30/30 gor Plains Game

[Backyardsniper]

I was mostly just curious about this and figured I would throw it out here and see what you guys thought. As.popular as the 30/30 is here in the States does anyone hunt Plains Game with it? It used to be one of the absolute go to rifles here for almost everything. Was it ever popular in Africa?

 

[Tundra Tiger]

I would see it like other lesser calibers. It's not a first choice - or even second or third - but if someone is married to the idea, possibly for sentimental reasons of some sort, it could and would work, given a few caveats: bullet type, range limitations, selection of species, and the PH being OK with it. What I saw when I was there in May... I would have had no qualms (I own a couple 30-30s) out to a hundred or a little more on several of the animals I shot. (I have no plans to take one to Africa). Heaven knows they have killed a crap-ton of game here in the states, to include moose here in Alaska.

 

[Backyardsniper]

That's kind of what I was thinking. Not my first choice but if you were a die hard lever gun guy it would be fun to.shoot some of the medium sized.PG with it.

 

[shark_za]

In the bushveld the flat point 30 cal bullets at medium velocity work really well.
In the last camp I was at the owner had a bolt action .30-30 with silencer that he used to shoot for the pot.
Wildebeest mostly, and they are pretty tough.

 

[Joker12]

Within its range limitations and with the 170gr flat points it should work very well..

 

[Newboomer]

Within its range limitations and with the 170gr flat points it should work very well..

If you are bent on taking a lever gun, I would suggest a 308Win. Much better range and ballistics. Even small pg ( impala, springbok) etc. are a lot different than NA game.

 

[Ryan]

I thought I remembered someone asking this question not too long ago, but I can't find it. Keep it in typical woodlot, handgun and archery range and it would drop a springbok, impala, warthog or blesbok as well as all the whitetail it has dropped. In the book The Last Ivory Hunter I recall Wally Johnson claiming he hunted lion with one in his youth in Mozambique somewhere in the 1920s to 30s. Not legal now or ever my choice for that if it was, but Wally was an interesting sort of guy.

 

[sestoppelman]

If you are bent on taking a lever gun, I would suggest a 308Win. Much better range and ballistics. Even small pg ( impala, springbok) etc. are a lot different than NA game.

Deer size game is deer size game. An impala is no tougher than a whitetail deer. Hit either in the right place with a good bullet from a .30-30, its over.
Afraid I never bought into this 'African game is tougher' idea. All animals are tough.
They all succumb to a well placed bullet or arrow.

 

[steve white]

It won't be fair to the wounded game, or to your wallet when you pay for what you wound and perhaps then lose...jmho

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I have shot warthog here in Africa with my 30-30 Marlin, no problem at all. The previous owner shot a blesbok and my son-in-law has taken several large baboons. I wouldn't hesitate to take impala.

 

[Joker12]

While it may not be the ideal choice for large PG used properly it will do the job. More moose in Canada and Alaska have been taken with a 30/30 than we can count. Surely even eland are no larger or tougher.

 

[Backyardsniper]

I would say that's very true

 

[Brian]

My grandson killed a blu wildibeest and a blesbok with a 30-30 H&R single shot. 100gr. CEB Raptor at about 2400fps. It worked fine.

 

[Backyardsniper]

I never thought about using some of the CEB or North fork type bullets. That probably brings the old 30/30 up to a new level

 

[Ryan]

While it may not be the ideal choice for large PG used properly it will do the job. More moose in Canada and Alaska have been taken with a 30/30 than we can count. Surely even eland are no larger or tougher.

I won't say it hasn't been used in Alaska for moose, but after over 20 years in Alaska I've heard very few people talk of owning one or using one. Sadly when it was I bet it wounded as many if not more than it's killed. Thankfully military surplus rifles from the first and second war were probably the most common rifles around when this state really became populated and the 30-06 works quite well on a moose.

 

[Tra3]

I watched my good buddy shoot a deer with a 30-30 today. He was able to stalk in to 35 yards and make a good shot. At that range it will effectively kill. We first saw the deer at 200 yards, a range that wouldn’t work well with the iron sights on his rifle.
For nostalgia, it will work on PG, but there might be some disappointment when a nice kudu is 220 yards away and a you have to pass on the shot.

The best answer for me is: bring two guns.

 

[Country]

https://www.africahunting.com/threads/30-30-in-africa.43090/

 

[Philip Glass]

Ideal? Absolutely not. However if you wanted to stalk everything to near bow range then by all means the .30-30 would work for average sized PG. Here in the US it has been popular for deer hunting over the years where shots are under 100yds. Where I am from in west Texas it has not been popular in a very, very long time.
Philip

 

[reineke]

Deer size game is deer size game. An impala is no tougher than a whitetail deer. Hit either in the right place with a good bullet from a .30-30, its over.
Afraid I never bought into this 'African game is tougher' idea. All animals are tough.
They all succumb to a well placed bullet or arrow.

I see you did some hunting in Africa. As to the "African game tougher"-question- my experience tells me that it is true. So what do you think about this idea- most of the PG in Africa has a different meat structure, compared to European and American game- less fat and moisture. So that could lead to a lesser hydrostatic shock; therefore only very good hits deliver the same effect, whereas marginal hits with fast bullets are enough for whitetail, but not on Wildebeest ans Impala.

 

[Joker12]

My grandson killed a blu wildibeest and a blesbok with a 30-30 H&R single shot. 100gr. CEB Raptor at about 2400fps. It worked fine.

I see you did some hunting in Africa. As to the "African game tougher"-question- my experience tells me that it is true. So what do you think about this idea- most of the PG in Africa has a different meat structure, compared to European and American game- less fat and moisture. So that could lead to a lesser hydrostatic shock; therefore only very good hits deliver the same effect, whereas marginal hits with fast bullets are enough for whitetail, but not on Wildebeest ans Impala.

While I have only hunted Africa once I did not find game in Africa tougher than North American game of similar size. A good hit in the vitals with a proper bullet does the job on either. My experience was only with PG but that included eland.