Which one would you get?

Which one would you recommend?

  • Total voters
    182
Crazy.kayaker

Crazy.kayaker

Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
11   0   0
Location
Edmonton, Alberta
When out looking at 30-30's to see which one I liked the most and saw a nice .308 lever in pretty good shape. So I'm wondering which one would you get for hunting. Both are lever action rifles obviously.

30-30 Marlin $417.00 New
.308 Savage $550.00 Used
I also saw a used Winchester 30-30 Saddle Ring Carbine but for the price I could get a New marlin and an entire reloading kit with dies or the Savage with money to spare. I saw the price tag and handed it back.

I'm leaning towards getting the 30-30 Marlin due to price but the .308 Savage will take down any game I want to hunt in the future (MOOSE). Is it worth paying the extra $150 for the bigger caliber the .308 also comes with mount and rings just need a scope?

On a side Note I also checked out the 30-30 Mossberg. The tang safety is PLASTIC the gun feels solid but when I pulling the trigger it felt spongy. The action also felt rough sort of felt like it was Catching up on something. Personally I wouldn't want to shoot that gun let alone buy it for any price. I do not know if a trip to a good gunsmith could change the trigger problem or smooth out the action but I wouldn't throw away good money to fix a crappy action and trigger assembly but it just might be that one gun with others being good.

One last thing who in there right mind would pay $100 more for a 30-30 marlin that they can get for $417 across town. I almost walked out when they asked me if I wanted to buy it and I mentioned it was more then the MSRP by almost $40 bucks.

CK
 
They are quite different. The 30-30 is a 150 yard rifle, the .308 is good to 300 yards with practice and the right loads. Did you check the serial number of the Savage? Pre-million is better.
 
Factory loads will kill moose fine...it's about shot placement...if you can get your mitts on 30-30 starfire from PMC..they penetrate awesome..pretty much a barnes bullet..although they are quite a mild load they penetrate better than any factory ammo out there including nosler partition...but the new Hornady Leverevolution look pretty sweet..turn it into a 250-300 yard weapon..worth checking out...The marlin is probably the most accurate of the 30-30 with a more robust action too...i'd hit that up.
 
the Savage is just nicer all around. The 308 is a far more versatile round (i.e. there are more than just round nose 150 and 170 grain loads). Nothing wrong with a 30-30, but everything it does can be done a little bit better by the 308
 
For hunting around Kamloops you would be better served with the .308

While there is nothing wrong with the 30-30 it is still a short to moderate range rifle. You start hunting that bald Kamloops Lake country most opportunities will be at over 150 yards.
 
The .308 can be loaded with TSX, Interbonds, SST, Accubonds, and any other pointed bullet, where the .30-30 is limited to flatnose bullets due to the tube magazine. IMO the .308 is more versatile.
 
All things being equal, if I had to choose I'd take a Savage 99 over the Winchester 94, even if it was one of the more obscure calibers. I wish they'd bring back the 99, but I can only imagine what they'd charge for one.
 
Depends on the terrain that you are hunting. For close in or thick bush, a leaver 30-30 can't be beat---The balance for "trail carry" is almost perfect; well for most people that I've known. For open terrain a .308 is better, due to it's longer bullet trajectory.

The .308 is more versatile. But that being said and done, my father in law has had his Marlin 30-30 for 40+ years and has killed more deer, bear and moose then I can count.
 
what about the new Hornady LEVERevolution 30-30? how would that stand up against the .308? the .308 is the more capable round, but the range of the 30-30 is doubled or tripled, isn't it? :confused:
 
The 99 was at PK and I got the grumpy person no names. I like the guy that knows a lot about lever action rifles but he wasn't there. I'm wondering what the 308 would be worth should I make them an offer and see what happens the gun is used so I don't know if the price would be FIRM or if they would accept a reasonable offer. If so what would a reasonable offer be. Please PM me what you think I should offer for it as I don't want anyone here getting in trouble with admin and I have no idea what it would be worth. I didn't give it a close inspection but I'd say the bluing was in the mid 90% with a few dings on the wood and the usual wear and tear on the action/receiver though the bolt was bright and shiny....can't remember the bore. It's late and my minds starting to shut down. I'll go back and take a closer look at the entire gun and see what the serial number is. Thought the 99 in the EE looks nicer then the one I held from what I remember.

C.K
 
I own a marlin 30-30 and love it dearly, but I also have many other capable rifles for big game hunting. I would get the savage as like stated before, the .308 has a lot going for it, accuracy wise and range wise. NOTHING wrong with the .30-30, but they are both nimble rifles, and one just gives a little more bang for your buck. I don't own a 99 anymore, sold it 6 years ago, (was given to me by an ex girlfriend and I considered it poison) but it was a solid shooter and I really liked the rotary magazine.
I have seen a LOT of 99's for sale over the past few years in the 400+ range, so maybe if the sellers wont move to a number you are comfortable with, you are guaranteed to find another here or elsewhere. Patience is the key ingredient to getting a gun you like at a price you love.
On a side note, I got an email from the guys at hornady, and they are releasing the leverevolution bullets as components in 2009, so reloading for the .30-30 may be more interesting in the near future. Of course, they use a secret blended powder to achieve those velocities and they wont be offering that for sale. So we'll be able to reload pointed bullets for a tube mag after all, just not at the speeds Hornady makes them fly at. (at least not at safe pressures) Here is a copy of the email:
Subject: FW:
Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 16:17:36 -0500
From: Webmaster@hornady.com
To: polarnewfie@hotmail.com



Well bad news good news. You are probably correct that the Big Bore 94 may have been the best 94 Winchester ever built but they weren't too successful selling them and the cartridges also never really got going. The new 308 Marlin Express really takes up the challenge that was presented and takes it to the next level of performance without the problems the 307 had. We don't have plans to try to resurrect the 307. However, we do have plans to offer component Flex-Tip bullet for sale starting in '09. I cannot guarantee the 30 cal for the Marlin will be among the first though I am sure the bullet fro the 30-30 will be among the first

( I had emailed them to ask if they were going to load leverevolution bullets for the defunct winchester Big Bore's as ammo is harder to find than a fat kid in ethiopia. I have a .307 winchester lever and it gathers dust as we speak. But at least they did say the bullets would be released as components for reloaders. Now I just have to dig out my spent brass from some box in storage and wait until next year)
 
Last edited:
Well it would appear the two Savager 99 .308 on the EE have been sold the one at PK is in OK condition but they are asking to much for it plus the taxes which will push it over $600 not to mention I'm not to fond of the staff there, before I thought they were stuffy boarding on rude but now I like them even less after being insulted when I asked what they knew of norinco no reason to insult a person just cause you don't like the guns manufacture they are asking about.

I will continue to look around, I will say that the Winchester 88 in .308 on the EE is a very nice rifle just I personally think they are asking to much or at least more then I'd be willing to pay for it but then again I'm cheap and poor
Do you think a Winchester 88 in .308 would be a good replacement to the Savage 99 in .308 as they are the same caliber of bullet? Doing some research now on the M88 but would appreciate any opinions.

Going to keep my eyes open for a good .308 lever action for the next few weeks as my PAL is 22 day in system with at least another 15 days to go minimum before I might get it. Though I just finished installing the two safe my brother and I purchased so I'm all ready just waiting.

C.K
 
Last edited:
Dont know if you guys heard this before but the 30-30 has killed more game that all other cartridges combined..........much more.

Probably if you added all of the spent cartridges of all types, all over the world since the beginning of time, the 30-30 has killed more game than all the spent brass in the world..........(at least that is what an old Indian guide told me in the 30's because only Indian guides are good at guiding....):D

:popCorn:
 
I have both and love them dearly but the 308 Savage goes into the bush this year. The 30-30 hasnt the legs for a long shot and bad reason to pass up a good shot at longer range. The Savage is a 99c so it is an ideal truck gun too depending on what kind of hunting is going on. Tube mags can be a big pain.
I bought my Savage for just under $400 a little over a year ago at the Kamloops gun show and it was the nicest one there and certainly the cheapest. I see lots of 300 Savages around too and might pick up one of those. Good luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom