Tell me what you know about the wonderful 30-30 round!

[Lupinus]

dont know bout others but my scope is offset with a side mount so I can use either very nicely.

 

[CliffH]

You might find this site helpful Rifle & Pistol Hints I'm going to use their Marlin tuneup instructions soon.

Just took my Marlin 30-30 out for it's first use yesterday. It's my second lever action, the first was a Marlin in .357. This one is great! I found it to be much flatter shooting than the .357; It hit what I aimed at (unless I screwed up), from ~60 yards to ~150 yards, with no sight adjustment, right out of the box.

I'm hopping from foot-to-foot waiting until I can test it on a deer!

Can't remember where, but I recall reading somewhere that this round can be reloaded to use on anything from squirrel to elk.

BTW, yesterday's shooting was with 150gr & 170gr Winchester and 170gr Remington. There was no decernable difference between any of them. It's been recommended to me that you try various rounds to see which one the rifle likes best.

 

[AStone]

OK, I've been lurking in this thread for a few days, but I can't stand it any longer: I gotta add a couple of cents worth.

I was really excited to find this thread earlier this week, and have been reading it with interest.

Cliff's post got me to delurk:

Just took my Marlin 30-30 out for it's first use yesterday. It's my second lever action, the first was a Marlin in .357. This one is great!

It's interesting that just an hour before reading Cliff's post, I had spent about an hour reading about Marlin 336's.

Once again, I poured over the Marlin pages on 336A, C, SS & W.

I had memories of my long lost Marlin 336C (sold during a desparate financial time called grad school).

I revisited the THR thread on CAR (cowboy assault rifle).

For months - at least 8 - I've been researching my next "one-that-does-a-bunch-of-stuff-from-defense-to-hunting" rifle. Yes, I'm a minimalist: I want a few tools that work well enough rather than many perfect ones. Right now, I have only .22LR, a CZ 452. I have other guns, but that's my only rifle.

I've considered bolts, pumps (Rem 7600P), levers, autos (AK/AR/BAR), scouts, Ruger's frontier rifle, & STS truck guns.

I've looked at .308, .30-06, 7mm08, .223, & .30-30.

For the last few months, I've been consistently (up until now) most attracted to the Ruger Frontier & the STS truck gun.

Several times I've looked at lever guns, thinking...yeah, this could work, but then got sucked back again in the direction of bolt actions or (more rarely) pumps.

But for the first time in that process, this thread has pushed me strongly back in the direction of a Marlin 336 in .30-30. Yes, I know the Win '94 is a great rifle, but my memories of my Marlin are just too strong, and when I try both, the Marlin just feels better for me. (YMMV)

And if I get one, I'm gonna convert it into a CAR.

Still no firm decision yet. But I've got some time. The finances have been really bad for the last few months (summer is my slow business season), so I'm not yet able to buy.

Ah the luxury of time to make a good decision.



Nem

 

[TexasRifleman]

All I know about the 30-30 is I killed my first deer with one, and I'll love the round forever.

I currently only have one rifle chambered in 30-30, a 1966 Winchester Centennial carbine. My father bought it brand new in '66 and it was unfired.

In 1981 his home flooded and the rifle was under a bed in the box and seriously damaged by water.

I had the stock refinished but it pretty much killed any value it had, so I have since shot the heck out of the thing.

 

[vmfrantz]

I have a 3030 also. I would trust shooting a deer up to 150 yards top. Thats just me though. The rifle is this caliber are usually short. Yours will be great for shooting in brush and for quick off hand shots.
Good luck this season.

 

[gila_dog]

I think you will really like your Win 94. It is so handy to carry, being flat with no bolt handles or other protrusions. It balances very nicely too, which makes it easy to carry. You can put a sling on it by installing a special front sling swivel that pinches onto the magazine tube.

I have a Sears Ted Williams model 100, which is a Win 94 30-30 made with a few little cosmetic touches for Sears back in the mid-60's. I put a Williams "Fire Sight" on the front of it. That's one of those "fiber optic" sights that glows in almost any light. It makes it much easier to see morning and evening when the game critters are most active. I tried a fiber optic rear sight too, but found it distracting so put the orginal rear sight back on it.

I keep mine in my camper as an all-purpose rifle. I can shoot it quickly and accurately, and it has the power to stop any threat, or put any game in the freezer. I will be hunting javelina with it this winter. Maybe I will try some of the new Hornady Leverevolution ammo. I would not go looking for grizzlies armed only with a 30-30. But I certainly don't feel lightly armed with it as a defensive weapon.

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

Gila_dog quoted

I would not go looking for grizzlies armed only with a 30-30. But I certainly don't feel lightly armed with it as a defensive weapon.

I wouldn't either but the 30.30 has to be one of the most underrated cartridges for probably 40-50 years now. Everybody wants a magnum.
The Winchester 1894 30.30 is one of the best guns to learn off of when you shoot .30 caliber high power. Low recoil, and you can fairly keep the gun on target when you cycle a new cartridge. It the perfect confidence builder from the start provider your judgement isn't clouded by the anti 30.30 crowd who tell you that you can't this and you can't that.
I noticed that prices are going up on winchesters of late so get em while you got a chance.

 

[Glockensig]

Dang.... you guys are making me want to dust off mine and go out shooting. How many of you have the .25-35 variant??

 

[zero_chances]

i own two 30-30's. one is a bolt action repeater, and the other is a lever action. The 30-30 is a great cartridge. It will drop deer, bear, and other similar sized animals. It doesnt kick hard. Hornady's new Leverevolution ammo expands the capabilities of the 30-30 way more than it was before.

And if my memory serves me right, i beleive it was the first american invented cartridge.

 

[Nhsport]

you don't have to apolgise for the 30-30 in a lever gun . Break one out at a gunclub and the bigmouths will start about them being not accurate and underpowered. don't believe it.
If you are shooting from a benchrest a good bolt gun and a high dollar scope will shoot tighter groups but walking around in the woods or shooting out of a blind it is more about the shooter and less about the gun.
The oldtimer with the dented and worn 30-30 usually has the full freezer .
I very much agree with the guy who liked the peep sight , I think they are the way to go on a lever gun, and usually the sight can be had for about what the scope mount alone would cost . Most all lever guns have a stock that is shapped all wrong for a scope .
Looking at the guys who are dumping some serious money into gunsmith work on the lever guns and I can't see it as something to be done to your first lever gun. Down the line on your third or forth gun maybe for something different but I don't see the point. The barrels are none to long on the full sized guns and pretty short on the trapper models to start with. Now that the New Haven plant has shut down I don't think much of chopping a good gun up unless you are starting with a danmaged gun.
Another thing to play with is cast bullets , the 30-30 is a decent shooter with cast loads ,besides being a load of fun it also plays well with the SHTF survival type thinking.
On used gun that shoots poorly many times a little work on an abused crown will get it back and running like a new gun

 

[Banta]

I own a Winchester 94 30-30 that was purchased as a christmas present for myself over 20 years ago. I haven't shot it all that much but when I do it is amazingly accurate for me. I have bought and than sold a few guns over the years however this is one gun that I just could never bring myself to part with. It is definitely a Keeper.

 

[xd9fan]

I will stand toe to toe against any gang banger in a fire fight, I will not however; attempt to out gun an old man with a beat up 30-30.

no truer words have ever been said on this website.......

(getting my 336SS NP3'd at Robar right now. Should be in my hands next week)

Once heard that the 30-30 has killing more man and animal than any other caliber. HMMMM.....

 

[gila_dog]

In some ways, rifles are like women. Some turn you on, and some don't. Some are more practical and dependable than others. Some are pretty, some are homely. Some bring you pleasure, others beat you up. Fortunately we all have different tastes, so we aren't all chasing after the same ones. One very good thing about rifles, tho, is that unlike women, you can have lots of them.

My 700 Rem 30-06 is what I carry when I'm doing serious hunting for the freezer. My Rem 870 12 ga. is my duck and turkey hunting gun. The Colt Combat Commander is in the bedroom closet, loaded with .45 ACP Corbon Powerball. There is no question in my mind that when I pick up one of those weapons for a particular serious purpose, I'm optimally armed.

But the little Win 94 30-30 has an honored place in my camper. I love to take her out and play with her when I'm out in the mountains or desert, scouting and exploring. I've really got a crush on her. And she isn't just pretty and sweet to shoot. If an elk gave me a broadside shot at 100 yards, she would make a quick, clean kill.

 

[X-Rap]

The turdy turdy is realy a fine round and one that most would pick as a top ten I believe. I presently load 110 gr. hollow pts. for my 94 and use it for an all around walking gun not to say that in 160 or 170gr. its not still a viable round but only a fool would believe you cant find better. But consider this, with all the lea's going tactical and putting a 2K AR in ever car now and looking so cool how much could the tax payers save with a marlin or winchester with a good peep and maybe a light.

 

[.45Guy]

.30-30 is a damn fine deer round, and is chambered in some of the finest woods guns ever designed. Here's a doe taken with an old '94.

 

[azredhawk44]

Love the 30-30.

The brass is pretty thin, though, in comparison to other calibers out there. Easy to crush a case if you aren't careful when reloading.

I own 2 Win94's... an old 1970's era 30-30 and a new 94AE 2006 30-30 scoped. Love them both. My brother is borrowing one to go elk hunting with me later this month... I'll be taking a .308 even though I like the 30-30 better as a hiking/hunting gun.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

Just bought my neighbors mint Winchester 94 in 30-30.

Congrats. Great guns. Is it pre or post 1964 manufacture?

I'm pretty new at guns and trying to get info on that round.

What is it good for?

It is excellent for deer out to 200 yards or so, and even farther with the new spire pointed ammo now available that's safe to use in tube mags. Also good for black bear, boar, or even larger non-dangerous game if shots are close enough.

How far can it shoot accurately? 100, 200, 300, 1000 yards?

The trajectory, with standard ammo, will get really curved past 250 yards, so that's about its range limit. This can be extended quite a bit with the newer ammo available from Hornidy

What other round does it compare to? Someone posted here somewhere that it's comparable to the .357 mag in velocity.

Thats way off. Much more useful round than .357 mag. It's a true big game rifle round.

Is it good for stopping zombies? Grizzlies? Black bears?

Yes, but the zombies will need a head shot to stop them. Their brains, though damaged from death, are still what controls their wanderings about searching for human flesh. You must shut that down. Taking off the knees will only result in crawling zombies still looking for a bite of man flesh.

When was it invented and by whom?

Winchester, I believe.

How popular is it and for whom is it popular?

I believe it is still the most popular round for deer hunting in the north east, and way up there everywhere else.

I only plan to target shoot with it but i'm curious to know it's history and capabilities.

Any other trivia, anecdotes or info on that round would be appreciated.

Jeff Cooper likes the 94 in .30-30 as a general purpose rifle, i.e., self defense and survival hunting. Good luck. Watch out for those zombies.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

30-30

What is it good for?
Dear, bear, boar, in eastern woods conditions: 25 to 75 yard typical range.
The Winchester 94 is light and handy; the Marlin 336 is just a little
heavier but wears a scope better than the 94.

How far can it shoot accurately? 100, 200, 300, 1000 yards?
My son and I get 2" groups of five shots at 100 yards easy with
Marlin 336 wearing Tasco or Simmons (read: budget price) scopes, and
regular old Winchester factory ammo.

What other round does it compare to? Someone posted here somewhere
that it's comparable to the .357 mag in velocity.
.357 from pistol is 1300 fps, .357 from carbine (20" barrel) is 1800 to 1900.
.30-30 is usually about 2300 fps with 150 gr and 2100 fps with 170 gr.
.30-30 shoots heavier bullets than the 7.62x39 at slightly higher velocity.
.30-30 is twice as powerful as the .30 Carbine M1.
.30-30 is two-thirds as powerful as the .30-06 Springfield.

Is it good for stopping zombies? Grizzlies? Black bears?
Zombies and black bears (and zombie black bears) yes. For grizzly
it is better than throwing rocks or jabbing with pointy sticks.

When was it invented and by whom?
The Winchester 1894 rifle was introduced in 1894 in .38-55 and .32-40.
The .30-30 cartridge was intriduced in 1895. Because .30-30 rifling is
not very compatible very compatible with black powder or lead bullets
(which is about all that reloaders had in 1895), the .30-30 was followed by
the .32 special, a compromise barrel and cartridge combo that gives so-so
performance with smokeless powder and jecketed bullets and blackpowder
and lead bullets.

How popular is it and for whom is it popular?
Millions of Winchester and Marlin rifles were sold. The cartridge and
the rifles for it are a good compromise is power, weight and price.

Yes, the first successful American commercial smokeless powder cartridge.

Watch out for Winchester rifles made by Olin between 1964-1968:
the cartridge lifters were made of sheet metal instead of solid steel.
If a 94 has a sheet metal cartridge lifter, it will eventually give trouble.
The only gripe about post-68 94s is some folks do not like the angle
eject. I only hate the fact that on the latest ones (like mine) they do
not come drilled and tapped for receiver sights (boo hiss).

A Winchester 94 should have a Lyman or Williams receiver sight.
A Marlin 336 should have a 4x32 scope. They just look right that way.

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

.45 GUY That deer kinda looks dead to me. I guess that little under powered cartridge got to it huh?