6.5x55 vs 30-30 for wooded hunting?

K

KnightofCydonia

New member
Hi,

I have the choice between a Swedish M38 carbine in 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser or a Marlin 336 in 30-30. Which rifle would you recommend for all around hunting in the Northwest coastal areas? The 6.5x55 seems superior ballistically and has more range. More power out of a bolt action rifle too? What do you guys recommend?
 
Nothing wrong at all with the .30-30, everyone should own one, it's a classic and a good caliber, buuuuut, for all-round use, the 6.5x55 is miles ahead of it. In my opinion. I have both, and if relegated to only one, it would be the Swede, no question.
 
The 6.5mm if only one rifle to hunt with, no problem with Elk, moose and black bears, where the 3030 would be marginal at best, even though over historical times it has killed all of them, but then allot of the better cartridges more suited for them where not developed yet.
Bob
 
If shots will be ~150 yards or less, I would choose the one with better sights. Longer range the Swede edges out.
 
I'll differ with the prevailing opinion. I'll also mention that my first deer rifle was an iron sighted M94 Swede carbine.
You can more easily scope the 30/30, which makes it preferable as a hunting rig. 170gr loads, while ballistically inferior to the 6.5x55 160gr loadings, are still quite adequate .
If you're a wiz with the shallow V irons found on Swedes, then by all means go for it. However for me, the shallow V iron sight used on Swedes means very poor low light precision shooting performance, a slower speed of engagement on a target, and a reduced ability to shoot well at distance.
The 6.5x55 is definitely the superior cartridge, but being limited to either drilling and tapping a nice milsurplus rifle, or using an abominable rear sight mounted scout type LER scope would definitely make me switch to the 30/30.
 
There's another issue with the 6.5x55 and that's availability of ammo. Locally the only ammo I've been able to find is Remington Corelok ammo which my rifle absolutely will not shoot well. This really isn't an issue for me since I handload for mine, but if you don't handload ammo availability goes to 30-30. I personally would pick the 6.5x55, but if ammo availability is an issue for you, then the 30-30 might be a better choice.

Stu
 
Poodleshooter makes some good points. I re-read the OP and realized he is talking about a military Mauser, which definitely changes things a bit. Also, ammo can be an issue here as well. I don't know show robust the 98 is, but to get the most out of the Swede, you need to shoot hotter loads than some of the older milsurp rifles can apparently stand; at least that's what I've come to understand, not to mention the availability of ammo in most areas. The .30-30 wins in that area as well.

What Stu95 said. I was writing while he was posting.
 
If you're a wiz with the shallow V irons found on Swedes, then by all means go for it. However for me, the shallow V iron sight used on Swedes means very poor low light precision shooting performance,
Click to expand...

Huh? My M38 has a sort of "U" shaped rear sight, with a normal square post in front. K98s have the Shallow V, but never seen one on a Swede.

The short answer is use the one you are most comfortable with. The deer isn't going to know the difference.
 
I have hunted with iron sighted military surplus and the sights get to be very hard to see in the dusk.

And that was before Bifocals when I could see the rear notch. :o

I would put a scope on a 30-30 and have a couple extra minutes in the morning and afternoon to shoot.

I like the Marlin action.
 
Huh? My M38 has a sort of "U" shaped rear sight, with a normal square post in front. K98s have the Shallow V, but never seen one on a Swede.
Click to expand...
Mine was a 94 carbine; shorter (and earlier) than the 38 rifle. I think mine was a 1903 or 1908 manufactured model. The stock front was a triangular post, and the stock rear was a shallow V. Sights vary between the 94,96 and 38, but none that I've see are particularly good with the exception of the later match models: https://www.northcapepubs.com/swmauser.htm
All of them would be easily outperformed by a scope of moderate quality.
If I'm picking an iron sight for hunting, I'd rather having something like an SMLE No4 Mk1 sight or a Garand or Springfield 03A3 or particularly the M1917 Enfield peep. Even those suffer in poor light, where a scope of moderate performance will still be very clear.
 
No4 mk1

I used a No4 Mk1 for decades, and hated the rear aperture at low light. Deer don't offer a lot of contrast. Mine is a 1943 Long Branch. It is impressive how long those old rifles last.

A 6.5x55 would be sweet. I've always wanted a euro-style Mannlicher full stock 6.5 with irons or a long, old Swedish Mauser. Stop reminding me.
 
Northwest coastal areas are pretty brushed in. In my opinion the .30-30 is great in this area. It has plenty of power for anything you will encounter in coastal NW woods. Hunting in this area will mostly consist of short to medium range shots. They call the .30-30 a brush buster for a reason. It's light, short and easy to manuever throught the brush, and the shape of that old bluntnose bullet helps aid in the bullet not tumbling off balance and it's intended path when it hits twigs like a long pointed spitzer type bullet will. Ammo for the .30-30 can be bought anywhere that sells ammo around here. For longer ranges the 6.5x55 is awesome but I would choose the handy little lever action .30-30 for the coastal NW.
 
The Marlin comes in at 7 lbs unscoped. As such it will be easier, handier and more friendly to use. If scoped, add another lb to the weight.
 
I agree with what several others have said.

Is the Mauser is going to remain "stock"?
Do you reload?

If both guns remain stock (apples to apples) then it's a wash, whichever one you can hit with more consistently.

If you intend to scope it (recommended) then the Mauser will cost more, bending the bolt (unless it's one of the bent bolt models) but the receiver will have to be drilled/tapped for scope bases. Probably less than 50 bucks to do that. The Marlin comes already drilled/tapped.

There is no such thing as a "brush busting" bullet. Mike Venturino did some fairly exhaustive testing probably 30 years ago, and found that the high velocity "pointy" bullets actually fared better than the blunt "woods gun" bullets.... but both types were wildly unpredictable when shooting through "brush".

Caliber wise, the 6.5 is considerably better than the 30-30. It shoots flatter, and its "standard" bullets (140gr class) have a much better sectional density than the .30cal flat or round nosed slugs. Better penetration equals better killing power.
However, the 30-30 is next to perfect for deer out to around 150yds or so, if you can put the bullet where it's supposed to go.

If I didn't reload, and I was only going to hunt deer/hogs at normal woods ranges, I'd more than likely get the Marlin.
If I thought I'd be hunting something larger, or further away, I'd pick the Swede, and buy good ammo for it online, if not available locally. If you reload, your ammo choices are almost limitless.

My "go to" deer rifle is a Carl Gustav Swede that I sporterized myself. It drops deer like a hammer. One shot, every time. (so far)
 
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