30-30 for trophy hunting?

I dropped a spike last year at 90 yrds.rifled sights, with a marlin 336.That was the first deer I have ever taken with a rifle.Most have been with a bow or shotgun slug.I must say i was impressed,dropped him right on the spot,like someone pulled a rug out from under him.Granted he wasn't a monster but it was meat on the table.Next season I'm going to try to take one with my winchester 94' 45.colt.Seems like It has plenty of knockdown power for whitetails.
 
I have used a model 94 Winchester in 30-30 to take 2 wild boars both over 250lbs. and had complete penetration with decent exit wounds. Given this nobody can say that it is not capable of taking a deer. I recently had a Williams peep sight installed on it and I plan to one day take a deer with it. So far I have only killed 2 deer, one with a Knight 50 cal. muzzleloader and one with a Marlin 1895 in 45/70. But I will never have to think twice about the rifle being able to get the job done when I take it out of the safe.
 
I have gone through various models of handguns, shotguns & rifles..keeping a few permanently...I recently wanted a good, all-around hunting longarm..and I found and bought a mint pre-64 Win 94 30-30..it suits me just fine here in Arizona...I plan to put in for both deer and elk tags & unless I find something I like thats bigger..this gun will go elk hunting as well...I don't plan on changing it's metallic sights for anything else...unless in an unusual situation, I would try to limit my deer shots to 200 yds or less and no more than 100 yds for an elk...my father hunted more than myself(when he was younger) and has pictures of enormous downed mulies while holding his 30-30 94..pick a good arm and practice and let others talk if they insist to..
 
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This big buck fell to a single 30-30 bullet through the chest. Distance was about 125 yards or so after a half hour stalk in rough country. Plain Remington core-lockt ammo did the job. The buck bounded away at the shot but collapsed a couple jumps. The 150 grain soft tip destroyed both lungs in an instant. Even the mighty 460 Weatherby MAG could not have performed better!

I've killed 3 elk with the 30-30 cartridge. They all died and none got away. The trick is go for bone with the first shot. Here is where you aim: place your scope's vertical line even with the front edge of the front leg. Place your horizontal line about one third down from the backline. A good 170 bullet placed here will drop the animal where it stands. But watch your distance, DO NOT fire if the animal is farther than 150 yards or so.

Good 30-30 hunting to you.
Jack
 
Love the 30/30

It's just a well balanced practical round... My lever gun 30/30 is light, accurate,flat shooting,quicker than a bolt gun, and packs a 30 cal. 150gr. bullet that delivers a powerful punch of 1000 - 1500lbs+ energy to just about anything within 200 yds. I personally try to limit my shot with the 30/30 to less than 100 yds.(mainly because I'm in brush/timber where that's the maximum range!) To top it all off - it has very mild recoil! Great gun!
Did I mention it has a wide variety of factory ammo and of course now it has the pointy hornady bullets!? Great caliber! Great Marlin Lever Guns!
It might not be as sexy as a $2000 Mk.V Weatherby...but it's a lot sexier than a slug gun...and it has a way of putting more meat on the table than those fancy guns that tend to end up not getting used inasmuch just getting displayed. The 30/30 lever gun is a working dog - not a show dog. In fact, I think a 30/30 might be a good choice for a kid to start out with as a first deer rifle... Afterall, if you learn how to hunt well with an iron sighted 30/30
- then you will hunt all that much better when it comes to scopes and longer ranges!!! :cool:
 
ME, I, MYSELF cannot see hunting exotics that cost that much money without a sure clean killer like a weatherby mag.
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I hate to be nitpicky but I will, these little wee exotic deer would fall to a .22lr in proper hands and a .243 in mediocre hands. I see your point about not risking the money but a Weatherby magnum shouldnt have to be used on deer. If all the country that I hunt wasnt so open Id sure as heck be shooting a .30-30 but since its mainly open and flat my .270 serves rather well.

I saw a pronghorn that someone had shot with a .22lr dead as could be laying out in our pea field a few years ago and Im sure that these deer arent much bigger than a pronghorn. (Yes I did report it the game warden said a few of those had been showing up around the area)
 
my 'new' hunting arm...

Jack...if I get out this season, I will try for the aforementioned spot if a shot presents itself..
 

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I hunt with a recurve bow, primarily. When I don't fill my tags, I hunt rifle season with my bow until the last week. When the last week comes, a 3030 goes with me. Here in the Appalachians, the 3030 is nearly the perfect weapon.
Of course, the guys who sit on top of a pile of bait in a heated treestand in walking distance of their 40 thousand dollar diesel trucks that are hotrodded to the max don't care for the 3030. They have the uber-magnums. But, for those who still care to actually hunt deer and can stalk in closely, the 3030 is a great weapon.

And, for the record, I can use a large bore rifle out to 1000 meters better than most. But, I use the 3030 here because I prefer to keep honing my skills and because it is terrain appropriate. I can afford whatever I want.
 
I have a GREAT DEAL on 30-30MAGNUMS, seems that the boxes they came in were mis-printed and they neglected to print the MAGNUM on the box. All that they say is :30-30 cal Winchester 170gr Cor-Lokt, but don't worry, I will hand print MAGNUM on them so you will know that you received the right ones. Cheap too, only $29.95 for a box of 20. Hurry, get 'em while my Sharpie has ink...I mean while they last!
 
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