly if he chooses to live in a one gun household, although you haven't actually said that was the case. Besides, off season is when we do most of our shooting, if you're a rifle crank, and comparatively little shooting is done during the actual hunting season if you're a dedicated hunter. Now your kick when hunting might be to stalk up close, that's how I like to hunt too, but still hunting and stalking for a close shot in no way limits the usefulness of a flat shooting rifle, particularly if your first shot is poorly placed and you need a quick followup on an animal that is rapidly putting distance between you. But regardless of the ranges you actually shoot game at, from my perspective anyway, target shooting at moderate ranges is both more challenging and more rewarding than restricting yourself to short range shooting only, although the importance of short range practice cannot be ignored.
 
I have a H&R stainless in 44 mag, very light rifle and I can have 3 shot touching at 100yds, very short and easy to use all under 6 pound with the scope
 
30/30 only one of (if not THE) most popular deer cartridge in history.
Cheaper ammo and a few more fun choices.
My vote is for a Marlin 336C, I love mine!
 
In my actual experience using both cartridges on deer is that under 100yrds the .44 puts a deer down quicker and does less meat damage than the .30-30. Either in the end serves admirably.
 
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