30-30 on Elk

[MarkyMark]

I'm just curious if anyone on the forum has ever used a 30-30 to get the job done on an elk. If so what tell me about it. And no I'm not considering trying this myself... But interested to know. Thanks 😎


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[JimmyHoffa]

Not me personally, but I know about ten guys that use .30-30 either as their primary or the back up in case the scope takes a dive on the primary.  They said it works alright---just limited in range because of the trajectory.

[RadSav]

Back in the '80s I took a friends 11 year old son out for opening day of the first elk season.  He killed a spike elk at 60-70 yards with one shot.  Elk took a couple steps and down he went.  Chest was messed up pretty good!  The little gun had done very well.  During the second season I took the kids father out every day.  He missed three bulls, all under 120 yards, with his 300 WM.

[Remnar]

 I would say alot of hunters that are getting on in years have . I know my grandads did of course my one that is still alive  is 85 . He still hunts by the way He has never hunted with anything larger/more powerful than a 30-06 and has been a very successful elk hunter . If a person accepts the limitations there is no reason why a 30-30 couldnt or shouldnt be used . Especially with modern ammo .
 That being said its not gonna be my first choice . But I use a muzzleloader sooo !

[Magnum_Willys]

The Knock-down Ballistics (ft-lbs) for a 30-30 are slightly better than a muzzle loader at the muzzle and significantly better in general at 100 yards.  So if you like a muzzy you will love a 30-30.  Heh  Tho ft-lbs doesn't take into account larger bullet diameter and I tend to think that is a big factor which is why I like .338 much more than .300 or 7mm.   

Hunted with a moose guide in Canada that never used anything but his "super-magnum" - a model 94 30-30.

[dreamunelk]

30 30 has killed a lot of elk.  Not sure I would use on the east side but, if you are hunting timber on the west side it will do the job if you think your bullet in.

[headshot5]

I've killed a couple elk with a .30-30.  Just get close and put one through the boiler room.  It'll do the trick.  Try to get the lungs/heart, or if really close where the neck meet the head.  Pack a knife cause you'll be skinning.  35 Remington is another of my favorite brush guns as well.   
 

[magnumb]

30 30 has killed a lot of elk.  Not sure I would use on the east side but, if you are hunting timber on the west side it will do the job if you think your bullet in.

 

[cryder]

I only use my rifles for the range now that i hunt the real way,but i allways start with my henrys then go to the 30-30 with a over powered leopold on it, by the time i get to it its like launching a short range shotgun slug but it is very accurate inside 80 yards,im saying a elk is going down easy inside that range.

[MarkyMark]

Very cool to hear about success stories with the 30-30.


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[coachcw]

Hornady 165  grain are pretty good medicine inside of 150 yards.

[WapitiTalk1]

The dirty thirty has taken a lot of elk and is a solid round at a reasonable distance.  Here's a double muley buck day from "way" back in the day.  Yes, I'm that handsome devil on the left  .  We walked in a gated logging road in MT in 84'ish before daylight.  Right as it became light enough to shoot, my little buck stood up below us in a clearcut around 120 yards.  The dirty thirty spoke and the muley fell in his tracks... seconds later, Gary's buck stood up and he shot it 20 yards away from mine with his grandpa's old .308.  I don't even remember how tuff it was dragging those two deer up the hill and down the road, but I will always remember the two muley day with my HS buddy. 

[MarkyMark]

Nice pic.


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[Duckhunter14]

Killed my first elk with a 30-30 I bought it with cash from mowing lawns. It was a Marlin Lever Action with a little 3x9 scope. I think I was 15 or 16 and killed her with two shots right behind the shoulder at about 60 yards. She dropped on the second shot and rolled down a hill just below the logging road I was walking. It can be done, but I prefer more gun these days. It's a great brush gun though. Killed antelope, mule deer, and elk with it before I moved up to a 7mm mag.

Clint

[cbond3318]

I use a Marlin 30-30 for elk, haven't killed one yet, but am confidante in the gun and round at the distances I have established, up 120yds max. Which is about the max shooting lane where I hunt more typically my shot is going to 40 to 60 yds.

I have had great success with deer and my 30-30, the 5 bucks I have killed, all have been one shot kills with less than a 50 yd death sprint. It is my "meat gun" and I love it.

[boneaddict]

A 30-30 has killed a ton of big game.  I've killed at least one bull with one.

[mountainman]

Slim Pickens used an old 94 To shoot elk

[MarkyMark]

Slim Pickens


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[runningboard]

used Winchester model 94 to take two cows when I was young, one shot each.

[tgomez]

My cousin uses a marlin 336 30-30 open sights for elk,bear,deer. I would use the Hornady lever revelution ammo in a 30-30 as it increases speed and downrange accuracy, you get a 300 yard rifle instead of a 200 yard rifle!

[Bofire]

  yup, first elk, a cow, 1962 "thuty-thuty" shot her real steep up hill just under the jaw bone, dropped in her tracks. 170 grain winchester ammo in a Marlin 336.
Carl

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

3 cows and one bull with my fathers 1959 model 94, 30/30 in the early '80's , loved that gun so much I got a 30/30 barrel on a T/C Contender for the "High Buck" hunt (only one 3x3 deer with it) then I discovered archery...

[kselkhunter]

My family and friends have taken multiple elk with 30-30, and I still use my Marlin 30-30 for elk when in the thick stuff.  I put a red dot sight on it a few years back, and prefer that to open sights now.  Inside 150 yards, plenty of power for elk.  Great brush gun. 

[cle elum bowhunter]

Killed my first bull with a model 94 when I was 12.  First shot put him down, then he got back up and second finished him.  That was in 1978.  I just took that same gun to Montana with me last November as a back up/thick timber option to my trusty .270.  BTW, that was my first rifle hunt in 16 years. Hence my user name.

[Chukarhead]

The Knock-down Ballistics (ft-lbs) for a 30-30 are slightly better than a muzzle loader at the muzzle and significantly better in general at 100 yards.  So if you like a muzzy you will love a 30-30.  Heh  Tho ft-lbs doesn't take into account larger bullet diameter and I tend to think that is a big factor which is why I like .338 much more than .300 or 7mm. 

This may be true with patched round ball, but very few muzzleloader hunters use that on elk (because the ballistics are terrible).  Muzzloaders fling heavier bullets that maintain greater energy downrange, as compared to 30-30 bullets.  Also, modern in-lines with magnum loads put even the hottest 30-30 loads to shame in every category other than muzzle velocity (depending on the loads--most are better across the board).  I have plenty of anecdotes, but you can see the data here: http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/ballistics/2015-Standard-Ballistics.pdf

 

[MarkyMark]

But a 30-30 you can almost guarantee when you pull the trigger it will fire.... Not so much with that muzzy.


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[The scout]

  and the new lever evolution ammo turn's  a 100 yard gun into a three hundred yard gun

[RadSav]

and the new lever evolution ammo turn's  a 100 yard gun into a three hundred yard gun

A 10% increase in speed increases range by 200%?