DavidD, The truth of the matter is, get the one you like best. Neither round is capable of hitting brush and continuing on a straight, unaltered path. The arguement for snaking your bullet through a hole in some branches is a valid one, but most shots of this type will be under 100 yards. Either rifle on average will have a scope that's 1 1/2" above the bore and is sighted in to shoot 3" high at 100 yards.

Jeff Ovington made the following statement and I agree with it. "Told that that no other caliber is responsible for more big game animals than the 30-30.. The 30-30 is also responsible for crippling more big game animals than any other caliber out there as well." I began deer hunting in N.E. Pennsylvania back in the 70's. I was a young teenager and the only one with a bolt action 30-06. I used to take such ribbing from the "men" in camp who tell me how useless my Rem700 was because bolt actions were too slow for deer hunting. With the exception of one guy who used a WW2 surplus 7.7 ***, everyone, and I do meen evryone, used either a Win94 or Marlin 336 in 30-30 or 35 rem. The day before the season started we would all check our rifles. The guys who used open sights had a rusty pail hanging from a tree branch, they'd stand and shoot from about 25 yards away then go look for holes that weren't rusty. The guy's who used a scope all had those god awful see-thru rings that made you lift your cheek off the stock to see through the scope. Needless to say I've seen the 30-30 wound plenty of deer, but not once was it due to the cartridge. The 30-30's bad reputation is the result of generations of deer hunters who pushed the limitations of the rifle, the sights used and the personal capabilities of the hunter.