30/30 vs 300 blackout ?

[Small's]

My delimma is if the new new hunting rules change for rifles do I spent $300-$400 dollars to setup my 30/30 with the scope and stock setup I want or shop around and get a complete 300 blackout upper around the same price? Im not finding much ballistic data on the 300 with 16" barrels and 110-125gr bullets. Im guessing they are a bit weaker not that it matters much. I already have a nice 1-4 scope on an AR that I could just swap over to the 300 for hunting season and I really like carrying the ar in the woods plus I dont care about beating it up and i have lots of empty 5.56 brass. On the other hand ive always wanted to hunt with the 30/30. I dont need either as my muzzleoader kills both of them on ballistics and I currently use it for firearms and muzzleloader seasons but hey its an excuse to buy new stuff. Also the thought of picking up a 308 in that mix up as well since I dont have any kind of long range guns yet.

 

[dugsagun]

When the law changes, I am going to hunt with a 30-30 the first year for nostalgia, just like I did 20 years ago in arkansas on my first modern gun hunt. Then I plan on switching to my 243 as thats my go to deer gun. I say 30-30 the first year, then whatever u like more , the years after that heh.

 

[ScouT6a]

Not trying to discourage you from doing your thing but my question would be, "Why would you need to spend $300-400 to get the 30-30 going?" If you want to use a lever action 30-30 for nostalgia reasons, grab it and go. I personally find it counter productive to mount a scope on a lever gun. They are compact, quick cycling, short to medium range rifles perfect for the deer woods, as is. If you can't put rounds in a deer's vitals at 100-125 yards with iron sights, you need to change guns or change shooters.

 

[Small's]

Hitting something isnt a problem with irons at all. It really helps on identifying a buck at a distance with just a little magnification. Im picky when it comes to shooting bucks and I try not to shoot button bucks which can be hard to tell the difference with irons. Im not a shoot everything guy. Half the guys I hunt around complain that they cant get a big buck but they shoot everything including the small bucks. I may be trading a scope I have sitting on a shelf for a 2.75 ler burris scout scope so I may go that route and put a xs rail on it.

 

[throttletony]

300 blackout
...or 6.8 spc
... or 6.5 Grendel

Unless you really wanna use the 30-30, i see it as a chance to get a new caliber in the stable (assuming you don't already have something from the 308 family of cartrisges, which would also be a great option)

 

[Small's]

I dont have anything bigger than the 30/30 besides the muzzleloader so I thought this could be a valid excuse "at least to the wife" to pick up a 308 which I have wanted for a while but dont really have the need as 95% of the time im hunting in the woods but I doubt I have to explain on here why I want to add to the collection or add goodies to existing rifles.

 

[Leadeye]

When you hunt in the woods with old age eyes scopes on lever guns are a big help sliding those bullets through the gaps in the brush.

 

[Small's]

If I decide to use it for deer it will definitely get a low powered scope in the 1-4, 2-7 or a scout scope. Is there any place in the state besides bass pro that has a decent selection of lower powered quality scopes to look at. Every place ive been has 3-9, 4-12 etc in one or two decent brands and the rest is the junk chinese stuff I wouldnt put on a 22lr. I really like the weaver extreme 1.5-4.5 30mm on natchezz for $229. Thats a steal in my book or a leupold vx1, rifleman, shotgun 1-4 - 2x7 or burris fullfield in the 2-7. Anyone use a scout setup and like it? I have a browning 5-15x40 that has been sitting for a while and have an offer to trade it for a burris ler 2.75 scout scope. My plans are the xs rail with there ghost ring sights and a champion youth stock and some qr rings.

 

[easy]

...It really helps on identifying a buck at a distance with just a little magnification. Im picky ... can be hard to tell the difference with irons...

I thought that's what binoculars were for. A scoped rifle should never be used to identify a target.

 

[midget]

Not trying to discourage you from doing your thing but my question would be, "Why would you need to spend $300-400 to get the 30-30 going?" If you want to use a lever action 30-30 for nostalgia reasons, grab it and go. I personally find it counter productive to mount a scope on a lever gun. They are compact, quick cycling, short to medium range rifles perfect for the deer woods, as is. If you can't put rounds in a deer's vitals at 100-125 yards with iron sights, you need to change guns or change shooters.

Because some of us have eyes that aren't so great. Why not give your self every advantage in order to avoid wounding a deer? Please don't generalize.

 

[Small's]

If im hunting in the woods and I see a deer then its scope up time. If its the one im looking for then its time to pull back the hammer and stay on him until the the moon and stars align. Nothing unsafe about it. Now if I see something and im not sure what it is then I wait or use binocs.

 

[ScouT6a]

Not a good idea to be using the scope on your rifle to glass unknown objects. They have also made some wonderful medical advances is eye care. They have glasses, contacts and I hear you can even have corrective surgery now days. Unless of course you drive down the road looking through a scope.

 

[451_Detonics]

300 Blackout 125 mv-2220fps from 16 inch barrel

30-30 125 mv-2570fps from 20 inch barrel

sort of a toss up but I know a 220 loaded in my Whisper will more than do the job on a deer...

 

[Ryninger]

PSA has a nice NIKON 1-4x24 on sale right marked down from 249.99 to 99.99.

I've got a 10" 300 BLK pstiol and took a nice buck with it this year. Not having time enough to work up a load, I used Honady 110grn v-max factory ammunition. I wasn't impressed with the round for deer. I would suggest 125-150+ grn bullet. I very much enjoy the platform, and look froward to maximizing it!

 

[ADDICTED2TONE]

I have a 3030 Marlin 336w but I'll be deer hunting with my Savage 116 in 3006.

 

[Ithaca45]

I'm excited about being able to use my old 30-30 next year. I'll use the irons.

 

[Small's]

Well I put decided to fix up the ol 30/30. I put on a 12.5" lop stock, leupold base, warne qd rings and a leupold pig plex 1-4. I really like the scope. The synthetic stock is ugly but its way lighter/shorter and I dont care about beating it up. Next up is a wild west trigger.

 

[Leadeye]

You'll like the WW trigger.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

I'm with midget. At one time irons would've been preferable to me, too. Those days are gone.

 

[cwillour]

Not a good idea to be using the scope on your rifle to glass unknown objects. They have also made some wonderful medical advances is eye care. They have glasses, contacts and I hear you can even have corrective surgery now days. Unless of course you drive down the road looking through a scope.

Define "unknown"?

Once I know it is a deer, it is not really "unknown" IMO.

For me, cross-eye dominance issues mean I only have a couple seconds on irons before the sight picture starts fading in and out. While that is plenty of time on paper, it doesn't work out too well when waiting to see if a better shot will present itself as the deer moves. Even at shorter ranges, a low power scope (1-3x on the bottom end) allows me to stay on the deer longer while waiting for a cleaner shot. Add in the advantages I get from spotting the PoA better on the body of the deer at various angles (after all, deer don't exactly present a round target with a center dot) and I prefer glass.

I suppose if I were a true hunter like yourself, I could keep my rifle pointed in a "safe" direction while observing the deer and then simply shouder & steady the rifle on the rail/bipod/shooting stick, take aim at the 2-3" area in the center of the vitals based upon my shooting angle, and squeeze off my shot -- all in first 2-3 seconds after the shot presented itself, since I don't want to miss the shot opportunity I have been looking for. Alas, I do not have such skills.