357 Rossi or 30-30 Marlin brush gun?

[jonp]

This is great. Thread still going. 308 vs 3030. Love my 3030 and have shot more whitetail in the NE swamps with it than any other rifle including my GP101 whcih took a nice 180lb 8pt but a 308 will do for whitetails, moose, black bears and everything in between. I guess I'll keep one of each as nothing feels as good in the hand as a 3030 lever with a peep sight stalking whitetail when it's 35 degrees and spitting snow.

[Lefty SRH]

Hahaha, 8yr old thread....nothing wrong with the 30-30 one bit. Nor, nothing wrong with the 308 Winny either. The 30-30AI (in my recent discovery) is FANTASTIC in a strong action, as in the TC Contender or Ruger No.1
Now, before you start hammering me, in my 14” Contender my 30-30AI with 150 Hornadys SP Im getting 2350-ish
With 110 Hornady V-Max Im knocking on 2600s door. Both with very good accuracy.
Ive heard the 336 and 94 action are soft/spongy....so the velocity results have been un-exciting or benign. I cant say one way or the other....I like the AI in my Contender.

As far as scopes go and bullet drops (aka, trajectory) thats why we have scopes and dope charts....do your homework.

[gumbo333]

Last post I saw from davidheart was April 2015. Anyone else wonder if he is still alive? I sure hope so, be good if he posted again.

[Misery-Whip]

Keep the 3030. Light 38 loads are a plus, and mag capacity are another. But accuracy at longer ranges isnt worth trading for. 3030 can be loaded quite soft.

[Three44s]

I own a Marlin '94 in 357 and like it very much but I would not put it in the same league as a 30-30 for deer hunting.

Now of course the pistol caliber in a rifle will suffice? Sure, if you keep the range short! But it will not hold a candle to the 30-30 at ranges the rifle cartridge will still shine at.

I own a M39 (22 lr.) for squirrels, a M1894 357 for close whatever and fun and a 35 Rem Waffle top, all Marlins.

And, the 35 gets my vote for deer etc.

Three44s

[Soundguy]

for a brush gun.. i'd go 35rem over 30-30.. imho...

[Tracy]

I love the .30-30, in my Winchesters and my Savage 24. I don't love the Micro Groove rifling in Marlins, though. If I had a good 336 in .30-30, I would consider having it rebored to .35-30 with standard rifling and 1:18" or 1:20" twist. That would be a great cast bullet rifle.
So would a Rossi in .357 Mag, though. I've had a couple of .357 rifles and as some have pointed out, you can get a lot more power out of them than most people realize.

[Texas by God]

As I said…. I’ll take the one on the right.


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[Gray Fox]

When we're talking about jacketed ammo I agree, but when I read on here that many are "comfortable" with a 175 grain 311041 at 1,800 fps from a .30-30 for hunting deer, I think about my 180 grain .357 mag Ranch Dog RNFP boolit at about 1,725 fps from a 20" Rossi or Marlin carbine I'll take the latter out to 125 yards. GF

[Texas by God]

Why does this thread keep showing to be current-with no new posts?


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[pls1911]

For once... the poll got it RIGHT!!!

[Pereira]

I've killed a pasal of deer with the 30-30s from 50 to 125 yds.
Once even got one with a Rossi in 357 at 85 or so yards, one shot and he didn't go 2 steps.
As far as a woods gun both are pretty deadly.
But if you want a real thumper grab a 35 Rem.

RP

[trapper9260]

I did not vote because each one has its place . I do have both and will not part from them. You also have to look at some states with straight wall cartridges. You can use one ,but not the other.

[davidheart]

Last post I saw from davidheart was April 2015. Anyone else wonder if he is still alive? I sure hope so, be good if he posted again.

I'm still alive.

I mostly stalk around here and the Accurate Shooter forum and I keep in good contact via phone with some members like Brassmagnet. I didn't realize the last post I made was in April 2015 though? That's 8 years. Can't be right? So many things have happened since then....

But on this front I sold my 30-30 and held onto my 308Win Model 7. I load Ranch Dog boolits, 130gr TTSX, 190gr Sub-x, 150gr Speer Gold Dots, and a very light 150gr squirrel load. I couldn't begin to count the number of deer and squirrel that rifle has accounted for... I just recently worked up a 110gr V-Max load for coyote hunting with it too. With my suppressor and scope the rifle weighs 6lb 15oz, bedded in a Wildcat Composites stock, with Timney Trigger, and handles like a dream. I actually replaced the original #1 contour 308 barrel with a #3 contour 1:10 twist Lilja which I chambered myself to benchrest standards using a carbide Alpha reamer.

I wouldn't get rid of it for anything. Just yesterday I killed another deer using a subsonic 190gr Sub-X traveling about 1000fps loaded under 10gr of Trail Boss.

But I'm super happy to see this thread is still alive! More conversation is always good!

[hawkeye1]

I agree with most. I haven’t voted because I have both and hunt with both. Variety is the spice of life. Keep the 30/30 and get a Rossi. Only “problem” is it will lead to other lever guns. Buy shoot and enjoy.

[gumbo333]

I just checked this again, davidheart is still kicking. He is happy with his choice, had years of enjoyment. Now that’s sooo cool!

[Bazoo]

An interesting discussion. I love to see an old thread come back with the OP having made a choice. Glad you're doing well davidheart too! Heck man... you need to say something once in a while!

I'm friends with Brassmagnet too, ain't talked to him for a little bit, guess I ought to call and say howdy.

I'd kept the 30-30, but glad you kept the 308. For me, choosing between a Marlin or a Rossi, I'd have kept the Marlin based on the gun, not the caliber. Realistically, a pistol caliber rifle/carbine is much handier than a 30-30 in most situations under 100 yards. 30-30 is a great cartridge though for an all-around do-anything cartridge.

I once had a friend with a Rossi 92 357, and I considered swapping him my Winchester 94 30-30. But... sure glad I didn't. I wouldn't have been happy with the Rossi most likely, and I would have missed the Winchester. He's the type of guy that don't keep anything too long, so my Winchester would have been on the chopping block in short order and gone if I wasn't quick with cash.

[gumbo333]

PS davidheart , time to buy another 30/30. More fun to be had.

[Outer Rondacker]

Modern day prices on powder and primers I pick 357. Your not finding large rifle primers for that 30-30

[davidheart]

Modern day prices on powder and primers I pick 357. Your not finding large rifle primers for that 30-30

But I am finding Small Rifle Primers for my SRP 308 brass. With a 1:10 twist 308 with 18in barrel and Peterson SRP Brass & Lake City LR12 LRP brass I'm loading anything I want from light for cartridge 110gr V-Max, heavy 190gr Subsonics, Cast 150gr Squirrel loads, 170gr 30-30 duplicate cast loads, and 150-168gr standard J-Word loads.

Also, at my local walmart the only ammo on the shelves are 270win, 30-06, 6.5CM, 308win, 22lr.... and for some reason 350 Legend.

Ammo and component shortages do not effect me at all with this rifle.

I'm not getting rid of my sub 7lb (with scope and suppressor) Model 7 308 Winchester any time soon. If the government regulated the heck out of firearms and we had to register one rifle as our be all end all this would be the one I'd keep. I'm now 37 and I'll likely continue to shoot this rifle until I'm well into my 80's.

I didn't like the Microgroove barrel on my Marlin. That I remember. I once upon a time had a conventional rifled Win94 30-30 and it shot cast way better. The microgroove was finicky in my experience.

Also, full tilt J-Word loads in the 30-30 are no match for full tilt 308win loads.

I've hunted Summer time depredation tags for farmers and during those times it was all about killing deer day or night and putting them down quickly. My 308win was able to do that with authority with a 150gr J-Word at 2900fps or 130gr J-Word at 3200fps. I wouldn't trust my 30-30 for that. During hunting season though I like to use "sub-optimal" loads (like my subsonic 190gr Sub-X or 170gr Cast Boolit) because it's hunting season, not killing season.

I have a severe cast of "golfers elbow" so I have a difficult time shooting a bow, so downloading my 308 and staying within archery range is my way of having an "archery hunt" without owning a crossbow. Maybe one year I'll buy a crossbow but for now my 308 has been faithful.

The flexibility it affords me is tremendous and with the advent of new bullet alloys like the Hammer Bullet alloys I'm able to achieve mild 300 Win Mag velocities in the 308win....

So there we have it. I found what is ideal for me and I'm super happy with it. As much as I know there are better cartridges for ballistic coefficients (like the 6.5's and 7's) and better cartridges for cast boolits (like the 35's and 45's), as a do all rifle I just don't know what would be more ideal than this.

If I had a time machine perhaps a 7mm-08 would be superior if I had to do it all over again? But that's the only cartridge I could imagine could come close to the range of usefulness I've been able to find in this 308. As it is I have so much infrastructure surrounding my 308 that it would be a fair amount of work to research just as much as I've done over the years.

The 6.5CM, 22-250, 243, 32 Special, 338 Fed, 358Win, 270win, 35Whelen, etc, while all wonderful cartridges, couldn't come close to the level of versatility and effectiveness of the 308. Only the 7mm-08 could rival it and the only question mark would be in the realm of sub-sonic deer sized hunting bullets (which I think Maker Bullets makes a solution for...).