30-30 for Buffalo (Bison)
 

Is a 30-30 too small for North American buffalo?

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RE: 30-30 for Buffalo (Bison)
 

I would suggest a larger caliber rifle. No shotguns either!

RE: 30-30 for Buffalo (Bison)
 

IMO the 30-30 wouldnt even go thru the shoulder of a buffalo, but if you are lucky enough to get to go on a buffalo hunt, in canada anyways there is a minimum caliber, and i dont think 30 makes it, if i was gonna hunt buffalo id want something that hits HARD like a 338 45-70, 375 h&h

ScottFisher

RE: 30-30 for Buffalo (Bison)
 

I WOULD SAY IT WOULD BE TO LIGHT TO SHOOT A BISON WITH BUT I'M NOT SAYING IT THAT IS HASN'T BEEN DONE, SHOT PLACEMENT IS THE KEY. BUT IF IT WERE ME I WOULD GO FOR SOMETHING BIGGER

RE: 30-30 for Buffalo (Bison)
 

Get a 45-70 and load it with Garret's 540 gr. Hammerhead FMJ load. It should work well on buffalo out to 300 yds. Just know your rifle and your bullet's trajectory.

RE: 30-30 for Buffalo (Bison)
 

i am not really sure how big buffaloes are, but i hae shot a 375lbs bear with 30-30 and killed it. personaly i think shot placement is the key to killing an animal.

RE: 30-30 for Buffalo (Bison)
 

1950Kid, your question is: "Is a 30-30 too small for North American buffalo?" During "frontier" days there is no doubt that North American bison were killed with "lesser" ammo than a 30-30 at least some of the time. Based on this fact, no, the 30-30 is not too small for buffalo. But that doesn't give us the whole picture, does it? Much of the buffalo hunting was done with large "ball/caliber" ammo, yet not even that gives us the whole picture because it wasn't caliber alone that killed the buffalo. Other elements that played a significant role were: the hunter's ability, shot placement, determination of the buffalo to survive, bullet "construction" along with other factors. The short answer is no, the 30-30 will kill a buffalo IF the hunter does his part and IF the animal cooperates. If the animal doesn't cooperate and if the hunter is inept a mortar won't work!

Much Appreciation to all,
Boltaction

"Unless we protect the freedoms we enjoy, we will one day have no freedoms to enjoy."

RE: 30-30 for Buffalo (Bison)
 

a .30-30 is too small to effectively hunt bison. It's just not ethical, it's too small and too slow. I wouldn't even feel comfortable using my .30-06 on bison, and it over powers the .30-30 by leaps and bounds.
I won't say it can't be done, but it shouldn't be. Bison are easy to kill with neck shots, but you'd have to be sure to hit them perfect in the neck. (you can kill bison easily by hitting them in the neck because their windpipe is so massive, they will drown in their own blood if you rupture it, which isn't hard. That's why you can't rope buffalo, they'll die before you can even get your rope off of them!!)

RE: 30-30 for Buffalo (Bison)
 

I'm a middle school teacher. A student came in with a boar hunter t-shirt on. He told me he killed a boar with a bow in Tennessee. Then he told me he was going for buffalo in either North of South Dakota. I can't remember which state he told me. He said he was goin to use a 30-30. I thought it might be too small for the job (I didn't tell him that), so I posted my question here. I knew I'd get a answer. The kid is thirteen and very small for his age.
I just hope he doesn't have a bad experience.
Thanks for the input.