Most deer in USA are about the size of a goat.
I only really know of American deer from watching meat eater on Netflix, but it seems they
do have some pretty big species too, mule deer, elk and caribou. Maybe not the caribou, that might just be in Alaska.
Yeah,sorry oldbloke, but whitetail.( the most common ), mule, and blacktail are all a lot bigger than goats. Not to mention elk, ( the most tasty meat you’ll ever eat ) that can be bigger than a horse.
No argument Elk and Moose are big. But thought the white tail and Mule were about fallow or goat sized or just a bit bigger. Prong horn much the same.
But anyhow I had 30-30 and came to the conclusion IMO, OK out to say 110 meters and after that drops like a rainbow due to the blunt nosed bullets. (tube magazines) I would use one on Reds but limit it to about 100meters.
I had a look around on the www and come up with some very rough average numbers. However I didn’t split male/female. And there are a few sup-species so pretty rough.
Goat 40-140kg
Roe 30kg
Hog 35 kg
Fallow 60 kg
White tail 80-120kg
Prong Horn 60-150kg
Caribou 120-180kg
Red 100-200kg
Elk/Wapati 270-320kg
Sambar 200-350kg
Moose 200-350kg
I guess this means most are bigger than goats. Lol. But not by much. lol
140kg goat is a bit of a stretch I reckon?
Agree, just got it from Wikipedia. Maybe 110 is more realistic for us. But as with the other weights it’s all estimate at best. Looks like there is a few varieties of white tail and weight varies hugely. And I think the sambar weight refers to the Indian species, we have the smaller Ceylon variety.
Anyway looks like I was out by a fair bit. At the time I was thinking white tail and prong horn.
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Sambar could pretty easily push 350kg I would think. A big male that has some years on him in a good paddock. They have a pretty big frame to put meat on.
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Wikipedia is the last place to would look if you want factual information.
Any knob-head can post any crap they like on there.
I’ve culled and caught 1000’s of goats, never seen one that went anywhere near 140kg. A wiki-guess perhaps?
Last load of goats I sold weighed an average of 85kg. Buyer reckoned they were some of the biggest goats he had bought that season.
Like I said. “guesstimate at best”. I put all of about 10 minutes into it. And later adjusted goats down. Some was from Wikipedia some else where. If you have plenty of time get the precice info from some animal experts or whatever.
IMO because of the rainbow like trajectory the 30-30 still is limited. It just happens to be very popular in the USA, hence used a lot. A 308 would have nearly twice the effective range.
Wow your not wrong OB not having any experience with the 30-30 I put the numbers in JBM using a 150grn Hornady RN I am sure a better projectile would help a little but to compensate I put the MV in at 2300 fps. Its dropped the same at 300 yrds as my 308 at 600 and beyond that it is like a exponential drop.
A bit more respectable using the 160 FTX at 2300 fps only 8.2 MOA at 300 and 21 MOA at 500 which is my dope for 500 and 900yrds with the 155 in 308
Yep, if you had a 30-30 in bolt action it would be heaps better. The spitzer shape makes a big difference. But 98% are levers, so only round nose are used. One of the reasons I traded mine in for a 30-06 years ago. Also bolts are inherently more accurate and much easier to clean them levers. But having said that it’s great for shortish range for up to say Red deer. I shot a fair few pigs and goats with mine and was always pleased with its performance. I think sambar would be a bit of a stretch except short range. Most sambar however are shot under 100 yards.
Would you tackle a sambar, elk or moose with one? Personally I’d like something with a bit more bang.
That’s what ya missus said… Razz… 
Sorry mate couldn’t help myself 
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At the risk of being repetitive, I said at 200. Maybe try adjusting the sights, that’s what they’re for.
I run a reduced load of 17gr of 2207 behind a 170gr cast bullet at around 1600f/s. In a standard Model 94 carbine with a 20" barrel, 50m is first notch, 100m is 2nd notch, 150m is 3rd and 200m is achieved on the 4th notch using standard iron sights. That load has enough power to topple our ram targets @ 200m.
A mate bought his rifle, ( Model 94 carbine ), out to my place because he believed it to be “out” because he had shot at a roo @ 150m and missed. He was using Federal factory 150gr ammo. He had set the sights on the top notch and aimed above it’s head. I demonstrated that that shot would have gone well high. I then found that I could consistently hit a ram swinger offhand @ 200m with it set on only the 2nd notch with that ammo. That’s certainly “minute of animal” enough for me. ( our ram target is the size of a small goat, standing 18" tall at the shoulder.)
Yes, it is not a long range proposal and I wouldn’t take one out on a Sambar hunt, there are far more powerful options out there. But, as a light weight, walk around scrub gun on our small to medium game, ( think fox, pigs, goats, fallow, etc… ) a lever action in .30-30 'aint a bad choice.
I think that is a fair way to sum it up.
So now I want a 30-30 too, you’re all bad influence’s
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Already browsing used guns. Not cool. Although, between my 223 and 308, I just don’t see it as something I’d take hunting and it’s not a plinking kind of a gun. This just feeds the addiction. Bah!
And the problem with that is?
So many guns to buy so little money!
Did I say there was a problem? It’s a problem when addiction is not fed, that’s a problem.