why the 3030?
- Thread starter remington308
- Start date
ninepointer
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Central Ontario
Hey .30-30 fans, RELAX 
!
Despite the responses in this thread, I fail to see where the OP stated or implied that the .30-30 was not good enough for deer.
As I see it, he was simply trying to start a discussion about the factors that make the .30-30 lever remain so popular (even on moose) despite the many arguably superior cartridges/rifles that exist.
Obviously, the .30-30 lever action has that certain "something". That elusive and unpredictable combination of qualities that modern product designers can only dream of hitting upon.
So let's get back to discussing what it is about the .30-30 that makes it so great, even among the wide array of "better" options available today.
! Despite the responses in this thread, I fail to see where the OP stated or implied that the .30-30 was not good enough for deer.
As I see it, he was simply trying to start a discussion about the factors that make the .30-30 lever remain so popular (even on moose) despite the many arguably superior cartridges/rifles that exist.
Obviously, the .30-30 lever action has that certain "something". That elusive and unpredictable combination of qualities that modern product designers can only dream of hitting upon.
So let's get back to discussing what it is about the .30-30 that makes it so great, even among the wide array of "better" options available today.
Last edited:
- Location
- Lake Manitoba
Hey .30-30 fans, RELAX
Despite the responses in this thread, I fail to see where the OP stated or implied that the .30-30 was not good enough for deer.
As I see it, he was simply trying to start a discussion about the factors that make the .30-30 lever remain so popular (even on moose) despite the many arguably superior cartridges/rifles that exist.
Obviously, the .30-30 lever action has that certain "something". That elusive and unprediable combination of qualities that modern product designers can only dream of hitting upon.
So let's get back to discussing what it is about the .30-30 that makes it so great, even among the wide array of "better" options available today.
-Cost
-Recoil (light)
-Easy to find ammo
-Easy to find reloading components
-Proven (it's what 100+ years old?)
Thats the stuff that turned me onto it. And it's a joy to shoot, unlike say, my old Mosin. That actually gave me a flinch.
Because it's a good all around caliber. I took a bear and whitetail with mine this year. Not because I don't have better firearms that are chambered in better calibers. It was just the Marlin 336's turn this year. And she can still do it. They are pretty fun guns as well.
My Savage 340C, bolt action, 30/30 is light and comfortable to carry. It had a 4 power and is now getting a 3-9x40 scope.
I can kill anything within 150 yards. And the buck I got this year didn't mind being killed by an "obsolete" caliber. He just died.
I load my own ammo but I could get ammo at any store that sells ammo.
If I am planning to hunt longer ranges then I bring out a 6.5x55 or .308, or 338.
The simple answer to the OP is "because it works just fine".
I can kill anything within 150 yards. And the buck I got this year didn't mind being killed by an "obsolete" caliber. He just died.
I load my own ammo but I could get ammo at any store that sells ammo.
If I am planning to hunt longer ranges then I bring out a 6.5x55 or .308, or 338.
The simple answer to the OP is "because it works just fine".
I think a big part of it with the .30-30 is that there isn't any hype about it at all. It has been around for over 100 years and like the .30-06 and the .45 ACP, for example, it is time tested and trusted by those who are familiar and enjoy them.
When I was a child my dad put a moose in the freezer every year with a pre 64 model 94 30-30 Winchester.
He shot a couple black bears and even a grizzly with it.
When I was thirteen he took me out to a safe place to shoot and set up some empty quart oil cans at about 50 yards,
he said if you can hit them I will get you your hunting license. I hit every one of them first shot.
He bought a slightly used 30-30 for me to use. I only ever shot one moose with it at and at well over 300 yards.
I walked out onto the power line and saw a moose drinking out of a pond around 400 yards away. I slowly walked toward
him and when he heard me he turned and started walking toward the trees. I aimed at the top of his hump and fired.
I missed but he stopped and looked at me giving me a chance at a second shot.
This time I aimed a little higher and he dropped on the spot.
Terry
He shot a couple black bears and even a grizzly with it.
When I was thirteen he took me out to a safe place to shoot and set up some empty quart oil cans at about 50 yards,
he said if you can hit them I will get you your hunting license. I hit every one of them first shot.
He bought a slightly used 30-30 for me to use. I only ever shot one moose with it at and at well over 300 yards.
I walked out onto the power line and saw a moose drinking out of a pond around 400 yards away. I slowly walked toward
him and when he heard me he turned and started walking toward the trees. I aimed at the top of his hump and fired.
I missed but he stopped and looked at me giving me a chance at a second shot.
This time I aimed a little higher and he dropped on the spot.
Terry
ninepointer
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Central Ontario
For 2 of my 25 deer seasons I carried a peep-sighted pre-64 Model 94 .30-30. I really wanted to like that gun, but it just didn't do it for me. Maybe it was the heavy trigger, maybe it was the tubular mag that made me have to pick up cartridges from the mud & snow, maybe it was that you can't scope it (anyway scoping one, even an A/E, just seems wrong) or maybe it was those yonder deer that I missed (see: can't scope it), but I ended up selling that gun.
I can appreciate why folks love their .30-30's; all the great things they say about them are true. That M94 Just wasn't my cup of tea, that's all.
I can appreciate why folks love their .30-30's; all the great things they say about them are true. That M94 Just wasn't my cup of tea, that's all.
Rocket Surgery
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Isn't factory 45/70 loaded down so the 19th century guns don't explode?
On a side note, which isn't actually a side note, I have a 30-30. I've decided to never take it hunting again, as it's actually a pretty terrible bush gun despite what everyone thinks, but for cast bullets it's pretty fun at the range.
Oh, you are so right.
The manufacturers figured this out a very long time ago. Slight change, a bit better looking in the ballistics department, sell lots of them.
market clogged up? Make another slight change, more sales of a "better" rifle.
Market slowing down? Shorten and fatten the case! More sales.
Give new rifles to the gun editors so they will write exagerated accounts of their great performance.
And on and on.
whats the big hype over the 30-30?
It was marketing and availability in its time, and some have never let it go. But again, why would you? if it has always shot well and dropped your animals, why fix something that ain't broke?
It was marketing and availability in its time, and some have never let it go. But again, why would you? if it has always shot well and dropped your animals, why fix something that ain't broke?
Rory McCanuck
CGN Regular
- Location
- Middle of Manitoba
" Why the 30-30?"
It isn't so much the round, which is alright but not spectacular,
but the guns that are chambered for it.
Carrying a model '94 Trapper all day, picking your way
through the bush, threading through the
willows, what better gun is there?
Startling up a deer 30 yards away,you want a gun that comes
up and acquires the target quickly, without trying to find the
right patch of brown in the scope you forgot to lower from 9X.
That first snap shot may not be perfect, and a lever will have
another shot ready almost as fast as a semi.
A 9 pound rifle with the Hubble telescope on top,
with a great big knob on the bolt and a 3 point sling has
roughly 13 kajillion protrusions that will catch EVERY branch
within a 12 foot radius. That's not fun, more like punishment.
Once you get out to the stand in the middle of the section, with
the nearest tree 800 yds away and the only feature in the landscape
is the ditch beside the road, a 30-30 is probably not the best
tool available for the job, though. Then the 300 mag shines and
makes the 30-30 look pretty old and anemic.
It isn't so much the round, which is alright but not spectacular,
but the guns that are chambered for it.
Carrying a model '94 Trapper all day, picking your way
through the bush, threading through the
willows, what better gun is there?
Startling up a deer 30 yards away,you want a gun that comes
up and acquires the target quickly, without trying to find the
right patch of brown in the scope you forgot to lower from 9X.
That first snap shot may not be perfect, and a lever will have
another shot ready almost as fast as a semi.
A 9 pound rifle with the Hubble telescope on top,
with a great big knob on the bolt and a 3 point sling has
roughly 13 kajillion protrusions that will catch EVERY branch
within a 12 foot radius. That's not fun, more like punishment.
Once you get out to the stand in the middle of the section, with
the nearest tree 800 yds away and the only feature in the landscape
is the ditch beside the road, a 30-30 is probably not the best
tool available for the job, though. Then the 300 mag shines and
makes the 30-30 look pretty old and anemic.
Rocket Surgery
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
243wssm lol
Well... I'll put my opinion this way...
-Cavemen invented fire, they used rocks and twigs.....
-Eventually, the flint was invented
-Then was flint and solvents were coupled
-Then came the zippo Lighter
-The match was then invented
-The bic lighter was invented after that
-Now we have flameless lighters
To me, The 30-30 is like the match... not as efficient as the bic lighter but sometimes it's still really nice to use matches to light your cigar or the woodstove.... and they still do the job...
I like my more modern calibers (not a wsm guy etc.... but .30-06, .270.... better out to a distance, can mount a scope easily and a bit more knockdown and flatter shooting... I also liek bolt actions as they are more reliable... I am a bic lighter guy...
Then there are the flameless lighter types who think I am a relic and .30-30's are caveman tools....lol... go figure
-Cavemen invented fire, they used rocks and twigs.....
-Eventually, the flint was invented
-Then was flint and solvents were coupled
-Then came the zippo Lighter
-The match was then invented
-The bic lighter was invented after that
-Now we have flameless lighters
To me, The 30-30 is like the match... not as efficient as the bic lighter but sometimes it's still really nice to use matches to light your cigar or the woodstove.... and they still do the job...
I like my more modern calibers (not a wsm guy etc.... but .30-06, .270.... better out to a distance, can mount a scope easily and a bit more knockdown and flatter shooting... I also liek bolt actions as they are more reliable... I am a bic lighter guy...
Then there are the flameless lighter types who think I am a relic and .30-30's are caveman tools....lol... go figure
nomad 68
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
A marlin 336 texan is among my hunting arsenal and too be honest,i could have taken the majority of the deer i've harvested with it at the time.With the new leverevolution ammo,i dare say i could have taken all of them.The rifle is light and fast to point and very accurate.Sure i have guns with a lot farther reach but,in reality,i probably don't need them.
