Who hunts with a 30-30?

[DeerTracker]

Ive had a Marlin 336CC which is the camo one that i bought 4 or 5 years ago for $135 in very good condition. Ive shot it quite a bit and killed gophers and jackrabbits with it but never killed a deer with it until this year. I had a whitetail doe run out in front of me about 50 yards and the little rifle came up and swung with her and put her down. I fell in love that instant. Ive been shooting Federal Powershock 170gr RNs and I keep buying some at work everytime I have a little extra money. Got 5 or 6 boxes so far just to target practice with and plink. I plan on coyote and jackrabbit hunting with it over christmas break. I have never put a scope on it since I love shooting it with open sites but might slap one on to see how accurate it is. I really want to try blackbear hunting with it this spring and trying to fill all my tags with it next fall. Ive been thinking about getting together some components and reloading for it. I might try some 170gr corelokts and 170gr Partitions. Not sure I would trust the 170gr Powershocks on anything larger than a deer. So who else uses one? What have ya killed with it? Lets see some pics if ya got them!

 

[geo]

This was the first year that I hunted with a 30-30. I took my 11 year old son with me for opening buck season (his first hunt). He is small and I knew the 280 was too heavy for him. I bought some of Remingtons reduced recoil loads for him to take some practice shoots and he fell in love with the gun. While we hunting I had 150gr bullets loaded but unfortunately we never had an oppertunity to shoot at deer. It is a nice little gun, a pleasure to carry and fun to shoot.

 

[DeerTracker]

I have more fun hunting with and shooting my 30-30 than I do my custom 338 edge, 7mm-300Weatherby, 25 & 270 Gibbs, etc...Some times its fun to get back to the "basics" and blast stuff!

 

[DrMike]

I don't use a 30-30, but one of my favourite rifles is a Model 94 chambered in .356. It is nothing but a 30-30 on steroids. It just seems to come to my shoulder without effort and hits whatever it is pointed at. Getting up close and personal with game, so to speak, makes the hunt that much more meaningful.

 

[FOTIS]

My wife bought me a Marlin 30-30 for Christmas a couple of years back. It shoots the 160 Flex tip around MOA. This year I found the perfect spot to use it or my 356 Win... :mrgreen:

 

[cloverleaf]

The trouble with the thirty- thirty is that it kills deer with boring regularity. Remember, the model 94 et.al. were the original repeating assualt rifle. President Roosevelt praised his "accurate and flat shooting 30-30" as a "fine antelope rifle". All about perception. Course my 250-3000 Savage sounds cooler... CL

 

[Guest]

For about 20yrs, my only deer rifle was a Win94 30-30. I still love it. In fact, I'm going to be carrying it some again this year. I've recently come upon a name for it, after responding on a thread here regarding a favorite rifle - It is Dr. Jekyll. And, yes, it's boringly, predictably a deer killer at 200yds and under, and handy in the woods for sure. Mine wears a 4x scope, which is just about the max power I'd put on one of these.

My son will likely start shooting center fire rifles with this gun after hunting season this year. It's a great rifle, and I highly recommend everyone have one.

 

[SJB358]

Never killed a deer with one, but I want to get one. I love the little 30-30. Think it is still right at home in the deer woods and most I have ever shot have been really accurate. Only a matter of time till I add one to the safe. Plus, I want an excuse to try out those 170gr PT's! Scotty

 

[Guy Miner]

Hunted mule deer one day with my .30-30 Marlin this year but didn't manage to get a shot... Doggone it.

I load 170 grain Remington Core-Lokt bullets and keep it sighted in at 100 yards. Simple, sturdy little rifle. Sadly last week the darned extractor broke! I'll need to order up a new one and replace it.

Guy

 

[maanbr1]

I carry my T/C contender in 30-30 when rifle hunting just in case I can get a close shot. One deer has been dropped with it. One day I would like to trade my brother my bolt gun for a day and use his Marlin to take a deer with. Nothing like holding and carrying a light lever action, just feels right :mrgreen:

 

[SJB358]

I am still keeping my eye out for that perfect 35 Rem and 30-30 lever gun. I just saw a M94 307 Win for 450 at a local rifle store. It was very sharp and man, it shouldered like a dream. Another good candidate for the 170gr Nosler PT! Scotty

 

[DrMike]

The 307 is a sweetheart to shoot. That is a good price, especially if it does not have the crossblock safety.

 

[SJB358]

It had the cross block safety, but the rifle was immaculate. I may get another chance to look at it, if I get back down there. Scotty

 

[FOTIS]

Scotty:

I will eventually have a 307 win. I owe it to my 356! :mrgreen:

 

[1Shot]

I did some deer killing with my 30-30AI Contender pistol this year. A 7 point buck and 3 doe. 125 Nosler ballistic tip at 2670 fps hammers deer. The first deer I ever killed 35 years ago was with a Marlin 336 30-30 with open sights and Rem factory 150 Core-lokt HP. Shot was about 50 yards broad side on a 5 point buck that field dressed 163 lbs. He took a step just as the gun fired and I later found that the bullet entered between the last two ribs and got the back of his lungs and blew his liver to jelly. I was shooting steeply down hill and at impact the deer did a barrel roll flip and landed on his feet again and rared up like Hi-O-Silver and took off down the mountain. I walked down to where he was standing when I shot and I found a bunch of hair but no blood. It was really steep down that TN mountain side but it was covered with deep leaves and I could track where he had jumped in the leaves. I climbed down that steep hill side for a little over 200 yards before I found the first blood on the side of a laurel bush. When I stepped around that laurel it looked like someone had painted the ground with blood 6 foot wide and I saw the buck laying about 20 yards away. Now when I first saw that buck come around the hillside and while I was shooting it I was as calm as could be. When I saw that buck laying on the ground dead I got so shaky and rubber legged I had to sit down. I sat down and just looked at that deer for about 10 min before I got up and went to it. I field dressed it and when I looked for my drag rope in my hunting coat I could not find it. I found it laying on my bed when I got home where it had fallen out of my coat. I tried to grab one side of it's antlers with one hand and carry my rifle in the other hand because I did not have a sling. I would pull him 3 feet and he would slide back 2 feet. I pulled on him for about an hour and had not gotten more than about 75 yards where a big tree had fallen down. I put him under the tree and covered him up with leaves and walked to the top of the mountain and got the jeep and went down the other side of the mountain to where my neighbor that I was hunting with was at. I got him and we went back to get my deer and it took us over 1 hour to get him up that mountain side. I was 18 years old and I had been deer hunting since I was 13 and this was the first deer I had ever seen in the woods while deer hunting. Deer were few and far between in those days. Now 35 years later there are deer in the back yard of the old home place. Times have changed but I will never forget my first deer with at 30-30.

 

[SJB358]

Great story 1Shot! Scotty

 

[SJB358]

Scotty:

I will eventually have a 307 win. I owe it to my 356! :mrgreen:

Me too. I like both the 307 and 356. I am still pondering that 307 Win M94. I will be up in NH from Jan - Mar, about 30 minutes from Kiterry Trading Post, so I am pretty sure I will spend some time there, and may find one or the other! Scotty