eldeguello

I know people who have killed grizzly bears, moose,and elk with factory-loaded .30/30 ammo.

I would take shots with it up to at least 200 yards, if I had the right sights on a .30/30, and a good shot was presented. With me, the limiting factorin .30/30 shooting would be the pretty awful open sights that one usually finds on them. Not the performance of the cartridge.

eldeguello

It is true that many "experts" say you need 1000 ft/lb to kill a deer, and now some have raised this figure to 1200 ft/lb. Basically, this is very poor advice, because it does not take into account bullet construction, impact velocity,bullet diameter, nor shot placement. For example, a .500" diameterround ball from a muzzleloader will kill deer pretty effectively at 100 yards, at which range it only delivers around 450 to 500ft/lb. Of course, to accomplish this, it has to hit in the right spot, BUT THAT IS TRUE OF ANY BULLET, REGARDLESS OF THE NUMBER OF FT/LB IT IS CARRYING WHEN IT HITS! A near-miss with a 600 Nitro will not kill a deer any better than a near-miuss with a .22 short!

If the "experts" were to describe the type of bullet which needs 1000 ft/lb to kill a deer in terms of construction,weight, diameter, and the impact velocity range needed, then the idea of specifying the number of foot-pounds the bullet must have to kill a deer, or whatever, then the concept would be a lot more valid! For example "to produce clean kills on deer, 1000ft/lb of impact energy is required for bullets between .243" and .323" diameter of cup and draw, softpoint construction, that srike the deer at between the velocities of 2000 and 2900 FPS." Now, this kind of a statement might be more valid-perhaps!!

retrieverman

I believe ray1301 hit the nail on the head. "Know your limits." I killed several deer with a 30/30 this past season, and they were all while hunting in the woods where shots would be under 100 yards. I also killed a couple of deer and hogs with my 300 WSM, but I didn't take my 30/30 where I knew a 300+ yard shot might present itself. The key is knowing your limits as a shooter, and the effective ranges of the weapons that you take afield.

eldeguello

let's see.... A .30/30 delivers 944 ft/lb of energy at 200 yards, so it is 56 ft/lb shy of being able to kill a deer at that distance.... But, if we could increase its velocity at 200 yards by 10 fps and thereby give it 1001 ft/lb at that range, then it would kill the deer..... RIGHT!!

Actually, 300 magnum provides a .30-caliber bullet with perhaps a 50 - 100 yard range advantage over the .30/'06, depending on how high the respecive bullets' B.C.'s happen to be. It is even possible for the '06 to deliver MORE energy at extreme ranges than the magnum, if the '06 is usinga better bullet, even if it is launching said bullet at a couple of hundred fps less to start with.

The possession of a magnum chambering does not make one a long-range marksman capable of cleanly killing an elk at 700 yards... Only constant practice at such ranges allow this kind of shooting, regardless of the caliber of the weapon being used!

eldeguello

Well, the Savage 340 was available in .30/30 as well as .22 Hornet and .222 Remington. In addition, Winchester used to make a Modle 54 in .30/30, and that was a pretty strong rifle in which pointed bullets could be used.....

Charley

The Savage and Stevens boltguns wererwhat I had in mind when I mentioned bolt action .30/30s. Most people I know who have one aren't inerested in selling it! I know Winchester built 54s in .30/30, and planned to produce it in the model 70 as well, but dropped the idea. I've never seen a model 54 in .30/30 myself, and don't know how many were made.

James B

The Remington 788 was also chambered in 30-30. I had a Savage pump 30-30 but if I recall correctly it still had a tubular magazine. The 788 had a clip. I never had one of those in 30-30 but I saw some. They also chambered in in 44 Mag.

kelbro

My 30-30 has killed many deer but I have never tried to use it out past 110 yds or so. Open sights so that is about my limit. The cool thing about it is that the POI (with my '94) is the same at 100 yds. for 150gr or 170gr so I don't have to worry about re-sighting the rifle in if I'm going to change loads.

martinfaw

What yawl think about hornadays new 30-30 bullets.

DANTHEHUNTER

Now take it out of that 18 in. barrel, Put it in a 22 in or 24 in I would bet it would be alot more talked about. No I dont own a 30-30 but It has been here for along time so something is right about it. I can imagine that back in the day having a 30-30 and a 45/70 you probably felt like you had it all.