I bought the one box locally, the only box they had. $80.00. I think I've settled in on buying .30-30 ammo and resizing it. I have the dies.

I hunt little openings in thicket …..where the deer spend most of their time ….Can’t beat a 30-30

30 30 is a bit weak for big game.It will kill moose and bigger black bear but need to be fairly close and dont stop shooting.
The lever is a dependable action in tough conditions.
A popular big game gun in the north is the Savage 308 lever model 99.Probably comes in second to the 303 enfield for numbers of killed moose.
Much better gun than a lever 30 30.

Nice looking buck there Savell. I've got those close up shots, and for years rationalized staying with the 30-30. But the BLR has now put me on a new stand with closeups on either side and distant shots across the slough.

Bite your tongue.

30-30 lever is about as Americana as it gets.

Every household should have one

Plenty of affordable ammo too...well not a cheap as it use to be

Muskrat …. I’ve got a Henry in 243 for the rare situations where I have a long shot

Pleasant gun to shoot excellent performance 400 yard rifle doesn't equal a 400 yard shooter except online

A 30-30 has it's limitation just like any other bang stick does.
As long as you know and respect those limits it's a dandy caliber.
Probably the only caliber that has filled more freezers than most others combined.

That said, the Hornady Leverlution ammo has given it some new and slightly extended capabilities.

I know many people that have only ever used or needed a 30-30.
And have never missed a meal because of using a 30-30.

It's definitely a more manly caliber than a 6.5 man bun! Lol

30-30 in an old model '94 is pretty classic, and cool, but as a hunting cartridge there are many better options nowadays. I don't see these kind of debates about the old 44-40 cartridge, they even used to shoot bison with that cartridge, but we wouldn't even think about doing that today.

I like mine. Use it in thick stuff. Open sights. I like it to about 100 yards. Simple and reliable. Putting pointed bullets in a bolt gun you need to seat the bullets to deep or they wont fit in the magazine. Have to travel a bit to engage the rifling. I have done it and just aint worth it. Dont try to make a long range shooter out of one. Plenty of longer shot stuff available. That savage 99 Boco mentioned in 308 will reach out there if you want more range in a lever gun.

If you could walk into any gun store and get a gun and ammo in 44-40, there would be a debate about it sooner or latter on here.

Winchester pre 64 30-30, is a fine rifle, but it's not for everyone.

Pros of most 30-30s and I guess 45lc carbines with 16-20 inch barrels

relatively light
relatively fast handling
reasonably fast follow up shots
not bad on recoil
30-30 is possibly more effective than a lot of people give it credit for.
easy to leave rounds in the tube until you need them jack one in the chamber, so you can safely carry it on horse or vehicle.

deer 170-225 depending on round and your ability to put it where it needs to go
bear, moose , elk inside 125


in a lot of cases people find them "non-threatening"

cons of 30-30
you give up velocity to poor BC round nose or flat nose bullets
limited bullets to use
relatively low pressure cartridge this is sort of a pro and con you almost can't shoot out a 30-30 barrel you can neglect one out but the pressure and heat isn't flame cutting like a 6.5manbun
but you also don't get 3-400 yards well
barrel bands and such make for a good gun being 3-4moa most of the time not a huge issue if your shooting at 100 yards a deer heart is 3-4 inches

cons of 45lc
it has a BC of nearly a round ball so it really limits range

Pros of 45lc
you can stuff 10-12 rounds in the tube light recoil and decently effective to about 75 yards on deer


you can get a little heavier bullet to improve BC but you are sending fat and heavy and she don't go very flat at all


con of lever guns
lots of screws that may well have the same head and thread but need to go back where they came from
not easy to field strip and clean the dirt and mud and get the downpour of rain out of.

if big game is what your looking for 45-70 might be a better choice than 45lc

45lc carbines were a traffic companion gun to a 45lc side arm more range same ammo shared between so one thing to stock and carry
cowboying wasn't necessarily long range shooting but immediate threat type stuff and putting down injured stock.


it really depends what you are going for what is the target and or threat. how will it be used?

Some good info from experience. Thanks
I'm going to think on it but I have always wanted a 30-30. I might want to look in to a 243 henry LA instead. Nothing close here in this country seems to be long shots all the time.

My boy has a henry long ranger in 243. I'm not too impressed. The thing is heavy and we've only tried 2 different loads in it and it didn't really like either. Say 2 moa ish . But we've killed a few deer with it

Yessir… this mine at 150 off truck hood…. Not sure what the moa is ?

I don’t know of a Southerner that hasn’t killed deer with a 30/30. Heck most of us started out with one.
If it wasn’t, it was the next rifle up after a few deer with what we started with. I started with a Ruger .44MAG, then went to a 30/30. Peep sights on the .44 and iron sights on the 30/30.

A 35 remington is a 3030 on steroids

Ain't no cons about it other then if you need to shoot a long distance.

Been getting the job done for 100 years,