FA

I agree with with most of you that the 30-30 is one of the oldest rounds for deer. I would absolutley take the 30-30 over the .44 mag. for deer. With this new LE ammo from Hornady a 250 yard shot is not out of the question. I have used the .44 for blackbear with great results using hollow point ammo. This spring, Hornady will be coming out with a LE for the .44 mag. and the .357 made for rifles. That should be intersting.

bigcountry

Hmm, is that right? Well, I disagree. I have looked over the damage and wounds by both dozens of times, and again loathe the 30-30 as a deer round. I have tried several combos from sierra 170gr and 150gr to hornady from 2000fps to 2200fps with several powder combos and still hate the round for deer. Much better choices out there.

Hey man, if you want to use it, you don't need my approval. If your happy, go for it.

FA

I, on the other hand, have used a 30-30 for 45 years and have never lost an animal and in most cases they drop within 40 yrds of where they are hit or fold on the spot. Shot placement is everything.

bigcountry

Well, good man, congrads,sounds like you have found your gun.

I myself loathe them. Much better out there. Not sure if I mentioned it before.

bronko22000

Bigcountry - ditto here. The 30-30 will definately kill a deer. And dead is dead. Even with the new Leverevolution ammo out there, there are still much better choices for taking deer. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And for those of you that like the 30-30 - so be it. I myself, like I mentioned before, would prefer in a lever gun a 45-70, 35 Rem or 32 Win Spl. over the 30-30 any day of the week. This would be in a saddle gun like the 94, 336, 1895, etc. If I were to pick only a lever gun it would probably be a Browning BLR in a more efficient chambering or (if I could get my hands on one) a Winchester 88 in .284 or 358.

C. Davis

One thing I like about the 30/30 is that you don't have to get too extravagant with the bullet choice. My favorite ammo is the cheap Winchester power points. They have always produced a dead deer with a good short blood trail. Several died within a few yards.

My favorite kind of hunting is sitting in a tree stand in the middle of the woods. That in my opinion is the kind of hunting where the 30/30 excells.I have shot a box of the Lever evolution from Hornady, and they shot very well. But, I don't really see a need for them when I think I already have the perfect round in a flat nosed bullet that is designed perfectly for 30/30 velocities inside of woods range. The bullet doesn't get much of a chance to complete a ballistic curvewhen it is already through the deer's vitals in close range woods hunting.

Of course, that is the my kind of hunting, and I think what causes a big difference in opinions is 1. the type of hunting people like to do, and 2. What part of the country you are from. I have always grown up in the woods. The 30/30 has never choked.

C. Davis

Rebel Hog

I prefer the .30-30 W/Hornady Ammo

Catus Magnus

Agreed. I hund in a climber in the woods; even with the leaves down, a 200 yards shot is unlikely. I've not used the fancy rubber pointed Hornadys, considering them to be hype. But after having looked at the charts... it looks like Hornady did a home run. For the time being I'll stick the to Fed Powershot 150s that have been instantly dropping deer for me; if I feel the need for a longer-reaching bolt gun, then maybe I'll sight in with some 160gr LEVERevolutions.

My experience with that a 150gt FN 30-30 bullet drops the deer just as fast as a 130gr 270 bullet. YMMV.

Rebel Hog

Killed it with a Pre 64Win 94 Carbine W/Fed 170gr NP

460lbs with Win .30-30 and Fed 150gr SP/FN

speyrjb

I know that you know that thousands and Thousands of deer have been killed with a 30/30. Actuallyit wasmy first deer rifle as a kid hunting the East Texas Piney Woods where 75 yards is a long shot. The problem I found with the 30/30 when shooting soft point bulletswas that the bullet does not exand very much because of the lack of velocity. However you can find hollow point rounds for the 30/30 that really aid in bullet exansion. I have shot several deer with those hollowpoints and never had one go over 40 or 50 yards after being shot through the ribs, and all of them left a blood trail Ray Charles could follow. Just a tip you may want to pass on to your buddies who have had trouble with not recovering deer.