30/30 or the 243?

[Rocky_Raccoon]

243 or a 30/30? ive seen both rounds and they are simular, only the 243 has better range, they seem to be the same size...which is a better round?

[Pre-64]

Rocky,
What are you hunting and where?

[MathewsHunter]

Rocky,
Although the 30/30 has taken literally millions of deer over the years, there is really no comparison between these 2 rounds. The .243 not only has more range and flatter trajectory but is over all a more versital round than the 30/30. It can take game from varmits to muleys maybe even elk at distances the 30/30 would never do!

[yotebuster]

This one is going to get wild!
More first-timers have held a 30/30 in their hands than any amount of 243's!But they may have benefitted better with the better range and stock design of the 243's.Then if the 243 was stocked with less than 100grainers(non-premium bullet's)then any 150 or 170 30/30 slug is better for Whitetail's!My youngest used a 44/40 Remington rolling-block to take his first deer and his little sister used a 44mag carbine.
We just came into a 1894 26" rifle in 25/35 and my cousin's boy has asked to hunt his first time with me and the 25/35.
He is milking with me every morning and helped load rounds with me for it today,so he can practice without going broke!
Bought one box of 25/35 winchester shell's in town for $27.99!!!!!!! The dies were $22.99 and they had a old bag of Peters 25/35 brass left over from when the old owner sold the place to them back in 1984!Paid $10.00 for a bag of 450 brass-all 25/35!Now they are in both polishers till morning!I loaded 26.0grains of H-4895 under a 117grain Hornaday RN.

The .243 and .30-30 are totally different kinds of cartridges. It depends on the situation and what you are hunting. It is sort of like "which is better, a honda or a corvette?" If spped is your thing then the corvette is, if mpg is important then the honda wins. Don't think about using the .243 for elk. In Pa. it is illegal. Rounds must be .27 or larger. Besides that it is a little on the light side. Classic

[Bees]

easy, the 30.06!

[rkbo]

Hey Rocky I like your questions. They are honest and give these old timmers a good reason to lay some of that ol experience on us. I am an old timmer too but I like to hear everybodies thoughts. Now to your question. There is something to notice when just looking at a cartridge. That is that shoulder. You see the shoulder on the 30-30 is slight and "mellow" for lack of a better word. The 243 is much sharper. If you look at the Weatherby's you'd see very sharp shoulders. This is just one way to build pressure in a case. The powder burns from primmer to neck. Years of developement has led to a cartridge that developes a lot of pressure in a small case. The 243 in my experience shoots rings around the 30-30. We used to shoot groundhogs at 300 yds consistantly. The 30-30 would have a lot of trouble doing that. I personaly have taken lots of mule deer with the 6mm rem. almost a twin to the 243. It's not an elk cal. but neither is the 30-30. But both could take an elk if the conditions where right. I can't think of anything the 30-30 could do that the 243 couldn't. I can think of things the 243 can do that the 30-30 couldn't.....just my thoughts anyway.

[MathewsHunter]

Thanks "Old Timer", couldn't have said it better.

As for Clasicvette63, I'm sorry that PA does not allow for anything under a .270 you are missing out on some really fine shooting cals (25-06, 257 Roberts, 260, 240 Wetherby). Most states say .223 or larger. As for the elk. Call a friend of mine in Colorado who owns a small ranch outside of Colorado Srings. Ask him how many Elk and Black bear he has taken with his .243 while varmit hunting!

The 30/30 is known as a short range "Brush Gun". By mathamatical terms the . 243 has a .027 smaller diameter bullet (thats a paperclips worth of difference), yes a lighter bullet but still near the same diameter. At the speed it travels it has almost the same kenetic energy of a .270 at even longer ranges. Use Nosler Ballistic tip bullets and Elk are no problem at ranges you would not want to shoot a 30/30 with. Find a Ballistic table/graph for the 30/30 round, it looks like the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

Don't get me wrong, my first 2 rifles as a kid were 30/30's. My first was a Win. 94, then I had a Marlin 336. I took many, many deer with them.

The point I am trying to make is that there is NO Comparison between these two rounds? They are as different as night and day.

And by the way, do you have Elk in PA?

[Edited by MathewsHunter on 08-16-2001 at 07:41 PM]

[rich5674]

For deer at woods ranges 30-30. A few people that used 243s told me, they never shot a deer that didnt have to be shot again with a 243. Never heard that with a 30-30. Many 30-30s in Marlins and bolt actions will shoot 1'' groups. Winchester has +P Power Point ammo that upgrades the ballistics. 30-30-can be found in single shots, bolts, slide actions and of course levers.

[blacktail]

Up here in Canada it would probably be hands down.
The 3030 IMHO would win out.
Closer thicker country requires a different gun that a fast long ranger.IT just means toy gotta get a little closer.

Matthewshunter, we have elk in Pa. This year is the first hunting season for them in 70 years. Basically, it is just a moneymaker for the Pa. moneygrubbing,opps I mean game commission. Classic