Thread: Lever action 3030

Hi there.
I am from the Naki region. And I currently own a tikka t3 7mm 08. Really like the rifle.. but with the silencer and my
bi-pod on it, it's a little bit to much to be carrying through the bush. More suited for my goat shooting on farm land. (over kill i know. But that's ok)

So I am currently looking at a lever action 3030 to take with me into the bush. Is a 3030 enough to take down a deer?
And also with my eye sight not coping with iron sights. What sized scope would be good for this kind of rifle?
or would I be better off with a Reflex type scope or ACOG?

Would like to hear your thoughts. Cheers

Turn your tikka into a bush pig. Best of both worlds in one rifle.



(Not my photo)

3030 will handle a deer ok I tried a lever action in the bush depending on how thick the bush was the lever would catch on things just take your silencer and bi pod off and youll be sweet bi pods not much use in the bush and the l-a probably wont have a silencer on it

To the yanks the 3030 is the standard against which all deer rifles are compared. If you are hunting in thick bush/scrub any kind of scope is useless, it gets caught up and if visibility is around only 30 feet finding a magnified target is interesting. Red dots are excellent but also stick out and can get caught up. Supplejack is a bastard in that regard. Also unless you have a side eject, marlin, late model Winchester etc the empties pop out the top making mounting of optics difficult.
The original tangent sights on lever actions are shit, you would be lucky to hit a flock of barns using them. Try an aperture or ghost ring
I use an aperture (lyman66) on my early model win 94 it doesn't get caught up in stuff when it goes "pigging" and is good enough to have taken deer and goats to 150m with the leverevolution hornaday ammo.

+1
Can confirm 30-30 v good on deer - 160-170gr slug hits them hard within its range which is about 250m max with the new leverevolution ammo. Almost all bush shots are under 100m and alot under 40m so a little winchester 94 or marlin 336 will do very well. Great rifles for their role. The number 1 and 2 biggest selling sporting centrefires in history. I never used a scope on my 30-30s in the bush, but if you want to scope rifle get the angle eject winchester or marlin and you can use a small say 2-7 power or 1.5 - 4x etc. 4X can be too much very very close. A 2.5x Leupy was my best bush scope.

Originally Posted by mudgripz

+1
Can confirm 30-30 v good on deer - 160-170gr slug hits them hard within its range which is about 250m max with the new leverevolution ammo. Almost all bush shots are under 100m and alot under 40m so a little winchester 94 or marlin 336 will do very well. Great rifles for their role. The number 1 and 2 biggest selling sporting centrefires in history. I never used a scope on my 30-30s in the bush, but if you want to scope rifle get the angle eject winchester or marlin and you can use a small say 2-7 power or 1.5 - 4x etc. 4X can be too much very very close. A 2.5x Leupy was my best bush scope.

+1

I agree with mud. I have a Winchester 30 30 trapper. Excellent in bush or as a wilderness rifle. No scope just open sights. I have taken both pigs and deer with it. They don't get up. Never needed a second shot. Great to carry and fits in pack.

this one

greg

That's the only trouble with a big slow bullet, aim at the shoulder hit him in the arse!

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

That's the only trouble with a big slow bullet, aim at the shoulder hit him in the arse!

I noticed that too, ha.
I am in Canada, and everyone has a 30-30 lever, if they farm or hunt, mostly sitting between the seats on the farm truck.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

That's the only trouble with a big slow bullet, aim at the shoulder hit him in the arse!

that wound is the entry, he was quartering away on a real bad angle, fortunately, i use a 45.70 so the bullet passed through a meter of deer, destroyed the heart and exited in-between the right shoulder and the neck.
you very rarely get to collect the projectile when you use a 45.70. most just leave big exit wounds.
greg

Originally Posted by greghud

that wound is the entry, he was quartering away on a real bad angle, fortunately, i use a 45.70 so the bullet passed through a meter of deer, destroyed the heart and exited in-between the right shoulder and the neck.
you very rarely get to collect the projectile when you use a 45.70. most just leave big exit wounds.
greg

Cast bullet or jacketed. Ive shot a scrub bull at 75yds with a trapdoor 4570 black powder and a cast bullet, went down like a sack of spuds. Got the bullet back under the skin on the off side had smashed two ribs, and shoulder blade. Bone fragments cut the lungs and heart up the bullet was mashed up but still weighed 400gr started at 485. My mate was ready to back up with his 303 in case things went wrong. I'm still to get a deer with it.

have a look at a peep sight, makes iron sights easy to use and accurate, and there is no glass to get water or fog on.
it will keep the gun light and handy.
i use the marlin 1895 guide gun in 45.70 as my bush pig. its basicly the 30.30's big brother.
greg

Similar to the advice above, for bush hunting a very low power scope is best. 2.5 or 2x. I am not a big fan of red dots as every time I go to use mine its flat. But for open sights the Hi Vis shotgun sights work very well.

If you really need to scope up, consider the BLR by Browning (or MLR by Miroku) or thw Winchester 88. Lever actions with box mags. So calibre choice is the likes of 308, 7mm07 and all the pointy bullets.....Or check out the Rossi Puma in 44 magnum. Also hard hitting when up close and personal. Personally I use a pump action shotgun with solid slugs and the Hi vis mentioned before. Big hole and plenty of wallop up close.

There is nothing wrong with the 30/30 for what you intend. I can't actually see why however, why you would not consider the tikka (possibly cut down or not) ideal. Maybe the scope doesn't suit the hunting more than the rifle. The vx1 2-7 is a great small efficient hunting scope.
I understand the silencer problem and there is a bit Of give and take there but an over-barrel will do all jobs effectively.
IMHO. (2c).