Elk

J

Jaycolo

Moderator
I have a quick question is a 30-30 with leveroution good enough to hunt elk with in colorado? It more about shot placement then anything.
 
it'll do the job at shorter ranges, and countless elk have fallen to the .30-30.

If I was on an elk hunt I would choose something with more oomph than a .30-30....just my 2 cents
 
Like he said, with a 30-30 you'd have to get close to make it count. But a 270 or 30-06 will do the job just fine, too.
 
The .30-30 is very capable of taking elk. My 2 cents keep your shots less than 150 yards and you should do just fine. Use the heaviest bullet that shoots well out of your .30-30 minimum of 150 grains, I wouldn't go any lighter. Be patient and wait for the perfect shot hopefully a full broadside or quartering away, so you don't have to try and punch through heavy bone to get at the vitals. Keep shooting until the animal is down.
 
Since the 30-30 was the first modern "small bore" sporting rifle cartridge designed for smokeless powder, 1895, I would imagine a lot of elk have been taken with this round. With all the new hot rods, the 30-30 would be used much less these days. I've never been elk hunting, when i do i'll not hunt with a 30-30, but if that was all i had to shoot, a heavy bullet and close range, in my 2 cent world, would not seem to be a problem. I've knocked down some nice whitetails with it!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.30-30_Winchester
 
bullelk.jpg


This bull weighs approx. 750 lbs which is considerably more massive than deer. Elk ribs and hide are thicker; their muscles are deeper. In short, the old 30-30 is adequate when distance and shooting angle is carefully considered. But its a poor choice for less-than-ideal conditions.

Good hunting to you.
Jack
 
the 7.62x39 round (original AK-47 round) is usually compared to the 30-30 in terms of power. yet when mentioning deer hunting w/ the 7.62x39 people say its marginal, i've never even heard of anyone mention it in the same sentance as elk. yet some how the 30-30 is considered the low end, but still usable on elk?

Is there some ballistics i'm missing or is it just a bias type thing.
 
Well, the .30-30 normally does have a power edge over the 7.62x39, even if it's not huge (about 10% if I recall), and also with the .30-30 being a game cartridge and the 7.62x39 being an antipersonnel cartridge, there are offered more game bullets for the .30-30: 170gr soft points, 150gr Barnes X-bullets, 170gr Hawk Flat Nose, 170gr Nosler Partition, etc... these kinds of heavy, limited expansion rounds will offer deeper penetration than the 125gr hollowpoints that are standard 7.62x39mm fare.
 
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