Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: flinger on March 24, 2011, 10:43:26 PM
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What would you consider hunting with an older model 30-30 marlin lever with iron sights it is the only rifle that i own and i was just curious of its limitations
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In all those years before Super Magnums existed the .30-30 lever gun killed tons of game. So much so, that it almost wiped many species off the continent. I'd use it, but would primarily use it in brush. Maybe a little farther if I knew the rifle well enough to trust the shot.
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A great west side gun for deer and elk...and it has that old school appeal too. My uncle has hunted with one his whole life and taken some nice blacktail and Roosies. They're a little bit limited as far as range, but I've always liked them for still hunting...if you jump a deer or an elk at close range you can raise and shoot really fast...and the second and third shot come fast if you need 'em. In fact, those guns are so good they almost shot north American big game into extinction... :chuckle:
I noticed JimmyHoffa had the same things to say when I went to make my post, but it's worth repeating.
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Just keep your shots close. The 30-30 has killed more then its fair share of game :IBCOOL:
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Great rifle for hunting blacktails in the timber, especially when it's raining. A scoped rifle can be a handicap in the rain. Your furthest shot would probably be about 50 yards anyway, in most good blacktail habitat.
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BIL has killed his last 4 mule deer with his grandpas 30-30 iron sight. I believe all his shots were under 100 yards in the big canyons on the east side.
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That new leverlution ammo with the soft pointy tips help extend the range a bit. I think the biggest thing is just shooting it from lots of distances so you know what it will do. Years ago, a friend of mine invited me elk hunting in CO. He carried an iron sighted 30-30. He never got a shot at an elk that trip but I saw him shoot a jack on the run at 40 yards with a head shot and dropped a grouse for the cookpot at about 30 yards, head shot also. They can be good dependable guns, and as mentioned earlier, in the thick, wet west side brush they can be great. Oh, yeah, I also saw him hit a two foot diameter stump at about 400 yards with it.
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With paractice you should be able to go at least 150 yds with that new leverevolution (sp?) ammo. A guy I work with has one but he does have one of the new scopes that are made specifically for the ammo. My choice would be stick with the iron sights.
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Yeah, those new leverlution bullets are suppose to be the hit. Plus you can put more powder behind them.
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ied consider you to be off to a good start. ied love to have a lever action in my collection. great guns for the wet side i think everyone on this site will agree
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It is totally impossible to kill game today with out a super magnum caliber capable of flat shooting out to at least 500 yards. While our grand fathers may have nearly wiped out the animals with those old guns, they weren't up against today's super magnum animals. Evolution is inevitable once you think about it. They shot all the weak and soft skinned elk leaving the armor plated ones to breed.
Besides, who has the skill to sneak within 100 yards of an animal?
PS, I would be happy to take that old junker to a scrap dealer for you.
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I have my dads old model 94, (30/30) it was the first rifle I ever hunted with, and I managed to harvest 4 deer and 2 Elk with it before I took up archery.... :twocents:
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well sir now your talkn thats a hell of a gun thats what i hunted with until i could afford my ruger #1 single shot falling block, but that marlin is perfect for west side huntn for any game in that matter and that gun does have the power to easily kill out to 200yds maybe further when i was 13 i shot a small spike 2pt at 200 easy yes it wasnt much of a deer but at 13 it was a monster and it was with open sights, the funny thing is my dad had told me not to hunt the clearcuts for that very reason that i might end up having to shoot a long ways he was pretty damn proud when he saw where i was and where the deer was when i whacked him.
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Shoot, shoot, shoot and shoot some more.
It takes experience to become adept shooting with iron's.
Your limitations are your comfort level with the iron's.
I have a Marlin 444 with iron's and wish I would shoot it more. I'm comfortable to 100 and I know if I shot it more I could probably come close to doubling that if I had the need to step out that far.
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Probably the rifle that has killed the most animals. What yo need to do is practice with it to see how it shoots at different yardages. I know alot of people that have hunted with them on the Wet side of wa.
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my 32 Winchester Special killed a spike elk this last season. I was very impressed with it..
30-30 will do just fine, hit them in the vitals and they go down.... :twocents:
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Every hunter should own a 30-30 lever gun! Owning/shooting/harvasting game with one is like a right of passage. I have dads 32wspl pre-64 model 94 and my Marlin 30AS that have taken more game than any other rifles in my safe. The Marlin is my backup rifle at camp/in the truck just in case I find a spot where I know where my shots will be less than 200yds and not appreciable to a scoped rifle. It is lighter than my scoped bolt actions. In skilled hands it will take any legal game in the lower 48.
Do not discount the ability of the lever action carbine with iron sights. Ammo is cheap for them. Practice until you are skilled and confident with yours.
-Steve
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Thats all I had to hunt with for years. Never got to use it but I have seen the animals it had killed before me so I never doubted it. I would keep it under 300yds with the 30-30 and irons sights more like 200yds if you dont get out and shot much.
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Every hunter should own a 30-30 lever gun!
I have 3. Is that enough?
