Winchester 94, good carbine poor rifle?

[HB]

My centerfire deer rifles are a 308 Zastava Mauser with a 3-9x40 Nikon and a 30-30 Winchester 1894 with a peep.

The 30-30 was killed a few deer as well as my biggest buck. However, its a pretty poor rifle for shots over 75 yards.

I hunted a logging road on public land this year. Doe down 20 mins into daylight at 125 yards because of the 308 with a Nikon scope. Then shot a buck an hour later at about 12 yards, 3x from 20’ high didnt handicap me.

Anybody else feel that leverguns are more for carrying than shooting?

I plan on getting dies for the 30-30 but so it can be a range gun with cast bullets. But for 7lbs of rifle I have much better options.

HB

 

[Blue Brick]

Nope. Not mine, but I know a Winchester 30-30 that hit steel at 200 yards. Its a pre 64.

 

[ford8nr]

Had a 94 30-30 years back. Hunted probably 12 years with it, killed a bunch of deer out to 125yds with the iron sights. Moved up to a scoped .308 and 30-06 bolt. Don't miss it. Now I'm looking at trying my Ruger #1 in .243
Maybe some day I'll move back to a 94 ... Nah

 

[Frostbite]

My Model 94 AE .30-30 is no sniper rifle, but at twelve yards, I am pretty sure it would have done the job as well as my scoped .270 or .30-06. So, it is also a shooting rifle, but within its own range. To carry in thick brush, I would choose it over the two others without hesitation. It isn't just about the weight ; it is also well balanced and short. Hunting from a tree stand all day, my Encore in .30-06 wins it, it's a tack driver with 2.5" groups at 200 yards. Unknown terrain or combination of both types of hunting, then it is my BAR in .270. Scoped on see-through rings allowing usage of the sights, it is quite versatile. Within their respective ranges, each one can do the job on deer and moose.

 

[Bfh_auto]

Depending where you are hunting, a levergun is a viable option.
When I was a kid, I didn't have scoped rifles. My brother and I could hit a pie plate at 150 yds. With a TC hawken. Now I wouldn't even try it.
This is a long way off saying practice with bring out it's ability.

 

[Steve S.]

I love my ‘73 in .45 Colt; it has limitations and I do not exceed those limitations.

 

[Armored farmer]

I think the 30-30 cartridge in a lever gun is perfectly suited for iron sights.
It is a quick handling woods gun, not a long range rifle.
I see where you are coming from, sort of.
However, as long as whitetails live in the woods.....

 

[cheygriz]

Like any other weapon, the .30-30 is superb, within it's limitations.

Mine has accounted for several deer and a couple of elk.

 

[someguy2800]

I can’t really think of any situation deer hunting where I’d rather have iron or peep sights than a good 2-7 or 3-9 scope. They offer ample field of view for even near point blank shots. A lever action 30-30 with irons is a fun plinker but to me the only reason I would hunt with one is nostalgia. They make scope mounts for a ‘94 too of course, which basically turns the comparison into a ballistics argument.

I love my optics. I can see way way better in low light with a good scope than I can with my bare eyes. I also appreciate being better able to size up game by being able to crank it up a bit. It’s saved me from shooting quite a few fawns and spike bucks just by being able to get a better look at the ears and muzzle to age them or see their spikes.

 

[cheygriz]

If 2X fixed power were still made, I'd agree with you. But for my eyes, anything over 2X doesn't work in the woods.

 

[jmorris]

Anybody else feel that leverguns are more for carrying than shooting?

I have found that I carry all my firearms more that the time spent firing them, no matter the make or model.

Holds true even if we don’t count shooting just the millisecond it takes for the action to actually occur. Even at matches that are 4 or more hours long, if I’m lucky there won’t be but a 120 seconds or so of “shooting”. Hunting might even be days between taking a shot.

 

[someguy2800]

If 2X fixed power were still made, I'd agree with you. But for my eyes, anything over 2X doesn't work in the woods.

There are literally dozens of variable scopes with minimum power from 1-2x. If you want a 2x fixed set it there and forget about it.

For example

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1019637344/leupold-vx-freedom-rifle-scope-15-4x-20mm-matte

 

[IdaD]

From a practical standpoint a 30-30 carbine is pretty limited at least where I live. They're still fun to shoot and carry, and I occasionally take mine out deer hunting. I get what you're saying, though - I don't think I'd shoot at anything much over 125-150 yards and even that feels pretty far. A scoped magnum is a lot more useful out west.

 

[The Bushmaster]

1949 Winchester "94 in .30-30. 1 5/8" three shot groups at 100 yards using hand loads. 170 grain Speer Hot-core flat nose over 32 grains of W-748. Beyond 100 yards I'll use my Browning .30-06.

As far as hunting in mountainous timber country not much can beat an old Winchester lever.

 

[CoalTrain49]

Lots of people shoot deer with a 357 carbine. When compared to a 357 magnum carbine it has obvious advantages.

It's well over 100 years old and still going strong. All one has to do is walk into any store that sells ammo and they have it in stock.

Still an excellent cartridge for lots of hunters. We had one around 64 and I hunted with it when I was in HS.

 

[Art Eatman]

It's less of a .30-30 ballistics problem; it's a crappy-sight problem. Buckhorns are very limited for range when compared to other iron sights. A tang-mounted peep sight turns the 94 into a 200-yard deer-catcher.

 

[ontarget]

I hunt everywhere from open fields if the corn is down by deer season to thick river bottoms and everything in between. I did use both my 94 Winchester and my 700 in 7 mm RM this year. They both have their place. If I could only keep 1 deer rifle it would be a lever action 30-30.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I can’t really think of any situation deer hunting where I’d rather have iron or peep sights than a good 2-7 or 3-9 scope. They offer ample field of view for even near point blank shots. A lever action 30-30 with irons is a fun plinker but to me the only reason I would hunt with one is nostalgia. They make scope mounts for a ‘94 too of course, which basically turns the comparison into a ballistics argument.

I love my optics. I can see way way better in low light with a good scope than I can with my bare eyes. I also appreciate being better able to size up game by being able to crank it up a bit. It’s saved me from shooting quite a few fawns and spike bucks just by being able to get a better look at the ears and muzzle to age them or see their spikes.

Shooting standing, a scope only gets me about half an inch better group at 100yds. To me this doesn't make up for the speed I can shoot with irons because I have used them standing more than I have a scope. In low light I totally agree with you.

 

[22250Rem]

My .30-30 is my woods rifle where it might have to reach out no further than 100yds..... Further than that I have a nice choice of scoped bolt guns to pick from. I also don't see iron sights as good as "back in the day";...... Which gave me an excuse to put a 1-4x Leupold on it. But the .30-30 has its place in the woods and it's good at it. Light, handy, and gets the job done efficiently with mild recoil and without the overkill factor of using bigger, higher power, centerfires that are actually too much gun for that sort of environment. A good aperture sight on a .30-30 is also a valuable asset for that sort of shooting and is quick and accurate.

 

[HB]

lds true even if we don’t count shooting just the millisecond it takes for the action to actually occur. Even at matches that are 4 or more hours long, if I’m lucky there won’t be but a 120 seconds or so of “shooting”. Hunting might even be days between taking a shot.

If thats the case, wouldn’t you want to tote your most accurate and shootable rifle?

My accuracy and speed at any distance seems to be better with a scoped bolt gun

 

[Risky buisness]

Im kinda in a different camp than some here, using my 30-30 is perfect for most of things I do. Mine is equiped with a different rear sight and a bob jones diopter lens set up giving me a better sight system, when folks buy a new rifle typically the provided sights suck if their are irons on it at all and immediatly upgrade to an optic typically. Guys dont like the sights on most lever guns and then relagate the rifle/ cartridge to the maximun they can hit something, this ususlly means their classifying the 30-30 as a 100- 150 yd rifle when suitably equiped the range and ability to hit further than believed

 

[troy fairweather]

get a nice peep for that leaver gun u will love it. i killed a buck at 250 yard with my marlin 35 rem far past its practical range

 

[Mosin Bubba]

Lever actions are definitely more for carrying than shooting. Scoping them kind of defeats the point IMO - if you are going to add the weight of a scope and remove your ability to carry the rifle by the receiver, you might as well just get a scoped bolt action like OP's 308.

They made their name in the thick woods back east where sub 100 yard shots are the norm. If you are going to be walking around and expect your shots to be ~50 yards kind of close, a lever action makes sense. If you're in a blind, a lever action would work but I'd prefer a bolt action. If you need to take shots any farther than 100 yards, get a bolt action.

I've heard the Guide Guns make for nasty hog medicine in the bayous in East Texas though.

 

[mustanger98]

Lower light, like the last half-hour right up to last legal shooting light, with the rifle over a good solid rest overlooking a situation where 200yds is a real long shot, I'm fine with a 3-9x40 set to 3x.

I also observe how the Win'94 in .30-30 with 150gr SP's gets sold short in most discussions. The rifle and ammo are considered "brush gun" because that's where they get the most use. If the longest shot you're liable to take is 250yds, and you use your rifle enough to have confidence in it, you're covered for anything inside that 250yds. Sights... I prefer a good quality aperture with a highly visible front bead.

The deer I've taken out... they never asked me what rifle/ammo/sights I was using.

 

[Goneshoot'n]

There is nothing more dangerous than a man who knows his rifle. If you are willing to take the time, a .30-30 with irons is all you need. If you are not, you're probably going to need something a little more fancy. I'll never forget pulling up my rifle on what was going to be my first buck... and realizing my scope was fogged up and wet, and I couldn't see anything out of it. Never got a shot off. I've never hunted deer with a scope since.