30-30
 

Okay I have a 30-30 and was curious as to what everyone thought about this rifle. I would use this gun for deer, wild boar and small preadator shooting does it have enough knock down power for all above listed animals?

My father-in-law said I could borrow his 270, but I don't know if it is necessary and how it compares to my new 30-30 (which was a gift btw) A couple of my friends said I should forget the 30-30 and go get a 7mm mag so nothing runs away from me. Is the 7mm or 270 overkill? Help please

RE: 30-30
 

The .30-30 is a ballistically inferior cartridge when compared to the .270 or the 7mm Mag. BUT..... It has probably killed ten times as many deer as both of those cartridges combined. There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong with the .30-30 for the purposes you listed, as long as you recognize and respect the ballistic limitations of the cartridge. Try to keep your shots broadside, and preferably under 200 yards.

RE: 30-30
 

RE: Marlin Model 336W .30-30 Win

RE: 30-30
 

I started my first son out with a Marlin 30-30. It is an excellent bush gun but can not compare to with the ballistics of the .270 or the 7mm mag. The .270 and 7mm mag are different animals. The 30-30 will have no difficulty getting the job done but it all depends on the terrain you are hunting. If you are looking at 200 yard plus then the.270 would be the better choice. My preference and what I've hunted with for the last 20 years is the 7mm mag. I'm not saying that the 7mm mag is better than the .270 (I ownone also), just that it is my personal preference. The .270 is one of the most classic deer cal.

RE: 30-30
 

I have owned all three and DITTO ipscshooter

RE: 30-30
 

Thanks for the link Hog. I have been reading some stuff online and it is starting to make sense the 30-30 may be one of the best rounds for deer, hogs, etc.. The reasoning it is better than say a 30-06 or another high end caliber is due to it's energy is dispersed better. With the right load typically a heavier round (170 grain ) it moves a lot slower giving the round moretime to expand. Whereas, a larger round moves at a lot faster rate not giving it time to expand, and sometimes a clean through shot which can be bad. I gathered all that info from the internet, so I don't know how accurate it is, but is sounds right in theory anyway.

I do hunt in very thick woods S.E. Oklahoma and I need something that will knock a deer down quickly. Most deer tend to move at night, and it can be hard to follow a blood trail at night in the thick woods.

RE: 30-30
 

My first deer gun was a 30/30 and I never had one run farther than 20 yards. Of course, I never shot one over 100 yards either. I think the 30/30 is an incredible brush gun, just don't try and shoot 200 yards, place your shots well, and it will knock the animals down.

RE: 30-30
 

OK, now we're getting a little carried away... There are very few instances in which a .30-30 might be considered "better" than a .30-06. The only two things I can think of are (a) less recoil, and (b) generally smaller, handier rifles. Other than that, the .30-06 is, hands down, the better of the two rifles. The "moves slower giving more time to expand" is a rather weird notion, as it takes speed to make a bullet expand. Match your bullet to your target. i.e. Given the same cartridge use for each, you probably won't use the same construction of bullet for a Whitetail as you will for a Grizzly. On a whitetail, you want the bullet to go all the way through. If they're leaking blood out of both sides, you're going to have a better blood trail to follow. On my first whitetail, the deer turned slightly to his left, exactly at the moment I was squeezing the trigger. As a result, the bullet entered the front of the right hip, and lodged under the skin of the left front shoulder, quartering throug the vitals. The deer died within about 30 yards of where he was hit, but, because of where he was hit, and lack of an exit wound, he left no blood trail, we had aheckuva time finding him.

Knocking down a deer quickly is more a factor of where you hit them than what you hit them with. I've had EXACTLY the same knockdown vs. travel after the shot results with my .243 as I've had with my .30-06. Given a double lung shot, you should generally expect the deer to travel roughly 20-100 yards before it bleeds out. Sometimes they'll fall on the spot. Most of the time, they won't.

The way this last sentence reads, itsounds like you're planning to shoot at night. I think that's illegal everywhere...

RE: 30-30
 

Feed some HornadyLever Evelutions through it, you will be supprized at the old limit barriers that have blown away simply by makeing a pointed bullit work for the tube mag guns, I was pretty impressed, I have a 30-30 and a 35rem that I will probably take back out in the woods this year. They still dont match up to the .270, 06, 300wm, but will make a 200yd shot with ease.

RE: 30-30
 

LOL thats the same thought I came too.