Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

Hi. I have just begun hunting wold hogs. I use an '06 or .300 Win mag. I want to take my friend hunting but he a stoggy and conservative. He has no scopes on any of his rifles. Further, he only shoots single action revolvers. He doesn't want a 1911 because he doesn't trust such newfangled guns. After all, the 1911 is only about a hundred years old!! LOL.
Anyway, he wants to take his MArlin Cowby model lever action in .30 .30 out to hunt hogs. Oklahoma hogs can get up to the 450-550 lb range. Is the .30 .30 suitable for ranges at 100 yards and less? And whayt factory loads would you suggest?
okcmco

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

I've shot a bunch of hogs with an open sight lever action .357. Mind you nothing out past about 30 yards but it does just fine. Your 30/30 should do just fine. Shot placment. . . . . . . .

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

I always chamber a 150gr Silver Tip or Pointed soft Point
for my first round in the chamber. In the magazine I load
Flat Nose.

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

that'll get the job done. i shoot several hogs with a 45lc single action pistol and have yet to have one come at me after i put one of those behind it's ear

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

My favorite brush gun is a lever action Marlin 30-30 with a side mount scope and iron sights. I can use the scope for distance but open sights for up close and personal. lol

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

A single action revolver is the best gun for the first six shots. Ain't nothin' more reliable.

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

I have always hunted with dogs and always used a side arm. In the early days I used a S&W "Trooper".357 and then started using a Ruger SP100 .357.

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

The 30-30 is fine for pigs. You have to remember that for years and years and years people have killed pigs with knives, arrows, and smaller less powerful rounds than the 30-30. You can get a good variety of excellent hunting bullets, and inside 100 yards, any of them will cleanly take almost any North American from wood chucks to moose.

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

I shot my first hog(175lbs) with a Marlin 336W 30-30 loaded with remington corelocks(around 150ish grains cant remember) a single shot right behind the shoulder at about 75yards and he dropped like a ton of bricks

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

Ive taken many hogs with a 30-30 out to 150 yards. It will work fine. I have also shot many with my 1911 45 acp. I have a special hog round for my 45 though. My favorite method for hogs is a bow, but I have shot them with 300 wby, 22-250, 30-06, 25 06, 30-30, 300 wsm, 243, and 223. Pistols; 44 mag, 357, colt 45, 45 acp, 454 casul, and 38 special. All took the hogs with no problem when used at the approriate range and proper shot placement.

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

My Marlin .30-.30 is a great shooting open sight gun. This new soft tip pointed load (lever evolution) on the left is awesome.

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

okcmco,

I too have taken a number of hogs with the 30-30 and more than a slop jar full with a Ruger Security Six in 357 mag.(with larger grips added). I load my own loads and use 125 gr. hollow points in the 30-30, never had one run. I will go so far at to say, most of my shots are close and personal, I hunt swamp land.

dog1

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

I have shot several OK Hogs with a 1911 45acp and 44mag DA,357mag SA.Winchester Partition Gold Bullets 1 shot 1 kill.Any 30/30 will work just fine.

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

My Marlin 30-30 is the only rifle I use for deer or hogs. I have money to buy other guns but to me that is foolish. That 30-30 will stop anything I hunt and where I hunt. Sweet , straight shootin rifle. I 've shot 3 bucks with it.All three went down immediately. And never got back up
Chuck

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

The 30-30 will get the job done on most hogs of any size. However, if you do hunt hogs that are over 300lbs, I recommend a controlled expansion bullet vs. the quick-expanding bullets that are loaded in most of the 30-30 cartridges today - they are better suited for thin-skinned whitetails. I recently have been experimenting with the factory-loaded Federal 170gr Partition and it really worked well. The front of the bullet expands quickly to make a good entry hole, but once the front breaks off, you still have the solid core punching through the rest of the animal. However, don't be suprised if you don't get total penetration with this cartridge. Normally, total penetration will be limited to hogs that are under 275lbs and/or shot too far back (gut shot).

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

I was rather disappointed with my 30-30 the last time I shot a pig. I woke up one morning and he was walking around right outside the house. I'm not sure how much he weighed, but he was huge. He easily madetwo of any show pig I ever had. At 75 yards he stopped, and I shot. My shot was right behind the shoulder, but I hit him about 3 inches higher than I wanted to. I could hear it knock some of the wind out of him and probably break a rib cause the bullet made a crack when it hit. His back end went limp and he started slowly settling to the ground. I thought I'd dropped him where he stood. Then he got up and took off like he'd never been hit. I never saw him again. There was a couple of tiny drops of blood where the bullet impacted and that was it. No exit wound, no blood trail, no nothing. I gave him about 30 minutes to find a spot and lay down, then I looked for him most of day. No hog to be seen anywhere. I never even smelled him. I came back a week later, and still no pig and no smell. I'm still baffled by that one.

RE: Marlin Cowboy .30 .30 for Hogs?
 

Bowshopper tell me more about the soft point.