If .30-30 Is So Popular...Why So Few Choices?


M

mistergus75

New member
I need help understanding something...

I've always heard that .30-30 is a classic, popular deer hunting round, that will never go away. But I usually find it's not available on the shelves, or if it is, the selection is limited. I also notice that the shelf space devoted to .30-30 is quite minimal.

On the other hand, .30-06 seems to always be in abundant supply. Additionally, large areas of shelf space are devoted to it, and many choices of brands and types are available.

I recently bought a new Marlin .30-30 lever-action, and am beginning to wonder if I made a mistake.

So...is .30-30 really a popular caliber? If so, why is the selection so narrow and limited?

Can someone make sense of this for me?

Thanks!
 

If you have to be cajoled into admiring a certain round by a bunch of strangers on the internet, as opposed to learning its ballistic characteristics and usefulness for the purpose(s) which you purchased it for, perhaps you ought to rethink why you're buying guns at all.

If you don't like the 30-30 that you bought of your own accord, sell it. But it sounds like the only thing you don't like about it is the dearth of ammo availability, which somehow, you extrapolate as proving the round's lack of popularity, rather than the more obvious conclusion of its inability to stay on shelves long enough for you to get there and buy it. And buy it for what reason no one knows because we're supposed to tell you whether or not you made a mistake based on nothing said about your intention to hunt with the rifle, or any other intentional use for that matter.

I would say yes indeed, you did make a mistake. I base that conclusion on your inability to figure out for yourself what your needs or wants will be best served by without asking strangers on the internet to make up your mind for you.

Blues
 
30-30 is no longer as popular, at one time and most likely still is more deer have been taken with it than any other caliber, while I own one prefer 30-06 or 7mm Rim Mag for most of my deer hunting as you move to bigger game you might want to go bigger, but most all of Americas big game have been taken with the calibers I just mentioned. Not much help as hunters have their own preferred choice for what they shoot.
 
I received a Marlin 336 chambered in .35 Remington from my dad. Academy and Wal Mart do not even carry this round so I have to go to Bass Pro Shop or Gander Mountain to purchase ammo. Unlike a handgun or a plinking rifle you usually don't put a lot of ammo through a hunting rifle each year. During some hunts you might never even fire a shot. Estimate about how many rounds you fire per year; be sure to include preseason practice and/or scope sighting. This could be a few as 10 rounds depending on how much you hunt. If you purchase 400 rounds of ammo that would give you a 40 year supply. At that point you no longer have to worry about the availability. I am in the process of building up my ammo supply for my .35 Remington. I feel fairly confident that todays ammo has the ability to last for decades if kept in favorable conditions. Another good thing about having your lifetime supply of hunting ammo is that price increases no longer concern you at least when it comes to hunting.
 
Paul_of_TX said:
Unlike a handgun or a plinking rifle you usually don't put a lot of ammo through a hunting rifle each year. During some hunts you might never even fire a shot. Estimate about how many rounds you fire per year; be sure to include preseason practice and/or scope sighting. This could be a few as 10 rounds depending on how much you hunt.
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I appreciate the response, but perhaps I didn't make my question clear enough.

All your points are true and valid, but they can apply to .30-06, or any other hunting caliber, not just .30-30.

I'm just concerned about long-term availability. If I had gone with the .30-06, it wouldn't be an issue, given the wide selection available.
 
mistergus75 said:
I appreciate the response, but perhaps I didn't make my question clear enough.

All your points are true and valid, but they can apply to .30-06, or any other hunting caliber, not just .30-30.

I'm just concerned about long-term availability. If I had gone with the .30-06, it wouldn't be an issue, given the wide selection available.
Click to expand...

If you like the rifle and the caliber then start buying ammo when you find it. Buy a 40 or 50 year supply for yourself and at that point long-term availability is not an issue; problem solved. You can also get into loading your own ammo. I'm giving you solutions to the problem. If you are demanding someone answer your question of whether or not .30-30 ammo will be available to purchase 10 or 20+ years from now nobody can realistically give you that answer. Also .30-06 is a very common caliber but no longer a military caliber. If you are so concerned about availability in the long term I would look into something like a .308. It will be generations (if ever) before the .30-06 dwindles and it place on store shelves shrinks but that could be a possibility however slim.
 
22LR is a popular round but have you seen much at all in walmart or gander. Seen any on the internet for a non-ridiculous price. The gun shops are in the business of selling ammo. They won't keep slow movers on the shelf. 30-30 is a round for a particular rifle that just happens to have that original rifle look for us originalists. It is probably not a popular rifle and that is why you don't see the ammo falling off the shelf. There are many versions of the 30-06 and 270 but only 2 versions that I know of of the 30-30. When people think of big game rifle they almost always think 30-06 (okay lets hear it from you guys that don't think 30-06). I have several large caliber rifles including a Marlin 30-30. The 30-30 happens to be my favorite. I do have plenty of ammo...got it before all the gougers were born. Haven't seen any on the shelf for quite a while...perhaps 6 months or more. It shows up once in awhile but it disappears quickly.
 
A 20 ga. shot gun now has as much range and more power than the old 30-30.
Sheck out the rifled shotgun barrels and the new shells they use. Great for deer hunting.
 
Boxes of .30-30 ammo sitting on my shelf. Ammo varies in age from new last year to 50+ years old. The old stuff was bought new at $1.25 a box. Winchester Super Speed 170gr SP. There is also .30-06 because it is needed for the US Rifle, CAL .30, M1. And there is .270 Win because it is used in the 1903A3 we have. If it had a regular barrel, it too would use the .30-06. And there really is many choices for .30-30 ammo. It just depends on the person ordering it to order it. What grain? 140,150, 160, 170, 190? What make? WRA, Rem, Federal, Buffalo Bore, PPU, Hornady? Soft point, FMJ, Hollow Point, poly tipped? It is available.
 
JimTh said:
22LR is a popular round but have you seen much at all in walmart or gander. Seen any on the internet for a non-ridiculous price. The gun shops are in the business of selling ammo. They won't keep slow movers on the shelf. 30-30 is a round for a particular rifle that just happens to have that original rifle look for us originalists. It is probably not a popular rifle and that is why you don't see the ammo falling off the shelf. There are many versions of the 30-06 and 270 but only 2 versions that I know of of the 30-30. When people think of big game rifle they almost always think 30-06 (okay lets hear it from you guys that don't think 30-06). I have several large caliber rifles including a Marlin 30-30. The 30-30 happens to be my favorite. I do have plenty of ammo...got it before all the gougers were born. Haven't seen any on the shelf for quite a while...perhaps 6 months or more. It shows up once in awhile but it disappears quickly.
Click to expand...
Local Wally World had it in stock yesterday when I was there. But I was getting my 3 box limit filled with .30-06 because I don't have enough of it.
 
The 30-30 is a fine cartridge that has celebrated 100+ years of constant service. One of the main reasons you do not see a plethora of offerings in 30-30 as it was paired with a relatively weak lever action design. Since the cartridge companies can't control whether you are firing it from a turn of the century 1894 Winchester or a brand new Marlin 336 they must take the precaution to maintain the 30-30's original low pressure loadings. It also requires a blunt nosed bullet for the tubular magazine limiting the bullets available to use. Using the new lever revolution cartridges you can get much better performance. Yet change over to a Thompson Contender in 30-30 and with a bit of hand loading you can really stoke them up. Put the same hand loaded cartridge into a 1894 Winchester and you'll have an expensive paperweight.
It has also been used a an effective man killer for many years. It was the preferred cartridge for Tom Horn. He used it to kill his last victim Willie Nickel. Many a Texas Ranger carried a 30-30. In a lever action configuration the 30-30 with its low recoil can be a very fast, accurate, and deadly.
The 30-30 is a fine cartridge for medium sized deer to about 150 yards. Find the cartridge that performs the best from the limited offerings and you'll have a fine whitetail rifle for the hunting opportunities of the South and East coast. If you live in big sky country the 30-30 is limited to its anemic range and unless you are using it for a backup / camp rifle you had better think of moving up to a 30-06.
Before you get discouraged by the lack of different loadings try what is available. I think you'll be a bit surprised.
 
30-30 that is in my safe has been around since before 1975. Its dependable and accurate. My dad bought it and it was the first rifle I was ever allowed to take hunting. Every year for the last 39 years it always make at least one trip to the woods during hunting season. I have killed a deer with it every year for the last 4 years. Can't say the same for my 270. Just way more comfortable the the ole 30-30.

Sent from my DROID4 using USA Carry mobile app
 
mistergus75 said:
I need help understanding something...


I recently bought a new Marlin .30-30 lever-action, and am beginning to wonder if I made a mistake.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yes, you made a mistake! If you're going to get a .30-30 you MUST get a Winchester! :smile:

Of all the guns I've ever owned, if I could have only one gun of any kind I would keep my Winchester 1894 in .30-30 (.30 WCF). If I couldn't have my 1894, why bother to have any guns at all? :laugh:
 
If ammo availability is a major concern, have you thought about reloading? Solves all kinds of problems.
 
One thing you need to think about is the rifle itself... a 30/30 is nearly always a lever-action platform.... vs 30-06 is usually a bolt action... the lever action is usually shorter, quicker to point and easier to carry around in the woods than the bolt action...
 
mistergus75 said:
I need help understanding something...

I've always heard that .30-30 is a classic, popular deer hunting round, that will never go away. But I usually find it's not available on the shelves, or if it is, the selection is limited. I also notice that the shelf space devoted to .30-30 is quite minimal.

On the other hand, .30-06 seems to always be in abundant supply. Additionally, large areas of shelf space are devoted to it, and many choices of brands and types are available.

I recently bought a new Marlin .30-30 lever-action, and am beginning to wonder if I made a mistake.

So...is .30-30 really a popular caliber? If so, why is the selection so narrow and limited?

Can someone make sense of this for me?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yes, the .30-30 WCF is a classic and popular deer hunting round that will likely be around for another 100 years. If you examine what the cartridge is capable of in the usual firearms it's chambered in (lever guns) you'll see that it is capable of taking game as small as a fox or as large as an SE whitetail with ease out to 150 yards. I know people who use it to hunt hog and mountain lions as well. If you handload and have a firearm capable of handling it, you can load it light and reach out to 200+ yards all day long. Or, you can load it heavy and take large game at close range (<50yds ideally). If you realistically examine the grounds in which you hunt, let's say the SE, you'll see that it provides all the range and killing ability for medium sized game you'd ever need! Ever! If you're hunting where the longest shot at a deer is <100yds, the .30-30 WCF is more "gun" than you need. One has to be realistic when pondering whether or not a cartridge is sufficient for use. IMO, being here in the SE... the .30-30 WCF is a fantastic cartridge! In a light, short and handy lever gun it is a perfect deep woods weapon capable of fast shouldering, target tracking and follow up shots.

Now, while the .30-06 may be seen in more quantities and more variations, that doesn't mean there's something wrong with the .30-30 WCF. You have to look at the situation realistically, there are fewer firearm models chambered for the .30-30 and in general, shooters aren't blasting through boxes and boxes of rounds every week. On the other hand, the .30-06 is chambered for such arms as the M1 Garand which will have shooters running through more rounds in a single trip to the range than a hunter will likely do in an entire season of hunting with a .30-30 WCF. Further, the .30-06 is capable of taking more game in more places than the .30-30... so it makes sense that the manufacturer would pump more into the market, there's more demand. Or, perhaps you find very little .30-30 WCF in your area b/c it is POPULAR and being picked up as soon as it hits the shelves...?

Regardless, if you plan to shoot at medium-sized gamed within 150yds, the .30-30 WCF out of a lever gun is absolutely sufficient! IMO, you didn't make a mistake buying one... as long as you're pleased with the weapon. Also, as has been mentioned... you can start reloading. That way, as long as you keep your brass in good shape (reasonable pressures & don't step on them @ the range), can get a hold of .308 FP bullets, proper powder (there are LOTS) and large rifle primers... you can have ammo for YEARS!
 
Axeanda45 said:
One thing you need to think about is the rifle itself... a 30/30 is nearly always a lever-action platform.... vs 30-06 is usually a bolt action... the lever action is usually shorter, quicker to point and easier to carry around in the woods than the bolt action...
Click to expand...
Glad you said nearly on the .30-30. I have a single shot break open Savage. And all of my current .30-06s are semi-autos. Some go PING when empty but I do have a Remington Woodsmaster 740 too.
 
Deer hunting in the west typically requires shots at distances that make a 30-30 sub-optimal. not a long range caliber.
 
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