30-30 for elk?

[crazymonkey]

I had a buddy of mine get drawn for elk several years ago and after a day at the range shooting me with my 300wm and him a 300wsm he went to clean the rifle before the hunt and the scope was junk no cross hairs. I said use my gun and got I'll bring my 30-30 . I asked him if he was sure as he had shot my gun before. Yep and off he went . No elk and a I should have borrowed your gun is what i got from him . All the elk were at 300 yds. Not saying it can't be done just it definitely gives you a distance issue. They need to be with in a 100 yd range .

 

[69precision]

See the post directly above yours. Certainly the bullet used and distance is crucial, but for under 100 yards the 30-30 is objectively good to go. I just have to laugh that a lot of people are aghast at using a 30-30 at close range and then call the 300winmag a 900 yard elk cartridge.
Also I know energy is not the main consideration, but a 30-30 has way more energy at 100 yards than a 44 mag pistol at point blank. Most people would probably expect that a 44 mag at 5 feet would work fine for elk.
Personally I wouldn't take a 30-30 because there's that 1% chance that you see a giant at 400yards and then you're hosed.

Minimum impact velocity. Think about those that phrase starts.

Think of that terrain, is it conducive to having an animal who is not alerted and likely to be giving you an optimal shot opportunity ie standing broadside and still?

This is a bad idea you all are justifying because you are gun nuts first and clearly aren't considering wounding game as a non starter vs making life easier on yourself.

Rosie's aren't whitetails.

 

[340Wby-4-everything]

Could always buy a Browning BLR in anything from a .308 to a .300Winmag, but as others have said shot placement is king and 30-30s have killed everything from whitetails to moose and grizzlies. Big bulls can be tough so factor that in. And Rosies are big bulls. At 20yds a needmore might even work? But I'd use the 30-30 just couldn't help myself.

 

[Lnewton]

Before all of the longer cased rifles were created the 30-30 and 45/70 ruled the west. Take your 30-30 with the blue federals and go kill an elk.

 

[mrcustomsteel]

I have once. 50yds double lung, probably a federal or rem corelock, was a while ago. I dont know if id go past 150yds though.
More recently I use the 143 Lever Hammer but didnt fill the tag that year.

30-30 lever gun is plenty for coastal dark timber rosies...
Id use the 143 Lever Hammer but it needs to stay above 1800fps at the impact distance to perform.

Some folks look down on the Rem CoreLokt but I can't count the number of deer I've killed with them with my sporterized 1903 in the past 50 years. Solid, working man's cartridge, especially at the range the OP is talking about.

 

[jbur13]

Wilkup- Sounds like a perfect spot for a tree stand! Find the place where they bed most frequently and set a tree stand uphill from them about 75yds. Its been super successful for me in areas that are heavy brush or dense forest.

 

[bigred1]

I've used a 348 for years in dense cover with good success. I see no reason that a 30/30 wouldn't work well at your stated ranges using the heaviest bullets available to you.

 

[WeiserBucks]

I'd be willing to bet a whole paycheck that more elk have been killed by a 30-30 than everyone on this forum multiplied by everyone they know multiplied by 1000. It'll be fine, get close enough and kill em.

 

[HSmithTX]

150 grain cup and core bullets, power points or corelokt or blue box federal, doesn't really matter, those bullets are designed for the 30-30 and perform well. The Winchester Silvertip 150's of many years ago were the gold standard but the stuff you buy today is really good. 150's are higher velocity and will expand at further distances than the 170's, recoil less and are plenty for elk out to 150 yards. 200 if you can place the bullet well would be my max. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot an elk with a 30-30 even though it's been a long time since I have seen it done and even longer since I have done it. I've shot a couple and seen shot at least a dozen elk and easily double that in mule deer with a 30-30, all of them that were hit well went down just as fast as if they had been hit with a 308 or '06.

 

[Schroedernd]

I dropped my biggest blacktail ever with a Henry 357 lever action with Buffalo bore ammo last year. Their ammo is loaded hot and was devestating. Buck went less then 15 yards on a 70 yard shot.

 

[Upsidedownjack]

Nah--- you can't kill anything with the measley 30-30-------nobody has ever killed anything with a 30-30

Can you hear me smirking? Dont tell my grandfather you can't kill game with a 30-30!

The 30-30 was one of the most used/owned rifle at 1 point in time--- it can kill just about any man or animal in the US --- just remember to get close enough and observe the minimum expansion speed of the bullet you are using---- long range hunting rifle it's not, ideal elk gun- probably not, but capable of killing elk at close hunting ranges ( op did say "under 100 yards"--- you bet ---- it's still a 30 cal rifle bullet

I'd use almost any good hunting bullet but mono's might help up the anti if you stay above expansion threshold

30-30 Win is kinda like the 303 Brit! Compared to todays different Artsty fantasy caliber's. Not really much. But, more Game, and Men have been Killed or Wounded with them than Ever might be with the new fancy caliber's. Killed Elk with the 303 Brit, Deer with the 30-30 win, but stil go back to my 300 Wim Mag!

 

[Koda_]

Hammer bullets have a minimum impact velocity of 1800 fps and assuming a 2100 fps muzzle velocity your max range is about ~ 100 yards.

Hammer bullet design gives more velocity than others, im getting 2395fps with the 143gn Lever Hammer in my 30-30. The effective range for that is easily 200yds, though thats about as far as id care to go with the caliber...

 

[Joe Bishop]

That 30-30 is plenty of gun for those huge coastal elk. We hunted coastal elk for years in OR/WA, tough steep brushy country, most shots under 150 yrds. We all used lever actions then as they were light and quick. Just put that bullet in the right place.

 

[AussieWriter]

I load 150gn Barnes TSX Cave Points in my Marlin over LeverRevolution powder for 2456 fps. Wouldn't think twice about using it on elk.
Load shoots minute of eye at 50 yards, (.6") a tad more at 100. Sounds perfect.