Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.
Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
My wife's father, mother , and brother all hunted with 30 carbines. My wife's mother is a 100 lbs soaking wet . So it was perfect for her, after the stock was cut down an inch.
30 M1 round is about twice the speed and power of the 357 mag and few will argue the killing power of the 357 round as a deer round for close range work. That being said, bullet options are somewhat limited in the M1. I use the soft point and have killed several deer at under 75 yards with no problems. I also have taken several hogs at less than 50 yards with mine. The swamps and wooded areas that I hunt are so dense that you only get a few shots over 50 yards anyway.
+1 on the .32-20; my great grandfather harvested most of his venison with one.
OTOH I WISH the .32-20 brass was as strong as the .30 Carbine...!
The only reason I'd NOT get into .32-20 if I didn't already own the one referred to above, would be the lack of standardization of bores, and the scarcity of new, strong, guns in it. For those reasons I'd get the .32 Mag or .327 Mag (not the .30 carbine, as I prefer rimmed cartridges), but I don't see any difference between the four that matter much. I guess you also wouldn't want really HOT .32-20 loads laying around and accidentally shoot them in an old vintage gun vs. your modern reproduction.
It's 2025 - "Cutesy Time is OVER....!" [Dan Bongino]
Below is some reloading data from Hodgdon's reloading website.... the .357 MAG is quite a bit better than the .30 carbine. These are the best loads (fastest) for each caliber for 110gr bullet weight.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .357 MAGNUM
110 GR. HDY XTP Hodgdon H4227 .357" 1.590" 18.9 2072 29,600 CUP 21.0 2233 35,500 CUP
110 GR. HDY XTP Hodgdon H110 .357" 1.590" 22.0 2291 32,400 CUP 23.0 2398 37,200 CUP
30 CARBINE
110 GR. HDY JRN Hodgdon H110 .308" 1.680" 14.0 2006 32,000 CUP 15.0 2106 36,500 CUP
If you are shooting in modern marlin, you can certainly best 1100 with the 115 grain cast bullets. the light loads are for old colt single actions.
I have a 1907 model 92 winchester and I am getting 1500 with 100 grain hornady hollow point handgun slugs using W-231.
I would get somthing else for deer hunting though. A 38/40 44/40 or a good ol 30/30.,..
...tj3006
BlaineG wrote:The .30 got a bum rap with people using the surplus, FMJ rounds..... With a good bullet, it should be ok for limited range (just like 32-20 or .357)
I can echo that comment. A friend of mine whilst in the army was invited my his CO to stalk Red Deer in Scotland. For some strange reason he was given a .30 M1 Carbine and FMJ ammo, he said the results were abysmal.
I read somewhere that the .30 was developed using a different type bullet but because of the Geneva convention it had to be issued in FMJ.
Whatever you do always give 100%........... unless you are donating blood.
.30 carbine gets a bad rap ...not only for limited bullet selection but for the firearm itself.
I can see how many 'civilians' would have a hard time setting "zero" on a military arms... all the M1's, AR's and carbines I have handled needed to be "zeroed" ... then we had to figure out what to hold for shots less than 100 yards....... I guess I am trying to say "practice" is needed.
M1 Carbines are all over the place, quality wise. We've seen a few that will shoot 4 inches at 100 yards, others that could barely keep 15 rounds on a half sheet of plywood at 100 yards.
If I had a good one (M1 carbine) with proper bullets I would not hesitate to shoot deer with it.
We had all the cartridges we need 70 years ago. I still hunt a .25-35 for deer and it works good if I do my part.
always press the "red" button--- it's worth the effort and the results can be fun
Never shot a 32-20 but I own and have taken a deer with the .30 Carbine. One shot one kill at 85yrds with a 110 gr soft point. Sure there are better cartridges for the job but that worked just fine for me. I also find the .30 Carbine very accurate for most field applications out to 120yrds.(which it was intended for).
"Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are
willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom." - John F. Kennedy
Having been filled up with all the tales of how puny the 30 carbine round was I was stunned when a guy I used to work with told me he used an M1 carbine to hunt hogs with...Now this guy knew absolutely nothing about guns..had only shot a few times in his life...But one day he had stopped by his father in law's place and borrowed his M1 carbine and went out to hog hunt with mag full of FMJ...I started laughing when he told me that, and I said he needed more gun for hogs..To which he said no way!...because he had killed two hogs with one shot.. Yep the FMJ went thru the first hog & killed the second one a few yards behind the first..I tried to tell him about bullet expansion/energy transfer/wound channel all that...Water off a duck's back..He got two in one shot that's all he knew..no way could I convince him to use more gun...Not even to use soft point ammo in the carbine...lol... whatta ya gonna do?
"IT IS MY OPINION, AND I AM CORRECT SO DON'T ARGUE, THE 99 SAVAGE IS THE FINEST RIFLE EVER MADE IN AMERICA."
WIL TERRY
A Korean War vet friend got his several medals from defending a site with his .30 carbine. Harry always said of it, "If you put the bullets where they belong, it does its job." He is right.
Also, in equal strength firearms, there is no difference in the .30 Car and .32-20 in performance. IMHO
Grace and Peace
Pastordon Pastordon's Blog
The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. (1 Cor. 8:2)
