From an article by Chuck Hawks:

"The .30-30 is the great North American deer cartridge, and for good reason. It is a virtually ideal compromise between power and recoil. A 7.5 pound .30-30 rifle shooting the standard 150 grain factory load generates about 11.7 ft. lbs. of recoil energy. For comparison, a .30-06 rifle of the same weight shooting a 150 grain factory load generates about 21.7 ft. lbs. of recoil energy. Most hunters can shoot the .30-30 well, as its recoil is below the 20 ft. lb. upper limit for sustained use, and the 15 ft. lb. maximum most hunters can shoot comfortably."
"The .30-30 is just about perfect for hunting deer, antelope, and black bear at medium ranges. It will also take elk and caribou at moderate ranges, although there are better cartridges for the purpose. Even huge and/or dangerous game like moose, grizzly bear, and polar bear have fallen to the trusty .30-30, but it is not recommended for very large, dangerous, or thick skinned game."

Lots of folks on this board have a problem with the 30-30 saying why use when there are better rounds? In my opinion most of those guys hunt areas that aren't suited to a short lever gun so they put down the round just because they have no use for it. I still grab my 30-30 instead of bolt, scoped 308 when the planned hunt calls for it. Its light, quick, has more than enough power within its range limitations, and ammo can be found anywhere.