.30/30 for 100yd. Whitetails
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> Any experiences, pros and cons, bullet weights and brands would be > appreciated.
I recently started hunting deer with a .30-30 because it’s cheap, light and just plain fun. I picked up a Marlin off the used rack, and it turned out to be a good buy. Accuracy is about 1.5" at 100 yards scoped. Last year I shot a north Idaho whitetail with Hornady’s 150gr factory load. The shot was 75-100 yards, broadside through the lungs. Penetration was complete, the exit wound was on the large side and the deer went about 25 yards. The year before that I shot a Utah mule deer with the same Hornady factory load. The shot was from 50-75 yards, upwards into the brisket – it exited the back just in front of the rear quarters. The exit wound was very large and I recovered most of the jacket inside the animal, indicating that the bullet broke up but still penetrated plenty. Don’t let anyone tell you that the .30-30 isn’t enough gun. -al
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> Any experiences, pros and cons, bullet weights and brands would be > appreciated.
Not that I use one 
, being the rebel that I am, but I see the reality of quebec brush hunting, and I’d guess 90% of the brush hunting is done over a .30-30. The biggest question seems to be Marlin or Winchester, and for the newer ones, most go Marlin. Marlin has a better setup for scope mounting, at least, did. As far as projectiles, most hunters that I hunt with and know use Winchester Silvertips, usually 170gr, and trust them out to about 150yds. Farther than that, and they’re reaching for the 760 in .30-06, the other official firearm of Quebec Hunting , and again, a calibre and rifle I don’t use. (in case you’re curious, I use a handloaded SKS as a .30-30 substitute, and a handloaded A-Bolt in .308) I’ve yet to see a .30-30 bullet stay in a deer, in the dozen or so I’ve gutted or watched others gut. Hole in, hole out. Lots of blood, good sign. I don’t like round or flat nosed bullets, hence my substitute, but at 100yd range, our whitetail won’t know the difference. Our brush deer, by the way, are usually at about the 180lb size by six point, and top out at around 250 by the ten point rack. Of course, there’s always oddball 300lb deer every once in a while around here. Farm browsers, on the other hand, easily hit 300, and occasionally 350. Racks aren’t huge by western standards, but a few go BC. Nice on the wall anyway! Catch ya later, DJ in Quebec.
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Any experiences, pros and cons, bullet weights and brands would be > appreciated. > Not that I use one , being the rebel that I am, but I see the > reality of quebec brush hunting, and I’d guess 90% of the brush hunting > is done over a .30-30. > The biggest question seems to be Marlin or Winchester, and for the > newer ones, most go Marlin. Marlin has a better setup for scope > mounting, at least, did. > As far as projectiles, most hunters that I hunt with and know use > Winchester Silvertips, usually 170gr, and trust them out to about > 150yds. Farther than that, and they’re reaching for the 760 in .30-06, > the other official firearm of Quebec Hunting , and again, a calibre > and rifle I don’t use. > (in case you’re curious, I use a handloaded SKS as a .30-30 substitute, > and a handloaded A-Bolt in .308) > I’ve yet to see a .30-30 bullet stay in a deer, in the dozen or so I’ve > gutted or watched others gut. Hole in, hole out. Lots of blood, good > sign. > I don’t like round or flat nosed bullets, hence my substitute, but at > 100yd range, our whitetail won’t know the difference. > Our brush deer, by the way, are usually at about the 180lb size by six > point, and top out at around 250 by the ten point rack. Of course, > there’s always oddball 300lb deer every once in a while around here. > Farm browsers, on the other hand, easily hit 300, and occasionally 350. > Racks aren’t huge by western standards, but a few go BC. Nice on the > wall anyway! > Catch ya later, > DJ in Quebec.
If you really want to use a 30-30 lever action which is good for deer in the dense bush, the Marlin is better than the Winchester. It’s action is shorter and smoother than the Winchester. It may be a bit heavier but to me the fabrication is better.
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Just found News – group. The 30-30 is fine for what you want. In my opinion use 170 gr. bullet. Slower and not as flat, but at the distances we are talking it does a much better job than the 150’s. Good shooting
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Any experiences, pros and cons, bullet weights and brands would be appreciated.
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: Any experiences, pros and cons, bullet weights and brands would be : appreciated. If I ever encounter a 100 yd whitetail, I hope I have something bigger than a 30-30. — Michael Courtney, Ph. D.
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> : Any experiences, pros and cons, bullet weights and brands would be > : appreciated. > If I ever encounter a 100 yd whitetail, I hope I have something bigger > than a 30-30.
Harumph. It’ll work *fine*. Mine were blacktail, not whitetail, but of any given weight, deer are deer … been there, done that, and I *grin* from ear to ear over the results. (I do love venison gravy!) What’s *more*, among other things, we often used to use a pair of bolt action Savage 340s (sold under the Western Field brand) with cheap scopes to hunt down and kill our wild hereford cattle. Some of the bulls were significantly over 2000 pounds. I had several Winchester 94s at the time but didn’t mess with ‘em. Later, we used ‘em with both 150s and 170s in handloads with good success on deer. My final foray into the .30-30’s realm was with a Winchester 94 trapper, about 1985 vintage. (Miss that gun.) It lived on Remington 170 grain factory ammo. At 50 yards, with a Williams receiver sight, it’d keep 5 shots on a half a matchbook cover. What more do you need at 100 yards? Tom
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> > : Any experiences, pros and cons, bullet weights and brands would be > : appreciated. > If I ever encounter a 100 yd whitetail, I hope I have something bigger > than a 30-30. > Harumph. It’ll work *fine*. Mine were blacktail, not whitetail, but of > any given weight, deer are deer … been there, done that, and I *grin* > from ear to ear over the results. (I do love venison gravy!)
I will second that. The first deer I killed in Virginia was a big whitetail doe, with the .30-30 barrel of my Savage 24F. I paced off the shot at 106 yards. The bullet hit her behind the left front leg, angled slightly down and forward. It sliced off the top of the heart, opened up the great blood vessels, shattered her right shoulder to pieces, grinding the joint on the offside to powder, and exited via a 3" hole, with a spray of blood covering an area the size of kitchen table. She took one leap in the air, bounced off a fence, and was dead when I got to her. I used to believe what I read in magazines about the .30-30 being "marginal" for deer, but if that’s marginal performance, I hope no one ever does it to me. This was a Remington 150-grain FP Core-Lokt bullet, factory load, nothing special about it. She dressed out at 100 pounds, a nice mature lady and a fine "eater." At 100 yards a .30-30 will do fine. The Elitist
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> : Any experiences, pros and cons, bullet weights and brands would be > : appreciated. > If I ever encounter a 100 yd whitetail, I hope I have something bigger > than a 30-30. > — > Michael Courtney, Ph. D.
Me too! Wow, a 100 yard whitetail, that must be 5 or 10 yards between the eyes! Association (www.prairienet.org/isra); The Wildlife Society; USPSA/IPSC – - – - Illegitimi Non Carborundum – - – - – - – THOSE who trade essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin The dinosours died because they didn’t have a space program!
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> > : Any experiences, pros and cons, bullet weights and brands would be > : appreciated. > If I ever encounter a 100 yd whitetail, I hope I have something bigger > than a 30-30. > Harumph. Snip.
I think that Michael dodged the big question. Is the 100 yard whitetail measured from nose to tail, from hoof to shoulder, or between the eyes? Keep your stick on the ice, Thos.
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Harumph. It’ll work *fine*. Mine were blacktail, not whitetail, but of > any given weight, deer are deer … been there, done that, and I *grin* > from ear to ear over the results. (I do love venison gravy!) > I will second that. The first deer I killed in Virginia was a big whitetail > doe, with the > .30-30 barrel of my Savage 24F. I paced off the shot at 106 yards. The bullet > hit her behind > the left front leg, angled slightly down and forward. It sliced off the top of > the heart, > opened up the great blood vessels, shattered her right shoulder to pieces, > grinding the joint > on the offside to powder, and exited via a 3" hole, with a spray of blood > covering an area the > size of kitchen table. She took one leap in the air, bounced off a fence, and > was dead when I > got to her. I used to believe what I read in magazines about the .30-30 being > "marginal" for > deer, but if that’s marginal performance, I hope no one ever does it to me. > This was a > Remington 150-grain FP Core-Lokt bullet, factory load, nothing special about it. > She dressed > out at 100 pounds, a nice mature lady and a fine "eater." At 100 yards a .30-30 > will do fine. > The Elitist
I’ll let you know come November/December. I just picked up a .30/30 last January. After putting on a Williams receiver sight, I get plenty good accuracy for hunting. What appears to be nice is that the 50 and 100 yard ranges are at the "0" on the trajectory path, i.e. the bullet crosses the "0" line at 50 yards climbing and crosses the "0" coming down at 100 yards. I believe the trajectory calculation graphs put it at about this same result. This year I plan to do the grand slam: bow, muzzle loader, 12 gauge, .30/30. Never too early to practice!!!!
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I really didn’t want to reply, because I didn’t want to agree with "The Elitist" but I have to. He is absolutely right, a 30-30 is a fine rifle for deer in any part of the country. Of course, all of us won’t be as proficient a shot as the Elitist, nor probably remember the extreme details of the damage the bullet did as it exited the animal; but, without a doubt, a 30-30 will get the job done. Good Hunting Todd Houston
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Remington makes 160 grain extended range that makes the LOWLY? 30/30 a 150 yard + rifle. Don’t let the big boys tell ya different.
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>Any experiences, pros and cons, bullet weights and brands would be >appreciated.
personally i have taken several whitetail with an old win 94 (pre 64) 30-30 at ranges up to 200 yds. i prefer to use 150 or 170 gr bullets . if you have confidence in your gun as well as your abilities 100 yd + shots are attainable scott
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: > : > : Any experiences, pros and cons, bullet weights and brands would be : > : appreciated. : > : > If I ever encounter a 100 yd whitetail, I hope I have something bigger : > than a 30-30. : Harumph. It’ll work *fine*. Mine were blacktail, not whitetail, but of : any given weight, deer are deer … been there, done that, and I *grin* : from ear to ear over the results. (I do love venison gravy!) Oh, you mean a regular-size whitetail at a distance of 100 yards. I thought you meant a deer the size of a football field. I shoulda added a smiley. — Michael Courtney, Ph. D.
