Who makes a good 30 30 now?
- Thread starter pbonura
- Start date
I would probably have to cash in a RRSP or two for the ride home...
Decent humor on this thread though.
To the original poster, I would look at something other than a 30-30 or a 303.
Whats wrong with people today?.
Theres way better rifles out there for about the same cash... with more punch and better distance... yet they are hung up on these old relics.. why..??. Just curious
I have a 7 mm reg mag and 223, 50 cal muzzleloader, and a slug gun. I really do not need anything else because those guns fill all your hunting needs but I think every gun owner should have a 30 30 in their gun cabinet.
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
Dunno about that.. Just cant see where a 30-30 fits.
Between the 223 or 243.. the 280 or 30-06.. the 38-55 or 45-70.. the 7.62 x 39's nope, cant see it happening.
That doesn't mean all that much You know.
You can't see the right fit, but a lot of us can.
Enjoy your choices and let the guy enjoy his.
No one makes a good new one right now for under a grand.
You can buy EXCELLENT used ones for under 500 bucks, my favourite is the winchester 94 trapper (although used now it may be more then 500 bucks), used 94s with the 20 inch tube maybe 400 bucks.
A savage 1899 is a nice shooting gun, easier to load, cartridge indicator shows how many shots you have left and handles nice. Picked one up for 200 bucks.
eaglesnester
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Above poster is correct. I own a brand new Oliver High Grade 1894 and I can telll you it is a shooter for sure. The action is smooth as butter. I mounted a tang sight on mine and I love it. Yes it is pricey. WholeSale sports has the same weapon on sale for about 1200 bucks. It is not a commemorative however. The barrel is half octagon up to the tip of the forestock and round to the muzzle. The barrel is also only 24 inches versus the original 26 inches in the 1894 model. You load er up with the new Hornady Leveroution (powder 35.5gr.c) and FTX 160grain bullets and you are at around 2400FPS. Getting close to 308 performance. The old thurty thurty has put more meat on the table in North America than any other caliber. I would stay away from anything Marlin. The internet is full of people who have bought Marlins and are sorry because of the quality control. I bought a Marlin 39A 22LR lever gun mail order from WholeSale sports and right out of the box it would not fire, extract or eject when it did manage to shoot. I had to rebuild the rifle from parts I orderd from Brownells. At the local gun emporium I was told by the head salesman that when they get a shipment of new Marlins in the have to inspect every one a most of em get sent right back to the factory. Very poor to absent quality control
That a great point about Marlin`s and may have to look at a used one or maybe not mail order it. I hear they quality control has gone down hill. That gun you mention is alittle rich for my blood. I probably looking to spend $500 or less and may look at a used Winchester or lean towards a Mossberg 464. I hear Mossberg are making decent 30 30`s now.
How can you have just 1 30-30?
Winchester, marlin, mossberg, savage, H & R, and remington all manufactured 30-30 rifles at one time or another. There are lever actions, pumps, bolt actions, rolling blocks, break actions, and martinis in 30-30 as well.
A bullet from a 30-30 makes a great hunting round if you limit your shots to 150 to 200 yards maximum.
The 30-30 handles cast bullets and is a joy to shoot.
They are light to carry, have pleasant recoil. and (depending on the gun) can be very pretty or really homely.
I have used 30-30 rifles to hunt deer, bear, and moose and have never had to use more than one shot for a kill. It helps that the majority of shots were under 50 yards.
I have only lost one deer while using a 30-30. The result of a very poorly placed bullet.
I have yet to have a bullet fired from a 30-30 (cast or commercial) fail and wound an animal so that I had to track it. I have had bullets from Federal 30/06 and Hornaday 7mm fail resulting in hours of tracking.
I load my 30/06 down to 30-30 levels with cast bullets but it just ain't the same.
As for the .303 - folks often underestimate it as a hunting round.
And the accuracy of the 303 in rifles that have seen over 60 years of use, abuse, and neglect can be very satisfying.
The 303 got a bad rap in the mid 1950s when U.S. gun writers worked up handloads with 0.308" diameter bullets and "discovered" some 303 rifles did not shoot worth a dam with their hand loads.
I've seen several nice older Marlin's go through the EE at under $400 in the past couple months. They don't last long, but they are around. I agree the new ones are pretty shabby in the QC department. The older pre-remington (and I prefer pre CBS) 336's are fantastic rifles.
Enjoy your .30-30 when you get it. It's a great cartridge, despite what you may hear on the internet.
Enjoy your .30-30 when you get it. It's a great cartridge, despite what you may hear on the internet.
My first hunting rifle was a 30-30, but I don't own a 30-30 now, and I likely never will own another. I do own a lever in 357mag for punching paper, but other than for cougars, I wouldn't hunt with it or with a 30-30.
The only good 30-30 levers IMHO are the older Marlins and Winchesters. I've owned many examples of each totalling probably 15 or 20 rifles. The only one I own now is a 1947 Marlin 36ADL.....I keep it just to shoot at the range once is a while, doubt I'll ever hunt with it.
I have another older Marlin '94 in 44mag that's more fun to shoot for plinking and playing around.
I have another older Marlin '94 in 44mag that's more fun to shoot for plinking and playing around.
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
Because they work. They did when they first came out, and they still do. They killed stuff dead then, and the new cartridges and rifles don't kill stuff any deader now.To the original poster, I would look at something other than a 30-30 or a 303.
Whats wrong with people today?.
Theres way better rifles out there for about the same cash... with more punch and better distance... yet they are hung up on these old relics.. why..??. Just curious
