Have you become an (X Ring) person?
 

After 20 years of really paying attention to trying to shoot truly good,tight groups,i just stand a gun that won't!!!!!!!The previous 30 years,i was a 9 inch paper plate shooter. If i could hit the plate at 100 yards i was an expert [to myself].
Being that i hunted the hills and mountains of Pa. Also thick brush and jump shots,i had a 30-30 lever action.
I had given my 30-30s ,2 of them,one to my son and the other to my son-in-law. They brought both of them to me to go over and make sure that these guns were ready for deer season. It has been about 15 years since iv'e even touched a 30-30,so i am happy to play with them???
All i will say is i had a lot higher expectations for these 2 guns and myself shooting them? I tried to get them to shoot like my other guns? I have loaded 5 different bullets and as many powders and 2 inches at 50 yards and 6 to 8 inches at 100 yards,is the best these will do!
I can hear it now"My 30-30 will shoot 1 inch groups all day long". #1,i am glad for you and #2,i would have to see it.These 2 guns aren't ones like that??????
I have a new,in the box,308 Win,that i am getting ready and i am going to give to my son. He missed 2 bucks last season with his 30-30! Is it him or the gun? Its the gun,i trained him how to shoot?
Mounting Man(247)

A marlin 336 at 100 yards. shot the 2 shots to the left, adjusted scope and shot a 3 shot group, adjusted scope and set it right in the middle. I admit this is not typical of most lever action .30-30's. But I do have a shooter.
-Jake

Putting a scope on a lever 30-30 would make John Wayne turn over in his grave lol...

If I hit a milk jug at 100 yards with my open sight 30-30 I am a happy camper, off hand of course.

My brother uses Hornady leverevolutions in his Marlin 30-30 and they shoot well in it, plus they are hotter than most factory loads.

Are those 30-30's scoped mountingman? If not and they are still wearing their original open sights then maybe it aint the guns but YOU and, like me nowadays, you can't shoot open sights worth a tinkers damn anymore. I have an old pre 64 Marlin that I threw a Nikon on a good while back and she will hold less than an inch very easily with my handloads. She did pretty dang sporty with those leverevolutions as well but back when they first came out they didn't offer those FTX bullets as a component so I just stuck with the interlock bullets. If you don't want to scope them or if they are old Winchesters so scoping is difficult, you may want to try out a peep sight of some sort. Williams peeps are great for old levers. Before you disparage the rifles, you may want to have a closer look at your own abilities first :D

I agree with Jeep.......................... !

If I am taking my Marlin levergun, it's because I am going to hunt thick cover and I am expecting quick "short" shots.

Marlin 336C in .35 Rem iron sights.

I carry a savage 99 in .300 savage for the thick stuff typically.
-Jake

I enjoy shooting hunting and target guns. While I hunt deer and small game I shoot my rifles at the range the most.

There is nothing I like better than a sleek lever action like a Marlin 336, Win 94 and similar. They are so easy to carry. But it seems to me that those who believe they are better in the "thick stuff" don't have that much experience. Sorry but that's my opinion. I've hunted some of the nastiest places in PA where 30-50 yards was a long shot. What I've found is a short barreled rifle with a low power scope is the ideal weapon for such places - provided the rifle fit you and the scope is mounted properly. That scope will help your eyes find your game faster than open sights and will identify any obstacles in the way. Trust me too in that there is no such thing as a brush bucking cartridge. Any, I repeat, any bullet will deflect if it hits a twig along the way to the target. And it has been proven that the slower rotating bullets (30-30, 35 Rem, etc) are actually worse than one that is spinning and traveling at a faster rate.
Don't get me wrong. I don't doubt the killing power of the lowly 30-30 on deer. In fact, I was in the company of a young man this past Monday that killed his first black bear with one well placed bullet from his 94.
I'm even contemplating carrying my 94 in 32 Win Spl come the PA opener if I don't use my .58 cal muzzleloader.

Lots of people are under the false impression that "brush gun" means that certain cartridge will be better used in heavy brush. As Bronko said, that just aint a fact. "Brush Gun" relates to 2 things, #1: light, short, maneuverable in heavy woods and brush. #2: A gun you really don't mind a hell of a lot if it gets a bit scuffed up in the heavy underbrush stuff. Most your lever action rifles fall into one or both of those categories.