Did I Mention I Love My .30-30?
I took my Marlin 336W .30-30 out to the range this past weekend. I love shooting that rifle. This was the first time I fired some of my LeveRevolution ammo by Hornady. It’s good stuff. Feels smoother than the Power Shok rounds I had from Wal-Mart. Though it still kicked like a miniature mule. My shoulder was a bit sore after firing 40 rounds.
I shot some freehand, standing, and then sat down on the bench for my longer shots. I’ve never been much of a rifleman — preferring pistols to rifles — but I think that’s gonna change. Since I’ve started deer hunting, becoming proficient with a rifle is a must. And for a beginner, I think I did pretty well. I had decent groups at 25 – 75 yards, both freehand and with support. I even hit the target when it was at 100 yards. A fair accomplishment, since I was using the stock iron sights on the rifle. No scope or glowing sights of any kind. But at 100 yards the front sight post covered up the entire target.
Still, I think I’ll keep that rifle without scope. It’s short and easy to move with through rough woods. I’ll just have to get a nice bolt action rifle with scope to hunt deer in the large open areas. Once I find some large, open areas, that is…
I had a Winchester 30-30 once. In desperation I sold it to pay the rent one day. I’ve kicked myself everyday for that for years. It was a really nice gun. I live in brush country and a 30-30 is the perfect rifle for that. No need for a long range rifle here since you can’t see that far.
Yeah, here in Central Arkansas it’s all thick brush and little hills. So it’s typical to only have a 70 yard shot (or less) before there’s another hill or something. It’s a great rifle, and you might want to consider getting another one.
My dad had a pre-64 winchester model 94 a nice rifle. I had trouble hitting targets at 100 yards with the iron sights from the factory, so I just sort of gave up on it for hunting. I bought a 30-06 with a scope and didn’t look back. Than many years later a friend was out shooting a lever action winchester with a tang peep sight and convinced me to give the winchester a second try. Boy was I surprised, he had me right on target every shot. To make a long story short A lever action carbine is a lot more accurate with peep sights. With the new Horady bullets 300 yard shots are a reality. The great thing is you can pick up a used 30-30 winchester in very good condition sometimes as cheap as $150.00, the regular ammunition can be found even in remote country stores or trading posts in many parts of America. For home defense it’s been recommended that 130 gr hollow points be used in a urban areas. You can now get reduced recoil loads 125 gr. these would be good for quick follow up shots for varmit hunting. for hunting larger game the 150 thru 170 gr weights work well for deer. Ammunition prices range from around $10.00 for a box to around $20.00 for the new Horady ammunition. For Law enforcement use some sheriffs Deptments require their personnel to buy their own weapons and a new Marlin 336 30-30 sells for less than half of what a AR-15 costs and would be more lethal on larger animals than the 223 caliber, it has more range than a 12 gauge shot gun that most patrol cars have. With practice with the light loads follow up shots are almost a fast as the AR-15. A 357 magnum or 44 magnum is also a option with a 10 round magazine capacity and revolver compatability.