Cousin Wallace and his 30-30.

An email from Cousin Wallace:

Finally got a bit of spare time yesterday to go to the range & check zeros on several rifles and revolvers. Fine tuned the Rem M700 in calibre .270 and my designated short range wild boar smashing Ruger .44 Magnum carbine. The M700 in .30-06 had already been zeroed & was a stellar performer.

I finally shot up all the handloads I had prepared for my Marlin 336 using the old Hercules Re 11 and, believe it or not, decided I'd just shoot factory Winchester 150gr Power-Points this year as I had a couple of boxes and didnt have the time to work up a batch of handloads using a different powder. I havent used factory ammo to hunt with in about 40 years! ... at least it is loaded w/my prefered .30-30 bullet that I use in handloads anyhow.

Some young whipper-snappers may chuckle when I mention using a lowly .30-30 to hunt with. I understand. I remember thinking the same thing in my younger days. Why in the world would someone want to use something so ancient, so mild, so short range, so unimpressive looking as a .30-30? Well, there just so happens to be quite a bit of appeal in it ... at least for me. My late father used to hunt with one just like it. It has that "classic" deer rifle look to it. Mine is very accurate. It is pleasant to shoot. Lots of nostalgia. It's a handy size with it's 20" barrel. It has enough range for most shots around here. It has reliable penetration. It doesn't bloodshot meat as bad as hi-vel rifles. Placed in the right spot, it kills very effectively. I've killed my 2 best bucks with it and dropped my biggest wild boar with it as well. It has fast repeat shots if you get into a heard of wild hawgs. Lots of positive points to the old deer slayer if you get to counting.

Now, it wouldnt be my all around choice if I could only own a single rifle. I only use it if walking around or sitting in a stand where my shots will be a max of 150 yards and more likely, 75 yards or so. I have another old classic, a K-4 Weaver scope mounted which is just perfect for it, looks good & does what it needs to do. David Guthery made an excellent point the other night whilst we were visiting over the phone. The old experienced guy sitting on one side of a pasture with his .30-30 will probably kill his deer just as dead, and have just as much fun as the guy with his .300 Weatherby Mag and 4X18X56mm scope sitting in a blind watching his feeder 100 yards away....the guy with the expensive Weatherby may have a higher "cool factor" and be able to impress his buddies more but is it really more enjoyable ruining your eardrums and bruising your shoulder just to be "cool?" To each his own.

I still enjoy hunting with my cherished .270 & .30-06. No doubt they are better all around performers & I'd feel confident hunting anything I'll ever have the chance to hunt. Many critters have been laid low with these over the years. To each his own. If you have grandpaw's old thutty-thutty dont be embarrased to get it out and give it a try, you might be surprised. It's worth it for nostalgia reasons alone....

As always, comments welcome!
Wallace