open sighted 30-30

Anybody else still use one? If I am going to sit in a grove of apple trees, or sit or stalk a heavy stand of pinions or juniper or hedge, watch a bear bait from 50 yards away, slip down through the saddle of a little drainage choked with quakey's, an open sighted 30-30 seems to fit the bill nicely. Lots of other real good choices out there, but I still like the 30-30 when I don't figure on shooting very far.

What I shot my first deer with. Model 94, My dads gun. I’ve been wanting to buy one for awhile now.

I agree they are a very versatile gun

Mailman brought me 3 of these yesterday. I think tomorrow I will take my grandson out to shoot a few. Gramma told me he doesn’t have school

I love them. We still have our grandpa's 30-30 it's the first "large caliber" we hunted with. So many deer and elk have been killed with. My oldest brother (who doesn't hunt) wouldn't let my daughter use it for her first hunt. No reason why just ignored texts and requests. It's all good though.

Interlocks are Great bullets

Old Winchester 94. I use it when I want to really enjoy a hunt not just collect meat. My goal is to get an antelope with it.

Yup….got the 1948 Winchester 94 in the safe…open sights / just the way it came. Nice gun that swings around easy and small to carry…with a good thump . Thick woods around here…it’s perfect

The Model 94 is becoming hard to find around here it seems. I remember when dealer racks were full of old beater .30-30s, not anymore. I went looking for one last fall and there were none to be found locally. Carrying an eight-pound scoped rifle around in the deer woods gets old.

I still use one. Out to 200 hundred yards is where I feel comfortable with mine, puts a little bit of skill back into it I think. Anybody can dial in there 9 power scope but I've found not everybody can just open sights well anymore

What’s a safe Queen 1948 Model 94 worth now a days ? Very little wear on the blueing

Shot a lot of deer with my Marlin 30-30 with open sights,,but it has a scope now since my eyes started going south.

I had a .32 Special Model 94 handed down to me many years ago. It was new in maybe 1941'ish. I kilt my first whitetail with it over 50 seasons ago. I still tote it out to my hide every few years. I have used it to fill my tag a couple times since the Old Man passed away in '02. He himself shot his last deer with that rifle. My late brother, back in the very early 60's, had carved the stock(s) on the old rifle. It is an heirloom I will pass down to my grandsons when the time comes.

Sell quick at a thousand Nessy. If you want to wait for the right buyer could get 1500. Correction. I just looked on gun broker. They are higher than that. Might not last long at 15 and go as high as 2000.

I have an aperture (peep) sight on my Marlin 30-30 and I shoot accurately out to 100 yds, no problem.

My Winchester is a 1959 version in .32 spl.. Killed my first buck with it at the age of 16.

It was my one and only Christmas present dad got me that year. My brother got a 30-30 in Marlin the next year.

We both still have them.

Love my old Marlin dirty-30. Throws the cheap 150 grain Federal Blue box ammo nice an tight. Best brush gun I own

I still use my grandpa's Winchester model 64 in 30-30 when in the woods. Has a flip up peep on the wrist, I can hold an inch and a half group at 100 yards with that.

Who would have ever have thought that they would make 30-30s in a tactical style? Goes to show you slap a picatinny rail on any firearm and you can market it as home defense

mine wears a peep rear and globe front with a narrow post insert , I like it good for short range stuff

You can buy a pretty decent pre-64 one here for around $800.

then buy them up

even a Marin 336 JM marked is running 800+ in good shape now

Simply put, it’s what a rifle looks like. Wood furniture and iron sights. None of our heroes use scopes. Dan Boone, Dave Crockett, John Wayne, Audy Murphy, Ian Nyshens all used the classics. These new plastic guns don’t even have iron sights on them and they look unfinished and ridiculous. They have no life in them and I don’t care to hear their stories. That being said, I understand with age comes poor eyesight and scopes certainly have their place. Lord knows I’ve used them with deadly efficiency. But for my money give me a hunted beat up scratched nicked dented classic rifle with a soul and a name where you can feel the stories and deeds from days gone by. By gosh can ya smell the gun oil now?

Yep

Yep i like my 94Win in 30-30 ... I put peep sights on it though. Its what I am used to. Its such an easy rifle to carry around the woods. I take it along when I walk the dog at times and it has ruined the day of a song dog or two.

I took the gold bead front sight on my dads old marlin 336 and filed it down to a point. It cut my iron sight groups in half at 100.

I like a lever action but have one in 45-70 for those occasions.

If I ever strike it rich, I'm going to buy a Vintage Winchester in that caliber. Maybe a .45-90. Brown bear here I come.

I make my ice fishing “ Sounders “ out of 30-30 brass....I fill the shell up with lead...and quickly shove the alligator clip in ....before the lead gets haahd.

May be mistaken, but I think mod 94 in 30-30 has killed more deer in n. America than any other gun. Still have my old Conadian Centennial 94 open site, and a Marlin 336 w 3x9 weaver.

And for the record Cooper said in print they make a great home/self defense gun due to the fact they make you shoot one shot at a time, no chance to spray and pray. And that works for me. Got bout 5 or 6 old boxes of Rem. Core-Lock.

And yes I still use one, every deer season. Great sport.

I would think less because it has anything to do with stopping spray and pray I have seen a few people think they were Chuck Conner's with a 30-30 and were more about speed than hitting. and more because of familiarity ease of chambering a second round , not heavy recoiling , and ability to hold 6-7 rounds basically what also makes a shotgun good , especially rural people are often very familiar with them , they hold 5-6 rounds they point naturally for us a we grew up with one in our hands and if you can jump shoot a bird flying 20mph with no warning a big old slow person at short yardage is a very quick point and pull compared to a bird. and because so many house holds had them.

Not anymore.

Dad had one chambered in .32 spl.with original buck horn sights,its all he used for 50 yrs. until his eyesight got too bad.Swore by it and was scandalized if somebody badmouthed that round or the 30/30.

Just saw one up here for $1500.

My go to rifle is my Winchester Model 94.

I really like those 150 gr Interlocks in both my Model 94 and 336. It's all you need inside a reasonable range.

I’ve shot just about every deer of my life hunting the spooner Wisconsin area with my hand me down 336. While I have at least a half dozen safe Queen pre 64 30-30 94’s, I much prefer the action of the old marlin 336. Love em!!!

I think in the claim it is any other single cartridge with so many other cartridges out there all the rest are divided

you would have to kill one mountain of deer with a 6.5 creedmoore to reverse 125 years of all the deer shot with a 30-30

if everyone in the USA went to a single catridge it would probably only take a couple decades but I don't see that happening

30-30 ammo still sells and it sells well still a lot of people shooting deer with them

remember 6000 doe tags that quietly get filled with a 30-30 vs one pope and young buck shot with new ultracalliber keeps 30-30 gaining ground

I used to have three or four of them in my collection but they went when I sold 61 guns at once. I still kept a couple of nice guns for myself, one of them being this 1957 model 94 in .30-30 along with this 1953 model 64 deluxe in .32 Spl. I would love to use them for whitetails but I collect all of my venison for the last 20 years in a no firearms zone with my bow. My 75 year old eyesight has a hard time with iron sights now or anything else for that matter.

All I've used for over 50 years, but it wears a peep sight,,
It's not perfect, few things are, but I've taken a small mountain of deer with it....

Not here but does an iron sighted Model 95 30-06 count?

My 85 year old grandma passed away last spring, she figured out something was wrong when she was heading out on opening day in December lugging her .30-30 and had to stop for a breather ever ten yards. That rifle of hers killed a lot of deer. That’s what so cool about them, so many years of memories and stories. My dad has an old Mauser bolt that I used hunting when I was young too, also a lot of stories I’m sure with that gun.

I am more of a model 70 fan myself. I have a hard time seeing open sights.

I would guess that aside from flintlock firearms, the 30-30 has filled more bellies with venison than any other gun.

Occasionally, you still see them in the back windows of rusty old farm trucks around here.

My granddad had one. I wanted it but my cousin wound up getting it... Just glad it stayed in the family.

Danny, enjoy shooting it with your grandson. Wish I could go out and shoot my granddad's with him again.

Mike

A good friend of mine gave me a few guns he wanted me to pass down to my kids. He said, “you pick which one gets what”. I figured out in a hurry who gets the 30-30. Lol

My great aunt realized when she went to go up a flight of stairs she did all time that was fall 2019 she got a valve and a pace maker and we were able to have deer camp this year in 2021 she didn't leave the yard and we moved her to her daughters when we were done hunting and ready to go home. she was 86 this last year will be 87 , got to take time while they are still around because all to soon the won't be.

glad you have those memories with your grandma hunting neither of my grandmothers hunted but my Great aunt did , she quit carrying a gun after a while she just liked to do drives. she used ski poles and had her compass and while she never actually shot a deer she drove a pile of them right to me

Model 94s, at least the older ones are a pleasure to shoot with open sights. Between the rifle’s size, weight, balance, light recoil, and fine sights, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Used to be but 30-06 has taken over

it is said that a30-30 has killed more deer during deer season than any other caliber but its not a big issue to put a low power scope on them sometimes its nice specially when aging eyes start to fail on picking up iron sights

Shot my first 2 bucks with a Model 94 30-30. A spike whitetail at age 11 and a big muley (195 Boone and Crockett) at age 9. I levered shots thru that old Model 94 so fast my father was not sure if I hit the muley with a bullet or he just gave up the ghost from seein' so much quakie bark flying!

well that is possible think about the cheap and plentiful 30-06 rifles after WWII 1903s and re-barreled Mausers

even a few years ago there were still a fair number of 30-06 chambered Mausers for sale at low prices 200-250

Guess I’d be the odd man out with a Marlin model 36 made in the first year of manufacture. Doesn’t see much action but it’s fine on a deer drive in thick cover.

Shot my 336 in 357 mag with open sights last year. My eyes and that gold bead did not work well together I could deer hunt with it out to about 50 yards. Guess i need to scope it.

My uncle bought a surplus 03-a3 from the nra in the late 50's for 10 bucks. Only rifle I ever saw him hunt big game with. My cousin has it now. Uncle cut the stock down himself and had a gun smith put a scope on it. I think all the surplus military 06's ended up in civilian hands, except BAR's.

They work fine too. Definitely lots easier to make a 3-4 hundred yard lethal shot with an 06. 30-30 was never intended for that. When it first came out it was being loaded with black powder. The 03-A3 was the U.S. answer to the 7mm Mauser. Teddy Roosevelt saw how effective they were against his trap door single shot Springfield's. Army went to 30-40 crag for a bit but that 03-A3 was a hit pretty quick when the generals got a look at it. It was designed for the then still pretty new smokeless powders.

But a nice lever gun just screams out John Wayne, Ben Lilly, Audie Murphy the Lone ranger Clint Eastwood and other great Americans. They are fun and functional, all American legends. Everybody ought to have one.

Yep something about a lever gun they just point and handle so well, that group was fired off hand at 100 yards, not a bad group for gun over a hundred years old even if it is a bit high for some reason 150 grain bullets always shoot high, 170 right on, still no telling how many deer and bears have fallen to it not to mention smaller game

Marlin 1893 made in 1905 and bought new by my grandfather and bought by him to Minnesota when he left home in New York at age 17

it was the 1903 in WWI the 1903A3 didn't happen till 1942

I had a sporterized 1903A3 with the 2 groove barrel , June or july of 1942 , the two grooves had so much bearing surface they lasted more than 15000 rounds you would have had to really work at it to shoot out the 2 groove barrel the 4 groove barrel started to go down hill around 10K rounds

the 03A3 had the rear peep sight and the 03A4 was the sniper

Thanks green country. I knew I was on the right track. 06 started life as one of the first smokeless cartridge designs.Was used in WWI. Should have researched the details.

By golly this was correct though "But a nice lever gun just screams out John Wayne, Ben Lilly, Audie Murphy the Lone ranger Clint Eastwood and other great Americans. They are fun and functional, all American legends. Everybody ought to have one."

Danny I know you seen this before. My grandfather's Model 94 Winchester rifle in 32-40. This gun is the actual rifle so couple inches longer than the carbines, which is what most guys know. The 32-40 was the caliber John Wayne preferred. I don't know when my grandfather bought the rifle but I was told the gun was made in 1920 or 21. It's been hard to find ammo for. I do have several boxes now of reloads formed from 30-30 brass. Also have couple boxes of commemorative ammo made in the 1970s. I also know I'm 3rd generation to hunt with the gun. It shoot just fine.







Mac

you were right on with it being the response to the 7mm mauser they basically said here is a captured Mauser make us a rifle with a longer maximum range

the 1903 borrowed heavily from Mauser's 2 lug bolt design and controlled round feed extractor
the 30-40 had been a rimmed long neck case 30 cal

the engineers got the math wrong and 30-03 didn't have the claimed range it was supposed to

the 30-03 cartridge introduced with the 1903 rifle was very short lived basically a slightly longer neck 30-06 case with a 220gr round nose bullet

the army knew they wanted to stay 30cal the 30-06 used a spizer bullet and slightly shorter case the barrels could be shortened a touch and re-chambered from 30-03 to 30-06 saving materials and reusing every part of the only 3 year old rifles over

Well Danny, it's your thread and you brought it up, so I'll say, you missed your chance at your own 03-a3 when the CMP ran out and no longer gets them. But you can still get a Gerand, 3 or 4 qualities bad to great. Lot of hoops but they still sell'em. You mite find an a3 from a private seller but it would take a dedicated search. Great rifle, great cartridge. Last time I looked bout 5 yrs. ago, bout 1000.00 for shooter quality. Or mid grade. They may have some Enfields left also. Wouldn't you like to have a BAR?

Yup, I have a Marlin guid gun in 45/70 that I just love for bear hunting. And it is a real pleasure to shoot. Not completely traditional looking, I went with stainless because it gets beat around in the brush, carried on a fourwheeler in all types of weather, and I don't always take as good of care of it as I should (it has rust spots on the stainless), and I put fiberoptic sights on it, still open sights, but not iron. In the dark and in the brush I can align the fiber optics a lot faster than traditional iron sights, but at least half the time I am so close I point and shoot without ever looking at the sights, often enough shooting it one handed like a pistol. I do have to replace the fiber optic sights every couple years though, they aren't as tough as iron sights and I end up breaking them.

I've used both Winchester and Marlin 30/30s a fair amount, as well as 32 Special (which I personally prefer over the 30/30), and the old Winchester 375 Big Bore. All are very nice cartridges at shorter ranges.

I’ll jump in on the Marlin side. Started with a 336 in .30-30. We were not a good match. Went to a .35 Remington - still a bad match. Long ago, found a JM 1895 in .45-70 that is just right. Put a scope in quick release mounts so great either way. Had just a bit of work to make it even better. Shopping for an 1895 100/125 anniversary gun that I will put on a scope in QR mounts and hunt with. That gun looks wicked good with the half octagon and half round barrel and fine wood.

Have a couple 94 s here. one Fathers is chambered 30 WCF built 1927 .

Savage 340

My Marlin is older and didn't come with sling studs.I didn't want to alter the gun,,so I put one of these slings on it. https://brassstacker.com/Rifle-Slings Just scroll down till you find your make of rifle.They are a bit pricey,,but their beautifull and realy compliment a Lever Gun.

Now there is one that you can handload pointed bullets in and really make the 30x30 shine.

I have a 94 also, my dad bought it for me used when I was 11 years old.
I remember going with him to pick it up, cost $55 and is chambered in 25-35.
Still have it and should probably shoot another deer with it one of these days.
Hard to find ammo for it but I probably have 75 rounds and a hundred or so
of once fired brass.

Zim

Bought my 94, 30-30 in 1973, shot a bunch of bears and a few deer with it. Take it elk hunting in case I hunt the dark timber, haven shot one with it though. I've drug it through some rough brush, lost the rear ramp and the front hood. The only thing I dont like is no cross bolt safety.

I have a Stevens 325. Same rifle. Dad gave it to me when I was 11. Killed a lot of stuff with it. My grandad gave it to my dad. He bought it new for him when Dad was a kid.



If you do that you have to trim the case down a bunch. The bullet has to be seated pretty deep to get cartridge length correct so they will feed. If you dont trim that long case neck down there is a gap between the case and the bullet for about 3/16 of an inch. Dirt and crud gets in there. You can load spitzer bullets in any of them if just load right into the chamber single shot style with the bullet loaded correct to the case. You do get a little flatter trajectory.

IMO though the rifle was never meant for long range. Get within a 100 yards of a bull elk, put the bullet in his boiler room, and you can eat elk backstrap for supper. If you want to shoot further get yourself a nice 270 or 300 win mag or any of dozens of other cartridges.

according to my nosler book a 150 grain flat nose bullet has about 1400foot pounds of energy at 100 yards and a 170 has 1376. Thats with a 150 grain loaded to 2400FPS and 2200 for the 170 grain. So not 10 cents difference in them really, with plenty of energy at 100 yards.

Colorado Parks and wildlife says 1500 pounds but I can assure you that the 30-30 will get the job done if you get close and shoot careful. Last I knew a 30-30 was still legal for elk.

https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/EHU-CH2-L10.aspx#:~:text=A%20commonly%20accepted%20threshold%20for,243%20Win.

30 W.C.F is 30-30

30wcf is the original Winchester name for it when other makers started chambering guns in they needed a different name for it 30-30win was it eventually even Winchester started calling it 30-30 win

eric space: When I shot my first buck, he came right at me and stopped at about 30 feet. I could see 2 white spots on his forehead.

He took off and I started shooting. At least 4 shots were while he was running. The 5th. finished him on the ground.

I never did hear what my dads thoughts were. I can only guess.

I have two model 94 30-30’s. One of them was my grandpas first rifle he ever bought in 1948 when he was 15 years old. It’s in good condition but definitely not a safe queen. I still use it occasionally when hunting mountain lion and bear. I love that rifle, it fits great and feels great and I have taught myself to shoot it instinctively without using the sights and am fairly accurate out to about 50 yards. Anything further and I use the sights. I also have one that way my great grandfathers and the serial number indicates it was made in 1906. It has the flip up peep sight on the stock just behind the hammer and used to have a saddle ring on the side of the action but someone took a grinder to it and removed it before I ever got it. It too is in good condition considering it’s age. I fired it a few times when I first got it from my grandpa but I haven’t taken it out of the safe since. Those are probably the two rifles in my safe that I’m the most proud to own. I shot this lion about a month ago with my grandpas and always like to give him a picture of whatever I harvest with his rifle. It sure makes him proud.

Nice mountain lion.Congrats

Harvested a bear last spring with what appeared to be a 30 caliber slug under the skin on the shoulder and a real messed up scapula. Likely from someone shooting a 30-30 over bait since there's a few stations near there. Not saying it's not enough gun for black bear but definitely watch your range and shot placement

I like my Bolts too

And a caliber that shoots past the woodline

330, I didnt ever really want an AR till after I got one. They are a lot of fun to shoot too..............

P.S. I dont know what injured that bear, but a 30-30 at bait station ranges would have been on the other side of that shoulder blade. I dont know what did it either but why would you shoot the shoulder blade anyway? Thats a big miss if the guy was aiming at the boiler room.

can you point out the bullet in the picture.

I have an ole 1894 Winchester with a 26" octagon barrel and a tang peep sight. It is chambered in 32 Winchester Special made around 1920. I shoot's the Hornady Lever Eveloution ammo pretty darned good.
Bought it from a guy in New Castle Wyoming years ago. He said it came off a ranch south of New Castle. It has spent a lot of time in a scabbard but is still a nice rifle.

I carry a win. 94 with a williams peep sight. This is what I carry in the bush loaded with Federal fusion 170 grainers, I don't feel under gunned for anything in eastern interior Alaska under 100 yards. Hasn't let me down yet.................................

No bullet in frame. Just the two scapula side by side from the top down showing the bone regrowth on the injured side. Took the picture when I started breaking down the quarters because I thought he had cancer or similar and wanted inquire with a biologist Injured scapula was about 1" thick with no central ridge so the injury was at least a season old. I later pulled some lead fragments out from adjacent to the bone but didn't find the base of the bullet until later when I was fleshing the hide. Not sure I took a picture of the base but here's a fragment.

I use copper monos so definitely not from me. Base had a copper jacket and measured in the vicinity of .312 but kinda hard to tell. I assumed he got hit with a low velocity .30

Right in the shoulder.Not good.

with a bullet that mangled I would think faster velocity than the 30-30

it could have been 30-30 but it wouldn't be my first thought with a very mangled bullet that didn't even penetrate the bone possibly with some very interesting not good shot placement.

maybe even hitting a small tree or limb just before entering the bear

Sounds like a ballistic tip to me, not the typical softnosed bullet that goes in a 30-30. And a shoulder shot through the scapula is an ideal shot on a bear if you don't want to bust the skull with a head shot. Not necessarily so good with many of your ballistic tipped bullets that grenade on bone at higher velocity, but a good mushrooming soft point like a Remington coreloc or most of the other cheaper standard rounds, or something like the Nosler Partition. They will shoot right through the scapulas and you bust the front shoulders down on a bear and he is anchored right there, no tracking. Also the vitals on a bear are farther forward than they are on a deer or elk. Sure you can hit vitals if you tuck it right behind the shoulder on a perfect broadside shot, but if he is quartering towards you any at all you better be shooting through that shoulder if you want to hit more than the corner of one lung. If you shoot through the shoulder on bear you are going to hit vitals, that is where a large portion of his boiler room is.

.312 could have been an sks or ak47 7.62X39R. Mosin 7.62X53R or a British .303 Enfield

My bet though is on an old 32-20. Still a few around https://www.gunbroker.com/Lever-Action-Rifles/search?Keywords=32-20&Sort=13

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.32-20_Winchester

Grampa had a 32-20 revolver. Belongs to my cousin now. pretty common cartridge in the early 20th century