Short Range 30/30

[Don A Parsons]

Like the title says.

Short Range 30/30 leaver action...

Of course I'm thinking about the 87 to 140 yard stuff that suits the areas that I hunt...

A old used Winchester 30/30 with iron sights for the thick of things,,,.and a side mount 2 or 4 power optic to reach out there when it's needed... Ha...

Hopefully I find one that offers 2 or 3 minutes of Moose and Elk... Its been a long road in the rifle world from 1976 to today's shooting sports,,, of course I'll keep 2 of my main shooters to fill the void of target shooting and predator control,,, but I find that my hunting rigs are way over-board for my normal hunting needs...

This 30/30 idea with factory ammo in the 150 or 170gr category, not worth my time to reload since this ammo is dirt cheap up here...

Fairly good punch junk on the thick skins if close the gap like archery...

Winter project is finding the used 30/30 Winchester to fill the needs...

Cheers from the North

 

[HARPERC]

Top ejection?

 

[Don A Parsons]

Yes they are, that's why I'm mounting the side optic plate so the flying brass cartridges don't slow things down...

I've run side mount optics on Lee Enfield and black powder rifles over the years,,, I still have one of my 50 caliber Black powders rifles with a 45 degree set-up...

Just enough to clear the hammer...

I zero-ed the cross hairs at 87 yards as the 495gr mims hold pretty close to zero at 125 yards,,, 1 1/2" Left with 4" drop at that yardage...

I'll most likely sight the 30/30 in the same way,,, iron sights for the close up stuff,,, them shift my to the optic for critters past the 100 yard mark... Ha

I started off with iron sights in 76,,, but my vision is slowly getting worse,,, but I can still use irons so long as things are up close...

I'm finally worn out with all the bling rifles I guess,,, the time has come to scale back to my very first used rifle that got my hunting started...

The only way it will happen is if I build a side optic mount and attach it to a 30/30 Winchester...

My gun Smith friend live up the road from me,,, He's actually a master Machinist who can build everything to any-thing,,, including speciality gun-sigths... Ha

The nice thing about the leaver action Winchesters is they come factory with a solid smooth side plate to attach bases to... I'll know more about this once I get a used 30/30 on my work beach...

Purhaps a bit of the John Browning ideas got stuck in my head,,, I won't know how much of it has sunk in,,, but time will tell...

Back to old school with an option to use what vision I have left... The up close hunting thing is part of what gets me into the trees,,, its what I call home...

I won't be shooting critters in the clearings,,, very rare for for that to happen...

I'll know more when I get there I guess

Cheers from the North

 

[HARPERC]

Old eyes is something I get-went back and read your first post and missed a couple of sentences that answered my question.

One solution for old eyes I'm finding is the reflex type sights. They can retain the handiness we look for in some rifles.

Good Luck!

 

[Don A Parsons]

Dang, now thats a awesome idea.

Reflex sight keeps it simple, now you got me thinking.

Something like that would work with a 30/30 Winchester leaver action...

Wize ideas HARP. Very sharp

Thanks from Don

 

[Mach 1]

I've got an trijicon rmr battery free sight that I love to pieces. The reticle May be to large for a rifle but I love it on my handguns and shotgun. Maybe the make another battery free model with a smaller reticle.

 

[cohunt]

30/30's dont have to be "short range rifles"--- I wouldn't call them long range though for sure, but very capable mid range would be a good way to put it.

I have a marlin with a fixed 4x scope that shoots the 165ftx bullets at 2400fps

At 300y that's still almost 1900fps with over 1200ft lbs with about 1.5' drop from a 100y zero

At 400 its moving about 1700fps with just over 1000 ft lbs, but drop is almost 4 feet

 

[Don A Parsons]

Yes, I was looking at a few lever actions Cohunt,,, the Marlin and a few others popped up on the Web site.

It looks like they side eject. I knew that the Winchesters pitched the empty's out the top,,, so the plan was to look at a side mount optic system...

Now it looks like I have some options to choose from...

The Marlin's are not a bad price in the used department up here in the North.
$500 ish in Cnd funds / $400 ish in Usd...

This is another good option to consider...

At least I'm doing my homework before I get a simple build going. The used Browning BAR's are some what pricey up here...

I like them to, I wished that they weren't so pricey. A new one is waaaaay up there in costs.

Thanks for the heads up, lots to ponder now.

Don

 

[HARPERC]

I've been using the Burris Fast Fire 2 for a long time. Better sights by far available these days.

I especially like them with kids. No eye dominance, or relief issues. No having to work out front and rear sights. Having hits and fun much sooner.

 

[GreenDecoy]

At the risk of looking tacticool, I have a red dot on my Marlin 336 in 30-30. It works very well a short range carbine hunting rifle...which it is.

 

[HARPERC]

.....At the risk of looking tacticool, I have a red dot on my Marlin 336 in 30-30. It works very well a short range carbine hunting rifle...which it is........

I've seen them showing up on double rifles etc....

 

[just country]

morning E-otech's r very good sights. have 3 of them
on my coyote shotguns. justme gbot tum

 

[just country]

morning E-otech's r very good sights. have 3 of them
on my coyote shotguns. justme gbot tum

 

[HARPERC]

...morning E-otech's r very good sights. have 3 of them on my coyote shotguns. justme gbot tum.....

I've been looking at those to upgrade... Ever use the 3x magnifier?