One rifle to survive them all

So you believe a production shift will cause a scarcity. I can follow, and to a degree, agree with that. So it would be prudent to stockpile 30-06 now, as possible. Thank you.

 

Welcome from another "Tar Heel" to the Monkey tree!I must agree that the 30-30 is a good round for hunting in heavy woods or timber. I have taken a large number of deer using my Grandfathers 30-30 rifle.It has many uses and is a fun rifle to shoot!

 

I doubt I have ever taken a deer at longer range than that. usually much less. i hunt with a bow as well.

 

in eastern NC if you shoot over 200 yards it's generally a fluke... most fields and in the 150-200 yard range before a tree line/ hedgerow used to stop erosion... not saying that there aren't larger fields just not too many and the deer like the tree lines...

 

I carry a Winchester Trapper model 94 in .45 L.C. a good bit of the time. It is short, fast, accurate out to about a hundred yards and has plenty of knock-down power. I use this rifle in SASS competition too, loaded with Schofield brass rounds; the shorter brass allows the little rifle to stack ten rounds.

 

"An advantage for a 30-30 that was not mentioned is that if necessary it can be loaded with .30 grains of black powder and used something that most modern firearms can't... I have a Winchester 94 ... additionally you can still find 30-30 ammo at a reasonable price in all 50 states..."

OK, many black power guns (38-40, 44-40, 45-70, etc) were listed with the caliber first, amount of black powder second, and sometimes bullet weight third. Some SMOKELESS powder cartridges (.30-40 Krag and .30-30) were listed with the caliber (in this case both .30 cal.) and SMOKELESS powder by weight second. Neither cartridge was a black powder cartridge. The .30 Gov't (.30-40 Krag) was the FIRST cartridge loaded in the US with smokeless powder (1892). The .30-30 was the first COMMERCIAL cartridge loaded with smokeless powder (1895). Most any modern case can be loaded with black powder, but it probably will not be all that efficient and won't work through (most) semi-auto guns, especially gas powered ones.

 

Yes out here in Alaska its not legal to hunt with 223. I know people use 243 and bigger. The 30-30 is a rifle that you can hand to your 14 yr old daughter and she can safely handle it. In survival one size does not fit all, but a 30-30 lever action rifle fits teenagers, wives, and dads. I had a ar-10 308 and the teenage kids didn't like the weight and size. The kids handle my 454 casull lever action also. On 100 yd shots and further use the hornandy poly tipped shells you wont have any problem reaching out beyond 200 yds and further.

 

nothing wrong with a .30-30, killed many a white tail deer with em out to 100 yards no problem with iron sights, with new hornady ammo and a scope I do believe you can be deadly at 200 yards. I myself prever a mosin nagant if I had to choose but like someone said earlier its all a personal preference.

 

Are you sure about your stance on the Mosin Nagant?

 

Nothing wrong with a M-N rifle. The 7.62x54R (R means rimmed, not rimfire like the idiot editor Chick Blood of American Gunsmithing claimed). In the same time frame, the 7.62x54R (1891), .303 Brit (1888, although if they waited three more days it would have been 1889 when gun and cartridge were finalized and guns were not in troops hands until 1892 and were only common by 1895 in most overseas posts), .30-40 Krag (1892) and others came out, all of which accounted for a lot of game. At the time the .30-40 with 220 gr bullets was considered prime grizzly medicine.

Not big on head shots for big game, too easy to shoot off a nose or jaw and loose the animal.

 

I am particularly fond of .357 Mag, and in a rifle, with the right hand load, it behaves very much like a rifle cartridge. So, IMHO, the stainless/synthetic Ruger 77/357 may be the one to keep out of all of them. A stainless Marlin 1894C is a close second.

I could write a long piece on why .357 mag may be the best survival round, but I don't really feel like participating in a flame war about it. I would just acknowledge that no cartridge/rifle combination will be perfect for every scenario, but IMHO, this one does adequately in all of them.

 

I'm fond of my Marlin 336 30-30 an not just because it was my first centerfire firearm I ever bought, not counting shotguns. Its really the only Hunting type firearm I have. But I'll keep one my ARs close by for twolegged varmints

 

30-30 is a fine gun. and dog is a fine meal!

 

My thoughts are that if you can drop a deer@300yrds using iron sights with a single chest shot.That weapon will take out a human at a farther range than most shooters can see.
The 30.30 is a good choice since its probably killed more deer than just about anything out there.
My caliber preference is the 30.06.
Long range,good knockdown power,and can be found everywhere.From the big box stores,down to the smallest mom&pop bait and tackle shops.
You can also choose your flavor of action, be it bolt,lever,break,semi auto,in tube fed,mag fed,cylinder fed,belt fed,single shot,or dbl barrel.
For what I've hunted with.I loved my old Remmy722 bolt gun in .300savage.
When I lived in S.Central Ak..it put 8 moose,3 blk bear,1 elk,and 1-23'Greenland shark(caught on long line)on the table.
The problem was that.300savage rounds were fairly unobtainum,unless you reloaded,and factory stuff cost me a buck a round(and that was in 93-97).
Matt

 

There is a reason that the 30-30 is still a very popular rifle/caliber after all of these years. Everybody has their own preferences in firearms that are usually based on the terrain and vegetation of their location and what they are comfortable with. Although I do have an AR-15 I would have to say that my favorite rifle is a M1903-A3 in 30-06. Although heavier then most modern firearms , it is reliable, easy to maintain, and even though it has iron sights, for me it is very accurate, which is the most important thing.

 

If being able to "survive them all" includes the fewest moving parts, the list would have to include any of H&R's/NEF's "Handi-Rifles."
Nothing at all sexy or even repeating about them as they are breech-loading single shots but as far as outliving bolt/lever guns, they will.
As for various calibers, you are only limited by the number of 'inserts' that are available.

 

I see Cabela's has surplus mosin-nagant rifles for $150.00 this week. I remember when they were everywhere for well under $100.00. I should have picked one up back then. I think a trip to Cabela's is in my near future.