I got my first deer permit in 1956. I have used more rifles than I could ever remember since then. The 30-30 and 35 Remington are very good deer rifles for the purpose they were created for. They are a short range deer and even bigger game rifle at 100 to 175 yards. They have been made mostly in lever action rifles that are light and easy to carry. The 30-30 carries about 1100 lbs of ME at 200 yards and the 35 Rem would have another 400 lbs or so at the same range. Thats plenty of energy for deer hunting and even Elk with the 35 Remington. They were made to be easy to carry in a saddle scabbord and have served us well for around 100 years. If you can place your shot well and except the fact that these rifles real effective range is 200 yards or less then they will serve you well also. Many have shot animals at much greater range that that but the trajectory gets a little iffy past 200. There are better guns now but our fore fathers the mountain men would have given anything for thier performance in thier lifetime. Good Hunting