When I read that title, my first thoughts were "Not Hardly". The .30-30 Winchester continues to sell lots of ammo over the years. It's a handloader's dream, and it's a cartridge that screams for cast bullets. That long, lovely case neck, moderate velocities, good bullets, moderate recoil, and the handiness of a short lever action carbine all conspire to make the .30-30 Winchester one of the best cartridges ever made.
As it turns out, the author of the article agrees with me.
Why do people keep going back to the 30-30? Because it is a time-tested and proven cartridge. Hardly any other hunting cartridge has remained as popular for as long as the lever action in 30-30.I currently own four rifles in that caliber. Three lever-actions and a single shot. It's a handy caliber, ammo is found everywhere, and it takes deer-sized game with authority, out to about 150 yards.
Regardless of what the engineering department of a gun company can dream up, regardless of what new cartridges hit the market, the 30-30 Winchester remains effective on whitetail deer-sized game.
Simply put, the 30-30 Winchester remains popular because it works.
3 comments:
Completely agree. Although the press presses for rifles and scopes for long ranges, most deer are killed less than 200 yards away - a lot inside 100 yards. The 30-30 will easily kill deer within these ranges. In a handy carrying carbine, a good woods companion.
I still kick myself for not purchasing a '94 Trapper in 30-30 when they were so common. I figured Winchester would be around forever - whats the hurry ? Now they are not for sale or priced in stratosphere. I was smart enough to buy one in .357 Magnum though. Extremely packable gun those Trappers !
My brother claimed Dad's old Winchester '94, it a 30-30. I have a Marlin 336 and a 16" Super 16 30-30 barrel for a Contender carbine so I'm set for this very practical round. Note the factory prices for 30-30 are extremely reasonable, easy to set back a few boxes in case that changes.
Thanks for the post - good topic !
Saw a video on YouTube yesterday where Magnum Research has made one of their BFR revolvers chambered for .30-30 Winchester. You'd think it would be a monster, but the reviewers said it didn't recoil any harder than a .38 SPL.
Wish I had an extra $1200 sitting around. That would make a dandy brush gun for E. Texas hogs!
https://www.magnumresearch.com/Firearms/Magnum-Research-3030-Win-Revolver-10-inch-Barrel.asp
Maybe I am mincing words but to me outdated and irrelevant/ not useful are different. The lever action 30-30 is definitely still relevant when used within reasonable scenarios. Most of the south and east have thick brush so most shots are close. A light, rugged, handy gun good for a hundred, maybe hundred and fifty ish yards suitable for medium sized game fills a need for a whole lot of people.
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