I was wondering if a .30 carbine is enough for deer if hunting in a wooded areawith maximum shot distances of 40 to 50 yards. Not brushy really. Just very wooded. (Remington 110 grn SP ammo)

Mavwreck,

While the M1 carbine will dispatch deer I feel it is a borderline deer hunting rifle. You are only talking about a 110gr bullet @ 1800fps, this will give only about 760ft lbs of energy at the muzzle. Keep the shots under 50yds and you should be ok, just be aware of this cartridge's capabilities and you should be fine.

To give youcomparison balistics: .30-30 150gr @ 2390fps and 1842ft lbs of energy at the muzzle
7.62 x 39 122gr @ 2410fps and 1725ft lbs of energy at the muzzle
454 Casull (pistol) 260gr @ 1800fps and 1811ft lbs of energy at the muzzle
44Mag (pistol) 240gr @ 1400fps and 945ft lbs of energy at the muzzle
357Mag (pistol) 125gr @ 1450fps and 565ft lbs of energy at the muzzle

All of the cartridges listed above (except for the 357mag) are better deer rounds including thetwo pistols and I consider the .44mag the minimum for deer. I know those who have killed deer with the 357mag but I personally would not do it.

So there you have it, the .30 carbine falls somewhere in the pistol range when it comes to killing power. Again it willkill deer but the range must be close (pistol range) to be effective.

My dad took his first deer when he was 35 in the 60's with an M-1 Carbine. He used it for a few years more, then upgraded to a 30-06.

I agree that it is an underpowered round and I would never use it.

C'mon guys!


People usethe.22 Hornet at that range!

I believe a .30 carbine would be just fine, if you think you're able to hit them in the neck, it would work perfectly.

Ah come on guys. If you just stick with the wrecks question ( .30 @ 40 -50 yards ) I really can't see a problem using the M1. As he said "wooded areas" and short rifles are usually beneficial in the woods.

As another plus, the low cost ammo should encourage/enable plenty of plinking (practice) and that means the shooter is more likely to be a crack shot.

Deer are really not that hard to kill. A 30 carbine should easily do the trick at close range IF you do your part with shot pacement.

Its been 35+yrs but my 1st deer was taken with a 30 carbine.
I bought it used as a young GI when thats all I could afford at the time.Nice little gun,easy to handle and carry.

Practiced - Practiced and took my 1st deer/buck(muley) on last day of season at little over 100yrds as I recall.The following year I graduated to a used 30-06 Rem.Thought I died and went to heaven.

Not my choice, but many deer have been killed with the .30-Carbine!

People poach em with 22's and get the job done. If that's all he has it's all he has . It's legal and wiil do the job. But at that range why not use a shotgun? But like I said. maybe that's all he owns.

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