Lever action 30-30

[bishopgrandpa]

In the S&S is a 30-30 going for $830. I bought my first brand new 30-30 in 1958 for $69.95 and a used one for $35. To me that was a boat load of money and my son now has that first rifle and still uses it. Took all summer to raise that money.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Times and the economy change, don't they? I bought a used post-'64 early last July for $450 shipped. It needed a little cleaning up, but turned out nice. Used to be that Win. '94 and Marlin 336 were the common choices, some Savage 99s. Now Mossberg makes one (I've got one of those also) and they seem like a good rifle. Chiappa, and I think Uberti, have now gotten into the .30-30 lever market with replicas.
There were so many Winchesters and Marlins made that I think a guy can still find a good deal if he shops around. 1958? Sounds like we're about the same age. I got my first high powered deer rifle in 1956, a Lee Enfield .303.

DG

[gon2shoot]

I remember seeing mdl. 94s on sale at Western Auto for $69.00, I didn't have that much.

[Shawlerbrook]

Prices are just crazy for everything right now. 30 30 ammo is selling for what the guns were selling for 20-30 years ago.

[pietro]

In the S&S is a 30-30 going for $830.

I bought my first brand new 30-30 in 1958 for $130 and a used one for $35.

You should not be surprised...….. Here's a reality check:

The purchasing power of $100 in 1958 is equivalent in purchasing power of about $910.08 today - an inflation/increase of $810.08 over 63 years.

The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.57% per year between 1958 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 810.08%.

This means that today's prices are 9.10 times higher than average prices since 1958, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index

.

[trapper9260]

You should not be surprised...….. Here's a reality check:

The purchasing power of $100 in 1958 is equivalent in purchasing power of about $910.08 today - an inflation/increase of $810.08 over 63 years.

The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.57% per year between 1958 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 810.08%.

This means that today's prices are 9.10 times higher than average prices since 1958, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index

.

Sounds about right for how the dollar is value at now.

[Winger Ed.]

Most gun prices aren't much different than they ever were, and some are cheaper when you consider
the inflation rates and economies of scale.

I remember gas being about .30 a gallon when min. wage was $1.15, and I was earning $1.35 an hour.
An hour's pay bought 3-4 gallons of gas.

Now, it ain't much different for someone making a little bit over min. wage.

[elmacgyver0]

Many years ago I bought a 30-30 Winchester from a young man who was saving up for radial cartalogy (spelling wrong I know) to fix vision.
He wanted to be a commercial pilot. This was back before laser vision surgery.
He asked $220.00 for the rifle, I gave him $250.00, also bought a Peruvian Mauser in 30-06 from him.
Lost track and never found out if he became a pilot or not.
I hope it worked out for him.

[farmbif]

ive got a Winchester 30-30 that is in what I consider excellent condition that I could part with. to be perfectly honest I like my old ugly rusted one the best, never have to worry I'm going too damage it out in the woods.

[Bazoo]

I'd like to find a pre 64 winchester carbine in clean user condition. I have a 70s made one that's "ok". But I like craftsmanship and honest wear.

[Drm50]

I had a shop from 76 thru 92. We were always fat on Marlin/ Glenfield and Win 30/30s in used rack.
Average out the door price $100. We got to point we would close up and celebrate when we sold one. That wasn’t pre 64 Win 94 or pre 336 Marlins, they brought good bit more. Savage 99s in 303 went for $100 too. Around this area I can still kick out a nice pre 64 m94 for $600 and post 64 for $300. $800 for post 64 is a joke.

[Dunross]

Lever action 30-30s historically have always been so common in the used gun racks we seldom even looked at them. Historically that is.

About nine months ago - maybe three months after the pandemic started, the rioting was just taking off, and, of course, the presidential election - I decided to finally pick one up. Wanted a used Marlin. Well, surprise, surprise. There were none. Not Marlins, not Winchesters, their store brands, or any other manufacturer. Looked in gun stores in three counties to find nothing used or new.

A month after I started looking I came across a barely used Remlin. It seemed to have been from the first year or so of Remington production and the fit & finish were so bad I wouldn't even consider it. The shop wanted $700. Finally a month or so later I found a NIB Remlin in a shop in a different county. The fit and finish on that one was excellent. Wasn't the barrel length I wanted, but given it was the first one worth considering that I'd seen in two months I took it for the same $700 I wouldn't pay for the earlier Remlin. Hard to believe I had to pay so much for a not collectible lever action 30-30, but we were in a new world by then.

Afterwards came the finding ammunition for it adventure. Damn good thing I reload! Between the 30-30 and the 327 lever action I was finally motivated to start bullet casting since that was the only way I was going to be able to shoot.

I'd put the quality of the Remlin I bought up against any Marlin I've handled made in the last thirty years so while it was expensive I'm happy with it.

[freakonaleash]

I've been buying pre 64 94's in very good condition for $1000 in the past year. They are far better built guns than what is available from the factory today. I might add, where I live you don't find old lever guns in gunshop racks. You do find alot of new made lever guns with black plastic stocks... what's that all about anyway?:lol: You just don't see alot of older high power rifles in Iowa, It's mainly shotguns around here.

[farmbif]

ive seen on gun broker the commemorative models are finally after all these years coming up in price. it about dang time

[ktw]

I'd like to find a pre 64 winchester carbine in clean user condition. I have a 70s made one that's "ok". But I like craftsmanship and honest wear.

15-20 years ago these used to run around $225-275 around here. The price started to rise on them when they moved the factory down south and the asking price for new ones jumped to over $1,000. I ended up with 4 of them before the price went over $350-400, at which point I stopped looking. Not because they aren’t worth more, just that I already had as many as I wanted/needed.

-ktw

[Murphy]

I think quiet a few of us fall into that 'I remember when I gave...etc' for a certain gun. One of my high school friends and fellow gun accumulator have this discussion often. 30-30's? We got em'.

I live in a very rural area and worked part time in the local Pawn & Gun shop on days off. Back in the mid 90's, it was a regular routine for some folks to run out to Walmart and pick up a Winchester 94 just before deer season (the last week of November in our area), only to show up at the shop in mid December and sell it for $100, needing Christmas money. Most of them came with a box or two of ammunition with only 3-4 rounds gone out of them. Then the SKS rifles starting coming in by the boat load. That pretty much ended the run on $100 30-30's. These days around my neck o' woods, finding a Win 94 in 30-30 for $350 or less is a challenge.

Murphy

[indian joe]

ive seen on gun broker the commemorative models are finally after all these years coming up in price. it about dang time

These were very well made firearms and undervalued as shooters the last 20 years - I have an Oliver F Winchester 38/55 top eject - its a darn fine quality rifle, 24"octagonal barrel, quality wood, nicely checkered, scary accurate - I would like it a lot better without the gold plated finish - CCH reciever and blued lever would be super nice.

[Drm50]

That 38/55 would bring hi dollar here in Ohio. 38/55 being a legal deer shooter.

[popper]

Fed rate tries to keep 2%/yr.

[GoodOlBoy]

I remember buying my old marlin 30-30 a couple decades back for $200-$250ish dollars. It was "a bit high" BUT it was an OLDER marlin 30-30 without a bunch of useless safeties and a stock that looked like real wood instead of looking like a 2x4 that a shop student attacked with a wood rasp. My brother bought a "slightly newer" one for $200 a couple years later. I can't count the number of Sears and Roebuck Ted Williams model 100s I've seen on gun racks for $100, then $150, then $199, then I stopped looking. Most of my life I've never been able to afford the smell of an older winchester, still can't. When I had the money I was too busy to buy one, then I didn't have the job and money anymore.

One of the slew of "cowboy gun importers" in the '90s had a lever action half octagonal half round barreled 30-30 I drooled over. One of them even had a "30-30 musket" (nope, wasn't smoothbore they just thought it sounded good) that had a LONG barrel, mag tube, and stock that I kinda liked. Both the cowboy gun, and the "musket" were more than a good used pickup, so I liked 'em, just not THAT much.

I once traded three broken down old push mowers to a fella for half a dozen boxes of 30-30 ammo, and a little cash. Nowadays I could sure get more than that for that ammo, and less for them old mowers.

Things cost what people will pay.

God Bless

Richard

[samari46]

When I lived in NYC 25 years back, most gun shops wouldn't pay a lot for a used Win 94 or a Marlin 336 and consequently you could usually pick up a nice Win 94 or Marlin from anywhere from $100-$125 and walk away happy. Pre '64's of course were always more money. But as the saying goes, condition,condition condition. Used to hunt in Pennsylvania and you'd see Winchesters,Marlins, and Savage 99's. Mostly the older hunters had them and for them it served one function. Putting meat on the table during the winter. My cousin had an old Marlin 1893 in 30-30. Used it for deer and killing the two hogs he raised each season. Frank

[GregLaROCHE]

In the S&S is a 30-30 going for $830. I bought my first brand new 30-30 in 1958 for $69.95 and a used one for $35. To me that was a boat load of money and my son now has that first rifle and still uses it. Took all summer to raise that money.

Gas was probably less than 20 cents a gallon back then too. Inflation. We’re stuck with it and will probably be having a lot more in the near future, to pay for the Covid damage.

[FergusonTO35]

These days, I think the best value in .30-30's is the Mossberg 464. Very glad I already have two Marlins and two Winchesters, no way I would pay what they sell for today unless the rifle was really special.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Ferguson, I completely agree with you. The Mossberg 464, sort of a Win. '94 clone, is a very good rifle, as was the Mossberg 472, sort of a Marlin clone. When looking at the current prices of other gun makers I am convinced that Mossberg's motto of "More Gun For The Money" is accurate. Their guns are rarely ornate, but do the job well.

DG

[farmbif]

I must have seen a real dud of a moss berg when I saw one at a cabbalas a couple years ago, I much prefer my marlins from the 60's and 70's and even winchesters from the same era. but some of my favorite guns are the old ugly rusted ones that shoot just as good as new.

[OBXPilgrim]

I'd been looking for a decent shooter M94 for a couple months, or a Handi rifle 30-30! But they were just not to be found. Wasn't that picky either, a 64 to 79 era would have been just fine. Finally found one that was around $200 more than I thought it was worth. Just could not see me letting this one get away.

[pls1911]

Ammo as much as lever guns sold for new 50-60 years ago?
Yep, but still crazy for a woodsman's nominal tool.
I mean it's not Holland and Holland or W.W. Greener.

It makes me wish everyone could cast bullets and reload from components stocked over the years.
30/30, 38-40, .44-40, .38/.357, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, 45/70 or .405 Win. are reloaded at a recurring cost a little more than .22 mag.... maybe less.

[FergusonTO35]

I had a shop from 76 thru 92. We were always fat on Marlin/ Glenfield and Win 30/30s in used rack.
Average out the door price $100. We got to point we would close up and celebrate when we sold one. That wasn’t pre 64 Win 94 or pre 336 Marlins, they brought good bit more. Savage 99s in 303 went for $100 too. Around this area I can still kick out a nice pre 64 m94 for $600 and post 64 for $300. $800 for post 64 is a joke.

Until the mid-2000's all the shops here were filled with lever actions and revolvers gathering dust at very reasonable prices. Something in the taste of gun buyers has changed over the years because used lever actions and revolvers sell really fast regardless of price or condition. Heck, new ones sell pretty quickly too. At my side job shop we get a pretty steady stream of people walking in ready to spend close to a grand on a new Henry centerfire and they get disappointed when we tell them the last one sold after being on the shelf for an hour.

[Char-Gar]

My first centerfire rifle (1957) was a Winchester 94 takedown rifle in 30 WCF. The price was $25.00. My last Win. 94 carbine cost me $110.00 from an El Paso pawn shop in 1984. I still have it. I also have two Marlin 336s, a Browning Traditional Hunter and a Savage 340, all in 30-30. I like them all, but the leverguns are still my favorite.

[Drm50]

I’m not interested in guns made after a certain date that made major changes in quality of the gun.
I’ve still got several lever actions, 2 from 1960s and 7 from 1927 back to 1904. Year before last I took a Marlin-Glenfield NIB 30/30 and a post 64 Win m94 30/30 on trade against a S&W m19 357.
The Marlin went in a few days for $450, I drug Win 94 for a year and blew it out for $350 to get rid of it. Younger guys might buy them but old guys want the pre 64. Say what you want but I can tell the difference in the dark.

[FergusonTO35]

I like the post-64 94's and crossbolt safety Marlins for working guns that it's ok to get some scratches and dings on. I have a really ugly 1980's Winchester 94 that is loose as a goose but shoots as good as any other I've ever owned. Perfect rifle for targets of opportunity when taking a stroll through the woods or on the tractor.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

New Marlin 336C .30-30, 1964, Hess's, Allentown, PA $53.95, I was 13. Sometime in the 80's, NIB 2 Savage 99 358's closeout - Woolworth's, Denver, CO, $150.00 each, also Savage 99 .375 NIB $150.00, Marlin 1895 45-70, $125, could not sell a 'lever action brush gun' in the 80's in Colorado. Never had trouble killing elk with the .358 or 45-70. Wife and I still use them for elk.

Today's prices are just part of everyday life and economics. The LAW of Supply and Demand cannot be repealed.

[John Taylor]

Sometimes a customer will want something special and when the job is done the customer has died. I have a 94 old model in 30-30 with a 30" octagon barrel, takedown with full length mag tube. All new wood, the whole thing looks brand new. Probably never get my money out of it.

[Jbiker]

I'd really like to see what an old 03A3 in aut 6 would go for now !!!LOL

[FergusonTO35]

Numbers matching, about a grand.

[shtur]

I never had a need for a lever 30-30, then I read all the loads from mild to full on this forum and bought one. Wow, I have a lot of fun with it. It's worth the price they are asking these days, for just the fun factor it gives me.

[Kyle M.]

A buddy of mine recently bought a post '64 Winchester 94 .30-30 for $220 private party. I think he stole it. Then again it's one of those ugly commemoratives with the bright receiver and medallion in the stock. I've thought about buying it from him but after owning a 336 and a Pre '64 94 I'm just not a huge fan of the .30-30. If it was a .32-40 or .38-55 I'd be all over it. I keep telling myself someday I'll find a nice Savage 99, a local shop has about 15 of them including a .250-3000, .22 Hi-Power, and a .303 Savage takedown. The .303 Savage takedown is cheap because someone put a recoil pad on it. I thought about buying it recently but when I did a search I could find brass but no dies unless I wanted to pay a kings ransom on eBay.

[samari46]

Local wal mart in the next town over used to sell Winchester Silvertips for $10 a box. Where I live was $11 a box. Then the other wal mart closed and the one I now use locally always had them in stock. Before covid they were $20 a box, now with all the crazyness going on it's anybody's guess what they are getting for either the silvertips or power points. Have a couple of the Serbian Monarch and they shoot pretty well. I've always had a lever action Marlin and Winchester around. Frank

[dverna]

My best buy on a .30/30 was from a widow I was helping out over a decade ago. We were able to sell most of her late husbands guns for a good price but no one wanted the .30/30. It had some initials scratched into the stock and a bit of rust on the barrel and receiver. After a few months she called me and told me she had to get rid of it. She told me I could have it for $25 less than I had valued it. It was her way of saying "thanks", so I took it off her hands. I still have not shot the gun but recently got a Pearson mount for it so hopefully will get some rounds down it this year.

BTW, came very close to selling all my .30/30's lever actions as I have no use for them. Decided to keep them in case the Dumborats come after AR's. It is called the Appalachian Assault Rifle for a reason. They offer decent range, accuracy and firepower without looking "menacing". One big advantage is the ability to cast bullets for it that are about as good as factory rounds.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Kyle M., you should buy that 303 Savage, Prvi brass is available and works well, you can use a 300 Savage or 308 Win Sizing die to neck size until the 303 Savage dies show up. Both Lee, CH4D, and Redding make the 303 Savage, though finding the dies might take some time. The 303 Savage does use 'normal' 30 cal bullets, most 30-30 kind of bullets and bullet molds work plus some of the 'pointy' ones.

[NEKVT]

In the mid to late 70's there was a small store chain around here that sold Win 94's for 75.00 every fall. Looking at the serial number ranges in 71 and 72 the number produced was over 200k each year while all other years 100k or less were produced. This chain must of bought a slew of them when Winchester was giving away the surplus. Wonder what was going on there those two years to deviate so far from the production norm for that model.

[T.R.]

283569

This angle-eject Winchester is my favorite 30-30 for hunting within the forests and foothills. My typical shooting distance after a long stalk in rough country works out to about 150 yards or so. They can keep their long range magnum rifles; the excitement of the stalk is the highlight of my hunt! My friends say that I'm crazy to drive all the way "out west" with my Winchester. Instead, I'm supposed to buy a new 270. But for me, 30-30 is a keeper!

TR