Nice rifle! The Winchester '94 in .30/30 at one time was the ubiquitous deer rifle, in some places it still is. If someone said "deer rifle" the minds eye was the '94, or a similar Marlin. The .30/30 cartridge won't set the world on fire, but its ability to deliver a soft, moderately heavy for caliber bullet at what is now thought of as very moderate velocity, with good accuracy, and light recoil, has put meat in the freezer with boring regularity. It didn't matter if the game was deer, black bear, moose or caribou, the .30/30 would deck them all. As with many cartridges this old, stories about lackluster performance began to circulate and folks began to look for cartridges with more power. One of the problems with the .30/30 was that it was so popular that many of the people who chose it had no idea of how to shoot, or even of how to sight in a rifle. Folks who should have known better would try to shoot game far beyond the range limitations of the cartridge, and the occasional run of bum bullets resulted in the cartridge, if not the rifle, getting a bad rap.
Put a receiver sight on the old girl and she might surprise you with how well she'll perform. If you choose to hunt with her, she is a pleasure to carry, particularly if you are used to a bulky bolt gun. Use her within it the range limitations of her cartridge, don't use bullets designed for the impact velocities of a .300 magnum, and she'll put meat in your larder just like she's done for others for more than a century.
