My first rifle
 

i've been unting deer for about 3 years, and i've always had to borrow a rifle from a friend, as i don't own one.

i've been using an old winchester model 94 30-30, and i'm thinking of purchasing one for myself.

i just wanted to get some opinions on it before i buy one....so what do you think of this particular rifle?

the only problem i had was that i thought i would not be able to mount a scope, because it ejects the shells from the top...but i have read that this is on the older models, and that the newer models eject to the side so that a scope can be mounted.

RE: My first rifle
 

you can mount a scope on a winchester 94, just hard to find a good mount. the weaver mount I had first would loosen up real easy so I ended up buying a burris mount which worked good for awhile then i started having problems with it loosening up too. I ended up trading that model 94 off for a marlin 336 which the shell ejects from the side and the top of the reciever is a nice flat surface perfect for mounitng a scope. Ive had the same scope and mount on the rifle now for 10 years and it is still as tight as it was when i first put the scope and mount on it. My suggestion is if you want to mount a scope on a 30-30 deffinately consider a marlin 336.

RE: My first rifle
 

welcome david m, i would take the 336 over the 94 also because of the fact that the 94 is a top eject, nothing wrong with the 94 just weak on the scope mounting situation, tell us more about you where you live (state) and what you plan on hunting, whitetails i'll bet, i used a marlin 336 for my first rifle and killed several deer with it, truth be known the 30-30 has propably killed more deer than any other. agian welcome and best of luck

RE: My first rifle
 

i live in missouri, and we hunt whitetail in the national forest a few hours from here.

i have yet to actually get a deer, though i was close this year.

i wanted to go back for the second weekend of our season, but something has come up that is going to prevent it...so i'm out of luck until next year.

thanks for the welcome.

RE: My first rifle
 

David,

I'm with the others, if you want a lever gun of the 94 type, i'd rather have the Marlin.

A 30-30 makes a good close range deer and blk bear round, especially if you buy the Federal ammo loaded with Nosler bullets.

I like the 35 Rem. round even better though! :>)

Drilling Man

RE: My first rifle
 

David,
Don't limit yourself to just a 30-30. If you are looking to mount a scope you may want to try a different caliber in a different type of rifle. If you are looking for something similar to hunt deer with try the 308 Winchester in a bolt action rifle. This type of rifle will be more accurate and flatter shooting. The recoil is not that much more than a 30-30 firing the same weight bullet. 308's are available in bolt, semi-auto, lever, & pump actions from all of the major US manufacturers.

If you must have a 30-30 I would definately purchase a Marlin 336 over the Winchester 94. I have seen some Marlin's that would group nearly as well as some bolt guns out of the box. If you hunt in areas where you may take a shot at over 150 yards I would consider going with a different caliber such as the 308 I mentioned or even the 30-06.

RE: My first rifle
 

David,

If you want to stay with a lever action 30-30 carbine then I'd have to recommend you look at the Marlin also. I've had occasion to own/shoot both, and unless you get a lemon the Marlin is the better rifle. Put a low power scope on her, and you're ready to go (ex.: Weaver 1-3x20mm = inexpensive too).

Now, having said this, I am assuming you do not anticipate any shots at deer at over
approx. 150yds. If you will be hunting more "open" areas, then you should probably look to a bolt action rifle in such calibers as 270Win., 308Win., 7mm-08, 280Rem., etc.
You can get a bolt action 270 or 308, etc. for not much more than the Marlin 30-30 if
you go with hardwood or synthetic stock models (ex: Remington 700ADL Synthetic).

Whatever you do, don't rush it. Sounds like you have till next year, so take your time
and pick a rifle you really want, and that fits you, and your style of hunting.
Good Luck!

RE: My first rifle
 

Welcome DavidM! [8D]

I am the proud owner of a Marlin 30AS 30-30 rifle (as seen in my sig below). It is an older version similiar to what is now the 336. It is pretty lightweight, manuverable, and a sweet shooter. I snatched it up immediately last year, when a guy at work's wife had a new baby and stuff, and well, you know how things like that go. His wife said "sorry, the gun goes". :eek: The guy had it out in his truck and during lunchtime, he got it out to show me. He let me borrow it for a couple weeks to see what I thought, etc..etc.. Anyway, it has a monsterous Simmons Pro Hunter 4-12x40 A.O. scope on it with see through/raised scope rings. The guy then said, "I never had a problem with it. Haven't hunted in 6-7 years or so with it, but it's a great gun. $200 bucks and it's yours." Man, I jumped on that deal so fast!!! :D There's no dings, scratches, blemishes or anything on it.

I have shot dozens of Remington Core-Lokt 170gr rounds out of it and it is a snappy little shooter! I really think the Marlin 30-30 is built way better then Winchester. If you like the 30-30 and are used to shooting one, then grab a Marlin. You won't be sorry!

Again, welcome aboard!

Butch A.

RE: My first rifle
 

I prefer the marlin 30-30 but i dont know much. Kinda new myself

RE: My first rifle
 

I would also go with the Marlin Model 336. Good luck.