30-30 Winchester for deer

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I think the line of thought about a lung shot got lost here. Half the descriptions here did not sound like lung shots. I stated "Skipped away", not run flat out. Yes, I also hunt in a shotgun area with a smooth bore and slugs, (Kind of a slow slug") and a lung shot puts them down in less than 50 yards if they break out into a flat out run. Anything can happen with a bullet wound, but I suspect the norm for a 30-30 is not spectacular. When I lung hit a deer with a .260 or a 7MM Mauser, there are pieces of lung laying on the ground behind where I shot at the deer. I sometimes use a 7.62x39, but if I cannot get a neck shot, I shoot it right through the shoulder. I have shot two deer and "Flipped them on their back" as Jimbob86 said, but I have a hard time picturing doing that with a 30-30.
 
If you are having trouble with the link, just do a Google image search for "Mossberg 464 SPX"

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure they haven't discontinued it.

Gunplummer, are you saying that you feel the 7.62x39 is a better killer than .30-30? If so there's plenty of ballistics data and first hand accounts that will disprove that. The 7.62x39 will do the job, but certainly not better than the .30-30.
 
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Gunplummer, how much hydrostatic shock you want is a decision we all have to make. I agree, the hypervelocity rounds make quicker stops. When meat hunting, I think the meat tastes much better if I punch a nice hole and let the animal run until it bleeds out. .30-30 through the lungs makes for some good tasting meat. .264 Win mag, .257 Wby, and 7rum(pushing a Berger) all make for some devesdating damage. Near instant kills. Bloody, blood shot meat.
 
Where did I say the 7.62x39 is better than the 30-30? I used that as an example of something just as anemic as a 30-30. Where is all the magnum nonsense coming from? Other than a .44 Magnum revolver, I don't even own one. My point was, the 30-30 is not the cartridge it is made out to be. I use marginal cartridges to hunt deer, but am aware of the limitations. I was somewhat surprised at the performance of the 30-30. I can't imagine the new leverloution ammunition being anything more than a sales gimmick.
 
Leveroution is a slightly faster than normal loading. Its big benefit is a high B.C. bullet. Its not a gimmick, but neither is it significant improvement in performance.
 
Leveroution is a slightly faster than normal loading. Its big benefit is a high B.C. bullet. Its not a gimmick, but neither is it significant improvement in performance.
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I wouldn't call them high B.C. bullets, higher than a RN for FN but, still not high in comparison with other rifle bullets.
.277 G1 BC for the 140 grain and .330 G1 BC for the 160 grain. I'd call that decent, at best. Compare that to a 155 grain VLD, in the same caliber with a G1 BC of .483
 
I've had very good luck with BOTH bullet weights. But I agree that Winchester 170 gr Power Point is always deadly up close or way out there at 150 yards or so. This bullet always makes a deadly wound channel through the chest cavity. I've shot deer at 150 yards that bounded away but toppled after just a couple jumps. In contrast, I've observed deer shot at same distance by 7mm MAG that ran 100 yards before toppling. Go figure.

In my opinion based upon over 40 years experience, the common 30-30 kills far better than paper charts would suggest.

30-30 is a keeper!

Jack
 
I sure hope the .30-30 doesnt become obsolete. I plan to buy a used Marlin for my daughter to hunt with eventually. I am a young guy, and love my AR-15's and other tacticool rifles, but there is something about levering a round into the chamber while hunting that "seems" right.

Holy runon sentence batman! :rolleyes:

I have a Marlin 336 in .35 Remington that will go deer hunting with me this year. My Marlin 1895M will be backup.
 
I have owned a few 30-30's over the years, but last year was the first time I hunted with one. I was not impressed. The doe I shot (Through both lungs) skipped off and went about 75 yards. Yes, it killed it, but there was a ravine behind where it dropped that would make most people dizzy looking down. The 30-30 does not have near the shock effectI thought it would. I was using 170 GR Rem Corlockts. Had I been using my 7MM Mauser or .260, I doubt it would have gone 50 yards at a flat out run if hit in the same place.
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You're worried about 25 yards:confused:

If you're worried about the ravine then don't shoot next to it.

You're going to condemn the 30-30 based on a single experience, after a hundred years of reliable service.

Interesting read on "stopping power"
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stopping_power
Boomer
 
Gunplummer, what do you think people are making it out to be? It's a light lower cost deer cartridge available in light handy rifles, if you want. It gets no more hyped than allot of other calibers.
 
My marlin 336 30-30 with the core lokt .170 grain has taken many deer that with the proper bullet placement never take another step. Practice practice practice.
 
I have taken almost 10 deer with my 30-30. Never had one run more than 10 yards, most dropped on the spot. Now that I live in Lower Michigan I cannot hunt with it due to laws. I bought a CVA muzzleloader 4 years ago and have had good success with it every time I've pulled the trigger. I will say I would love to go back to the 30-30 for hunting I still break it out and fire it at the ranges and am always accurate with it.
 
My first deer rifle was a used $65 H&R Topper single shot 30-30 with a 4X Weaver. With careful shots but it worked just fine, to base data on a single incident is not the most accurate way to due things. The 30-30 is old, would you expect an old Dodge PU with a slant 6 to run the same as a new RAM with a V6? If not, that doesn't mean you should just junk the old truck does it?:confused:
 
Ever deer I have hit with my 30-30 was dead right there. The 30-30 is far from anemic. Shot placement with ANY rifle is not important than caliber.
 
See what I mean about hype? Read back over these posts. What horse#$%&.
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So only your admited limited experiance with a 30-30 for deer is a valid point. All the others that have successfully hunted with one for years are nothing but hype........Makes sense...NOT!
 
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