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Since this is the only hunting thread that's active, might as well ask:
I plan to hunt deer this year/next year. What's a good beginner rifle? 30-30?
30-30cal is a great rifle caliber to start with. If you go open sites make sure to practice more than just sighting in your rifle. I started my hunting life with a Remington model 700 chambered in .243cal. Then I stepped up to a Rem model 760 Gamemaster pump in a 30-06cal. I now use a Weatherby .300cal mag for most larger game like elk, bear and long shooting Pronghorn.
If just deer hunting I use a Browning A bolt .270cal. The .308cal is also a wonderful deer caliber.
I forgot to ask where are you going hunting. If most of your shots are under 200 yards the 30-30 in fine with lots of practice. If you get out past that move to a .270 or above.
Here is a typical ballistic chart showing the drop in inches of various calibers sighted for 200yards. Notice how the 30-30 drops like a rock past 200 yards compared with the other 30cal bullets. Find a velocity and energy chart, those are very telling of how your caliber might act for different distances and game.
Since this is the only hunting thread that's active, might as well ask:
I plan to hunt deer this year/next year. What's a good beginner rifle? 30-30?
It depends in what kind of terrain you will be hunting and if rifles are allowed for deer hunting in your state.
I do just fine with the .243 and .270. I've shot deer with 30-06 and 7.62x39 but realistically that was way too much caliber for what was needed.
If you already own a 30-30 it will do you just fine as long as you are practiced enough to run that lever without allowing your sights to wander off target in case you have to shoot more than once. Same goes if you run a bolt rifle.
Please be a responsible hunter and make certain you can hit your target and know your ranges within your ability rather than injuring a deer and allowing it to get away and die a painful death of suffering.
Probably more deer have been taken with the venrable thudy thudy than anyone gun in America. it is a short to mid range cartridge and capable of penatrating dense brush.
It is in the class of 7.62 metric which is .30 cal. The 7.62x39 is almost the same ballisticly speaking as the 30-30. However that round will not fit in a 30-30 gun.
This same bullet is used in other cases as 7.62x51 NATO/.308 Winchester (with a slight difference in the brass), 7.62x54 Russian and the 30-06 which i can never remember the metric case length in my head, 61 or 63 mm's. Then there are different bullet types and weights all on 30 cal 7.62, the one with the most possible choices is the 30-06.
I don't see one rifle as a beginner rifle over another. The states often mandate what is legal and what is not. So before you buy, check game laws where you will hunt, and that might end up as a 12 ga shot gun. I am not certain but think Shotguns are the only sporting guns allowed to take deer in the whole state of Pa as an example.
I live in NH USA and any ceterfire rifle seems legal here, but i haven't looked into the center fire .17 cal, but think there is no way these could be legal for deer.
MOgal is right on when she says what kind of terrain. Probably a 30-30 would be uselss in the Plains states, where distances are long,and wide open.
Since this is the only hunting thread that's active, might as well ask:
I plan to hunt deer this year/next year. What's a good beginner rifle? 30-30?
A thirty thirty is fine and good to well over 200 yards in the right hands. I'd stay under 150 myself though. The question about a beginner rifle is tough to answer. I'm an instructor & always recommend starting with a 22. This way you can learn the shooting fundamentals without dealing with recoil.
Obviously you cannot hunt deer with a 22 though.
Alot depends where you are. Many states have minimum requirements. In Ct for example 6mm (243) is the minimum for deer. I think its Illinois has no rifle deer season not PA. In PA you can use a rifle.
At any rate anywhere you go a 30/30 should be legal, except Illinois, and its just fine. I took a 250 pound NH black bear with one last year and many deer before that. Just got back from NH yesterday looking for another bear but so far lucks been on Yogi's side.
I started borrowing my dad's Marlin 30-30 lever action when I was 9 or so. And I kinda never gave it back (he stopped hunting around then anyway). I've been using it for over 25 years now, and it's an excellent deer rifle for where I hunt (hardwood and pine forests in the southeastern USA).
I would not recommend it as a beginner gun (i.e., learning to shoot). It does have moderate recoil. Nothing like the mini-cannons used by some hunters, but definitely enough to startle someone just learning how to shoot. Plus working the lever while staying on target takes some practice. As already mentioned, learn to shoot with a .22 or a carbine (short rifle that shoots a pistol bullet). Personally I went from a BB gun to a pellet gun to a .22 to .44 carbine (the .44 is massive for a handgun bullet, but is very light for a rifle bullet) to the 30-30.
If you already know how to shoot, then yes, the 30-30 is an excellent deer rifle unless you regularly hunt in areas requiring shots over 200-yds. Always wear ear protection when practicing. I didn't, and am already suffering from low-level hearing loss.
Go with a .270.......this is an all around cartridge....not a lot for factory ammo, 100 - 140 grain bullets...that's about it...(I very well cold be wrong).
The .270 can be a straight shooting 3000+ FPS for long range shots for littler game and can be a bruiser with the 140 grain out to 300 yards +......
The 30-06 is just as versatile, to much kick for me....but a lot of people grew up with that, and passed it down....
Rifle cartridges are like anything else...people have a love and hate relationship.
The 30-30 is a great little gun....not to 200 yards as someone suggested...maybe just maybe with the new "Leverloution" bullets out to 200 yards....very reliable and has been around for years....
As for carbines...be careful....a box of .44 is $30 - $50 bucks a box.
Learn how to reload and get yourself a .270...............Jack O'Conner has killed everything in the United States from a White Tail deer to the mighty Kodiak Grizzle bear with a .270
Hunting, just like fishing, is one of the benefits given to us by nature, it's not cruel, and there's nothing wrong with taking a deer and filling up your freezer with good venison. Besides that, hunting also controls the population of small animals that are a nuisance and will cause a lot of damage to farmers crops.
I am a hunter, and if you think hunting is cruelty to animals, then don't hunt.
Location: Visitation between Wal-Mart & Home Depot
8,309 posts, read 38,774,074 times
Reputation: 7185
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lariat
Since this is the only hunting thread that's active, might as well ask:
I plan to hunt deer this year/next year. What's a good beginner rifle? 30-30?
Nothing wrong with a 30-30, but get some real instruction and make sure that you've shot at a paper target 100 times before you shoot at a living creature. You need to know your personal maximum effective range and you need to know that you can put a bullet where you want it to go before you can hunt in good conscience.
Location: East Texas, with the Clan of the Cave Bear
3,266 posts, read 5,631,650 times
Reputation: 4763
Quote:
Originally Posted by chucksnee
Go with a .270.......this is an all around cartridge....not a lot for factory ammo, 100 - 140 grain bullets...that's about it...(I very well cold be wrong).
The .270 can be a straight shooting 3000+ FPS for long range shots for littler game and can be a bruiser with the 140 grain out to 300 yards +......
The 30-06 is just as versatile, to much kick for me....but a lot of people grew up with that, and passed it down....
Rifle cartridges are like anything else...people have a love and hate relationship.
The 30-30 is a great little gun....not to 200 yards as someone suggested...maybe just maybe with the new "Leverloution" bullets out to 200 yards....very reliable and has been around for years....
As for carbines...be careful....a box of .44 is $30 - $50 bucks a box.
Learn how to reload and get yourself a .270...............Jack O'Conner has killed everything in the United States from a White Tail deer to the mighty Kodiak Grizzle bear with a .270
I am also a fan of the .270. I think though that the .270 is just a necked down .30-06 ... essentially the same case/powder load., just 27 caliber vs 30 caliber.
Here is a blurb I got at GunnersDen :
"270 Winchester History and General Information.
The 270 Winchester is based on the more popular 30/06 cartridge case necked down to .277 caliber. Winchester began producing the .270 in 1923. Although the 270 winchester was in production in 1923 it was not officially announced until the introduction of their model 54 rifle chambered in their 270 cartridge in 1925.
The 270 winchester is a great dual purpose cartridge it can be used for varmints sending a 100 gr. bullet out the muzzle at a sizzling 3,500 fps. or it can be used as a big game cartridge sending 130 grain bullets out the muzzle at speeds of 3,100 fps. with sufficient power out to the 400 yard mark for deer sized game plus using 150 grain bullets at 2900 fps. it will flatten an elk out to about 250 yards.
The 270 winchester with the power it offers down range will recoil somewhat to the shooters shoulder with heavier bullets in the 150 grain range but is still quite tolerable to shoot."
I am also a fan of the .270. I think though that the .270 is just a necked down .30-06 ... essentially the same case/powder load., just 27 caliber vs 30 caliber.
Yes sir........right along with the under rated/forgotten 25-06.............
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