# What happened to the 30-30?



## Wee_brain (Jan 4, 2014)

I just bought another one and while I was paying for it, I wondered..... why are so many people bad mouthing that round these days. If it aint broke, dont fix it.


----------



## biggkidd (Aug 16, 2012)

For a rifle cartridge its slow and under powered. Its also a short range long gun. A 100 yards is all thats comfortable. Yes you can shoot 200-300 yards with it BUT at that distance the round has lost most of its power and drops like a brick. 

Great brush / close quarters gun though.

Just my .02

Larry


----------



## kkbinco (Jun 11, 2010)

Well, ya see it's like this. Back in the day a 30-30 was all one needed to take a deer. But as hunters killed off all the easy deer the ones that survived were much hardier and able to take a hit from the 30-30, some the bullets would now just bounce off.

These hardened deer required a higher powered bullet to penetrate their hide. Hence the development .308 and 30-06. However, Darwin won out again and the deer evolved armored plating.

Now if you want to take a deer you'll need a Barret 50 cal with uranium depleted bullets to even have a chance at grazing one.


*sigh* Things were so much simpler when I was a kid.


----------



## biggkidd (Aug 16, 2012)

kkbinco said:


> Well, ya see it's like this. Back in the day a 30-30 was all one needed to take a deer. But as hunters killed off all the easy deer the ones that survived were much hardier and able to take a hit from the 30-30, some the bullets would now just bounce off.
> 
> These hardened deer required a higher powered bullet to penetrate their hide. Hence the development .308 and 30-06. However, Darwin won out again and the deer evolved armored plating.
> 
> ...


LOL LOL LOL


Larry


----------



## JawjaBoy (Jan 21, 2013)

Still a great cartridge! 

Nothing is wrong with it at all. It's just that all the various hunting magazines and television shows say that you have to have the latest SuperDuperMaximumOverdriveKillItFrom1000YardsAwayTripleWhammy Magnum to have any chance at all of dropping a whitetail. God forbid you are interested in hunting elk or moose, in which case they recommend something that's just a little shy of a howitzer.

The .30-30 (or .30 WCF) is at it's best in the woods. It is not a field cartridge and the modernization of agriculture and switch from small segmented fields to huge open fields really hurts it. That said, Hornady's LeveRevolution ammo changes the .30-30's whole demeanor. I have shot some from a friend's Marlin lever action at 200 yards and was amazed at the groups! 

It's still not a "beanfield" rifle, but IS still the cartridge that has probably killed more deer than any other.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

Muzzle23001997-1.5000002522261871-0.41.60.500050215417520.2-0.4-0.100075208316380.4-0.5-0.10001002014153100000012519461430-0.90.70.200015018801334-2.31.50.400017518151243-4.42.40.700020017511158-7.13.4100022516901078-10.64.51.3000


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

well I think I broke that post 

any way yes leverevelution does turn 30-30 into a true 200 yard gun 

30-30 is a favorite cast boolit rifle of mine , it shoots out to 100 very nice 

you just don't need an ultramag for woods deer and most people shouldn't be shooting past 150 yards any way


----------



## palm farmer (Jan 3, 2014)

dang, unless you are reloading ammo for what you get range wise and power wise is kinda spendy... for a few pesos more you can run a 308 out to 800 yards if you have a decent stick


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I think the biggest thing is the rifle type the 30-30 is chambered for. The winchester94 doesn't lend it's self to the mounting of a scope the way people think it should be. The marlin 336 still has that hammer that non careful people allow to drop and killing people and wounding them too same as the model 94.

 Al


----------



## Glade Runner (Aug 1, 2013)

+1 on the LeveRevolution ammo. That's all I buy now. I use the .30-30s when I need a politically correct "assault rifle."


----------



## Wee_brain (Jan 4, 2014)

alleyyooper said:


> The winchester94 doesn't lend it's self to the mounting of a scope the way people think it should be.


I had no problem mounting a nice 3-9x40 on my 94.


----------



## JawjaBoy (Jan 21, 2013)

I will throw this out for consideration. Not many people know that a few bolt action rifles have been chambered for .30-30. One of the most notable was the Remington 788. I have fired one of these with handloads put together with spitzer bullets and accuracy out to 300 yards was exceptional. Groups at 100 yards _averaged_ around 3/4".

And since Winchester went to their "Angle-Eject" feature on 94's, there are no issues whatsoever with scope mounting. Shells are still ejected out of the top of the action, but they go to the right side so they do not hit the scope. 

And I have absolutely no problem with a hammer on a gun. It lets me tell at a glance that a gun is ready to fire. Even easier than a safety that might malfunction. It's funny how most guns had hammers for many years and there were no problems, but nowadays a gun with a hammer is somehow "unsafe".


----------



## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

It is a nice gun. I guess if I hunted out west shooting 200+ yds I would not use it, but for 120 yds or less, not a problem. It is light and short. I have a Marlin 336 - the side ejection is nice. As far as safety goes, I feel a lot safer using my Marlin than any semi-automatic I have used. The hammer has a safety too, but even so one should not drop any gun. Love this gun!


----------



## jeeper55 (Feb 24, 2008)

I bought a Winchester ranger 30-30. 15 years ago and that is all i use now ,of course all my shots are close range woods and small fields. It is just to populated around here to use anything stronger. I thinking about switching to a 12 gauge with 00 buckshot next year but i will hang on to to the 30-30.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

I have been watching for a Savage 340 at shows I missed one about 2 years ago 225 with the scope and mount, I have contemplated building a 30-30 bolt gun but I figure on my budget it would be easier to just build a 308 , but if I am going to do that I think I would build a 358 Winchester 

I like the lever , but the gun has so many screws and is a pain to fully take down and clean , for a foul weather gun a bolt is easier to break down and clean 

but I do like the long neck of the 30-30 case you can put a loot of bullet in the case and not have the gas check bellow the neck

I already have a bunch of 30-30 brass I traded a guy 200 pieces of 223 range pick up 223 brass for more 30-30 brass , then found a gallon ziplock back of it for cheap at a gun show , i load for it , and have a few molds and cast for it 

I just picked up a little 90 gr swc pistol bullet mold to use in 30-30 for sub sonic small game loads out to 50 yards 

I also use some of the same bullets in other 30 cals


----------



## SmokeEater2 (Jan 11, 2010)

I saw a chart online somewhere recently that has the .30-30 still holding a spot as one of the top selling cartridges every year.

It's still a good deer cartridge for a lot of folks around the country. Where I live a 150 yard shot is about the farthest possible due to the brush. The .30-30 does an outstanding job on white tails, hogs and bear in my area and a lot of guys use it every year.

I would guess that the vast majority of deer taken every year in the US are killed at distances that the .30-30 would handle very well.

I think it's main problem is the .30-30 is just not as sexy as the currently popular crop of Loudenboomers.


----------



## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

. ."What happened" . . .

Why nothing at all . . . . .The tried and true keeps on keeping on.....

The same ole argument about the Ford or the Chevy . . .which is "more better"

Love the ole W 94 . . . .


----------



## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

If you can shoot pointed bullets, the 30-30 becomes a whole 'nuther round. I won't give you the loads, but you can twist it up to .300 Savage levels...and that is a 250 yard gun


----------



## V-NH (Jan 1, 2014)

I use my 30-30 for deer hunting and sometimes coyote too. It is by far my favorite gun.


----------



## bluetogreens (May 31, 2010)

Whats funny is this,

I put an SKS up for sale that was a beater, bought it before the scare for under 200, got 450 for it. 

Put up a brand need 336w(6 rounds through it), with a 2x red dot/scope rail/sling/cheekpad carrier/2 lbs powder/200 rounds leverevolution ammo/200 brass/200 170gr sierra gamekings/dies etc. for 650 and noone took it. 

I am going to bubba the heck out of it now and make a cowboy assault rifle/all purpose truck gun. kids are starting on 30-06 these days and up, people here shoot 308/7mm up etc. for whitetail and pigs, no love for the classics. 

I like the gun enoughf or what it is, but it does not fit with my long term plans and with my financial situation being uncertain, I am pretty conscious about whittling down my calibers.


----------



## Raymond James (Apr 15, 2013)

Not sure that any thing happened to it. I still have my Marlin 30-30. I do not use it much but did need to buy some ammo back when everyone was buying everything off the shelf the day if not the hour it was delivered. No problem getting the 30-30 ammo. I did see lots of empty spots on the shelf. 

When I purchased it I wanted a rifle that I didn't need to take out a mortgage to buy. It has worked well for me.


----------



## tarbe (Apr 7, 2007)

I agree with most here. The 30-30 is better than ever with modern bullets and powders.

It's all relative. We have such great access to more powerful cartridges that the merely adequate can often get overlooked.

One of my favorite deer loads for hunting in the woods is a 170 gr Nosler Partition round nose loaded to 2,500 fps in my .308. Impact velocity at 100 yards (a very long shot in the woods!) is about the same as the 30-30 muzzle velocity. Kills nicely without the mess of high velocity. In fact, I don't ever intend to shoot an edible animal with an impact velocity higher than 2,600 fps again, but that is probably a subject for another thread! 

The


----------



## HuskyBoris (Feb 14, 2013)

I like my 30/30 for walking or swamphunting,and around here most of it is,although if I go to the cornfields it's my 30.06 or .270.what I like about my 30/30 (marlin) is that it is light,comes to my eye fast and if they are running or jump up to close for the scope the iron sights below the scope work great,neither of my other rifles even have iron sights.


----------



## beowoulf90 (Jan 13, 2004)

Wee_brain said:


> I just bought another one and while I was paying for it, I wondered..... why are so many people bad mouthing that round these days. If it aint broke, dont fix it.


Let them bad mouth it all they want.

There is nothing like a 30-30..

No it's not a power house and won't reach out across the power lines from mountain to mountain.. But here in PA woods you don't have those 300 - 500 yard shots most of the time. You are lucky if you can see 100 yds in some spots.

So the 30-30 is the perfect round for that.

I have (2) Marlin 336's both are very lethal out to 200 yds with reloads. Both are very accurate, one with high rise scope mount, so the iron sights still can be used and the other with just iron sights.

If I need to reach out any further than that I will use a different rifle. 

That is why they make different calibers.. (sarcasm)

Anyway those that bad mouth the 30-30 haven't a clue what they are talking about. It tells me they would use an adjustable wrench on every nut and bolt instead of having the proper tool for the job at hand.


----------



## Gray Wolf (Jan 25, 2013)

I'd like an Encore or Contender in 30-30.


----------



## tarbe (Apr 7, 2007)

Gray Wolf said:


> I'd like an Encore or Contender in 30-30.



Come to think of it, Ruger made some No. 1 falling blocks in 30-30. Yummy...


----------



## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

I never have liked 30-30. Even when I was given a 30-30 when I was 14 I had my father start working me an upgrade to a 30-06 as soon as possible.


----------



## Gray Wolf (Jan 25, 2013)

I have 'almost' enough guns but I always wanted a rifle-caliber handgun, mostly for the noise and fire out of a short barrel.


----------



## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

I have one of my grandfathers and I want to return to the UP to take one more deer with it. It is not about the rifle or the deer.


----------



## K-9 (Jul 27, 2007)

The 30-30 is a fine cartridge, I have killed many deer and hogs with it and have never failed to recover any animal shot with it. Where I use the 30-30 it is thick and shots are close, the rifle is fast to shoulder, points naturally for me and is easy to carry. Many people want to bad mouth it because it doesn't fit in their fantasy hunts where they will need to shoot at extreme distances but realistically they hunt in areas where less than 100 yard shots are the norm. Also it is not the latest and greatest caliber and the rifles don't have all the new bells and whistles. It is still a fine cartridge and will be cleanly killing deer for as long as we are allowed to hunt in this Country.


----------



## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

The problem with the 30-30 it is not a gun to brag about, it will do the job it was designed to do, but everyone wants a long range, flat shooting tank destroyer to go hunting, so they can shoot at something too far away..


----------



## lonelytree (Feb 28, 2008)

The 30-30 isn't popular in AK for the most part. The people that hunt sheep and other big game look for a 200+YD gun that shoots pretty flat. They spend years reloading to make their loads fit their rifles. 

In NM there were a lot of 30-30s. Some were shooting way to far for the round. 

I shoot a 30-06. Ammo is usually available. I would hesitate shooting past 100 YDS. I don't hunt in the open tundra or in the steep mountain areas. I do understand that if a herd of bou are going through and I harvest and animal, the bears are following them. I believe that I want a firearm that will kill the baddest thing in the woods even if I am going rabbit hunting. 

I have a Winchester 94 in CO that I can get if need be. It shoots awesome!


----------



## ksfarmer (Apr 28, 2007)

Get a deer every year, mostly with a Marlin 30-30. Most shot at 50 to 75 yards where I hunt. Used a .308 with a scope a time or two but didn't need it.


----------



## lonelytree (Feb 28, 2008)

ksfarmer said:


> Get a deer every year, mostly with a Marlin 30-30. Most shot at 50 to 75 yards where I hunt. Used a .308 with a scope a time or two but didn't need it.


There are some pretty big racks in the Republican River valley. Now turkeys too.


----------



## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

I have 2 30-30's , take one as a backup, but I take a lever action scoped 308.....my favorite....


----------



## Dutch 106 (Feb 12, 2008)

Hey Guys,
I agree, there is nothing wrong or bad with 30-30 or the guns its used in, its a lovely sized, moderate capacity round a trifle old fashioned but it started as above as 30 WCF (Winchester center fire for those that didn't catch that) and designed for black powder (yes its that old) 
if you really want to make it popular with the gun rags (which is how things get popular, yes?) You need to call it the original assalt gun (as it is) paint them black (naw that's awful) and hang ridicules sized scope on it. ( I really think a properly installed receiver sight is all a 200 yds gun needs) and very few of the clowns with $3,000 dollar bolt guns can hold a group with 3X9 scopes at 200 yd's> 
I Mean really, Pete I bet you have spent time at the range with an antique military rifle, with iron sights and had the guy next to you with more money spent on the finish than the rifle, ammo, and possibly the car I was driving! and I pulled a group under 2 inch's and the guy with the super whoppie magnum that cost as much as my first new car. cannot put all his shots on a 3 foot by 3 foot targets.
Listen to guys like greencountypete or other guys who know what there talking about. Perhaps not old blowhards like me :0
Dutch


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Isn't the rifle with the big high price scope at the range that can't hit the broad side of the barn inside with the door closed. It is 99.9% of the time the shooter that would have trouble hitting their big butt with both hands.
They buy those impressive big bang whoopee doo from gun writers reports and expect the same results. The gun writer shoots thousands of rounds a day and the guy that bought that latest whoopee do is lucky to shot 20 rounds a year. Many times they can't handle the recoil and develop a nice flinch.

 Al


----------



## Silvercreek Farmer (Oct 13, 2005)

I think a lot of folks zero their 30-30s too close (and other calibers for that matter). Set dead on at 100 you have 8 inches of drop at 200, this has you guessing at ranges and holdover if a deer is in the 150-200 yard range. With a 200 yard zero, a standard 150 grain load is only 3.5 inches high at 100. Hold on the deers heart and let fly, if you do end up hitting a little high on a closer deer you still have a solid double lunger that will put the deer down in short order. The 30-30 has plenty of velocity at 200 yards to do its job.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

this is a good tool to figure out where you should optimally sight in your gun at set it to 25 yard increments , look up the ballistic coefficient for your bullet , and plug in the velocity and high of your sight from bore axis then play with sight in distance you can change it by any value you like 

http://www.hornady.com/ballistics-resource/ballistics-calculator


----------



## Dan B. (Feb 23, 2014)

Gray Wolf said:


> I'd like an Encore or Contender in 30-30.


I own several 30-30's but only one is a levergun.....not a fan of lever actions. Mine are chambered in Contenders and NEF/H&R's. Love my single shots!


----------



## NorthernMich (Apr 30, 2006)

Just picked up one of these, all my sons have a 94 from dad, .357 and Trapper, dad still has a Trapper 

http://www.mossberg.com/rifle-calibers/30-30-win


----------



## Dan B. (Feb 23, 2014)

NorthernMich said:


> Just picked up one of these, all my sons have a 94 from dad, .357 and Trapper, dad still has a Trapper
> 
> http://www.mossberg.com/rifle-calibers/30-30-win


Looks like a car crash.


----------



## NorthernMich (Apr 30, 2006)

until you pull the trigger, great for smaller shooters easy truck gun...


----------



## Dan B. (Feb 23, 2014)

NorthernMich said:


> until you pull the trigger, great for smaller shooters easy truck gun...


Function over looks......I'm all for it!!


----------

