Trushot_archer

So....I mostly hunt with a bow or a shotgun. Never had a rifle. Never even shot one. But I like the idea of having one around and would like to become relatively proficient at a slightly greater distance than to 35yard max eith the bow so....

I have an oppurtunnity to pick up a 30 30 and wonder about...
A. Range
B. Knockdown
C. Accuracy
D. Price of cartridges
E. Any other info that'd be usefull to a rifle newbie.

The gun as an older model Marlin if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance

wesleykey

So, Kelly of Tecumseh, your wife can track you down by your gear but not by your name???

Trushot_archer

The point being, Wesley, is that if I listed all my gear she'd have a clue as to how much I actually spent on archery gear a year.

Thanks for asking.

RustyOlRanger4x4

30-30 is a great gun and most peoples first rifles were 30-30`s range under 200yds 100yds easy but generally anything under 200 is safe. Knockdown it`ll pack a whallop ive shot deer and hogs with it but its all about shot placement, accuracy there pretty accurate guns like I said out to about 200yds after that your just lobbin it down ranger but 150and under very accurate and a box of shells for a 30-30 is uaully right at $10 for a box of 20 so there about dirt cheap when it comes to rifle shells and lever action guns are very reliable and good handy guns I wouldent try to shoot a elk at 300 yds. with one but deer, hog, black bear, mule deer and anything in that size ranger can be taken safley with a 30-30

Trushot_archer

Much Obliged Rusty.

RustyOlRanger4x4

My first rifle was a marlin 30-30 its still sitting in my gun safe and its truley a great gun and I still shoot it all the time but they have been around for probably over a century that should tell you something about the cartridge its probably been used to take "millions" of deer over the years but its a great gun if you get it you wont be disappointed

wesleykey

I feel enlightened now.[:-]

speyrjb

More deer have probably been killed with a 30-30 than with any other caliber. The 30-30 was my first deer rifle and it is a great gun.

Another sugestion I have is spend a few more bucks on hollow-point rounds. If you plan on shooting deer through the ribs (behind the shoulder), the soft points don't like to expand much. I've shot several deer right behind the shoulder and the don't leave much of a blood trail. I've never lost a deer with soft points, however, The hollow points won't really explode like the other super fast rifles, but they will do alot more damage and make recovery alot easier without alot of wasted meat. If you plan on shooting them square in the shoulder then the soft points will be ok, more than likely knock the deer down right there but even then they might run. The hollow points are a little harder to find but they are much better rounds IMHO. Good luck!

RustyOlRanger4x4

good point, hallow points are good everything I shot was with a soft point(remington corelok I believe) But I picked up a box a hollow points last year and they shoot nice and im sure they`d do a great job but like he said there hard to find sometimes

Nomercy

The .30-30 is only considered a "low powered rifle round" because it's compared to rounds like the .30-06 that are so grossly over powered for deer yet so widely available and used that everyone thinks you need 3000ft.lbs. to kill a deer.

Ok, so the .30-30's "ONLY" got 2000ft.lbs., doesn't make me want to stand in front of one!!!

To respond to all of your concerns, get the gun, be happy with it because:

1)Out to about 250-300yrds the .30-30 has enough energy to easily kill a deer if you hit it right, there's no reason, however, to need to take a shot that long, being an archer you understand range limitations...accuracy is really the only limitation

2) Most .30-30's are tube fed leverguns, which your 336 is, so they're loaded with round nosed or flat nosed bullets, bad for accuracy, but you don't blow yourself up either, round nose bullets are really mean when they run into things, giving the .30-30 a huge KO factor

3)Accuracy is where the .30-30 suffers in most people's minds, not that it's inaccurate, but lever actions don't typically shoot as accurately as bolt guns, however 2-3" groups at 100yrds are decent/average still...I've had a 30A (similar to the 336) that shot 2.33" groups at 200yrds all day long, not too bad for any gun. One thing that makes people think that the .30-30 is inaccurate is the fact that most people don't put scopes on leveractions or "underpowered rounds", so they can't hit anything because they can't see it...I put scopes on all of my hunting rifles unless I'm planning to only use it for drive hunting or brush hunts. It is more than accurate enough to take deer out to 250yrds, 3" at 100yrds would be 9" at 300yrds, which is pretty close to our target zone. It drops a lot since it's not very fast, so be careful sighting in at 100 and shooting at 250, but if you know where it's going to hit, and it hits there, the deer will die.

4) The .30-30 is one of the most common hunting rounds in the U.S., so finding ammo for it is extremely simple, it's every bit as common as the .308, .30-06, .270, and .243, and it's likely only surpassed in availability by 7.62x39mm and .223, since those are the two "assault rifle" typical rounds that can be found in imported ammo in HUGE quantities. Walmart has several loads from several makers for .30-30, your local shops will likely have 10-15loadings available for it. There's a broad range of prices you might expect to pay for ammo, however, $10-13/20 isn't uncommon. Occasionally you'll run across $8/20...basically it's as cheap as any ammo, except for the "auto rifle" rounds, which imported ammo can go for as little as $2/20

5) As far as beginning your "rifle career" goes, get a scope, shoot a lot at a lot of different ranges within your predicted hunting ranges (It'll kill deer at any range you can get the bullets into a 6-8" group from your realistic position-i.e. how you'd be in the field and not off a bench). Shoot 3shot or 5 shot groups at your target to determine your group size, adjust your scope after each group accordingly. Wear ear plugs under ear muffs and eye protection to practice. Shooting sticks are a cheap and easy way to make your shots more accurate. I never shoot my hunting rifles off a bench (unless I'm going to use them in a competition), shoot how you would shoot in the field. Dry fire practice to get used to your trigger pull and to learn where your sear breaks.

After being an archer, you might be ahead of the game as far as the shooting goes, it really helped me shoot more accurately, time your shots in rythm with your breathing and heartbeat, and take your time.

Best advice is to go to a rifle range and hook up with some guy that's shooting really well who'll help you.