TriumphGuy
New member
My old 336RC is one of my favorite range toys. I stuck a set of Williams Firesights on it, almost as good as a peep. When I work for it, I can ring a 12" gong at 200 yards no problem.
the ole' 30-30
- Thread starter joseywales87
- Start date
For "Scharfschuetzer" I have recently started reloading with the Hornady 160gn FTX bullets for my Mossberg 464 30-30. My limited results, so far, have been good with H4895. I was not happy with the results with these bullets and H322. But the H322 works very well with the Sierra 125gn and 150gn bullets. I am testing out another batch of the FTX/H4895 loads, this weekend. My goal is to produce a good compromise between max energy and max accuracy. The Hornady listed max load has produced good results. Oh yea, to answer the OP... the 30-30 is the only long gun I have. I shoot about twice a month, and hunt about two weeks a year.
jhgreasemonkey
New member
I love the heck out of mine and I take it to the range from time to time. But shooting at a bench at a single paper target gets boring fast, at least to me. So I really enjoy using it for plinking in the woods. Setting up multiple targets like cans and random things that pop like jugs of water and 2 liters and shooting them offhand with it. Cycling the lever and shooting it offhand at multiple targets is great. By the way I would'nt laugh at using the .30-30 for hunting and if someone does I question their experience and their intellegence.
TriumphGuy
New member
Darn tootin'
In my part of the world, if you shoot at something that's more than 75 yards away, it's probably a tin can.
30-30 is a real game getter, way better than the ballistics would lead you to believe. A guy I work with was on a guided elk hunt in Canada, and one of his buddy's had a scope badly fog up after being dropped. He had no replacement rifle, so the guide gave him a 30-30 with a 4X scope and 170 grain flat points. Most of the hunting party thought it was a joke, compared to their 300 Win Mags and 338's etc...
They were hunting in lake country, dense bottom land, so any shot on an elk would be close up. That guy with the borrowed 30-30 was the only one who got one. The guide called it in and they didn't see it till it was closer than 50 yards. It walked (not ran) about 10 steps into thick brush, and then laid down, and by the time they got to it, it was dead.
They were hunting in lake country, dense bottom land, so any shot on an elk would be close up. That guy with the borrowed 30-30 was the only one who got one. The guide called it in and they didn't see it till it was closer than 50 yards. It walked (not ran) about 10 steps into thick brush, and then laid down, and by the time they got to it, it was dead.
Poodleshooter
New member
I use my Winchester, and am still trying to develop a good cast bullet load for it.
But it's definitely not a favorite rifle, nor one that I enjoy putting in a lot of time with.
The lever action is ergonomically difficult for my combination of a thick chest and stumpy arms. Working the action pulls the buttstock down out of my shoulder pocket, making it slow for follow up shots. Its main virtue is light weight and short length.
The 30/30 itself is an annoying round to reload for: it stretches rapidly at the neck, and the head separates quickly, yielding few reloads per case despite low pressure. That said, it does the job for deer and similar sized critters.
Give me a good bolt action any day.
But it's definitely not a favorite rifle, nor one that I enjoy putting in a lot of time with.
The lever action is ergonomically difficult for my combination of a thick chest and stumpy arms. Working the action pulls the buttstock down out of my shoulder pocket, making it slow for follow up shots. Its main virtue is light weight and short length.
The 30/30 itself is an annoying round to reload for: it stretches rapidly at the neck, and the head separates quickly, yielding few reloads per case despite low pressure. That said, it does the job for deer and similar sized critters.
Give me a good bolt action any day.
thedaddycat
New member
My Model 94 is under six pounds, balances at the receiver, you can carry it all day and not get tired, and I've taken 3 deer in 3 seconds with it.... Yes, I do take it out to the range just to have fun with it. Get one of those orange polymer reactive targets from Cabela's and bounce it around the 100 yard line for a day of fun. I just prepped 200 brass for mine even though there's a dozen boxes of reloads and ten boxes of factory ammo on the shelf...
I had a Maine View Optics 2.5 power on my 30/30 and it was an awesome setup and greatly improved my accuracy. But I had to take it and the rings/base off. Just messed up the lines of the rifle too much. A true game getter and pleasant rifle to shoot at the range.
On a side note the next time your at the range and the guy beside you is shooting an expensive rifle with a scope that cost more then your 30/30 rifle. Offer him a contest shooting six inch paper plates (deer kill zone,) at various ranges in true shooting positions (no sand bags or rifle rest,) and see how his 7mm magic cannon with a 14 power scope does against your 30/30. I bet you hold your own or at least get the shots off, on target, in 1/2 the time.
On a side note the next time your at the range and the guy beside you is shooting an expensive rifle with a scope that cost more then your 30/30 rifle. Offer him a contest shooting six inch paper plates (deer kill zone,) at various ranges in true shooting positions (no sand bags or rifle rest,) and see how his 7mm magic cannon with a 14 power scope does against your 30/30. I bet you hold your own or at least get the shots off, on target, in 1/2 the time.