30-30 or 44mag?

[rke]

I am looking at getting a lever gun for brush pig hunting as well as for my sons to use for pig/deer. I am going to use iron sights 9or possibly put a scout rig on it down the road). My question is on caliber, would you go with a 30-30 or 44mag? I am not interested in anything bigger as my boys are still pretty young.

Thanks in advance.

 

[bsanders8181]

I love my 30-30, I have not shot the 44 out of a rifle. With the 30-30 for now at least I love the Leverevolution in 160 gr. it's pretty flat to 200 yards. I have only taken a bobcat with it so far, and only at ~70 yds but love the round

 

[zavodizhevsk]

If your kids can handle the recoil, I'd vote for the 30-30. Pigs can be dangerous, and the faster 30-30 gives you somewhat better odds. Besides, they can keep hunting with that same rifle even as adults, for all sorts of big game.

Have you considered a .243? It's got gentler recoil than the 30-30 and is very accurate.


Sent from my straight key using Morse code.

 

[bisonic]

thuddy-thuddy, hands down.

 

[Deleted member 33033]

I love my 45-70 Govt but would recommend 30-30 for you.

 

[eoats]

+1 for the good ole 30-30.

First center fire rifle i ever shot was my dad's 30-30 Marlin & thought I'd go that route.


My opinion; the .243 as mentioned, or a 308 would be a great way to start out & then to have as an option for many uses. Lever guns seemed to have a price bump up in the last few years & so you might see a better value in a bolt gun?

 

[MoReno]

The .30-.30 is hands down better for anything in California. .44 has its place, but you will not regret the .30. Keep your eyes open for the .35 remington. I found a Marlin 336C in this caliber and it flat out smokes the hogs!

 

[Common Sense]

First center fire rifle i ever shot was my dad's 30-30

You ain't playing Long Ranger, except my dad's deer rifle was a 30-40 krag; so he had me shoot my grandfather's 30-30. It was also the first center fire Little Sense ever fired. It really isn't all that great for deer, but me and my son both harvested several deer with it until we graduated to "real" deer rifles.

 

[hunterdoug]

I will be buried with my pre 1912 mod94 30-30 before ever selling it, designed to carry and shoots great to 100yrds with open sights, haven't tried the new stuff, have pleanty of the old....damb I sound old, but I'm not.

 

[Rooster]

Every deer I have shot, except for one, I have shot with my Winchester Model 94 30-30. Granted, every deer has been shot under 100 yards, but it works fine on deer. I imagine it's all about shot placement.

 

[rke]

Thanks fellas. I very much appreciate the input. Another question, what is the best iron sight set-up? Ghost-ring?

 

[zavodizhevsk]

Thanks fellas. I very much appreciate the input. Another question, what is the best iron sight set-up? Ghost-ring?

I put a peep made by XS Sights on my 94 Winchester. It's superb. Excellent in brush, easy to put on target, and makes it much easier to shoot with both eyes open, at least for me. I would recommend it highly. The one issue with replacing the sights is that if you need to put on a new front sight, you might have some trouble with getting a perfect dovetail fit from an aftermarket part. It all depends on your specific rifle. I had to replace my front sight with a taller one to match the new peep, and that required some creative fitting, but to quote "My Cousin Vinnie," it is now "dead-on-balls accurate"


Sent from my straight key using Morse code.

 

[rke]

Thanks zavodizhevsk. I actually just found that Henry makes a 30-30 with the XS ghost-ring sight installed. After reading everyone's comments, I think that is the one that I am going to go with.

Thanks all.

 

[inchr48]

I have a Skinner aperture sight on my Marlin 1894 (44 mag). I also installed one of his front sights to customize to my deer hunting load.

 

[eoats]

Having the rear peep is much easier for me than the original 'dovetail'.

For my Browning BL22 lever gun I got the Williams Peep sight on the rear, with some click stop adjustments, which was over kill.
Had to get a taller front blade & so got the DW Battlesight which is ugly as hell, but I'll see how well it works with time.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/31...-of-sight-aluminum-black?cm_vc=ProductFinding

https://www.dwbattlesight.com/rifle-shooters.html

 

[bisonic]

Peeps are good (I have one on my 1940's Win M94), but beware that if you aim at a black hog in the shadows or in fading light it's hard to see the front sight. Just too much dark stuff, no contrast. I put a dot of white paint on my front sight to help solve this.

 

[eoats]

+1 for white paint.

 

[BikerRN]

Seems like a Thudy Thudy with a peep site, with a Trijicon front post, would be just the ticket.

 

[db 183]

I have direct experience with shooting pigs with the lever action 44 mag. While good, not always a one shot kill. Go with the 30-30.

 

[rke]

Thanks all for your input. I am going with the Henry 30-30. I hope this gun stays in my family for many generations to come.