Favorite Rifles
Just for fun shooting, my pick is the Winchester 94 in 30wcf.
I have not been without one since 1976. I have 4 right now, all pre 1964 guns and I shoot them a lot, infact I shoot 30wcf about as much as I shoot 22lr.
I reload and have piles of brass. I shoot cast bullets that I cast so powder and primers are all I expend. Trail boss and 5744 do fine for low velocity plinking.
I have a Single shot and a bolt action in 30wcf too.
Anyone else like the 30-30??
I have not been without one since 1976. I have 4 right now, all pre 1964 guns and I shoot them a lot, infact I shoot 30wcf about as much as I shoot 22lr.
I reload and have piles of brass. I shoot cast bullets that I cast so powder and primers are all I expend. Trail boss and 5744 do fine for low velocity plinking.
I have a Single shot and a bolt action in 30wcf too.
Anyone else like the 30-30??
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People underestimate the 30-30, and I love it in a 94 one of the best Bush guns ever made, and is good on deer sized quarry out about 400 yards...
I shot my dad's 94 before I even shot a .22 at the ripe old age of 4...of course I remember my dad telling me it kick like a mule (meaning for a kid 4 years old), so to protect myself I held it about an inch away from my shoulder...OUCHHHHH! I couldn't even pick up a glass of milk for about a week...[:D]0 -
30-30 was my first centerfire I have a pump my first one a bolt and5 leverguns chambered for it. 0 -
The 30-30 is fine killer. I have used it on Mule Deer, White Tail and Black tail deer. I shot several medimum sized Black Bears over bait with one. I used it on a Cow Elk in the Olympic Pen near Pe Ell, WA.
Mostly I shot 150 gr bullets but have used 170 and 130. The old Winchester Silver tips were great bullets for hunting.
When I lived in Eastern MT I didn't know any better and shot a few speed goats with one and a MOnster White tail down in the Milk River Breaks. I took it because the only other gun I had was 788 in 6mm Rem and I didn;t think it would do the job.
What a great round and such a handy rife.0 -
Marlin 336 in 30-30 is my go-to for deer - no need for anything else here in MN brush country as I neck shoot only. Also have Win. 94, Rem. 788, T/C Contender and 3 Savages: 99, 170 & 340. My own load is 180 gr. RN. 0 -
yonson I have a LYMAN MOLD #311291 that throws a 190gr GC RN that is really nice.
also have a R.C.B.S. MOLD,#30-150-FN with or without a GC which is my all around 30-30 Lead bullet.0 -
Just for fun would be the 1022. Centerfire would be a 2506 set up for longer range groundh8 shooting with 115bts. I know a lot of better varmint calls exist but that one is close to my heart. 0 -
My U.S. Model 1917.... 0 -
Hands Down, The 30-30 is by far the most under rated cartridge of all time.
Not many years ago, and possibly still true today the 30-30 had killed more deer in the USA than any other cartridge.
The 30-06 is second in being under rated only to the 30-30.
The " expert gun guys" come up with all the new stuff, just trying to maybe get close to or keep up with a 30-30 or 30-06!
Not to mention how well an old lever action '94 Winchester, 336 Marlin, or 99 Savage function and perform with these "old out dated bullets"[;)][:D]
Give me my Model 64 Deluxe or my Grandpas 99 Savage in 30-30 and I have a more than capable classic sporting rifle!
That all on the table, my all time favorite rifle is probably a Winchester 71 in 348 or Winchester 1895 in 405.
I just wish I could still use iron sights.0 -
I too shoot the 10/22 for fun the most. I follow that with a Ruger Single six. 0 -
Sam06, I am using jacketed bullets as I have a pretty good supply. Sam Fadala experimented extensively with 30-30 loads (up to 190 gr.) which he wrote about in his book on the 94, that is where I got the idea. Don't get out to shoot as much as I'd like to, so experimenting with cast bullets is on the back burner. 0 -
I prefer the .32 Winchester special - but I have an eccentric and peculiar penchant for less than mainstream cartridges
I do have one solitary model 94 in .30-30 wcf and a single Marlin 336 RC...
I do have a .307 Winchester chambered model 94
The .30 wcf has probably killed more deer in North American than all other cartridges combined - it's a nice versatile traditional cartridge and one of the most popular non military commercial origin chamberings of the last 120+ years though greatly waning in popularity this century
I have a bolt action Stevens that was modified for the .30-30 ackley improved...
I have a great affinity with:
.250-3000 savage
.257 roberts +P
7x57 Mauser
7.5 French MAS
7.5 Swiss
6.5x55 Swedish Mauser
.236 Lee Navy
Etc...
Mike0 -
It's been ages since I owned my Marlin 336. Loved that rifle, but made the mistake of loaning it to one of my brothers.
Shot several deer with it, but the load I used the most had a #1 buckshot pellet over, IIRC, Herco and a wad of dacron. Slew many a rabbit, both cottontail and jack, with that load as well as a few fox and couple of coyotes.
Been watchin' the auction side religiously hopin' it will turn up. If it still has the original wood, I'll recognize it. Has a solid knot bigger'n a silver dollar runs through the butt.0 -
gearheaddad-You're right on. Manufacturers invented "all these" other calibers to SELL product. Some worthy and some not so worthy. Back to basics, the 30-30 is currently an under rated round and should be at the head of the class. 0 -
Win '94 in 30-30
Springfld '06
Older Remington 700 in '060 -
My favorite rifle to shoot is my Marlin model 1889 .38 WCF (.38-40) lever action with an octagon barrel made in 1892 that belonged to my great grandpa.
I load ammo for it using American Pioneer Powder (FFG), a black powder sub.
The old gun is 127 years old and is amazingly accurate. More fun to shoot than a .22.
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For >300 yards Winchester Model 64 in 300 Mag, 200 yards, sportorized 1903 with scope. 100 yards M-1 Garand no scope. Should break down and buy a lever gun, never shot a 30-30. Have a Super Red Hawk so maybe buy a lever gun in .44 mag. 0 -
I have been a 30-30 fan for many years and own a couple 94 Winchesters and a couple Marlin 336's.
I hunted in Alaska for many years with a Contender 30-30 because it fit in my luggage. So, no matter where I was working or what hunting season was open I had my "thutty-thutty" handy. It actually outperformed factory rifle ammo because I handloaded 30-30 Hornady pistol bullets. I think they are no longer in their catalog.
Do you know anyone else that has taken Reindeer with a 30-30?
Now that I'm retired in Virginia I have gotten into AR's in 300 Blackout. Basically, identical ballistics to a 30-30 but with spire point bullets in a mag-fed semi-auto!
A big plus is the subsonic loads with a silencer does not wake the neighbors that work night shift.0 -
My favorite 30-30 is my Savage 99.
pointy bullets for the win! Had a 340 for a bit, like the 99 a lot better.0 -
Whatever I am shooting 0 -
Have a lot that I really enjoy. Shooting my 1942 Inland M1 Carbine, has to rank high amongst my favorites. Makes me smile.
My single shot NEF .17 HMR is pretty fun also. A freakin' laser beam. Bull barrel, Nice scope, Harris bipod. Prone it is almost too easy to hit the target.
When I could see better, my Marlin 81DL with the Olympic quality peep sights was amazingly accurate for an open sighted rifle. My Son is deadly accurite with it.
I do not hate shooting my several AR's in 5.56 either. [:D]
Own a very nice 1952 Winchester 94 in .30-.30. (Beautiful wood.) Traded the first firearm I ever purchased for myself, (a Savage 24 .22mag over 20ga) for it while working night shift unloading tobacco trucks in Mtn. City, TN. in 1976. Needed a deer rifle, "Pug" needed a squirrel gun.
On, and on.....................it is tough to choose a favorite. I like them all, that is why I own them.
Oh what a dilemma. [:0][B)][^]
Yes, I was going to add my Ruger .44mag Carbine. So many to choose from.0 -
Growing up in the 60s, there were many people I knew that had only one rifle and it was a Winchester 94 in 30-30. Hunted everything to include elk, moose, and the big bears with these rifles and hunted often.
Ironic, how gun writers consider the 30-30 a poor choice for large game these days. The old timers must have been better shots and they used the iron sights.0 -
My 1895 45/70, been shooting it since 1976. 0 -
My favorite rifle is a 1957 243 Model 70 Featherweight. For fun shooting once in a while, I like shooting my old Ruger .44 magnum Carbine. Like many, my first deer fell to a Model 94 30-30 back in 1963. It was old then but in good condition. Dad picked it up for 40 bucks. Wish I would have kept it. 0 -
Took my first deer at age 13 with a M94 30-30. Shot many different calibers since then. Do not hunt anymore but now own 6 pre64 94s in 30wcf or 30-30. Love the feel of them. My father did not think that he needed any other "big game" rifle, and he did not. That was the only "big" rifle that he ever owned. His words were "beware of the man that has only one gun." He probably knows how to shoot it. 0 -
My favorite to shoot? No question about it.
Hands down, it's a Winchester 1885 "Low-Wall" but this is not a stock model.
Mine was re-stocked and re-barreled many, many moons ago, by someone who knew what they were doing.
It has a Monte Carlo style heavy stock and wears a Winchester model 52 barrel, so it's now chambered for .22lr instead of the original .22short.
It's a single-shot, falling block action that is way more accurate than I am.0 -
My all-time favorite is my 700 Classic .220 Swift, but my '03 is a close second. 0 -
35W your shooting bench looks like an old Back Board.
Nice 03a1
I really like shooting my 03a3.
220 swift is a cartridge I played around with for years. I got rid of all my Swifts this year because I shoot 22-250 and 6mm BR way much more, both are easier on brass and powder too. But its hard to beat an old swift.0
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