Troggy92
Unregistered User
(8/16/03 10:37 am) Reply
Lever guns
Any of you use a 30-30 for hogs? Not just small ones but 200+ lbs hogs? I ask because I gettin' a lever gun and my choices are a 45-70 guide gun,Marlin and a 30-30 Marlin. The 30WCF is lighter on the pocket book ammo and recoil. The 45-70 is a better choice I'm sure but more costly and heavy recoil. So can I get away with the 30-30 or should I bite the bullet and get the Giude gun?
S and J Kennels
Unregistered User
(8/16/03 4:59 pm) Reply
lever guns
I have personally used and had hunters use a 30-30 marlin lever action with I believe 150grain bullets successfully on hogs of all sizes up to and over 200 pounds. THe 30-30 is a great brush gun and is great for up to 150 yrds or so for all types of hunting. Plus just about everybody can shoot it and not have trouble. WHere with the 45-70 not many will be able to handle it. Hope this helps.
Troggy92
Unregistered User
(8/16/03 8:23 pm) Reply
thutty thutty
I will be hunting in California where shots can get long but I belive the average shot is 150 yards and if I can eliminate another 50 I think I'll be confident with the 30-30. I've just heard that it may be too small for hogs over 200 lb but ya know hunters do take large hogs with a .44 Rem Mag and that is much lower in energy than the 30-30.(I guess they dont shoot 'em at 150 yards though) any way thanks for the reply....anyone else have any thing to add?
Re: 30-30
My grandfather has used a 30-30 lever gun for deer for years. Recently he dropped a bull moose with it. So there's an animal bigger than any hog and also likely to attack a hunter when wounded ... and he did fine.
Personally, I would have taken my .308 for moose, but I'm suspecting the 30-30 should be fine for hogs.
Troggy92
Unregistered User
(8/18/03 10:23 pm) Reply
30WCF
How far was his shot on the moose? Did he drop it with one shot?
Re: 30WCF
I don't recall the range on that moose shot. I think it was a one-shot kill, but could be mistaken. It's been a couple years since I heard him tell the story.
vvv
You can use a .223 and drop pigs in their tracks so I'm sure a 30-30 will be fine. A Winchester 30-30 is probably the 2nd or 3rd most popular boar hunting gun down here after the Mini 14 (.223) and Mini 30 (.30 cal carbine). I've never handled a marlin before tho.
I was gonna say that if your going for giant pigs, then maybe the 45-70 would be a good gun but then I was thinking, nobody never have any problems before with taking them out with the smaller guns. Go with the 30-30. It's a good fun gun.
30-30
My brother uses a Winchester Lever Action 30-30 for Hogs and Deer and he loves it. 30-30 would be pleny for hogs. Not quite sure what ammo he uses but I hope this helped!
FtWorthRoughneck
Unregistered User
(8/27/03 10:02 pm) Reply
Choose the .30-.30
the .45-70 sounds fun, but been there done that. Buy the .30-.30 and you will be happy with your purchase. I have taken a 337lbs. boar with one. my father swears by the ruger mini 14 which shoots a .223 rem. bullet. but I trust having the lever in my hands, for if the extractor works right and the camming for the mag. does not fail (both never happened to me or any body else I've talked to either) and you can place the shot where it needs to go you will be fine. I have long put down my .30-30 for bigger (but not always better guns) I still once and a while take it down and head for the wood to revisit the past when times were simpler. another thing good about the .30-.30 is if you left the house and got down the road a couple hours and forgot the ammo.most mom and pop gas stations in rural sell the ammo. hope this can shine so light on the subject.
LEVERGUNS
I shoot a 444 outfiter. Inbetween 30&45 cal I do howver load a reduced round.The most imporant thing is to be accurate enough to make head shots.That being said there is no such thing as over kill when killin A boar!
plotthound
Unregistered User
(9/4/03 6:43 pm) Reply
30/30
I have shot several boar here in rugged tennessee mtns and all of them have been taken with my ole 94 winchester 30/30. I have shot them at 10 feet and I have shot them at 115 yards and never had to use a follow up shot. A lever action 30/30 is probably the best brush rat gun you can own. They are light, short, and can reload really fast with out removing the gun from your shoulder with a little practice, soemthing that can come in real handy with a mad hog. Aint life great when your a grunter hunter.
The 30/30 is real popular for pigs here in Australia. A few of the guys I hunt with swear by them, due to light weight, overall handiness and adequate power for shots at reasonable ranges. I've seen them used several times on pigs of different sizes, and though the kills were no particularly specatcular, the hogs fell over nevertheless. Remember, it's where you hit 'em that counts for a lot....
Re: Lever guns
I shoot 2 Marlin lever guns for hogs in FL. I have a 45/70 and a .357 Magnum lever gun. I reload my own ammo and have made some really nice loads in both calibers for hogs. I don't like the .30/30 (just my own prejudice I guess). My .357 has killed a 160 lb. sow on the run at almost 70 yds. (going straight through the rib cage, she ran about 50-60 yds). That was with factory loads though, Federal 158gr. Hydroshock Bullets, I don't use them anymore. With the 45/70, they usually go down very well. I load up 350 Hornady round nose to muzzle vel of about 1800 fps with IMR 3031 powder. With this load, they know they are hit.
I have even with the 45/70, shot a boar quartered to me (didn't really like the shot, but the wind was swirling and I was less than 40 yds). I sighted to take out the opposite shoulder (rookie mistake), shot with 300 gr Hornady hollow point at about 1900 fps with IMR 4198, the bullet never got to the far shoulder. It hit the sheilds and deflected up a little and cut the spine. I found only a small flake of copper from that bullet. (don't use those anymore). The hog went straight down.
Ultimately it depends on what you can shot accurately and comfortably.
I know I wrote too much, but I like hog hunting.
Good luck,
Jim
the rooster
Unregistered User
(1/1/04 5:16 pm) Reply
lever guns
I shoot a 375. h&h mag to take hog now i know this is over kill but had bad exp. with a guide.and help to get through heavy foliage.
CAROLINAreloader
Unregistered User
(1/1/04 11:21 pm) Reply
30 30
THE 30 -30 IS A 308"DIA which is a 7.62 in metric
HawgHunter
Unregistered User
(1/5/04 11:58 pm) Reply
30-30
The very first how I took was with a Savage bolt action 30-30. The one thing I learned from that experience is to aim for the area between the eyes, by the ear or at the top of the back of the skull. Any lower and they might not drop and stay down. But a 30-30 is plenty of gun. If you use a lever action, you can load a pointed bullet into the chamber and flat nose in the magazine to fill it up. Do not put pointed bullets into a tubular magazine and shoot though or they all might go off. That is why I chose the bolt action, it had a removable magazine. Currently I use a .270 single shot rifle.
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