Catus Magnus

True; it is the oldest of the 30s, after all. And measured against what has come up since in the 20th century, the 30-30 is of course found wanting. However... if measured against what is required by most deer hunters to take their deer... the 30-30 gives up little to more potent cartridges at common deer-hunting ranges, and is no where near as deficient as pouring over ballistic charts might lead one to believe.

A couple thoughts: how you hold the gun makes a diff, it is touching anything solid when you're on the bench, etc. And, groups will definitely open up as it warms up - if you're gonna shoot a box of ammo, give yourself a LOT of time. My impression is that my Marlin suffers more when barrel warms up, compared to Savage 30-06 and .270 I've owned in the past. I doubt new Hornady ammo will make a substantial diff in accuracy at likely hunting ranges.

Phil from Maine

I like the 30-30 marlin, I have hunted with a 30-30winchester that belong to my brother while he was away in the service and took my first deer with it. I have found the marlin as more accurate and still use it today. I use a tip off scope mount that allows me to tip the scope out of the way when walking in the thick stuff andtip the scope back when walking down the old logging roads. This works great for me.

halvtaz

I luv my 30-30 bolt action. Most accurate gun I own up to 100yds. I pull it out about a week before the season fire my 3 practice shots in the bullseye and then play around with my other rifles. Haven't had to make any adjustments to it in over 10yrs. Now, if I were to take long shots over 150yds I would not use it. Just not enough oomph past that range. Kids now a days want to make those "Hollywood" shots of 300-500yds.

Chantecler111

Catus, I will agree, the 30-30 is a fine deer cartridge, one of the greatest ever.

TUK101

If I where to start up a 30-30 fan club I would make a sticker or patch that reads: "The 30-30... putting meat on the table for over 100 years".

Buckeye!

I think its more important to have a cartridge &bullet combothat works its best at certain Vel. the 30 WCF has had over 110 yr. to perfect there bullets for there vel..The 30-30 is a fine cartridge and is a proven meat harvester ..Theres alot of cartridges that louder ,faster and shoot futher..but in REAL WORLD hunting ,I don't think there is another cartridge that has its track record for deer hunting.
The 30WCF has been Americas deer cartridge 110yr.s and will be for 110 yr. s more.

TUK101

Well maybe if my father had given me a 30WCF instead of a Marlin 30-30 I would be singing high praises for it instead. The fact of the matter is that I know my 30-30 and am confident in what I can and cannot do with it. I know that there are other cartridges out there that are better ballisticly than the 30-30, that is why I also use a .270. The thread here is simply asking what you like or dislike about the 30-30. I like it for the lever action design which is easy for me to carry and for the fact that it doesnt bruise my shoulder when I need to fire off a few rounds.

RonM

Personally I like the 30-30 I own 2 of them a 336 and a 94... I had been looking for a Win model 88 lever action in 308 and I found one, and that is now my weapon of choice , but I still take my 94 unscoped as a backup just in case I have a breakdown, or a nostalgic moment..

TUK101

I like that, or a nostalgic moment... lol. That sounds like something that my late grandmother would have said.

Buckeye!

A30 WCF and a 30-30 are the same round,exact same...
30 WCF is what the Winchester first named the cartridge ,some rifle companies coined the phrase 30-30 referring to 30 cal. bullet and reference to 30 gr.s of black powder,but the 30 WCF was and the first smokeless sporting round introduced in the USA....
I call the 30-30 the 30 WCF without realizingit ,Buckeye